OLLI Observer
January 14, 2018   
 
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In This Issue

OLLI and the Reuter Center is closed on Monday, January 15, 2018 in observation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  We will reopen 
Tuesday, January 16, 8 a.m.

Thank you.

We Remember
Candle burning
David G. Ehlert
January 5, 2018
TODAY
Carolinas' Nature 
Photographers Association
Sunday, January 14, 6 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room
         
Earth and Light Travelogue:
Traveling the World as a Wildlife and Nature Photographer by Richard Bernabe

Alaska. The Amazon. The Galapagos. Morocco. Tanzania. These are among more than 50 destinations where you might find wildlife and nature photographer Richard Bernabe as he strives to capture the moods and character of the world's most amazing places. His plans for 2018 include Barbados, Botswana, Greenland, Iceland, Namibia, Patagonia and Uganda.
Collectively, these and many other places and spaces mark Richard Bernabe's 30-year journey from Greenville SC, with camera in hand. You can join him on some of these ventures. But, hurry! He is often booked two years ahead with 10-12 countries per year.

Or, you can attend the January meeting of Carolinas' Nature Photographers Association-Asheville Region in partnership with OLLI. Free and open to everyone  www.cnpa-asheville.org

      WalterA-Akert          
  
"I love volunteering at OLLI because, as an OLLI instructor, I love to explore new ideas and share laughter with participants in my classes. "
 
Walter has taught Scandalous Art and 20th Century Western Art.

The deadline for submitting proposals to teach in summer 2018 is February 1.
OLLI VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Habitat for Humanity
Changing lives one house at a time
Welcome Home Center
The Key to Ending Homelessness

 
VOLUNTEER NOW ... You can make a difference!
Travel Special Interest Group
Friday, January 19, 2 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 206
The Travel SIG was formed to act as a resource for information and personal contact among OLLI members who are interested in particular travel destinations, different types of travel and meeting potential travel companions.  All OLLI members are invited to attend.  We hope to see you there!

Friday, January 19, 5 p.m.
Reuter Center Atrium

"Death Café" is an engaging gathering that includes storytelling and conversation about a subject that too often alienates members of our death phobic culture. A new movement, a shift, is at play in recovering the ritual of being with death through personal storytelling of fears, loss and death; a deepening ritual emerges and we build a culture of dying wisely. Join us at our next Death Cafe, the new holy ground or common ground and the wonders of being with dying, presented
and facilitated  by Thirdmessenger's Karen Sanders, Greg Lathrop and Sa'id Osio. You can learn more about death cafe at
http://deathcafe.com/   

Cold & flu
It's Cold and Flu Season
We know that everyone is happy to be back in classes, but we request that you stay home if you have cold and flu symptoms like coughing and sneezing.  

We can all contribute to the well-being of our community. Whether you are sick or well, remember to wash your hands frequently with warm soapy water and to get a flu shot to protect your own health and the health of our community.

 Your instructors and fellow participants will appreciate your thinking of them when you are sick and will be happy to help you catch up when you return.
Travel Presentation
Tuesday, January 26, 7:50-8:30am
Reuter Center Room 102A

Mark Smith
J oin OLLI instructor Mark Gordon Smith to learn more about his annual art tour, based in Florence, Italy. The dates of the tour of  March 7 - 17, 2018. Airfare, hotel and guides are included in the tour. 

Coffee and some light refreshments will be available at this information session.   If you have questions, you can reach Mark at
Asheville Science for All 
Book Club
Thursday, January 24, 2018, 6:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 206

 This informal group will meet to discuss books and topics regarding current science as well as science that addresses the unique and diverse landscapes of the Southern Appalachians. The goal is to continue the interest generated by the March for Science in April 2017 and to provide a common space -- part book club, part "salon," part social gathering -- for citizen scientists and aspiring citizen scientists to meet, exchange ideas and promote science literacy -- and science fun! Collaborating organizations include The Collider, the Asheville Museum of Science, Malaprops Bookstore and OLLI at UNC-Asheville. Other organizations are joining and we encourage widespread engagement.

The first book selection is " The Canon-A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science" by New York Times science writer Natalie Angier. Copies are available at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville. 

