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OLLI
E-News #2-06 of Jan. 13, 2006
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| NEWSFLASH
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| >>
OLLI
OFFICE CLOSES MON,
JAN 16 for Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday |
| ALERT
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| >> BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETS ON FRI, JAN 20
at 10:00 in TA-1. All OLLI members are invited and encouraged to come
and express their views. |
| REMINDERS
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>> WINTER TERM STARTS MON, JAN 23
>> INCLEMENT
WEATHER: OLLI will be closed whenever Fairfax County schools are
closed
all day due
to
inclement weather. Schools Website. |
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MEET
PRESIDENT CHARLES DUGGAN
A continuation of profiles of OLLI Board
members
 By Jane Tombes, OLLI
E-News staff writer
OLLI President CHARLES DUGGAN
Photo
by Rod Zumbro
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YOU ARE
CERTAINLY AWARE THAT
CHARLES DUGGAN has been our OLLI president
for almost two years, but perhaps you don’t know much about his
background.
Charles grew up in New
York City and received a BS in
Accounting in 1963 from Fordham University. In his early professional
career in public accounting, he became a CPA and then spent the rest of
his career in senior financial management positions. Charles is married
to OLLI board member Eileen Duggan and has two children, two
stepchildren, and five step-grandchildren.
During his business career, Charles was active
in industry associations as a member and officer and also served as
president of his homeowners association in White Plains, NY.
He learned about OLLI through his wife who
suggested that he might want to join her in the Readers' Theater
classes. He has not regretted that decision and still enjoys the
challenges and the camaraderie of the group.
Not surprisingly, Charles finds attending
theater performances to be a most satisfying leisure activity. As a
member of the board of the George Mason University’s Theater of the
First Amendment, he also gets to observe the workings of a professional
theater.
When asked about the skills required for
dealing with a not-for-profit organization such as OLLI, Charles
observed that both with paid employees and volunteers, there is a need
for people who enjoy what they are doing and want to do a good job. He
said, “I never cease to be amazed by the contribution that our [OLLI]
members make for the sheer satisfaction of doing their fair share and
doing it well.”
He believes that his background in management
and financial acumen have helped him in his job as OLLI’s president.
Whereas others can contribute by teaching, he says that he would not do
well in the classroom. Having worked with him in the Readers’ Theater,
this reporter would not agree. Teaching involves performance, and he
certainly is an adept performer!
A
GREAT PLACE TO BE
Reflections on OLLI as a place
 By Elizabeth Crawford, OLLI
E-News staff writer
RETIREMENT
IS CERTAINLY A HOT TOPIC THESE DAYS, especially as the Baby
Boomers approach the age of 60. Much of the discussion involves
time--early retirement, late retirement after a second career, or
choosing the most advantageous year to begin drawing upon Social
Security.
A more interesting consideration might be
place. If retirement once
meant a rocker on the front porch, that is no longer the case. Now
retirement may mean freedom to move to the destination of our dreams or
the opportunity to stay where we are and visit other places in a
variety of ways. OLLI and GMU offer many options.
First,
we may take an
actual trip to Turkey or Ireland or an excursion into DC or to GMU to
enjoy a musical or an opera. We may take virtual trips to the Arctic
and Antarctic, to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Korea, or to New Orleans or
the Hudson River Valley of NY. We may travel back to Africa and the
origins of man, to Ancient Greece and early England and their
literature, to the Rome of Epictetus and Julius Caesar, to the
Renaissance and its masterpieces of art, or to early America and its
music, documents, and religious discussion. We may take a personal trip
back to our own roots.
Other directions also beckon. We may travel inward through yoga,
philosophy, and a study of the body or outward, expressing ourselves through painting,
writing, music, performance, and foreign language. We
may travel forward and plan our first excursion into space or learn to navigate cyberspace.
WHILE NOTHING MAY QUITE MEASURE UP TO A REAL TRIP, most of this OLLI
travel is simple and cheap. There are no unpleasant airport searches
and no risk of Montezuma's Revenge. During this winter semester, may we
find ourselves in all the places that we would like to be. Bon voyage!
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GMU Professor to Speak
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OLLI
members, especially those who have taken courses taught by GMU
professor Janette
Muir or who have taken the Focus on the Media course, might be
interested in Dr. Muir's upcoming presentation -- reported in the Springfield Times as follows:
Dr. Janette
Muir, associate dean of George Mason University’s New Century College,
will discuss the impact of changes in the way we get our news, from
cable networks to blogs, in “The News We Need: Finding Balance in an
Age of Spin,” at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 18 (snow date: Jan. 25) at the
Sherwood Regional Library, at 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane in Alexandria.
