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OLLI
E-News #4-10 of January 29, 2010
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Reston Site
Assistant Beth Baroody; photo by Tallwood Site Assistant Bill Walsh.
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NEW
SITE ASSISTANT FOR RESTON
From the executive
director
PLEASE
JOIN ME IN WELCOMING the newest OLLI staff member, Beth Baroody, who began as the site
assistant in Reston this week. You will still see Ann Youngren, former
site assistant, because she is now an OLLI member!
Beth's responsibilities include the daily
setup of all furniture, equipment, and refreshments for OLLI classes at
the Washington Plaza Baptist Church at Lake Anne in Reston. She will
assist instructors and members and ensure that communication is
effective. Beth will also help our speakers use the computers,
projectors, microphones, and various other audiovisual components for
their presentations.
Beth was born and raised in York,
Pennsylvania, and attended college at The College of Wooster in Ohio.
She has been married to her husband Mike for 10 years, and they have
two daughters -- Erin (6 years old) and Rebecca (4 years old) -- and a
dog named Peyton. Beth says that she tries to exercise when she can and
has run an "occasional" 5K.
Beth has prior work experience running
meetings and assisting with logistics of training courses at an
association and a law firm. Her most recent work experience was with a
salon and day spa.
Please introduce yourself whenever you're in
Reston for OLLI activities. We look forward to a long and rewarding
relationship with our newest OLLI staff member!
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PROGRAM CORNER
Program Survey: Help Wanted
  By
Kathryn Russell, Program Committee Chair
YOU PROBABLY COULDN'T MISS THE PROGRAM
SURVEY that liaisons were waving around in classes this
week. I hope you took the opportunity to fill out and return one. Only
with the help of our members are we able to continue bringing great
courses and instructors to OLLI.
You may already know that the people who keep
churning out OLLI's superior program are volunteers. You can find this
core of volunteers listed in the first pages of the catalog under
Resource Group Chairs (see image at
right). These hard-working, dedicated folks scramble
year-round to give us fabulous lineups of courses. We also depend on
the participation of lots of other OLLI members to help locate and
produce resources and instructors.
Clearly, we need volunteers for all sorts of
vital jobs, both large and small. Of course, we always welcome those
who’d like to teach, but there are other ways to serve, as well. If you
have just a little time, you could attend a Resource Group meeting in
the subject area of your interest. These meetings are held two or three
times a year for the purpose of brainstorming ideas and choosing
courses to develop. The fun part: hanging out with enthusiastic people
who share a love of their subject. You can contact one of these
resource leaders and watch for the announcements of upcoming meetings
soon.
If you have more time to volunteer, you could
consider helping coordinate classes or serving as a co-leader of a
study/discussion group. If technology is your area of interest, you may
want to assist teachers with computer or audiovisual tasks. Also, some
teachers would welcome a volunteer to help do research on a specific
topic. The possibilities are many.
What about the rewards? For teachers, it's the
love of sharing knowledge with fellow learners. Then those who work to
develop courses say they most enjoy making new friends who share a
common interest. And volunteering for program planning gives you the
chance to have a direct part in future course offerings.
Now you see why that survey is so important to
us. If you missed it last week, please look for a form in the social
room or classrooms. We need your expertise and can find lots of ways
for you to help with program planning. For more information, contact
one of the Resource Group leaders listed in the catalog, or send me an
email.
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UNIVERSITY PRIVILEGES FOR OLLI MEMBERS
Some benefits of membership
MANY OLLI MEMBERS MAY NOT BE AWARE of the numerous
privileges available from George Mason University. Because OLLI is an
official "affiliate," its members are entitled to activities and
resources either free or at a significant discount.
In order to take advantage of these, you must
complete the G# form ("George Mason University Affiliate Photo ID Form," available
on DocStore
for download) and return it to Maria, our
administrator/registrar in the OLLI office. Maria will process the
application with the University and obtain a "G number" for you. Once
you have the "G number," you can decide which resources you'd like to
use. For some of them, you will need to take the additional step of
getting a GMU photo ID card -- in the Student Union II building on main
campus, or at the Loudoun GMU building. Please contact the OLLI office if you have
questions.