For more information go to go to the Greater Asheville Science for All Book Club Facebook page.  The acting Bookclub coordinator is Rachel Muir can be reached at dr.nature@gmail.com
WNC Historical Association Lecture
Saturday, February 3,  2 p.m.
Reuter Center's Manheimer Room

Hazel Creek: The Life and Death of an Iconic Mountain Communitypresented by Dan Pierce 
UNC Asheville Department of History

Dan Pierce
Dan Pierce
Join Dan Pierce, National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Professor, UNC Asheville, as he unfolds the endearing story of Hazel Creek, NC.   Located within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Hazel Creek experienced an extraordinary history. Home to the writer Horace Kephart, the community experienced remarkable periods of boom in their mining and lumber industries throughout the 1920s. With the construction of Fontana Dam in 1942, however, the Hazel Creek area was flooded by the dam's extensive reservoir. Promises were made by the federal government to help those displaced - promises to this day not realized.  The phrase "for the public's greater good" continues to provide conflicted memories for many mountain folks.
Program sponsored by the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA)

Tickets sold at the door: $5 
WNCHA members free. 
Volunteer Opportunity

Carolina Mountain Cheese Fest

The WNC Cheese Trail is proud to host its annual fundraiser, The Carolina Mountain Cheese Fest 2018, at Highland Brewing on
Sunday, April 29.  
The group anticipates over 1200 attendees, 30+ local food vendors, live music, family-friendly activities, pairing events, cheese and farming related workshops and demonstrations.  

The group is looking for a volunteer co-coordinator to help with recruitment, outreach, communication, and coordination.   We invite to consider this position if you:
-Are well organized
-Like working in a team
-Are comfortable using online communication and data systems
-Have volunteer experience - not necessarily with our festival but for other events
 
Please contact Carole Smith for more information.  She can be reached via email at seasong96@gmail.com
Dear OLLI Members,
Thanks to everyone, particularly College for Seniors instructors and OLLI staff, for a great first week of Winter 2018 classes.  Special thanks to Susan Poole, former head of the College for Seniors program, for volunteering to help us for the first couple of weeks of classes.  It was wonderful to have her warm spirit and knowledge of our programs to help us start 2018 well.

Please remember that the Reuter Center will be closed Monday, January 15, to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  We hope that you will take advantage of the opportunity to hear Michelle Alexander, who will deliver the keynote address for UNC Asheville's Martin Luther King, Jr. Week observances.

UNC Asheville undergraduates will return on Tuesday, January 16, and we anticipate that we will have parking challenges.  Please remember that there is a parking lot on Campus View Drive, right past the entrance to the Reuter Center.  You may also park in lots P1 and P2 at the Campus Drive entrance to campus and take the Purple Shuttle to the Reuter Center.  Click here for shuttle maps and schedules. Remember that OLLI members may park only in white lined spaces marked as non-resident student parking. Do not park on curbs or in any spots without lines and the non-resident designation, even if these spots do not have explicit "no parking" designation. 

We appreciate those who carpool, walk, bike and take public transportation to campus but recognize this is not possible for everyone.  We have experienced parking challenges in part because of so many interesting construction projects on campus.   Click here to learn more about campus construction projects.  You may also enjoy  live stream images of campus construction projects.

Finally, we are proud to be part of the university's economic impact study. You are invited to a presentation about the study. 

Thank you for your contributions to our economic impact study.
Catherine Frank
Executive Director


 Check the links here to see OLLI and UNC Asheville current events:
 
 Upcoming UNCA Athletic Events 
January 14-27, 2018

  • Monday, January 15, 7 p.m., Men's Basketball: UNC Asheville vs. Charleston Southern, Kimmel Arena   
  • Tuesday, January 16, 7 p.m., Women's Basketball UNC Asheville vs. Liberty, Kimmel Arena
  • Wednesday, January 24, 7 p.m.,  Men's Basketball UNC Asheville vs. Gardner-Webb, Kimmel Arena
  • Friday & Saturday, January 26 & 27, time TBA, Women's Swimming  UNC Asheville vs. North Florida,  Justice Center Pool
  • Saturday, January 27, 2 p.m., Doubleheader Women's Basketball and UNC Asheville vs. Presbyterian, 4:30 p.m. Men's Basketball UNC Asheville vs. High  Point, Kimmel Arena
A fundraiser "Baseball Night in Asheville" being held on Friday, January 19, 6-9 p.m.

Interdisciplinary STEM Seminar Series 
(Science Technology Engineering Mathematics)
Thursday, January 18, 4:30 p.m.,  Reuter Center Manheimer Room

Women in Mathematics by Dr. Becky Sanft

Becky Sanft
Women have made tremendous progress in education and the workplace during the past 50 years.  However, from bachelor's degree students to tenured research faculty, women in higher education continue to be underrepresented within the mathematical sciences.  In fact, the percentage of bachelor's degrees in mathematics and statistics given to women has been falling since 1999, and the proportion of women earning doctoral degrees has stagnated over the past decade. 