Call 703-765-3645 to sign up for this free Fairfax County Public
Library event.
Dr. Muir teaches courses in political communication and rhetoric and
has written several articles on presidential campaigns and political
activism. Muir’s presentation will include clips from various media
outlets, including “Media Today: Truth or Lies?” with Tom Brokaw and
Federal Communications Commission Chair Michael Powell; “Rich Media,
Poor Democracy,” produced by the Media Education Foundation; “I on
News—24 Hours,” with satirist Jon Stewart; “A Trip to the Blogosphere,”
an examination of blogs and the First Amendment; “Blogumentary,” a look
at amateur reporters; and “Control Room,” a profile of Al Jazeera, the
Arab world’s most popular news outlet.
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PROGRAM PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY
An update from the Executive Director
 By Dr. Richard Chobot,
Executive Director
THE MISSION OF
OLLI IS TO PROVIDE LEARNING AND SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES for
members. For the last 14 years, a cadre of dedicated volunteers and
instructors, working with a small part-time staff, has consistently
exceeded member expectations with varied and engaging programming and
special events. In the last five months, OLLI has added an Executive
Director, and as of January 3, a new part-time program assistant – Rae
Schafer. A number of individuals have asked: “How will this addition
of staff change the way OLLI plans and delivers educational
programming?”
Let’s look first at the program planning
process. With the
departure of Carol Ferrara, the Program Review Committee (PRC) and the
Resource Group Chairs took a much more hands on approach to assembling
the Winter 2006 courses. As Spring program planning approaches
completion, staff is again assuming much of the logistics and support
responsibilities for program. The Resource Groups, with the chair of
each group constituting the Program Committee, will continue to solicit
program ideas. However, more of the contact and coordination work will
be done by staff. During the next six months, the PRC will return to
its role of oversight and quality assurance. The Program Committee
(Resource Group Chairs) will continue an active hands-on role in course
topic identification and planning.
The major impact of changes to staffing and
the program development process will be seen in the small and
not-so-small things:
- Audio-Visual Issues: The staff is
committed to eliminating all
problems with the operation of A/V equipment at Tallwood and Reston.
Prior to the start of the Winter Term, all staff will be trained on
operation and basic troubleshooting of all classroom hardware. In
addition, all software on current computers is being evaluated to
ensure that OLLI has a consistent software operating base to support
classroom delivery.
- Class Support: Staff is working to
develop an orientation briefing for
class liaisons. Plans also are underway to develop materials and in
the Spring at least one 90-minute session on instructor skills,
including development and use of PowerPoint in the classroom.
- Ongoing Program Planning and Development:
Staff will work closely with
the Program Committee, the Special Events Committee, and individual
course instructors and coordinators to facilitate planning, track
progress, and ensure the orderly development of OLLI catalogs for each
term. The goal continues to be to assure consistency, continuity and
quality of OLLI offerings.
- Additional Programming: Starting in
the Spring, OLLI will begin a
program of Friday education, information and social activities (see sidebar for details). These
programs will run year round and will be planned so as not to detract
from either the current clubs or special events.
- Identification of Resources: The
Executive Director will undertake a
systematic effort to cultivate faculty at GMU and other higher
education institutions in the metropolitan area as well as local
civic, cultural, professional and diplomatic entities that might serve
as resources for future programming.
- Address the Needs of Reston: OLLI
has a core of dedicated volunteers
and members in Reston. In addition to the distance issue, they are
dealing with a facility that presents a number of challenges. Staff
will devote effort in the next six months, in collaboration with
volunteers and OLLI leadership, to assessing the Reston program and
developing a plan to strengthen this satellite component of OLLI.
The opportunities and options available with extra staffing will allow
us to further improve many aspects of the OLLI educational program.
While the process is a work in progress, one thing remains
constant---OLLI members, along with our dedicated instructors,
coordinators and volunteers leadership, are the “drivers”, consumers,
and final arbiters of OLLI programming. |
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| FRIDAY PROGRAMMING |
OLLI
currently
offers 26 weeks of programming per year. Except
for some clubs, classes and special events are confined to defined
terms. The current schedule means that OLLI facilities are 20
percent underutilized throughout the year. Beginning with the
start of the Spring Term, OLLI will offer an expanded Friday
program. This program will operate year-round, except for holiday
breaks.
