october 2012 - rit.edu
TRANSCRIPT
1
OCTOBER 2012
This is a pencil drawing by Peter
Luce. It is from the Then part of the
Then and Now exhibit we are doing as
a retrospective for the 25th
anniversary.
Notes from the Program Director
Notes from the Council Chair
Programs and Course Notes
One Session Courses
Pfaudler Lecture Schedule
Marketing
Osher Speakers
Osher Endowment Fund
Gifts for Osher
New Members
Summer Lecture and Travel Notes
Participation
Gallery
25TH Anniversary Celebration
2
Notes from Program Director
School is back in session and we hope everyone is having a wonderful time! Our sincere appreciation goes out to everyone who assisted in the on-line registration process, getting the classrooms set-up, greeting and volunteering to be a peer contacts to our new members, and a special thank you to the Social Committee for the delicious treats you supplied for us the first week of classes! This term there will be 5 classes over in the Rivers Run facility. We appreciate their allowing us to hold our classes in their rooms. By permitting us to use their space we have been able to limit the amount of “closed” classes for members. I have included two articles discussing the changes the Osher Council recently voted and approved to begin with this Winter term.
The Osher Council has voted and approved to change the start time of our classes to 9:30 a.m. Beginning with the Osher 2012 Winter term, the class schedule will be as follows.
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
9:30 – 11:00
9:30 – 11:00
9:30 – 11:00
9:30 – 11:30 2 hours
9:30 – 11:30
2 hours
11:15 – 12:45 (one-session
courses)
11:15 – 12:45
11:15 – 12:45
12:00 – 1:00
[Pfaudler]
11:45 – 1:15
1:30 – 3:30
2 hours
1:30 – 3:00
1:30 – 3:00
1:30 – 3:30
2 hours
We plan to retain all of our 2-hour timeslots and keep One-Session courses on Mondays.
3
The Council also voted to increase the length of terms beginning with this Winter 2012 term. The new schedule will be included in the upcoming catalog and will look as follows: Winter 2012
December 5 - January 6 Winter Break (no classes)
January 4 (W) Course Preview 4 (W) Course Leaders Meeting 9 (M) First Day, Winter Term ( 5 and 9-
Weeks) 9-13 (M-F) Osher Open House 23 (M) Spring Course Proposal Forms Due 25 (W) New Member Orientation
February 10 (F) Last Day, Winter Term (1st 5-Weeks) 13 (M) First Day, Winter Term (2nd 5-Weeks)
March 16 (F) Last Day, Winter Term (5 and 10-Weeks)
Spring 2012
March 119 – March 30 Spring Break (no classes)
March 28 (W) Course Leaders Meeting 28 (W) Course Preview April 2 (M) First Day, Spring Term (5 and 10-Weeks) 2-6 (M-F) Osher Open House
18 (W) New Member Orientation 18 (W) Summer Course Proposal Forms Due May 4 (F) Last Day, Spring Term (1st 5-Weeks) 7 (M) First Day, Spring Term (2nd 5-Weeks)
11 (F) Annual Meeting June 8 (F) Last Day, Spring Term (10-Weeks) 11 (M) Fall Course Proposal Forms Due Date TBD Spring Social Event
June 11 – June 22 Spring Break (no classes)
4
Summer 2012 June 25 (M) First Day, Summer Term August 22 (W) June, July August Summer Seminar
Series 4 lectures followed by day tours Intersession Activities
Fall 2012
September 17 (M) First Day, Fall Term (5 and 10 Weeks) Sara Connor, Osher Program Director, [email protected]
Notes from Council Chair
In September of 2011, I convened an Ad Hoc committee to develop a 5- year Strategic Plan for Osher. The committee, chaired by Mary Barrett, has completed the plan, and it will be presented to the Osher membership on the following days: Open Council Meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 17th at 3:15 pm in room 3/4 One Session Course: Monday, Oct. 29th at 11:15 in room 3/4 The process of strategic planning is about determining the direction which Osher wants to take over the next 5 years. The committee identified overall goals for Osher and developed the plan to achieve/ implement them. During the year-long planning sessions, the committee performed the following activities:
Studied the previous Athenaeum Strategic Plan
SWOT Analysis – Osher’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats,
Two Focus Groups and a membership 5-Year Strategic Plan Survey
Conducted Stakeholder Interviews
Researched the National Osher Lifelong Learning Community
I want to sincerely thank the committee members for their dedication and time given to the development of this plan: John Bacon, Debbie Huff, Sue Luce, Jim Roddy, Bonnie Salem, Pratima Shah and Laura Yellin.
