Experiencing DU ~ Barbe Ratcliffe, OLLI at DU Exec. Director
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e, OLLI at DU, are aligned with a world class institution, the University of Denver. Learning more about this great institution brings us – as an organization and potentially each of us personally – new insights and opportunities. In an effort to better acquaint us all with DU, I am launching this new segment of the OLLI newsletter. In this opening segment, I would like to share my experiences with The Lamont School of Music and the Knoebel Institute for Positive Aging.
During the summer, I had the chance to spend some time with Chris Wiger, Director of Public Relations, at Lamont. I learned that the Lamont School of Music is widely recognized as a premier university music school with a long-standing tradition of excellence. A performancefocused school, it is housed in the renowned Newman Center for the Performing Arts. Students at Lamont learn the value of performing on various stages while in school and are prepared to launch their careers once they have completed their education at Lamont. I further learned that The Lamont Society, an organization of individuals that support the school, have access to Lamont one day a year to learn about and experience the
Save The Date:
Pictured at left
school. For a is Lamont mere $120 per Society member year, one can Barbara become a Goldberg with member of an associate The Lamont Society and enjoy a full day at Lamont. I decided to give this a try. The day began with a continental breakfast where I had a chance to meet other members of the Society. I felt right at home as most attendees were OLLI-type folks. Having chosen my preference for each hour experience from a list of five options. I received my preference for each hour experience from a list of five options, I received my personalized agenda for the day and off I went to enjoy, learn and interact with students, faculty and fellow Society members. What an experience and what an amazing place! Did you know that the Newman Center is actually a series of five buildings, each with their own foundation and separation between the walls? I learned this during my tour of Lamont (one of the offerings). You will have to become a member to learn more about the benefits this structure brings to the students and event attendees.
Hot Topic Luncheon with Matthew Hergott
PAPER MONEY AND THE MOUNTAINS -
How the Federal Reserve’s Stimulus Affects Colorado
Mark your calendars for the Hot Topics Luncheon, hosted by OLLI West, March 10, 2017 at The Vista at Applewood Golf Course from 11:30 – 1:30.
In the years since the Global Financial Crisis, central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve have injected many trillions of dollars into the worldwide financial system in an attempt to boost their economies. This monetary stimulus affects all aspects of an economy, including the divide between rich and poor. In this session, Matthew Hergott will highlight key issues regarding large-scale monetary interventions. In contrast to previous presentations Mr. Hergott has delivered to OLLI, this luncheon will tend to focus on how monetary stimulus shapes the regional Colorado economy though tourism, energy, housing costs, and other factors. Matt Hergott has over 15 years of experience in investments and economic analysis. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College, the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and has been a CFA® Charterholder since 2001. Additional information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. Space will be limited.
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Being a Better Facilitator
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by Barbe Ratcliffe
n a cold and snowy day in December, 58 OLLI facilitators braved the elements to attend an OLLI presentation by Dr. Allison Friederichs, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Assistant Dr. Allison Friederichs Teaching Professor, University College, which is DU’s college of professional and continuing studies. Dr. Freidrichs engages in research and public speaking related to how the adult brain learns, and the implications of that knowledge on teaching and course development.
Member Spotlight
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LLI members are a rich tapestry of experience, education and perspective. Each term we will include a Member Spotlight in the newsletter and profile one or more of our active OLLI West volunteers, facilitators and students. If you would like to suggest a fellow member to include in the Spotlight and/or provide the profile of a fellow member for inclusion in the newsletter, please contact Dara Hughes at daraolliwest@gmail.com.
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Meet Pat Stillmunkes – a ‘New’ OLLI Member We would like to introduce you to Pat Stillmunkes who joined OLLI West during the 2016 Fall Term. Pat was introduced to OLLI in late summer by a friend that had been attending OLLI classes for several years with OLLI Central.
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The OLLI presentation provided by Dr. Friederichs focused on how adults learn in order to maximize the effectiveness of each facilitator’s style, with the goal of providing OLLI members with amazing courses and presentations. Dr. Friederichs’ talk spanned both the theoretical underpinnings and practical tips for mature brain based teaching. At the close of the presentation, Dr. Friederichs asked attendees to capture their insights and how they might use this new knowledge… a tactic that assists the adult brain in capturing and using knowledge. DU’s audio/visual department recorded Allison’s presentation so it is viewable by those facilitators who were unable to attend, and facilitators of the future. It is located at http://portfolio.du.edu/olliwest on the ‘Facilitator Info’ tab
Pat’s first class was Journeys, Learning Through Travel with Barbara and Ernie Werren, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Pat loves to travel and thought that Barbara and Ernie provided an excellent overview of several countries along with showcasing their travel experiences through their beautiful photos. She also attended several of the Friday lectures offered in the Fall Term. For the Winter Term, she has signed up for three classes and is looking forward to the diversity of the various topics she selected. Pat considers herself a ‘lifelong learner.’ In addition to OLLI classes, she has been taking college courses and pursued coursework offered through her previous employer. Pat graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR, and obtained a Master’s Degree from the DU’s University College where she also served on the University College Alumni Board for three years. After more than 30 years with the United States Postal Service (USPS), Pat retired. During her career with the USPS, she worked at national, regional and district levels in various capacities and in many states.