A number of individuals have expressed a
desire for such programming, including participants at the November
Town Meeting. Of course, we already have an excellent set of
special events offerings. The proposed Friday programming will
have a social and informational focus. Plans call for movies to
be shown at least twice a month in TA-1. We will poll members on
movie preferences and attempt to work with the College of Visual and
Performing Arts to find faculty and students to do movie
commentary. Staff also will explore the possibility of securing
speakers from the American Film Institute, National Geographic and
other such organizations to support either single sessions of
multi-week themed programs.
Friday also will be a time for informational
programs. Staff has initiated contacts with INOVA Health Systems
and the GMU College of Nursing to develop and offer programs on health
related topics. Other areas that we plan to touch upon during
Friday sessions include financial planning, wellness, diet and
exercise. We will be soliciting members for other topic areas of
interest.
The onset of Friday programs also will offer
an opportunity for membership recruitment. For selected programs
we will encourage interested OLLI members to bring a friend and
experience OLLI.
Finally, Friday sessions will permit new
instructors to “try out” topics and will allow staff to bring in
speakers of interest who are not able to accommodate the regular term
structure.
A two-month running schedule of Friday
programming will be available via OLLI
E-News. We also
will develop a mailing list for those who wish to know about such
programs, but do not have email. We do not intend to have a
registration process for Friday programs unless excessive attendance
warrants it.
Friday programs are a work in progress.
We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. You can
direct these to me. |
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OLLI MEMBER FEATURED IN LOCAL NEWSPAPER
An OLLI member tells about OLLI to the
local community
 By Jan Bohall, OLLI
E-News staff writer
OLLI
instructor and member Carolyn Williams (photo
at right) was
featured in the People Profile section of the November 23rd-30th
Fairfax Connection.
She listed with
her achievements the teaching of classes in birding and ecology at
OLLI. She
said, “OLLI has given me the opportunity to pursue my areas of interest
as well
as to explore new fields including foreign affairs, literature and
engineering.”
When not at OLLI, Carolyn can be found
bird-spotting in her yard,
at her part-time job with the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, or
leading
a group of enthusiasts on a Monday morning bird walk at nearby Eakin Community Park.
Back
to top
It's not
too late to sign
up for many courses and events
 By Ann Hartmann,
OLLI Office Administrator/Registrar
YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR CONFIRMATION
LETTER SOON showing the courses and events in which you have been
enrolled. Many courses and events are not full, and it's not too late
to sign up. You may register for any of the still-available courses
and
events by filling in a Change of Schedule Request form available in
the
Tallwood social room. If you are unable to come by Tallwood to fill out
this form, you may email or call the
office (703-503-3384) with your
request.
The list of undersubscribed courses and events
for the winter term will be posted at this Web page by the
time you read this, or within a few days (please check back if the page
has not yet been updated when you first look at it).
Note:
If your plans have changed such that you will
no longer be able to attend any of the courses in which you are
enrolled, PLEASE NOTIFY THE OFFICE by email or phone (703-503-3384) as
soon as possible so that if that course is full, members on the waiting
list can be given an opportunity to enroll. Thank you!
Back to top
CLERIHEWS
A different kind of creativity
By Jan Bohall, OLLI
E-News staff writer
NAMED FOR BRITISHER EDMUND CLERIHEW BENTLEY, clerihews are humorous
four-line poems. I created the following two clerihews as a participant
in the OLLI course, "Short Poems for Busy People" (or was it "Busy
Poems for Short People"?).
Yes,
Condi Rice can handle State
With keen persuasion of the great,
She charms tense Heads who try to detach her
But turned down lunch with Margaret Thatcher. |
Hats
off to our own Mr. Cheney
A VP who is remarkably brainy,
We’re unclear if he swims, bikes or runs,
Or if the required staff workout he shuns. |
As an extra added attraction, here is a clerihew by Bob Bohall, not
usually known for his catchy verse:
John
G. Roberts will reign supreme
His
legal decisions will cast a beam
The
conservatives glow, the liberals groan
But
for all, justice will be carved in stone.
OLLI
VIDEO NEWS: CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
A chance for your 60 seconds of fame
AT THE
SUGGESTION OF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DICK CHOBOT, we will be videotaping brief comments
of a few OLLI members about why they joined OLLI and what they are
getting out of the organization.
Each set of comments will be edited
into a 30-60 second video clip and displayed as part of a future
installment of OLLI Video News. This is a marketing idea, and our
target audience will be prospective OLLI members and donors, but
current OLLI members, and friends and family of the participants, might
also enjoy watching these short videos.