+++
5
Reminder: “Please Keep Moving” out of the doorways and the hall into the lounge, to avoid congestion entering and exiting classrooms. We appreciate your cooperation. Marie Levin, Chair of the Osher Council; [email protected]
Programs and Course Notes
Course Offerings Committee Course Leader Feedback
Osher course leaders love hearing positive comments from course members, but they also appreciate constructive comments on how their course presentations may be improved. For that reason, the Course Offerings Committee, with input from course leaders, has developed a new Course Leader Feedback Form. The new form will be introduced to Osher members in a special email message shortly. The feedback form addresses several key areas such as course organization, ability to facilitate class discussion and use of audio/visual equipment. This is not a course leader evaluation form nor is it a course evaluation form. The new form is a tool for members to share specific constructive comments and suggestions with course leaders. Please review this new form when it is available and use it to provide helpful suggestions to the leaders of courses you have taken.
6
Course Leaders in Search of Course Leaders The following course leaders have volunteered to serve as advisors/coaches for Osher members who are considering leading or co-leading a course at some time in the future. All are veteran course leaders with practical experience they are willing to share on a one-to-one basis. Feel free to talk with any of us if you would like to learn more about leading a course.
Mary Barrett [email protected]
Peter Luce [email protected]
Bill Faul [email protected]
Lewis Neisner [email protected]
Nita Genova [email protected]
Victor Poleshuck [email protected]
Bob Getz [email protected]
Jim Roddy [email protected]
Bob Hilliard [email protected]
Ed Salem [email protected]
Debbie Huff [email protected]
Ed Scutt [email protected]
Brian Ives [email protected]
Julian Thomas [email protected]
Tom Low [email protected]
Winter Course Proposals Course proposals for the Winter 2013 term are due by Monday, October 22, 2012. Both 5-week and 10-week course proposals are invited. Peter Luce, Chair, Course Offerings Committee; [email protected]
One Session Courses One-Session Courses will continue to be offered on Mondays from 11:15-12:45. Sign-up sheets are available on the table under the information screen in the lounge. Planning ahead? Did you know the One-Session Course schedule for the entire term can be viewed on the Osher at RIT website? Go to http://osher.rit.edu/ then click on the Member News hot button in the right hand column. This will bring you to the member news page where you can click on One-Session Course Schedule on the right hand side of the page. The schedule is there for your information.
7
During the month of October we have the following courses scheduled:
October 1 Lewis Neisner - “The Affordable Care Act – An Update”
Peter Luce, Julian Thomas - “How to Create an Osher Course Website”
October 8 Howard Greenwald - “Everything You Wanted to Know about Patents but Were Afraid to
Ask”
October 15 Christine Ryan - “The Chautauqua Movement”
October 22
Michael Shacket - “Is There a Computer in My Refrigerator” Jim Sorrentino - “Changes in Medicare Advantage Plans for 2013”
October 29
Mary Barrett - “Osher at RIT's New Strategic Plan” All Osher members are encouraged to think about offering a One-Session Course. It's a great way to share your knowledge, ideas, interests and enthusiasms! Proposals are welcome anytime. Information about forthcoming One-Session Courses is available in weekly email notifications, on the information screen in the lounge, on the table under the screen and on the Osher Member News and Information page of the Osher at RIT website. For more information go to http://osher.rit.edu/content/membersnews.html for One-Session Course Proposals Forms or contact Mary Jane Thomas, One-Session Course Coordinator at [email protected] or Julie Magnuson at Osher, 292-8989, [email protected] Mary Jane Thomas, Coordinator, One-Session Courses
8
Pfaudler Lecture Series Spring Session
Thursdays 12 – 1pm
