olli at csu, chico - jan. 2013 newsletter
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The January 2013 newsletter for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSU, Chico.TRANSCRIPT
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Those who have read my pre-vious articles or heard me speak at OLLI meetings know that I am a staunch OLLI ad-vocate. In the October news-letter, I summarized a study that sought to determine bene-fits that keep members partici-pating in a lifelong learning program. My November article pointed out some of the bene-
fits and gave examples of possible ways to get involved. If you didn’t get a chance to read those articles and would like to, past newsletter issues are on the OLLI website, or you can contact me; I will get you a copy. Several recent articles in USA Weekend newspaper sup-plement reaffirmed my belief in the positive effects of in-volvement in an organization like OLLI. An article titled “Resolutions That Get Results,” in the January 4-6, 2013, issue explained that a review of over 50 studies showed that, “When people contribute to their community or an organization they are passionate about, they lead happier lives, have lower rates of depression and may even live a little longer than those who do not volunteer….” The Live Smart section in the November 16-18, 2012, issue of USA Weekend featured “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges,” authored by Steven Southwick, professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, and Dennis Charney, professor of psychiatry/neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The authors state that resiliency is not something that we are born with but some-thing we can develop. They have identified ten factors shared by people who effectively respond to traumas in their lives: optimism, flexibility, core value system, faith, positive role models, social support, physical fitness, cogni-tive strength, facing fears, and finding meaning in struggles. I would argue that OLLI participation and its opportunities for volunteering support and enhance most, if not all, of those factors. I encourage you to give back to OLLI by volunteering, but I realize that many of you are already involved in other organizations and causes. I applaud that.
Learning Never Retires!
Febru ar y 2 013
Vo lume XXII , I ssu e 5
OLLI AT CSU, CHICO
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSU, Chico Aymer J. Hamilton 118B, Chico, CA 95929-0792
(530) 898-6679 www.rce.csuchico.edu/osher
CHAIRMAN’S CORNER
by Jerry Dunham
If you would like to know about other ways you can give back to the community, several spring classes address this specific topic. “Givebacks: Do You Make a Difference?” is be-ing offered on Tuesdays from 2:00-3:15 p.m. at Craig Hall in Chico, and “Do-Givers: Do You Make a Difference?” is be-ing offered on Wednesdays from 10:00-11:30 a.m. at the Butte County Department of Education in Oroville (see the OLLI class schedule for specific dates). Earlier, I mentioned an article that dealt with making resolutions for self-improvement. Whether you make reso-lutions at the start of a new year or not, the following two quotes should give some inspiration. For those of you who make resolutions, Louisa May Alcott wrote: “Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” If you are one for whom making resolu-tions is viewed with disdain, this Zen saying may provide you with guidance: “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and be that perfectly.”
“GETTING PAID
TO HAVE FUN…..” These words describe the theme of Nancy Hawley’s presentation for the OLLI March 13 General Meeting at the Masonic Lodge. Nancy says that when the youngest of her five children went to kin-dergarten, she went back to school and finished her BA degree at CSU, Chico. She became a travel agent to support her love of wandering. Soon she became an agency manager. Later she was invited to open the travel agency at an expanding Chico AAA office. When she took an early retirement, she asked “Now what? Take a job in Alaska, of course!" Never having been to Denali National Park and Preserve, she went away in 1999 to join the management team at Aramark Resorts there. Nancy soon realized her love of the park made her a good candi-date for a position with the National Park Service, and the rest is history. Come hear how she did it and some of her experiences as a summer Alaska resident almost every sum-mer to this day. Final details for the program will be in the March newsletter.
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OLLI NOMINATING
COMMITTEE IS AT WORK:
The 2012-13 Nominating
Committee has four members:
Mary Brashears, Roy Cook, Jim
MacMillan, .and Charlie
McCarthy. Program Director
Ann Nikolai is also a member.
Two additional OLLI members
were chosen to be alternates:
Carla Moreno and Roxanne
Ferry. The Committee con-
vened on Dec. 17 and received
guidelines for the nominating
process. Roy Cook was se-
lected Committee Chair. The
Nominating Committee will be
recruiting candidates for the
Advisory Council positions of
Advisory Council Chair,
Events Committee Chair, and
Membership Committee Chair.
According to CSU, Chico
OLLI Policies and Procedures,
the names of candidates for
those three positions will be
published in the March OLLI
newsletter.
IT’S FUN TO COMPARE
The graphic to the right
shows results of a survey of
the nationwide OLLI re-
source network done in early
summer, 2012. This “info-
graphic” is a snapshot of the
OLLI network at that time.