Naturally, we are looking for members who are
enthusiastic about our wonderful institute and everything it has to
offer. If you're interested in participating, email OLLI E-News editor Rod Zumbro, who
will be doing the taping during the
winter term.
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OLLI VIDEO NEWS
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 The first installment of OLLI
Video News is a 3-minute video
of the OLLI Holiday Party.
WATCH NOW |
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COMING
EVENTS AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Something for everyone at nearby GMU
By Jan Bohall, OLLI
E-News staff writer
For
tickets, call
888-945-2468 or visit the Center
for the Arts Box Office, Tue–Sat, 10:00–6:00
GMU
Theater
of the First Amendment
Lift:
Icarus and Me |
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Charles Dutoit, conductor |
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
David Kim, violin |
Thu,
Jan
19 through Sun, Feb 5
Thursday and Friday at 8:00, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday at
4:00 (February 5 at 2:00)
GMU’s Harris Theater
Tickets $30 on Fridays & Saturdays, $25
all other performances
Family friendly
All children 12 and
under, half price |
Friday,
Jan 20, at 8:00
Admission $50, $42, $25
Concert Hall
Charge tickets by phone at 703-218-6500
or visit www.tickets.com
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Saturday,
Jan 21, at 8:00
Admission $60, $55, $45, $35
Concert Hall
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Community event---
Presentation by Dr. Janette Muir of GMU
“The News
We Need: Finding Balance in an Age of Spin”
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Wed,
Jan 18 at 10:30 (snow date: Jan 25)
Sherwood Regional Library
2501 Sherwood Hall Lane in Alexandria
Call 703-765-3645 to sign up for this free Fairfax County Public
Library event
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LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
A forum for members to voice their views
on OLLI matters
THE
EDITORIAL STAFF WILL
PUBLISH your brief letters commenting on OLLI activities and will try
to include follow-up information from the relevant committee or staff
member, in the same or a subsequent issue. Submit your letters via
email to Rod
Zumbro, OLLI E-News editor or to me, or
submit them (please indicate that it is a 'letter to the editor') via
the online
suggestion box or the suggestion box in the Tallwood Social Room.
-- Gordon
Canyock, Publications Committee chair
Member giving away books
I am giving away
copies of Healing
Journeys, which I published in 1998. It is a collection of 45
stories about the body-mind therapy that I practiced before moving to
Virginia. Browsing through the synopses and excerpts at www.healing-journeys.com
will let you sample the contents, as will reading the one complete
story.
I will have copies shipped to anyone who is
willing to pay the Michigan warehouse's S&H charges for doing so.
To NoVA that's $3.83 for one copy; the per-copy cost drops as order
size increases: 2 @ $2.25; 3 @ $1.73, 10 @ $1.26; 20 @ $0.88, 100 at
$0.65, etc. For more distant destinations, please inquire.
The warehouse needs the following information
in order to ship: number of copies; first and last name of recipient;
complete address; phone number. They usually ship within 24 hours of
receiving my instructions. I will tell you what their S&H is and
how to reimburse me.
Feel free to pass this information on to
others who might be interested in getting a copy, giving copies as
gifts, or distributing the book in some other way. Thanks for your help
in getting out of the book business!
-- Vicki Mechner, OLLI
member
Rod
Zumbro
Karen
Hamilton
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OLLI E-NEWS
Editor
Proofreader
|
About OLLI
E-News. OLLI
E-News is
emailed to OLLI
members on Fridays when sufficient content is available. Each issue
contains new content. We encourage OLLI members and
staff employees to submit news items and write articles. Comments,
suggestions or complaints? Please contact the OLLI
E-News editor or the
Publications Committee chair, Gordon
Canyock.
Note
about HTML graphics. If
you do NOT see
photos and
clickable links in this message, you might want to ask your child or
teenage grandchild to fix things for you. Or you could change your
email settings yourself. Here's how to view html-formatted messages in
three popular email systems:
- Outlook
Express.
Click Tools; select Options; in the Read tab, uncheck "Read all
messages in plain text."
- Yahoo
Mail.
Click Mail Options/General Preferences; under Security, uncheck "Block
HTML graphics in email messages from being downloaded."
- AOL.
Upgrade,
if possible, to an AOL version above 5.0.
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Updated:
January 13, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at
George Mason University. Materials in this publication subject to
OLLI-GMU copyright may be reproduced for noncommercial educational
purposes as long as credit is given to OLLI-GMU.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University
4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384; E-mail: olli@gmu.edu;
Fax: (703) 503-2832
Original site design and construction by OLLI-GMU member Rod Zumbro. |
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