Here is a complete listing of the University privileges (also available
on our Web site -- About Us/All About OLLI):
- Aquatic and Fitness Center and
Recreation and Athletic Complex (RAC)
- Participants
offered annual memberships at the same rate as employees of the
University (currently $250).
- OLLI
members receive a
parking pass with their membership. This offer does not extend to
faculty, staff, administration or other affiliates.
- Freedom Aquatic
& Fitness Center, Prince William campus (Manassas, VA)
- 15%
discount off of regular annual membership rates.
- GMU
email address (username@gmu.edu)
- See
the Tallwood office to obtain a gmu.edu email account.
- With
the username
and password associated with your gmu.edu mail account, you may connect
to the Mason intranet to send and receive email and to
access
all Mason Web pages but all non-Mason Web sites are
blocked. Thus,
you
would need a separate Internet Service Provider (AOL, Comcast, Cox,
MSN,
Earthlink,
etc.) to access the complete World Wide Web.
- The
account
includes
20 MB of server space on which you may host your personal home page.
- Book Store
- Same
privileges as Faculty/Staff.
- Faculty
and staff receive a 10% discount on most merchandise.
- Exclusions
include magazines, newspapers and convenience items or as designated.
- Dining
Services
- Same
discount as offered Faculty/Staff.
- $3.50
lunch specials at Ciao Hall on Tuesday & Thursday during fall and
spring semester currently offered.
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- Johnson
Center Cinema
- Same
discount as offered Faculty/Staff ($1 fee for movies).
- Library
- Take
out 10 books at one time.
- Books
may be withdrawn for a three-week period with one renewal.
- Request
books from other University campuses.
- Use
of Arlington Law Library is excluded.
- Access
to hundreds of online databases via the GMU library Web site (requires
GMU email address).
- Current
OLLI
instructors and speakers may also borrow audiovisual materials (videos,
DVDs) from the Johnson Center Media library for one week.
- Apple Federal Credit Union
- Entitled
to join as a member of the Credit Union.
- Same
benefits as all Apple Credit Union members.
- Patriot Center
- Same
discount as offered Faculty/Staff cardholders.
- Discounts
vary per event and require Mason ID card.
- Center for the Arts
(performing arts)
- Discounts
vary and are not available for all events. Requires Mason ID card.
- CUE
Bus
- CUE
Bus rides for free with show of Mason ID.
- Chevy
Chase Bank
- Check-cashing
privileges at Chevy Chase Bank campus locations (Mason ID required).
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Contributed
by Executive
Director Thom Clement.
OLLI BULLETIN
BOARD
Introducing a new feature for
OLLI members and staff
THE
OLLI WEB SITE HAS A NEW FEATURE whose
purpose is to help members and staff share, donate, buy, sell, trade,
inform, request, or assist others in our community. If you are
thinking of downsizing, up-sizing, grandchild-sizing, re-sizing,
or
just sizing up the situation, click here
to go to the Bulletin Board page on the OLLI Web site where you can
read more about the Bulletin Board, including the rules for postings.
After you understand how it works, feel free to email your desired
postings to Barbara at bwk4413@gmail.com.
How to check
the Bulletin Board.
You can find the Bulletin Board link in "Quick Links" on our Home page
and
What's New page. Also, in every issue of OLLI E-News we will include a Table
of Contents link (under Departments) to Bulletin Board information.
INTERESTED IN
SHORT STORIES ABOUT MEMBERS?
  By Palmer McGrew, OLLI Historian
ROUGHLY
10 YEARS AGO, I
attended a reading of life stories by members of Barry Berkey's class.
It was utterly fascinating, and I've been hoping for a repeat of that
ever since. Through those life stories I not only "met" a dozen or so
OLLI members but also learned intimate details of their lives. After
hearing their stories, I felt that I had a special friendship with
those members.