Her career took her to the national headquarters in Washington, DC; Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix AZ; Albuquerque, NM; Columbus, OH; and, finally, to downtown Denver. There, she worked at the Regional Office that oversaw 13 Districts or 17 States in retail and operations. Pat has already been an active volunteer for OLLI West. She recently volunteered to assist Susan and Dara with preparation of materials for new members, provided topics for potential lectures or lunch/learn sessions and with this newsletter! Please welcome Pat to OLLI when you see her in a class, at break time or during one of our social events and thank her for her volunteerism and commitment. Meet Susie Streng - a lifelong OLLI member at West For about 20 years, Susie Streng has been a friend to OLLI – beginning her involvement when the program was known as VIVA. Susie has a tremendous amount of passion for lifelong learning. She views life as an “ADVENTURE!” and could not imagine her life’s journey without lifelong learning. She believes that OLLI is truly a special gift and that the more you experience through the program, the greater opportunities for personal growth. It is an incredible joy for her to
OLLI at DU has a Facebook page! OLLI West is looking for someone to help manage its postings on that page. If you are interested, please contact Susan Schmetzer, susanolliwest@gmail.com, or Dara Hughes, daraolliwest@gmail.com.
continue to learn and believes that it keeps her young. OLLI has become a major part of Susie’s life. She plans her annual schedule for travel, trips, events, and weekends around the schedule of classes for each term. Susie manages to take two to three classes per term. She most enjoys liberal arts classes, particularly literature, poetry, writing, memoirs and film. She has not limited herself to that area only and has taken several classes in history and science as well. In addition to the enormous amount of information and stimulation she receives from the classes, an important part of OLLI is that she developed lifelong friendships. Susie’s involvement in OLLI has not been limited to being a student. She has been a Facilitator, CoFacilitator and Class Assistant. She is always more than willing to step in and assist if the need arises before, during and after classes. Born in Oklahoma, Susie and her family also lived in Arkansas and Texas. She was considered a ‘tom boy’ when she was growing up as she spent a great deal of her time outside, riding horses (from dawn to dusk on her own horse), climbing trees and spending time on her aunt and uncle’s farm in Arkansas. She loves nature and was always drawn to the Rocky Mountains. She considers Rocky Mountain National Park to be her spiritual home. Susie moved to Colorado in 1995 after her husband passed. She has three children, two girls and one boy, as well as four grandchildren. We are grateful to Susie for all that she has contributed to the OLLI program and her commitment to lifelong learning.
Robyn Yamada from the Denver Center for Performing Arts has been a big hit leading the OLLI Chorale, an Interactive class held at Central for all OLLI members now in its third term – and growing each term! 3
Curriculum Corner by Mamie Thompson, Curriculum Committee Chairperson, OLLI West
Courses in Need of a Facilitator!
