OLLI AT CAL POLY HUMBOLDT
Lifelong Learning in the Redwoods: Back to Camp with OLLI
During the first week of August, OLLI at Cal Poly Humboldt hosted a unique opportunity for members to camp at the Wolf Creek Outdoor Education Center nestled in the redwoods, adjacent to Redwood National Park.

OLLI partnered with local historians, artists, guides, leaders, and community groups to create a unique outdoor education experience on the pristine northern coast of California. Participants were invited to attend as a Happy Camper and stay on site or attend individual classes as a Day Tripper. Classes and activities included Riverwalking Along Prairie Creek, Song Bird Identification & Drawing, Plein-Air Painting, Mellow Yoga, Bike Tours, Redwood Forest History & Hikes, Using Walking Sticks: Practical Pilates, Field Journals: Witnessing Our Changing Environment, Surf Fishing, and more!

Happy Campers chose classes for a personalized experience while they enjoyed the great outdoors. They enjoyed catered lunches and dinners, music around the campfire, and a variety of activities. Participants slept in rustic group cabins with padded bunks or in their own tent. 
 
This beautiful redwood park setting near the Pacific Ocean with average temperatures in August from 60-75 degrees was a perfect escape from the heat of summer. Members from Osher programs in Northern California and Southern Oregon were invited to join and it was great to have participants from multiple programs for this first ever OLLI at Cal Poly event.
 
OLLI at Cal Poly Humboldt plans to offer Lifelong Learning in the Redwoods again in 2023 and anticipates selling out.

Noted one participant, “My experience with the camp-out was A+. The activities were super fun and the instructors were marvelous examples of the best our community has to offer! I hope to participate again soon. Wow.”

 
Submitted by: Kim Laney, OLLI Coordinator, OLLI at Cal Poly Humboldt
OLLI AT THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Living Well
In September, OLLI at Penn State hosted Living Well, a day-long event focused on four key categories of wellness: physical, mental, social, and emotional. OLLI partnered with Shaver’s Creek, the Center for Healthy Aging, Foxdale Village Retirement Community, and the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing to design a day of learning. The event included opening and closing speakers, thematic concurrent sessions, opportunities for socialization, as well as breakfast and lunch! Not just for OLLI members, the event was open to the general public–age 50 years and better. Forty-five community and OLLI members attended.
 
The keynote speaker, Sandra Charles, MD, chief medical officer and chief of the Health Services Division at the Library of Congress, relayed “Living Life Like It’s Golden: Keys to Wellness and Well-being.” Additionally, there were 16 sessions led by Penn State faculty, industry professionals, and subject matter experts. As Kathryn Maxwell, certified health education specialist, mindfulness instructor, and presenter of “Why being Mindful Matters” stated on the importance of our physical, mental, social, and emotional health, “In this crazy, fast-paced, do-everything-in-a-hurry world, we often lose touch and do not stop to check in with ourselves and ask what we are thinking, doing, feeling.”
 
The goal of this event was to convey new ways to incorporate wellness into daily life. It was a success for the OLLI members and all who attended. For additional information, please see the Living Well website.
OLLIS AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORINA BERKELEY, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLIA ASHEVILLE AND UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
OLLI Loves Apple Devices
Computer technology is of high interest at Osher Institutes. Perhaps disproportionally, OLLI members love their Apple devices – iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. Dozens of Institutes have found ways to engage members in learning activities that center on Apple products. These three examples show different but ingenious ways that OLLIs love their Apple devices.

OLLI at University of California Berkeley (Berkeley) finds their regularly scheduled course "iPhoneography" is more than just a popular course. Instructor Yoni Mayeri is an artist, photographer, and early adopter of the iPhone for her own personal and professional use. She’s in high demand, teaching for OLLI at Berkeley and a Stanford University program exclusively. Her aesthetic background and technical skills combine with patience and clear communications to create an alchemy of unparalleled opportunity for members to use the camera and editing device that they carry with them every day. OLLI director, Susan Hoffman, suggests, “For our generation, learning new technologies often makes us uncomfortable and moves us into a learning space we call cognitive uncertainty. Using multiple senses – auditory, visual, tactile – along with expressing spatial and verbal intelligences proves to be an excellent brain workout. This is why the 'iPhoneography' course contributes to healthy aging and neuroplasticity. It fires and re-fires neural pathways. It is a thrilling learning experience that is both fun and joyful.”