Recently a book of such stories, some of which
I had heard and others I had not, surfaced in the office and was turned
over to me as OLLI Historian for archiving. Speaking of archiving, one
day a member asked me what I did as the historian, and I replied that
due to the excellent retention practices of past and present office
staffs, I was mostly concerned with storage of historical documents.
"Oh," he said, "then you're an archivist, not a historian." I guess so,
and I will hereby attempt to remedy that, although "archivist" sounds
somehow more important.
I read the unearthed stories, all from Barry's
class, and once again felt an intimate connection to a lot of people I
know and to some whom I had not met. These stories are good literature
whether or not you know the authors. E.g., Bill Helmantoler's story
"The Last Hand" has been published, and Bill has read it to large
audiences. Sadly, many of the authors are no longer amongst us due to,
well, dare I say, aging? Some
have passed away, and I mourn their losses as dear friends.
So the question for the historian/archivist
is, "What now?" I suspect that Barry's OLLI students produced hundreds
of these stories -- all wonderful insights into people who may be
sitting around us in class.
- Would you
like to read them?
- In what
format would you prefer to read them?
- Would the
authors object to some kind of distribution of
their personal stories?
I don't know the answers to these questions so
I'm asking for your input. Please let me know (send me an email or see
me in class). If
there is general interest in having such stories available in some way
for members to read, we'll work on a way to accomplish that.
"GRAND CAMP"
IDEA MOVES FORWARD
Join us on Wed, Feb 17
    
Current ideas: crafts, theater,
nature walks, fire
building, music appreciation.
THE
PROGRAM AND MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIRS met with
me last week to discuss interest in the "Grand Camp" idea that I
described in my OLLI E-News
column a couple of weeks ago. We determined that there was sufficient
interest to schedule an open meeting to discuss ideas and make some
preliminary decisions. The basic idea is to offer an opportunity for
OLLI members to bring their young grandchildren (ages 5-12) or other
close child acquaintances to enjoy some special high-interest, hands-on
activities on one day this summer at Tallwood.
OLLI members would lead the activities, and
OLLI members would participate in them along with the children. Some
great ideas emerged from the survey responses and subsequent emails:
crafts, theater, nature walks, fire building, and music appreciation.
We have lots of ideas from other successful programs like this around
the country.
If you are
interested in finding out more, please join us for a special
organizational meeting on Wednesday, February 17, at 1:30 at Tallwood.
-- By Thom
Clement,
Executive Director
HISTORY CLUB
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Meets Wed, Feb 3, at 2:00; everyone welcome
THE
OLLI HISTORY CLUB WILL MEET on Wednesday, February 3, at Tallwood
from 2:00 to 3:30. This week we're pleased that OLLI member Michael
Kastle will give a presentation on a paper he has written as part of
his graduate program at Mason entitled "Military Religious Crusading
Orders Operating In the Levant In 12th and 13th Centuries Through the
Present Day: Hospitallers & Templars."
The focus of this paper is an examination of
the similarities and differences between two of the major military
religious orders operating in the Levant. OLLI members
and guests are always welcome at any of the club's meetings; bring a
friend.
Submitted
by History Club Coordinator Bob Persell.
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JOIN OPCUG --
WIN A PRIZE!
Three chances to win a valuable
subscription
 OLLI'S COMPUTER CLUB ("OPCUG") IS
OFFERING all OPCUG members paying dues for the
2010 calendar year three chances to win a one-year subscription valued
at $29 to Smart Computing
magazine (features plain English, minimal advertising). If you paid
your 2010 OPCUG dues at the December 2009 or
January
2010 meeting, you have been entered to win in this three-prize
drawing.
Already a Smart Computing
subscriber? If you're a winner, your
subscription will be extended 12 months.
Club dues are $5 per calendar year. You may
place your dues (check or cash) in an envelope along with your
completed application form (downloaded from this
Web page [pdf]) in
the OPCUG mailbox in the Tallwood office or bring it to the meeting on
Saturday, February 20, when the winners will be announced. For this
drawing, unlike the club's regular door prize drawings, you will not
have to be present to win.