Dr. Becky Sanft, UNC Asheville assistant professor of mathematics, will highlight significant contributions made by women in mathematics, examine possible causes of under representation of women within the field, and discuss current efforts to increase the retention of women in the mathematical sciences.
 
This event is free and open to everyone.  Click here to view an event flyer.

Thursday, January 18,  5 p.m., Reuter Center Room 206
OLLI Authors is a book talk
series designed to recognize the many very talented poetry and prose writers among OLLI members.  In January  Carol Booth and Mark Yungbluth will be the featured writers, reading from their works. 

This series is free and open to everyone. 

In addition to the OLLI Authors book talk series, OLLI Authors has established
a compilation of books written by OLLI at UNC Asheville members. It includes only books published while the authors were OLLI members. It includes poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction books.
 
If you have published a book while an OLLI member, please send the following information to nelsonsartoris@charter.net . It will be added to the list. Please include the author(s), title, publisher, ISBN, date of publication and where it is available for purchase should others wish to buy a copy.
 

MLK Day Keynote Speaker Michelle Alexander
Thursday, January 18, 7 p.m., Sherrill Center, Kimmel Arena


Michelle Alexander
Michelle Alexander's best-selling book
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness crystallized and amplified public discussion about racism and civil rights, the war on drugs and the prison system. As an attorney, Alexander clerked for Justice Harry Blackmun at the U.S. Supreme Court, directed the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California and brought discrimination suits in private practice. She now is a visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary and a forceful public speaker who argues that mass incarceration is today's version of Jim Crow segregation. Alexander will deliver the keynote talk for UNC Asheville's observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Week.

Arena doors open at 6 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the everyone. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.  This event is presented by UNC Asheville with support from the Blue Ridge District of the United Methodist Church. 
OLLI Talk
OLLITalk is an optional email distribution list available to OLLI members only. This is the place to exchange general information, ask for and send recommendations or referrals. This is not the place for person to person dialogue, and we ask that participants refrain from promoting political or religious events and that they offer only positive reviews. To receive OLLITalk emails and  send outgoing emails, email your name and email address to olli@unca.edu with a request to be added to the distribution list .
Fab Friday Lunch and Learn Lecture
Friday, January 19,  11:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m., Manheimer Room
 Purchase lunch in our Reuter Café or bring your own brown bag. Don't miss these great programs.  Free and open to everyone.

"Film is Like a Battleground" by Marsha Gordon

American director Samuel Fuller famously declared that "A film is like a battleground" during his cameo in Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film, Pierrot Le Fou. These words aptly describe the career of this World War II veteran who began directing movies in 1949. Throughout his long career Fuller obsessively returned to the subjects of World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War, and their consequences .
  
Marsha Gordon
  Drawing from her extensive archival and historical research, Dr. Marsha Gordon will discuss how war films got made during the Studio Era. Her talk will be illustrated with film clips from Fuller's films as well as with behind-the-scenes documents from the Departments of Defense and the Army, the FBI, and the Production Code Administration.  Attendees will learn what a real battle it was to make war films in Hollywood!  

Marsha Gordon is Professor of Film Studies at North Carolina State University and the author, most recently, of Film is Like a Battleground: Sam Fuller's War Movies (Oxford University Press, 2017).  Gordon has a monthly show, "
Movies on the Radio," with Laura Boyes & Frank Stasio, on WUNC's
The State of Things, which airs locally on Asheville's NPR affiliate station.
 
Behind the Scenes with NC Stage     
Friday, January 19, 1:30 p.m., Reuter Center Manheimer Room

Go behind the scenes of professional theatre with NC Stage Artistic Director and co-founder Charlie Flynn-McIver.  Explore the themes of this season's plays, talk with the actors, directors and designers about design concepts and the rehearsal process, and experience a scene or two performed live.  Join us for an insider's view of how theatre happens!  Free and open to everyone, the first in this series for our Winter 2018 term is 
"Jeeves Takes a Bow."
 
British upper crust meets the New York mob in the witty play "Jeeves Takes A Bow." Everyone's favorite hapless hero, Bertie Wooster, embarks on an American adventure armed only with his handsome fortune, his talent for trouble and his remarkable manservant, Jeeves. In less than a New York minute, Bertie finds himself knee-deep in troubles with vengeful gangsters, chorus girls, and a new Broadway musical. 