Use of Apple devices can also become a social learning experience. OLLI at University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA) established a long running special interest group (SIG) beginning as the “Mac SIG” and redubbed it the Apple Users SIGPaula Withrow is one of the leaders of the group, which counts more than 250 OLLI members on the roster, but notes that at any given meeting, around 30 to 40 folks attend. Members are informed of the next meeting’s topic and self-select to attend for an hour presentation from one of the group’s “Apple Gurus”, followed by the “Help Desk” session with discussions, Q and A, and one-on-one mini-training sessions. After the meetings, Paula creates a pdf recap including the slides presented, sending it to the entire group as a reference. Paula praises, “the brilliant and talented members who lead our events, often early adopters of technology in the 1980s, who now show that this special interest group can be a continual learning opportunity for many members at our OLLI.”

Keeping up with the constant changes, upgrades, and new features of Apple devices proves challenging to everyone. A repeated course (pg. 34) offered by OLLI at the University of Oklahoma (OU) is presented by one of the leading Information Technology Specialists at the university. Jeremy Hessman is responsible for keeping the OU campus connected and safe in the online world. He makes a point of including OLLI members in that campus community and his classes are particularly important during operating system introductions. “Apple has some of the most intuitive, easy to use and popular devices in the world,” said Chris Elliott, director of OLLI at OU. “Our Fundamentals of iOS course teaches members how to use the native apps on the phone such as camera, contacts, email, messages and more. OLLI at OU members have found this course invaluable in being able to keep in touch with their loved ones and the world around them. We offer the course annually as iOS updates are issued to keep everyone current on the latest system changes.”
2023 Osher Institutes National Conference
The National Resource Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes is pleased to announce:
 
The 2023 Osher Institutes National Conference
October 16 – 18, 2023
The Hyatt Regency La Jolla, San Diego, CA

OLLI leaders and colleagues will gather at the 15th sesquiennial national conference in the fall of 2023. As with past conferences, two representatives from each Osher Institute will be invited to attend to make it possible for delegates, National Resource Center staff, and Osher Foundation staff to meet each other, network, and have substantive discussions and interactions. Each OLLI may decide upon the two delegates selected, but attendees should include one program staff member and one program volunteer leader.

Information on registration and conference details will be available later in the year as curriculum and events are further developed.
WOO-HOOS FROM THE 2022 OSHER INSTITUTES NATIONAL CONFERENCE
OLLI at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Participates in a Redevelopment Plan
What is a Woo-Hoo? A Woo-Hoo is one of those wonderful, amazing, out of the box experiences at an OLLI. All Osher Institutes have the opportunity to submit and showcase their Woo-Hoo for the Osher National Conference. The Woo-Hoos are shared during general sessions at the conference, and attendees vote on their favorites. The following is one of the winners from the 2022 Osher Institutes National Conference.

OLLI at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Participates in a Redevelopment Plan
OLLI at University of Nebraska-Lincoln participated in a redevelopment plan for nearly 17 acres near UNL’s city campus. The plan calls for a development that would be anchored by a 222-unit senior living center geared toward retired UNL alumni, emeritus faculty, and retired staff. Included in the proposal is both office and instructional space for the OLLI program!
CAREER OPENINGS IN THE OLLI NETWORK
Job Board
Executive Director, OLLI

Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Administrative Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

OLLI Program Manager

Program Assistant, OLLI

Program Manager, Osher National Resource Center

Is there a staff opening at your Osher Institute? Please send it to us at oshernrc@northwestern.edu