OPCUG's February 20 meeting will feature
presentations on Gmail, Google's Web mail application, and on PhotoShop
Elements
(version 8),
Adobe's consumer image-editing application. More details about this
meeting will appear in the
February 12 issue of this newsletter.
Contributed
by OLLI Computer Club Coordinator Paul Howard.
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OLLI
BULLETIN BOARD
Click image
to view the Bulletin Board
For OLLI
members and staff only
-- share, donate, buy, sell, trade, inform, request, or assist others
in our community via the OLLI Bulletin Board. Read the rules and view
the Bulletin Board at this
Web page. Email your desired postings to Barbara at bwk4413@gmail.com.
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OLLI
SPIRITWEAR
Click
image to visit the store
Order sweatshirts, shirts, caps and tote bags with the OLLI/Mason logo
at any time directly from the vendor for delivery to your home. Use this Web site;
click on "OLLI-GMU Store" to see the pictures, then click on each item
to see more details. Note: the
pictures do not show our logo but it
will be embroidered on the items that you order. |
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KEY CONTACT
INFORMATION
How to contact OLLI
HERE
IS A READY REFERENCE on how to contact OLLI. For email
addresses and phone numbers not listed below, please consult the online
Membership Directory (log in to Member
Portal).
- President:
Emmett Fenlon
- Executive
Director: Thom
Clement, phone 703-503-7866
- OLLI Office, phone
703-503-3384
- Tallwood
Administrator/OLLI Registrar: Maria
Buczek, phone 703-503-3384
- Board
members: See Organization page
(Note: To send an email to the
entire Board, send it to the office
or the OLLI
E-News editor, and your
message will be forwarded to all members of the Board)
- Committee
chairs, resource-group chairs: See Organization
page
- Suggestions: Online
suggestion box
- Letters to
the editor or letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit
(etiquette
matters): OLLI
E-News Editor Rod Zumbro,
phone
703-569-2750
MASON ARTS AND
MUSIC
Upcoming Mason performances, Jan 29-Feb 7
By Jan Bohall, OLLI
E-News Staff Writer
FOR
TICKETS, call
1-888-945-2468 (phone orders are handled by tickets.com)
or visit the Center for the Arts Box Office, Tue-Sat, 10:00-6:00. More
info on tickets at the CFA tickets page.
Rockapella
Live
in Concert
(Rescheduled
from Dec 19)
Sat, Jan 30, 2:00 and 8:00
A five-man a cappella group
that seems much larger, these performers sing with humor, style and
artistry. They are known for their "vocal percussion" and a winning
combination of soul, rock, R&B and jazz. They appear regularly on
television and radio.
Admission: $42, $34, $21
Note:
Adult tickets are
discounted 15% if purchased online, until noon on Fri, Jan 29 (enter coupon
code "ROCK15").
Family friendly: Youth grade 12 and under, half-price with an adult. (Note change from "age 12 and under" last
season.)
Concert Hall
Come at 7:15 for a free artistic discussion on Grand Tier III.
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Faculty Artist Series
Richard
Novak, tenor
Linda
Apple Monson, piano
Sat, Jan 30, 8:00
Dr.
Novak is a full-time professor of voice at George Mason. He has
performed with Washington Concert Opera, Opera Carolina and Chautauqua
Opera, among others. He is co-artistic director of Opera Workshop and
an assistant professor of voice at Mason. Dr. Monson is assistant chair
at the School of Music and director of keyboard studies.
Admission: Free, no tickets required
Harris Theater
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American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra
Soaring
Sentiments
Daniel
Spalding, guest
conductor
Awadagin
Pratt, piano
Sun, Jan 31, 3:00
The
American Youth Philharmonic is the Youth Orchestra in Residence at
George Mason's Center for the Arts. Led by Luis Haza, a violinist in
the National Symphony, it provides world-class training and performance
opportunities for more than 400 young musicians each year, ages seven
to 21, from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Admission: $10 seniors/students, $14 other adults
Concert Hall
Faculty Artist Series
Matt
Neff, trombone
Sun, Jan 31, 7:00
Matt Neff, professor of trombone at Mason, is a soloist with the U.S.