For more information on NC Stage,   click here to visit their website.  
Presentation on UNC Asheville's Economic Impact Study     
Wednesday, January 24, 10 a.m. 
U.S. Cellular Center, Banquet Hall

Basketball and Barbecue!!      
Wednesday, January 24, 6 p.m., Sherrill Center, Kimmel Arena

  For the first time ever, fans of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's b UNCA Bulldogasketball team and friends of the Asheville Symphony will have an opportunity to support both organizations at a
Musical Feast on Wednesday, January 24, 6 p.m. in Kimmel Arena.  A barbecue dinner with all the trimmings, including beer, will be served at   6 p.m.  
 Janet R. Cone, Director of
Janet Cone
Athletics at UNC Asheville will speak on her unique career as one of only four women to serve as athletics director at the university level in the country. Then, the UNC Asheville Bulldogs will play Gardner- Webb in the Kimmel Arena at 7 p.m.  Participants will have a special section to enjoy the game.  Tickets for the game are included in the price of the event.  The UNC Asheville Bulldogs have been named the most likely to win the Big South Conference this year, and the game should be very exciting to watch.

Proceeds from the feast will go to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.  Feast tickets are limited.  You will find more information at the Symphony Guild website,   ashevillesyphonyguild.org.  When you enter the site, click on Musical Feasts on the top bar, then scroll down the list of feasts to January 2018, Musical Feast: Basketball and Barbecue for more information and tickets.
This feast will be hosted by Sam and Robin Harben, members of OLLI and the Symphony Guild.  They are hoping for a good turnout of interested OLLI members to support both of these organizations and UNC Asheville. 

New to Medicare Class
Friday, January 26, 2 p.m., Room 206
Medicare
Are you new to Medicare? Are you confused by the many choices? Unbiased and accurate information is available from trained volunteers from the North Carolina Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program. This class will provide important information to assist you in understanding how Medicare works and what you need to do to obtain benefits and save money.  Spaces are limited, so reserve your space by registering online at www.coabc.org. In addition, beginning at noon, representatives from the Social Security Administration will be available to answer questions about Social Security benefits and Medicare enrollment. They will also provide detailed instructions for accessing the Agency's online services at www.socialsecurity.gov
Confederate Monuments: Their History and Their Future    
Friday, January 26, 2 p.m.,Reuter Center Manheimer Room


21st century America continues to reconsider monuments, building and street names, and memorials of all kinds in public spaces in light of contemporary ideas about slavery and racism. To encourage a more informed understanding of these issues, OLLI at UNC Asheville's Inclusion Committee will present a distinguished panel to discuss the history and the issues. 
Dr. Darin Waters, UNC Asheville a ssistant professor of history and special assistant to the chancellor for community outreach and engagement will moderate a panel whose members include:
  • Deborah Miles, director, UNC Asheville's Center for Diversity Education
  • Sasha Mitchell, chair, African American Heritage Commission for Asheville and Buncombe County; creator/editor of the Color of Asheville at colorofasheville.net
  • Steven E. Nash, associate professor of history, East Tennessee State University; author, Reconstruction's Ragged Edge: The Politics of Postwar Life in the Southern Mountains
  • Dan Pierce, professor of history and National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Professor at UNC Asheville; author of numerous books on Southern and Appalachian history
  • Sheneika Smith, newly elected member of Asheville City Council; founder of Date My City
This panel discussion is part of the More Than A Month series created by members of OLLI's Inclusion Committee who have come together to promote and celebrate inclusion at OLLI, develop partnerships with people of all backgrounds and raise awareness among fellow OLLI members and the greater Asheville community of issues of concern to all of our communities.  This event is free and open to everyone.
Astronomy Club of Asheville
Thursday, February 1, 7 p.m., Reuter Center Manheimer Room  
 
Britt Lundgren 
"Women in Astronomy: Holding Up Half the Sky"
 
by Britt Lundgren, UNC Asheville
 Physics Department Faculty
 
The Astronomy Club of Asheville meets the first Thursday of each month, from 7-9 p.m., with an interesting lineup of speakers and topics. OLLI members may attend the club meetings and star gazes, with club members on hand to advise and assist them in the basics of astronomy and the techniques of observing celestial phenomena.    
 
For more information on the Astronomy Club of Asheville, visit their website at www.astroasheville.org 
Sierra Club Meeting
Thursday, February 1, 7 p.m., Location Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, corner of Charlotte  and Edwin. 

"Hiking the Himalayas" by Bill (Skywalker) Walker

  Walker has through-hiked the great trails of the world Including the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest. Now he shares his experiences hiking in the Himalayas. Note that this meeting will take place on Thursday.

 Contact: Judy Mattox, judymattox@sbcglobal.net, (828) 683-2716
 Free and open to everyone.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute | 828-251-6140 | olli@unca.edu | http://www.olliasheville.com
Reuter Center, CPO #5000
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804