OLLI at SOU NEWSFLASH
March 15, 2021
Spring Course Assignments Emailed
Spring course assignments are on their way to you. Crack open the catalog, and start thinking about what courses you'd like to add to your schedule when open enrollment begins next week. You'll be able to add as many courses as you'd like from among the dozens that will have available seats at that time. A list of open courses will be available online. Click here for the online catalog.
  • March 15 - Spring course assignments emailed
  • March 22 - Spring open enrollment begins
  • March 23 - Council Meeting
  • March 29 - Spring term begins
  • June 4 - Spring term ends

Conversation Connections (Con-Cons) are one-time meetings on a specific topic of discussion. No preparation or teacher is required, just someone to facilitate the conversation so everyone has a chance to talk.

  • Topic: Melodies of St. Kilda, rediscovered music from remote Scottish Islands
  • Description: Stuart McKenzie, volunteer at a senior living home in Edinburgh, tells of capturing traditional music remembered from childhood by resident Trevor Morrison, and how their amateur recording eventually morphed into a hugely popular CD. The haunting melodies are thought to be from the St. Kilda archipelago, former home to a rugged human population and equally hardy flock of primitive Soay sheep. Applegate Valley resident and musician Priscilla Weaver raises Soay sheep descended from the St. Kilda flock. Through delightful serendipity, she eventually transcribed and published the music. Join us to hear and see Stuart and Priscilla’s fascinating story of musical discovery.
  • Date: Wednesday, March 24
  • Time: 11:00-12:30 AM
  • Facilitators: Priscilla Arnold and Priscilla Weaver (zoom host)
  • RSVP: Reservations are required, and honored on a first response basis. The maximum number of participants for this talk is 50, OLLI members only. Click here to RSVP by Noon on Tuesday, March 23.
  • Other Questions? Contact Priscilla Arnold at [email protected], or call 417-861-1273.
If this topic doesn't resonate with you or fit your schedule, stay tuned for other options, or host one yourself. It's easy to hold a Conversation Connection on a subject of your choice. To find out more, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Pauline Black at [email protected]
OLLI SIGs (Shared Interest Groups) Online!
Some OLLI members are now so comfortable using Zoom to participate in OLLI classes that they have formed Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) that meet on Zoom to continue their discussion or activity after a class has ended. Any OLLI member can start a SIG. Many SIGs are formed by students who already know each other and are interested in the SIG topic because they've taken an OLLI class about it.

Details about the SIGs that are currently active (or will be later in spring term) can be found on the SIG web page on the OLLI website. Contact SIG Coordinator Barb Barasa with any questions or to start a SIG: [email protected]  or 541-621-2739.
Last Day for Council Nominations
March 15 is the last day for nominations for the OLLI Council. If you are interested in running, or would like to nominate someone else for a seat on the Council, please contact Lorraine Vail, Chair of the Leadership Development and Recruitment Committee at [email protected]
Spring is Volunteer Appreciation Season
Volunteer Appreciation
Heartfelt Thanks to Anna Sloan
I so appreciate your really well-run, fascinating and important class on Oregon's cultural history.
Take a moment to thank an OLLI Volunteer!
Everywhere you look, there's a volunteer in front of the screen or behind the scenes putting their skills, time, and enthusiasm into making our OLLI outstanding. Has a volunteer made your OLLI experience particularly delightful? Click here to tell us who you'd like to thank and why, and we'll share your comments in a future NewsFlash and on Facebook.
Lifelong Learning Series Highlights AIFF and OLLI
The latest installment in the Lifelong Learning series that OLLI's Communications & Community Outreach Committee has partnered with Rosebud Media to develop focuses on the connection between the Ashland Independent Film Festival and OLLI, and how volunteers in both organizations quickly and successfully adapted to the COVID mandates last spring to bring programs online. Click here to download a PDF copy of the article, or here to read it online.

Stay tuned for more relevant and engaging articles with the goal of increasing awareness of OLLI at SOU, making community connections, and offering exploration of knowledge and skills for adults living in the Rogue Valley.
Volunteer to Review SOU Student Scholarships
If you have assisted with scholarship reviews in the past or have already signed up to help this year, thank you! SOU's Office of Financial Aid would welcome some additional help in reviewing scholarship applications for SOU students. If you are interested, please email OLLI Volunteer Coordinator Pauline Black at [email protected]. This is a great intergenerational opportunity and has been a rewarding experience for many OLLI members over the years.
Free Lifelong Learning Opportunities
If you missed former Poet Laureate Lawson Inada's presentation for SOU's Democracy Project on his experiences in an internment camp, you can catch the recording on JPR. Click here to listen.

Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument invite the public to attend their annual Research Symposium (virtual this year) on Thursday, March 18, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT. All are welcome to attend, and registration is required. Click here for more information and to register.

OLLI at Berkshire Community College invites you to Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life, an online talk by Dr. Louise Aronson, author of the New York Times bestseller Elderhood. Tuesday, March 23rd, 4:00 pm PDT/7:00 pm EDT. Free and open to all. Click here to RSVP.

Pack some anti-racist education in between OLLI terms. Click here for listings of online resources, many of which are available to everyone at no cost.

Windows in Time is a free lunchtime history lecture series, cosponsored by Jackson County Library Services and the Southern Oregon Historical Society, featuring well-known writers and historians and bringing to life the people, values, and events that shaped our Southern Oregon heritage. Click here for information on upcoming lectures.

Southern Oregon Historical Society's film about the Spanish Flu epidemic in our area in 1918 has some interesting parallels to our current situation. The film was recorded in 2018, well before COVID became a concern. Watch "1918 Flu Pandemic in Medford and Ashland" at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szDURr0Y4Ic

Mark your calendar now for the Oregon Fringe Festival coming up April 29-May 1. The festival will include live virtual performances, artist lectures/workshops, pre-recorded virtual performances, and outdoor non-virtual performances on the SOU campus. Click here to find out more.

SOU's virtual Women's Leadership Conference takes place on May 7, focusing on Embracing Change. More information here. Registration opens April 7.