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t OLLI West, we regularly ask you, our members, what additional courses you’d like to take. Below are many courses that you requested this past year. As you review them, think about yourself as a facilitator of one of these classes. Remember, you can facilitate a course that lasts three to eight weeks, a two-hour Special Presentation or a more informal, one hour “lunch and learn” presentation. Further, OLLI West has many books and DVD/CD resources that you can use. If you have an idea after reviewing the following topics, email the appropriate Subcommittee Chair(s). We welcome you to join the OLLI West facilitator family! History and Economics
Hille Dais, Chair, daishl1247@gmail.com History of the Popes The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William
Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin
History of the Women’s Movement China Dust Bowl
Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven
Beckert Ottoman Empire The Oregon Trail, A New American Journey by Rinker Buck Black Death Silk Road …………………………………………………………… Philosophy, Religion and Psychology Wendy Carlson, Co-chair, tallwall@icloud.com Sue Crichton, Co-chair, crichtonsr@aol.com Introduction to the Enneagram 4
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Spirituality Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Mysticism Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan Islam: Then and Now Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini …………………………………………………………… Literature, Writing and Fine Arts Lavonne Angus, Co-chair, vonangus@gmail.com Karen Lush, Co-chair, karenklush@msn.com Banned Books Beginning French or Spanish Sherlock Holmes Shakespeare Opera Music and European History Classes Focused on Mozart or Beethoven only Latin American literature Acting …………………………………………………………… STEM (Science, Technology, Environment/Engineering and Math) Barbara Adams, Chair, b.adamsphd@gmail.com The Science Class You Wish You Had, The
Seven Greatest Scientific Discoveries in History and the People Who Made Them by
David Brodie Opioid Addiction and Therapy Botany of the Rocky Mountain West Rocky Flats The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben The Art and Science of Mapmaking Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Sheerly Water Supply and Demand Evolution of the Brain ……………………………………………………………
Current Events and Politics
InterActive Learning and Special Presentations
Tom Hughes, Chair, eth5530@cs.com
Sandra Morgan, Chair, skiwithsandra@comcast.net
Korea: North and South Cuba: A Land in Transition From Watergate to Snowden Journalism and Ethics History of Transgender Issues Influential Supreme Court Decisions Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson Euthanasia and the Right to Die The Media: A Look at What is and What Should Be Electoral College Election Process: Beginning to End Death Penalty in Colorado Colorado’s Housing Market
Legal Issues for Seniors Denver “Mafia” Graphology Search Like a Librarian Interior Design How a Doctor Makes a Diagnosis …………………………………………………………… WellAware Jim Halderman, Chair, jimspeaker@comcast.net Demystifying Dementia Mastering Meditation Benefits of Tai Chi
OLLI West Courses for Spring 2017 ere are the courses scheduled for the Spring 2017 Term. The full catalog will be posted on the website February 6th, with mailed catalogs arriving shortly after that.
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Spain
Spain: Then and Now The Spanish Civil War: Democracy vs. Fascism in Pre-WWII Europe
Literature, Writing and Fine Arts
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Writing Poetry is Hard Work, but Fun! Leonard Bernstein – American Musician When Folk Music Became Modern Poetry
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What is Knowledge? What is Truth? Spirituality for the Skeptic Exploring Paranormal Phenomena The Power of Suggestion: Hypnosis and Other Altered States of Consciousness
Philosophy, Religion and Psychology
History and Economics •
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Nicholas and Alexandra: A Loving Marriage, A Ruinous Romance Personal Investing Part 2: Are You Smarter Than a Monkey? Words and Music of America’s Wars Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Civil War Surprising Trends in War and Peace: Have We Learned Anything?
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Economics: Insights Beyond Textbooks
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Geology of the American West Medical Issues of Aging US and Global Water: Resources and Contamination Issues History of Medicine – A Selection of Topics What the Bleep Do We Know About Theoretical Physics? Human Origins: Our Ancestors, Hominins, Adapting to Our Future: Extreme Weather Events, Worldwide Energy Revolution and Geoengineering Options
STEM (Science, Technology, Environment and Math)
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Current Events and Politics • • • •
TED Talks Great Decisions 2017 Current Events What’s Up, Doc(umentaries)?
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Tour of McNichols Building Principles of Design: Paper Art
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Awareness Through Movement Healthy Aging
InterActive Learning WellAware
We will also be offering six Friday Lectures during the Spring Term! 5
The Facilitator “Noon Show” by Dara Hughes
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n November 10, 2016, OLLI West held its first ever ‘Facilitator Noon Show’ in which many of the facilitators for the winter term gave a brief presentation about their upcoming class during the winter term. Held during one of our in-house registration events, many members - who were there to register - updated their registration after hearing these entertaining and informative presentations.
As a relatively new member of OLLI West, I was pleased I was able to make it to the first “Winter Facilitator Noon Show” at JUC. The OLLI West catalog is a fine resource for reading about the winter class offerings and the respective facilitators, but being able to see and hear various facilitators, to learn more about their experiences, approaches, and passion for their classes was informative and impressive. I had already chosen my winter classes with care, but I found myself adding a couple more classes and wishing I could sign up for more. In the end, I walked out with a watch or wish list for future offerings as well; thanks to OLLI West!