Navy Band and bass trombonist with the Navy Band's Brass Quintet.
Admission: Free, no tickets required
Concert Hall
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Vincent Oppido Graduate Conducting Recital
with the
GMU Symphony
Orchestra
Mon, Feb 1, 8:00
The
program will include Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, a
presentation entitled, "The Art of Film Scoring," and George Gershwin’s
Rhapsody in Blue, which Vincent Oppido will conduct from the piano. The
GMU
Symphony Orchestra will include more than 60 music students, both past
and present.
Admission: Free, no tickets required
Concert Hall
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The Vagina Monologues
Fri, Feb 5, 8:00
Sat, Feb 6, 2:00 and 8:00
The
Monologues are presented as part of V-Day, a global movement to end
violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness
through productions of playwright Eve Ensler. They create a true and
profound portrait of how violence against women and children affects
every one of us. Funds raised will go to the George Mason Victims of
Violence Fund and Women for Women International.
Admission: $25 for the general public, $15 in blocks of 10 or more
Harris Theater
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Mark Morris Dance Group
Fri, Feb 5, 8:00
Sat, Feb 6, 8:00
The
Mark Morris Dancers continue to leave audiences spellbound with their
unique artistry, reflecting Morris' wit, grace and refined musicality
that have made him one of today’s most highly regarded choreographers.
The program will include Visitation
set to Beethoven, Empire Garden
set to Charles Ives and one of Morris’ most beautiful works, V.
Admission: $44, $36, $22
Concert Hall
Come at 7:15 for a free artistic discussion on Grand Tier III.
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Other Mason events
 By Helen Ackerman, OLLI
E-News Staff Writer
- Town
Hall: Virginia
Educational Benefits Information Session. The Office of Military
Services hosts a town hall discussion regarding the Department of
Veteran Affairs educational benefits. Tue, Feb 2, at 5:00. Johnson
Center, Dewberry Hall. Info: Office of Military Services, 703-993-8243.
- Black
Heritage
Month: Plantanos and Collard Greens. A thought-provoking
romantic comedy about stereotypes, prejudices, and urban myths that
exist between African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. Tue, Feb 2, at
7:00. Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall.
- Public
Choice
Seminar Series. University of California, Davis, Prof. Gregory
Clark discusses "The Illusion of Class: Why England Had Complete Long
Run Social Mobility, 1200 - 2009." Wed, Feb 3, 4:00 to 5:15. Carow
Hall. Read
the paper (pdf). Free.
- Black
Heritage Month
Film Screening: Love Jones. A young
black poet living in Chicago starts dating a beautiful and talented
photographer who decides to test the depth of his commitment. Wed, Feb
3, at 7:00. Johnson Center, Room F.
- Chinese
New Year
Celebration: Year of the Tiger. Featuring a variety of
performances, dancing, Chinese painting, calligraphy demonstrations,
and refreshments. Sat, Feb 6, 2:00 to 5:00. Johnson Center, Dewberry
Hall. $6; $3 for students with ID, seniors, and children over age 2; $2
for children under age 2.
- Black
Heritage Month
Film Screening: Trouble the Water.
Nominated for an Academy Award for best feature documentary, this film
goes inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen.
Mon, Feb 8, 3:00 to 5:00. Johnson Center, Cinema. Free.
- Astronomy
Observing Session. Attendance is open to all students,
faculty, staff and the interested public. The observing session will be
canceled if the sky is more than half overcast one hour before the
session is scheduled to begin. Mon, Feb 8, at 6.30. Research I,
Observatory.