October 4 A Healthy Collaboration: A Look Inside the RIT & RGIS Alliance Cindee Gray, Managing Director, RIT and RGHS Alliance and Douglas Della Pietra, Director, Customer Services and Volunteers, Rochester General Hospital October 11 Update on Memory Disorders: Recent Discoveries and Current Research Anton Porsteinsson, M .D .; William B . and Sheila Konar; Professor of Psychiatry, Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program (AD-CARE), U of R School of Medicine and Dentistry October 18 The History of Wegmans, Past, Present and Future Jo Natale, Media Relations Director, Wegmans October 25 The Affordable Care Act and Health Care Reform in Rochester Fran Weisberg, Executive Director, Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency November 1 Primary Care in Transition: The Medical Home Story Betty Rabinowitz MD, Sarah Wyskiel RN, Michael Schneider MD, Primary Care Newwork, University of Rochester Medical Center November 8 Ways to Protect Yourself Against ID Theft and Telemarketing and Internet Scams Debra Martin, Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Rochester Regional Office of the NYS Attorney General November 18 Members of the Osher Memoir Class Selected Memoirs November 29 The election of 2012: What do the Presidential and Congressional elections Mean for the Direction of American Public Policy? Bob Getz and Alan Shank, Osher Members and Retired Political Scientists from the Colleges at Brockport and Geneseo Lewis Neisner, Chairman Pfaudler Series; [email protected]
9
REMEMBER, you can always find past Pfaudler Lectures in our library for your review anytime. Questions? Ask for a list. Loretta Petralis, Producer Pfaudler DVDs; [email protected]
MARKETING UPDATE
Through our Media and Communications Chair, Tricia Bonosky, we have obtained
a spot on television station CW 16 on Wednesday, October 3rd. Deanna Shifton and
Lewis Neisner, our 25th Anniversary Gala Co-Chairs, will discuss Osher and the
Gala. Tune in on Wednesday morning, October 3rd, at 8:20 a.m. to see and hear our
Gala Co-Chairs discuss our Gala.
Radio ads on WHAM and WXXI have been completed. We have had several inquiries
and some new members and a result of these ads.
Our membership numbers remain healthy at around 620 members. In reviewing
the reasons why potential members contact us for information and membership,
referrals from current members surpass all other means of recruitment. Keep up
the great work that you are doing --- you are the best recruiters for Osher
membership!
Theatre ads at the Pittsford Cinema and the Little Theatre will be changing between
the 1st and the 15th of October. Look for the new ads which will contain new
pictures of our Osher members.
And last, but not least, please be sure to greet our new members from this Fall
(green dots on nametags) and help assure that they feel welcome at Osher.
Carolyn Vacanti, Vice Chair Marketing
Osher Speakers in the Community Three of our members are scheduled to speak at the NYSUT retirees’ conference on Oct. 30. They are: Neil Frankel, "A Visual History of Slavery in America" Jack Kowiak, "The 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo" Peter Luce, "The Music of Duke Ellington" If your group would like a speaker, contact Maxine Morse, [email protected], 388-9463
10
Osher Endowment Fund The Endowment Committee is pleased to report we now have a balance of $10,890 in Legacy Fund earnings available to spend for supporting the long-term growth of our Osher group and enhancing its academic programs. At the September 19th Council meeting, a motion was approved to purchase a new high definition camcorder to replace our failing unit which was purchased six years ago to record Pfaudler lectures and other events. The committee currently consists of John Bacon (Chair), Bob Hesselberth, Linda Lowenstein, and Carol Samuel. If you have a suggestion for spending a portion of the available funds, please contact any member of the committee. Contributions to the fund are a wonderful way to honor course leaders and staff and memorializing fellow members. John Bacon; [email protected]
Gifts for Osher Give a gift that keeps on growing. To honor the life of a loved one, a friend, a relative or a fellow worker, memorial or honorary gifts may be given to Osher. These thoughtful gifts will help us in so many ways to enhance the Osher program.
Donations to the Legacy Fund [In Memory of Nita Genova’s Father, Edward Bledsoe]
John & Francia Roe
General Bob Vukosic
Recent New Members
Judith Bentley Julian Braiman
Rochelle Braiman Karen Cosmas Donna Cusolito
Charles Dispenza Howard Greenwald
Sally Heneghan Virginia Knowlden Wendy Lehmann
Kathy Lewis Dianne Linscott Wayne Linscott
Anita Miller
Linda Rosenthal Paul Schnacky
Robert Schnacky Ella Schuler
David Spector Elizabeth Walrath
Betty Yost
11
Participation
Antique Road Show Coming to Osher!