Classes ranged from history to modern-day ~ Nancy Menz, OLLI West Member medicine and science; from heavier topics such as finance and current events to the arts, laugh with a joke about stock brokers as a lead in for literature and travel – our facilitators covered it all! his class Personal Investing: Are You Smarter Than a And, not only did they cover it all, their Monkey? I could go on and on, as we had a dozen presentations were entertaining and enjoyable. We facilitators speak that day, but I won’t. watched as Jack van Ens transported us to the 1800’s
with his wonderful portrayal of Thomas Jefferson; Jamie Cookinham took us to Spain as he discussed the different regions in which he lived; we felt the passion of Roger Collins regarding his Native American research and experiences; Mark Teter made us
OLLI West plans on continuing this event for future terms. We hope you find that it will helpful in deciding which classes to take. We also encourage you to meet the facilitators during this time. Stay tuned for the next ‘Facilitator Noon Show’ with our upcoming Spring Term facilitators. Communications will be forthcoming on that.
In Good Company! ♦ There are 119 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes across the U.S. serving 379 communities and 154,505 members. ♦ Only 6.7% of those have a membership over 2000. OLLI at DU has 2900 and is thus one of the very largest. ♦ 85% of OLLIs report they are using on-line registration. OLLI at DU is planning to launch online registration in the 2018 academic year. ♦ 88 OLLI locations also report they have a Facebook page.
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OLLI West Lunch and Learn
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e are excited to announce the addition of another Lunch and Learn presentation on elderly financial fraud. It is open to all OLLI members and guests. There is no fee, although donations are always welcome and a donation box will be available at the door. Just bring your lunch, questions and enthusiasm and join us Wednesday, February 15th from 11:45 – 12:45.
Senior$afe: A $ecure Colorado Presentation
Senior$afe February 15th 11:45 – 12:45 JUC Chapel
Financial fraud and exploitation are on the rise in the U.S., and seniors and retirees are the prime target. While we tend to believe these crimes can't happen to us, billions of dollars are lost every year by millions of victims, and for people who are already retired, the losses can be nearly impossible to recover. Join the Colorado Division of Securities for Senior$afe: A $ecure Colorado Presentation. This training will give insight into the particular financial crimes that are most prevalent in Colorado, and will feature information on how to recognize and prevent fraud and exploitation before it happens, either to you or to a loved one. Join us for this engaging and beneficial presentation! Speaker, Jillian Sarmo, is the Investor Education and Public Affairs Coordinator for the Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Securities. Jillian joined the Division in January 2015, and brought experience and expertise in communications and public outreach from time spent in the criminal law field as well as on multiple political campaigns. Prior to joining the Division, Jillian worked as the Public Information Officer and Victim Services Coordinator for the Colorado Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, where she gained an understanding of economic crime and its impact, particularly on Colorado’s vulnerable populations.
Spanish Wine Tasting by Barb Adams
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pain is the top exporter of wine in the world. In 2014, Spain exported 22.8 million hectolitres with the majority of it going to France.
Since Olli has chosen the topic of Spain this academic year, the OLLI West Social Committee chose a wine tasting of Spanish wines for our winter term event
equivalent of sparkling wine, which utilizes a similar method of production as Champagne.
Different classifications They are classified as Denominación de Origen (DO) and Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOC). Both denote wineries meet stringent requirements to produce wine
Spanish wine was Picasso's muse. Pablo Picasso’s inspiration for the cubism movement came from his time in DO Terra Alta town of Horta de Sant Joan, a two and a half hour drive south of Barcelona and near the Catalan border town of Tortosa.
There are over 400 grape varieties in Spain! Everyone knows that Cava is the Spanish
La Rioja has been making wines for nearly a thousand years!
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Sherry is uniquely Spanish Sherry is originally from the Jerez region of southern Spain. Join us on Friday, February 17, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the JUC to enjoy the wines of Spain, light hors d’oeuvres and the company of friends!
The cost is $5.00 payable at the door (cash or check). Please RSVP to Barb Adams, b.adamsphd@gmail.com, if you plan to come. If you don’t like wines, you can still come and enjoy non-alcoholic beverages with the rich comradery of OLLI friends.
history and economics, two of his strongest interests.
Leonard Cole ~ by Mary Meinig
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ongtime OLLI member Leonard Cole passed away on December 17, 2016. He leaves behind four children, their spouses, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. At his service, it was clear that his family was justifiably proud of him and devoted to their “Pop” and “Grandpa.”
Leonard had longtime military service in both the U.S. Navy and Army, in various capacities. He was notorious for his family road trips in campers and trucks, particularly to Alaska, where he returned often. He was described by friends as intelligent, caring, voraciously well read, interested in many different areas, a man who treated everyone with respect, stood up to shake your hand, and held his pants up with suspenders. Leonard had been a facilitator for OLLI West since its inception in 2008, having led 15 classes and was a virtual Master Facilitator. His class topics covered
He was said to have taught all his grandchildren to be lifelong learners, as he was. Leonard Cole so believed in this that his final request was that any donations in his memory be directed to OLLI, so that we all may continue his legacy.