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COMING
ATTRACTIONS
Upcoming non-class events at OLLI
THE FOLLOWING LIST
covering
the
next two weeks is extracted for your
convenience from the master calendar maintained by the office, with
direct Web links added when available. See Upcoming
Non-Class Events to view the real-time OLLI online calendar used by
the office. Note: Board,
committee, resource-group and 'membership-type' meetings/events below
are highlighted
in bold. OLLI members are
welcome at all Board, committee and resource-group meetings (except
during executive sessions).
Fri Jan 29
10am
New
Member
Coffee - TA-1
10am
Drama Club - TA-3
10am
Recorder Consort - TA-2
10:30am
Loudoun Classic Fiction Book Club -
Cascades Library
1pm
Special
Event - 956, Cooking
for
One
or Two - Tallwood
Mon
Feb
1
1pm Special
Event - 957, All
Rise:
Courts, Crime and Courtroom Art - Loudoun Campus
Tue
Feb
2 11am
Knitting and Needlework
Club - Lake Anne Church
Wed
Feb
3
1:45pm Bridge Club - TA-3
2pm History Club - TA-1
Fri
Feb
5
10am Drama Club - TA-3
10am Recorder Consort - TA-2
1pm Special
Event - 958, Fundamental
Teachings
of the Mormon Church - Tallwood
1pm Special
Event - 959, Afternoon
Tea
with Hands-on History Tour - Claude Moore Park
Mon
Feb 8
1pm Special
Event - 960, A
Snapshot View: Outliving Your Money - Loudoun Campus
Tue
Feb 9
9:30am
Special
Event - 961, Hunter
Mill Road Civil War Experience - Lake Anne
11am
Knitting and Needlework
Club - Lake Anne Church
Wed
Feb 10
1:45pm Bridge Club - TA-3
1:45pm
Book Club - TA-2
2pm Special
Event - 962,
The
Washington Navy Yard in the Civil War - Tallwood
Fri
Feb 12
9am Bus Trip - 963, Terra
Cotta Warriors - Washington, DC
10am Drama Club - TA-3
10am Recorder Consort - TA-2
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About OLLI E-News and the
member/volunteers who
produce it
Rod
Zumbro
Editor |
John West
Deputy
Editor |
Barbara Kyriakakis
Associate
Editor |
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Review Team: Gordon Canyock,
Michael Coyne, Barbara Kyriakakis, John West, Susanne Zumbro
Database
Manager: Barbara
Kyriakakis; Photo
Editor: Michael Coyne
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- About
this newsletter. OLLI's
weekly newsletter, OLLI E-News,
is emailed to current
OLLI
members with email addresses on Fridays. When classes are in
session, printed copies of this newsletter are distributed in
classrooms. Comments,
suggestions or complaints? Please contact Editor Rod
Zumbro or Communications Committee Chair Gordon
Canyock.
- Submissions. We
encourage members
to submit news items, articles and photos for this newsletter. The deadline
to
the editor is 7:00 pm Wed (7:00 pm Mon for letters to the editor
for which an
OLLI response is appropriate) for that
week's issue; submissions earlier in
the week are strongly encouraged and greatly appreciated. Please
limit
articles to about 250 words. Submit material via email to Editor Rod
Zumbro
(email rzumbro@gmu.edu).
- Read the latest
issue early. The
new weekly issue of OLLI E-News
is posted to the OLLI Web site Thursday evening. Read it by visiting http://www.olli.gmu.edu/pubs.htm#enews,
where you will find a list of the last 12
issues; click the latest issue listed.
- Viewing or searching past
issues. Your options for finding items in past issues of OLLI E-News include viewing the last 12
issues; searching the content of
ALL issues for any word or words; and searching our
archive of all past issues by date or issue number.
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Updated: January 29, 2010
Copyright © 2010 Osher
Lifelong Learning Institute at
George Mason University. Materials in this publication subject to
OLLI-Mason copyright may be reproduced for noncommercial educational
purposes as long as credit is given to OLLI-Mason.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George
Mason University, 4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384; Email: olli@gmu.edu;
Fax: (703) 503-2832
Original site design and construction by OLLI-Mason member Rod Zumbro. |
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