It is obvious that OLLI
groups come in all shapes
and sizes, having different
fee structures, services, and
length of classes. OLLI at
CSU, Chico, can be proud to
be one of the 115 institutes
and proud of offering so
much to its members.
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IN MEMORIAM
GEORGIA GROVE: Georgia V. Grove of Paradise passed away on December 30, 2012. Georgia was a
very loyal attendee of the Prime Timers and then OLLI Cracker Barrel sessions for many years and was also active on the Membership Committee for the welcome sessions and general meetings for around 3 years. Services for Georgia were held in Tracy, CA on January 10, 2013. A tribute to her is at:
www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicoer/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=162126627
CONDOLENCES go to OLLI Peer Leader JoAnne Starnes on the death of her husband, Robert, on January 14.
TITLES FOR READING HISTORICAL NOVELS
SPRING TERM 2013
(meets at Craig Hall, alt. Tuesdays, 12:30-1:45pm)
2/5 Time and Chance Sharon Penman
2/19 The Radetzky March Joseph Roth
3/5 The Secrets of Mary Bowser Lois Leveen
3/26 The Spring of the Ram Dorothy Dunnett
4/2 The Last Jew Noah Gordon
4/16 Julian: A Novel Gore Vidal
4/30 Memoirs of Hadrian Marguerite Yourcenar
5/14 Germinal Emile Zola
TITLES FOR GREAT BOOKS OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION SPRING TERM 2013
(meets at Craig Hall, alt. Mondays, 1-2:45 pm)
2/4 King Lear William Shakespeare
2/18 Selected Works John Donne
3/4 Dialogue Concerning Galileo Galilei
The Two Chief World Systems
3/25 Leviathan Thomas Hobbes
4/8 Discourse on Method Rene Descartes
4/15 Paradise Lost John Milton
4/29 The Misanthrope Moliere
and Tartuffe
5/13 Thoughts or Pensées Blaise Pascal
SPRING 2013 OLLI CALENDAR
Feb. 4 Chico Classes Begin Feb. 12 Oroville Spring Class Preview, 5-7pm - Butte County Office of Education, 1859 Bird Street, Oroville March 13 General Meeting - Masonic Family Center, 1110 West East Avenue, Chico March 18-22 Spring Break, March 18-22 April 1 Cesar Chavez Day April 10 OLLI Business Meeting - Masonic Family Center, 1110 West East Avenue, Chico
May 8 Spring Luncheon - Masonic Family Center, 1110 West East Avenue, Chico
May 17 Spring Classes End
Nancy McCartney and Rhonda Blanchard compare notes on new classes
at the January 15 Spring Class Preview Meeting. Registrations both high-tech and low-tech were warmly accepted at the
OLLI Office beginning on January 17.
SIGNS OF SPRING SEMESTER ARE HERE...
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, CSU, Chico Aymer J. Hamilton 118B, Chico, CA 95929-0792 www.rce.csuchico.edu/osher Hours: Monday-Thursday 9 am– 1 pm
Program Director: Ann Nikolai, 898-5858, [email protected] Program Assistant: Susan Levine, 898-6679, [email protected]
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS: General Chair: Jerry Dunham, 899-8393 Events Chair: Sherri Faroky, 636-4940 Communications Chair: Gayle Womack, 332-9414
Curriculum Chair: William Tefteller, 879-0231 Membership Chair: Ali Sarsour, 893-1768 Program Director: Ann Nikolai, 898-5858 Scholarship/Fundraising Chair: Kathryn Hogue, 343-0445
Newsletter Editor: Marian Milling, 864-2269,
’TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING…STILL
Last spring OLLI awarded two scholarships to returning students: Dan Lebesohn and Shannon Clymer each grate-fully received $2000. This year’s goal is to match that total of $4000; so far only $1000 been taken in. Please consider this worthy cause for a generous donation now.
Recipients will be selected in April.
What they get depends on what you give!
Tax-deductible donations are payable to CSU, Chico State University Foundation Fund #7217, with Prime Timers’ Re-entry Scholarship on the memo line. Mail checks to OLLI Office at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, CSU, Chico, Aymer J. Hamilton #118B, Chico, CA 95929-0792. Ques-tions? Call Kathryn Hogue, 343-0445.
CLASSES START ON MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 4
Springtime is for New Beginnings:
We are opening a new chapter in Oro-ville this spring.
We are offering 20 new classes, includ-ing 5 in Oroville.
We are welcoming 14 new peer leaders.
We are introducing “Special Interest Groups” for the first time.
We are grateful for more than 30 new volunteers.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
California State University, Chico
118B Aymer J. Hamilton
Chico, CA 95929-0792
Learning Never Retires!