OLLI staff work remotely on Fridays.

To reach the OLLI staff please email: olli@northwestern.edu

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THIS WEEK

Continuing through next Sunday

Call for Summer 2025 Proposals

No need to be a topic expert. Coordinators are not instructors. Your success as a coordinator does not hinge on how much you know, but rather on your ability to encourage member participation.

• Proposal Submissions: Sunday, April 6–Sunday, April 20
• Summer Catalog Available: Sunday, June 1, 2025
• Registration: Monday, June 9–Monday, June 23, 2025
• Summer 4-week Semester Dates: Monday, July 7–Friday, August 1, 2025

View and download a sample proposal form here, which will help you gather information needed.

• Instructions to save and share the form with co-coordinators are in the online form. You or a co-coordinator must click Submit to finalize the form.
• You will receive an email confirmation from OLLI Northwestern via JotForm with your submission information.
• Be sure all coordinator email addresses are correct on the form. Email addresses submitted on the form are used for all summer coordinator correspondence, including the email confirmations containing proposal details.

OLLI staff will email your final catalog listing for review on approximately May 7–9. If staff do not hear back from coordinators within the specified time we will proceed with the listing as is.

Coordinators play a vital role in our OLLI program. Their importance to the success of OLLI cannot be overstated. We value the time and talents you bring to OLLI.

Questions? Email the OLLI Study Group Committee: ollinusgc@gmail.com

To submit your proposal, click the button below for the campus where you are usually affiliated:

Thank you for submitting a Summer 2025 OLLI Study Group Proposal!

UPCOMING OLLI EVENTS

Second Session Limited Openings

From an Idea to a Proposal Workshop

for Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 study group offerings

Date: Friday, April 25

Time: 9:00am–12:00pm

Location: Chicago Wieboldt Hall, 339 E. Chicago Ave.

Interest in this free workshop has been overwhelming and the first date is full, so a second session has been scheduled on April 25. You must register to participate. See below for registration information.

Designed as a hands-on experience on how to turn an idea into a proposal and a successful study group, this workshop is for:

• Members who have an idea for a study group, but are not sure what to do next
• Those who have co-coordinated but did not participate in all aspects of planning, therefore have questions about offering their own study group

We will assist you to write and then refine your study group description, to complete the proposal form, and to construct your syllabus. We will also explore how to identify engaging resources and anticipate potential challenges in implementation.

There is no text for this workshop, but participants are expected to bring at least one idea for a study group that they would like to develop in a collaborative setting. We therefore ask that you come to the workshop with your study group idea and book (or other course material you plan to use), and that you be prepared to describe your study group idea to the group. We will listen to each person’s idea, then as a group we will discuss and offer constructive suggestions to help refine that idea. Next we’ll work through the process of transferring the ideas into the proposal software system. We’ll also discuss ideas for finding a co-coordinator for your study group if you don't have one, as each fall and spring study group is expected to have two coordinators. Our goal is for participants to end the workshop with a fully developed study group plan.

HOSTED BY THE OLLI CHICAGO STUDY GROUP COMMITTEE

This event is free and open to all OLLI members but space is limited. You must register in order to participate. Registration is required through the OLLI online registration system (Augusoft).

BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch)

OLLI Brown Bag Lunch Week

Dates: Monday, April 21 through Thursday, April 24

Time: 11:45am–1:00pm

Location:

Chicago, Wieboldt Hall, 339 E Chicago Avenue (Lounge on 2M or Room 409 — please check the digital signage for room number)

Evanston, 500 Davis Center, 7th floor lounge

Meet New Members—as well as Members New to you! 

Bring your lunch and your appetite to meet, mingle, and engage with others. 

Dessert and drinks will be provided by OLLI.

HOSTED BY THE OLLI CHICAGO AND EVANSTON MEMBER ENRICHMENT COMMITTEES

Members are invited to enjoy as many Brown Bag Lunch dates as they wish to attend, however please register so that we can plan the space (and dessert) accordingly.

OLLI Social

Year-End Celebration

Date: Wednesday, May 14

Time: 3:30pm–5:30pm

Location: 7th floor Wieboldt Hall, 339 E. Chicago Avenue

Cost: $20/person

Let’s celebrate the end of another successful OLLI year! Enjoy appetizers and drinks with your OLLI friends. Whether you’ve been attending study groups in Chicago, Evanston, or on Zoom, we’d love for you to join us!

This event is open to all OLLI members. Registration and payment is required through the OLLI online registration system (Augusoft).

Free OLLI Member Event

A Conversation with Second City’s Kelly Leonard

Date: Friday, May 30

Time: 12:00pm–1:00pm

Location: In-person, Chicago

Room 408 Wieboldt Hall, 339 E. Chicago Avenue

Yes, And: An Interactive Keynote

The Second City's Kelly Leonard will talk about how the same improvisational practices that made stars of everyone from Bill Murray to Tina Fey can be used to make individuals and groups more successful at work, at home, and in life. In this interactive keynote, Kelly will lead attendees with some of Second City's signature exercises as well as brand new bespoke exercises created with some of the top behavioral scientists in the world. 

Kelly Leonard is a longtime creative executive at The Second City in Chicago and the co-author of the best-selling book Yes, And. He has hired and developed shows with some of the most storied comic actors and writers of the last four decades and his work has taken him to collaborate with universities, caregivers and even hostage negotiators.

Due to the interactive nature of this presentation, this event is only offered in person in Chicago.

HOSTED BY THE OLLI ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT COMMITTEE

This event is free and open to all OLLI members. Registration is required through the OLLI online registration system (Augusoft).

Recordings of Past Guest Lectures

OLLI members may log into their MyOLLINU account to view recordings of past OLLI Special Lectures.

• Go to MyOLLINU.com
• Click on the General Info button
• Click Lectures/Training Tab
• Click the title of the lecture.

OLLI Spring Member Directory

The OLLI Spring Member Directory is scheduled to email next week, only to those who have opted-in to be included in the directory. Check your opt-in setting in your Augusoft profile:

• Log in to your Augusoft student profile
• Click My Profile in the left purple column
• Scroll down to the Preferences section to find “May we include your contact info in the OLLI directory?”
• To edit your preference:
• Click Edit Profile at the top of the page
• Click Step 3 tab to edit your preference

You must opt-in to be included in the directory by 8:00am Monday, April 14 to receive the Spring 2025 Member Directory.

NITMB (National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology)

Free Public Lecture featuring Steven Strogatz, PhD 

Date: Wednesday, May 7 

Time: 4:00pm–6:30pm

Location: Hughes Auditorium, Northwestern University, 303 E Superior, Chicago, IL 

Steven Strogatz, PhD is an applied mathematician who works in the areas of nonlinear dynamics and complex systems. His recent book, Infinite Powers (2019), was a New York Times Best Seller. “Mathematician Steven Strogatz gives off some serious lovable-high-school-physics-teacher vibes: He speaks in an upbeat tone that infects you with his sense of awe and wonder for the natural world.” (Decider.com)

Register Here

Tickets available March 21–April 28.

Wirtz Center 2025 Season

From comedy, dance to the Chicago premier of an inventive new musical, the Wirtz Center has something for everyone.

•  Check out Wirtz shows here https://wirtz.northwestern.edu/2024-2025-season/

Library

Northwestern Library holds over 8 million items making it the 11th largest private university library. 

Need help finding resources for your study group, or have other library-related questions?

Email Tracy Coyne: tracy-coyne@northwestern.edu

OLLI Research Guide

Additional information: Click Here.

OLLI staff work remotely on Fridays.

To reach the OLLI staff please email: olli@northwestern.edu

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