Bill DeWolfe ~ by Dara Hughes
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ill, also a long-time OLLI West member and facilitator, passed away on January 13, 2017. Bill is survived by his wife Joanna, brother Tom, 7 children, 9 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by 3 grandchildren. Bill facilitated classes on local and global water crises as well as astronomy. Outside of OLLI, Bill was an avid Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) operator, participating in that community for more than 40 years.
Members in Action ~ by Dara Hughes and other contributors
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all term was packed with fun events, classes and activities. If you are a new member or you were not able to join last term, we hope you can join us for one of the upcoming events mentioned throughout this newsletter.
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Fall Pot Luck On October 14, 2016, OLLI West’s newly formed Social Committee held its first event – the first social event for OLLI West in more than a year. It was a huge success and a lot of fun!
Off-site Excursions
On October 5, 2016, the Denver Mountain Parks class went to Genesee Park and visited with the bison as well as their handler, Matt Brown.
Speaker Series
Halloween Celebration
The Science Fiction to Reality class donned their Halloween scariest and funniest costumes. They enjoyed the goodies brought as well as each other’s company!
During the fall term, OLLI West had a fascinating line-up of special presentations that covered a vast array of topics. Some of the topics covered were: current economic strategies, a doctor’s experiences with death presented in poetic writings, and the history as well as celebration of 100 years of National Parks. These one-time presentations were held every Friday and were open to all. There was a nominal fee of $10 for those people who were not members of OLLI but wanted to hear these interesting speakers. The Friday Speaker Series will return in March with OLLI West’s spring term offerings.
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Next On Worldview: Mexico
different understanding of how the world views the U.S. and our recent election.
WorldView Spain, our current focus, from all accounts is a great success. Next year our attention will turn to our neighbor to the south, Mexico.
Steven S. Chen, a Professor of Distinction at the University of Colorado and Director of the Farrand Residence Academic Program, spoke on China. He began by discussing the manner in which China as a country is positioning itself in the world. His data regarding the trade between China and the U.S. cast an acute awareness of the need for the two countries to cooperate. Professor Chen continued to ask the attendees to consider U.S. actions from the perspective of China.
Our neighbor has been selected as the focus of our 20172018 terms due to the initiative of OLLI South member, Abe Grinberg. Abe, who was raised in Mexico, proposed a plan involving classes and tours. He’s going to take a very active role working with Curriculum Committees, creating a special event or two, and coordinating with a travel agency for three tours. More information will be provided during the Spring 2017 term.
After lunch Artemi Romanov, CU Professor of Russian Studies, spoke on Russia. This presentation addressed the Russia and U.S. relationship, and Russias response to the election. It also cast a very different point of view. The presentation ended with a photo of a Russian billboard depicting Putin and Trump with the words ‘Making the World Great Again’ in both Russian and English. It was quite a closing!
Having an OLLI member propose a country for future WorldView considerations makes a great deal of sense and is the process we will be following in the future. If you have a country you would like to propose as a World View “Country of the Year,” and if you are willing to be actively involved in the project, please request a proposal form from the office or email me at Barbara.Ratcliffe@du.edu..
Being presented with and asked to consider how other countries view the U.S. was an amazing opportunity. We look forward to future opportunities such as this.
~by Barbe Ratcliffe
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ur WorldView program assists us to discover the world, one country at a time.
We encourage you to share your passion for Mexico as a facilitator. Please contact Tom Hughes (eth5530@cs.com) or Gail Wilson (gailtwilson@msn.com) if you would like to bring Mexico alive for your fellow OLLI members.
OLLI at DU Int’l Symposium
~by Barbe Ratcliffe he annual Bill Beaney International Symposium was held Dec. 2, 2016 at DU. Over 130 OLLI members heard from two expert professors on ‘The Response of Two World Super Powers to the Results of the U.S. Election.’ The presentations were very comprehensive, and left many with a very
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Jan 9-Mar 6 Feb 6 Feb 15
Winter Term Spring Catalog Posted on Web Lunch & Learn-Jillian Serma:
Feb 17 Feb 20 Mar 10
Spanish Wine Tasting Event Spring Term Registration First Draw Hot Topics Luncheon at OLLI West
Mar 27-May 19 Apr 21
Spring Term Hot Topics Luncheon at OLLI South
June 10-19
Senior$afe – A $ecure Colorado Presentation
Matthew Hergott – Paper Money and the Mountains
Dr. Kim Gorgens – The Caring and Feeding of Brains
Andalusia Spain Trip