Yes, it’s true; the Antique Road Show is coming to Osher on Friday November 16th. A local antique appraiser, H.P. Prazer will do appraisals of your cherished belongings. Why, you might be richer than you think! Mr. Prazer runs an antique class at the Pittsford Recreation Dept. He is especially expert in silverware, but is quite knowledgeable on all antiques. There will not be written appraisals. It is anticipated that he will give 40 to 45 appraisals. Food will be served and there will be a small charge for the event. Save the date, November 16th for a fun and informative afternoon. As we get closer to the event more details will be given. The Osher Social Committee
Osher volunteer needed A volunteer is needed for the position of “Sunshine person”. The Sunshine position entails writing, and preferably handwriting notes or cards welcoming new members. In addition, when Osher members become ill this “Sunshine person” would write a note or send a get-well card wishing the person well. This is an important job that means so much to new members and those who are ill. These cards and notes show that we at Osher care! Thank you for any consideration you might give this request. If you might be interested in this position please contact Geoff Fitch, Vice Chair of Participation, at 381-2511 or email to [email protected].
12
Osher Gallery Exhibits
IN THE GALLERY (continuing to October 25):
Then and Now: An Osher 25th Anniversary Retrospective, featuring work by Marilyn Gillespie, Phyllis Hackleman, Sheila Hollander, Peter Luce, Phyllis McCauley, Rosie Sepos, and Stan Zack
Green man is a sculpture by Phyllis McCauley. Green man is a European ecology icon.
IN THE KITCHEN: October 15 to November 16
Guess Who? Contest
Another Osher 25th Anniversary Show featuring Osher members' baby and childhood pictures without name identification. Everyone guesses which pictures are of
which Osher members. Who do you think this is?
IN THE FIREPLACE LOUNGE (opened September 27; will run for six months): Moon Series, by Marilyn Gillespie Janice Shapiro; ([email protected]) or call her (473-1178) to enroll.
13
25TH Anniversary Celebration
CELEBRATE THE MAGIC OF OSHER!
SEE YOU ON OCTOBER 7TH TO CELEBRATE OUR SILVER 25TH!!!!
Lewis Neisner, [email protected] / Deanna Shifton, [email protected]; Committee Co-Chairs Our Mission: To provide Gracious, Safe and Efficient parking assistance to our Osher Members and Guests Welcome back to all our friends - so great to see all your smiling faces again! And a special welcome to our new members! We are delighted to have you part of the Osher team and look forward to getting to know you! Where to Park: OSHER SOUTH LOT (serves Osher main entrance)
21 handicap spaces
12 regular spaces (due to higher Riparian occupancy, we can no longer park in front of
garages or town homes in this lot)
OSHER EAST LOT (serves Osher side entrance)
58 regular spaces (ok to park in front of garages in this lot)
TERRACE LOT (raised lot serving Osher side entrance - lawn mats are provided to keep your shoes dry while walking across the grass)
14 regular spaces.
FAIRWOOD CIRCLE (road that circles Rivers Run complex)
25+ unmarked parallel parking spaces (along right side of road starting at orange cone
leaving a 3' space between cars). For emergency vehicle access, do not park forward or
West of orange cone.
13 regular spaces (marked spaces off road on left side of Fairwood Circle)
Parking Tips
14
RIPARIAN FRONT LOT 20 spaces available
Parking Safety:
Be sure you are centered and all the way forward in your parking space. Take a quick look
at the position of your car before locking it.
While walking, be alert for arriving and departing traffic. While driving, drive cautiously and
watch for pedestrians.
Watch for arrival instructions from Tania or Dave indicating space availability. During class
changeover, you will be directed to enter through the back entrance between the garages to
avoid bottlenecks with cars that are exiting.
Remember, the speed limit for the entire Rivers Run/Osher complex is 15 MPH.
Parking Efficiency:
Placing your handicap tag on your rear view mirror as you descend Fairwood Circle helps
us direct you correctly. Remember to remove it when you leave.
Orange cones in front of a parking lot entrance indicates the lot is full.
You will be directed toward spaces that we know are open. If you spot a more convenient
space, please feel free to take it.
To enable maximum flexibility accommodating our members and guests, handicap signs are
on movable stands with blue arrows. These signs may contract or expand depending on the
class. Parking behind or between the signs/arrows requires a handicap plate or hang tag.
Just Ask:
If you need help carrying items you are bringing to class.
If you need a parking spot saved for a guest speaker.
If you have any questions or suggestions.
Your Gracious Greeters and Proud new Osher Members, Tania & Dave George; [email protected] / 585-266-1205
15
An End Thought
War does not determine who is right - only who is left
If you have any feedback for the Newsletter Editors, please feel free to use the following email: [email protected], or stop and speak to Laura Yellin or Sandi Spengler on campus—out of the high traffic areas, of course.
Thanks for using the newsletter!