Welcome to OLLI-UM This Week!

The OLLI-UM offices, located in the Turner Senior Resource Center, are open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am - 5pm. Masks are required, regardless of vaccination status per University policy.

Contact: 734-998-9351 or [email protected] 

Dear OLLI-UM Members,

This is to alert you that we have our final Lecture Series Topic Meeting on Tuesday, November 1st at 1:00 pm on Zoom. We encourage any OLLI-UM member who is interested to participate, as you do not need to be apart of the Lecture Committee. Topics left to cover:



·    Science and Technology, first series in January

·    Arts, Music, Literature, and Humanities, in the spring

·    Miscellaneous, in the spring

·    Summer Lectures Series, June

If you are interested in attending please send an email to Jim MacBain, Lectures Committee Chair at [email protected].

The LAST DAY for Study Group Proposal submissions is Monday, October 31, 5:00pm. There are no exceptions for late entries! 

Virtual, in-person, and limited hybrid options are available.

Clicking on the link is the easiest way to submit your proposal, but there is also a PDF version, if you prefer.

These forms are also located on the Forms and Resources section of the OLLI website.

Online Google Form: https://bit.ly/3bL8WZ3

PDF: https://bit.ly/3QIboy7

 The Four Threats to American Democracy: Should We Be Worried?

Thursday, November 3

10:00 - 11:30AM

Towsley Auditorium and ONLINE

$10.00 at door (Membership Required)

*This speaker will be joining us via Zoom on the big screen at WCC. Regular Zoom viewers will not be affected, and we still welcome you to join us in the Towsley Auditorium at WCC!*

Four threats have imperiled American democracy in periods throughout the nation’s history: polarization, conflict over who belongs, rising economic inequality, and executive aggrandizement. Never before, however, have all four emerged simultaneously as they have now. This presentation will explain what the historical analysis of the threats reveals, how they illuminate the events of January 6, 2021 and the continued denial of the 2020 election results by many Americans, and the implications for the future of democracy.



Suzanne Mettler is the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions in the Department of Government at Cornell University. She is the author of six books, most recently Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy, co-authored with Robert C. Lieberman. She is also co-editor of a new edited volume, Democratic Resilience: Can the United States Withstand Rising Polarization?, and also a recent issue of the journal ANNALS on “Democratic Vulnerabilities.”

What Happened on November 8, 2022?

Tuesday, November 22

10:00 - 11:30 AM

Towsley Auditorium and ONLINE

$10.00 at door (Membership Required)

Professor Traugott will summarize the results, the key voting patterns and voter rationale for the recent (11/8/2022) U.S. midterm elections.

Michael Traugott is a political scientist who studies campaigns and elections, voting behavior, political communication, the use of polls to construct news, and survey methodology. He has published extensively in all of these areas. He is active in the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), serving as president of both organizations. In 2010, he received the AAPOR Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Service. He also served as president of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (MAPOR). He is a frequent resource for journalists interested in discussing American political campaigns and government operations.

Lincoln Center, A West Side Story (online)

Friday, November 11

3:00 - 4:30pm

Cost: $15.00

Join us on this Road Scholar virtual travel program to New York City’s famed Lincoln Center. Marked for demolition as a slum which inspired the 1957 play “West Side Story”, scenes for the 1961 movie were filmed on this very site just as the district gave way to a glittering performing arts center and a new high-rise neighborhood. The real story includes ethnic and racial tensions, Urban Renewal, the Cold War, architectural and political rivalries played out as the consensus of the Fifties gives way to the tumult of the Sixties. Let’s explore this dramatic story that brought this iconic but controversial center into being in the middle of the 20th Century…and watch as it is reimagined for the 21st Century.

John Kriskiewicz with Explore New York is a native New Yorker with a professional degree in architecture from Pratt Institute. He has taught courses focusing on architectural and city planning history at Parsons School of Design, The Cooper Union, Fashion Institute of Technology, Stern College for Women, and Manhattan College. John has designed travel programs and lectures for many of New York City’s institutions and corporations including Road Scholar/Explore New York. He admits to a special affinity for New York’s extensive infrastructure as well as its Mid-Century Modern heritage.

December 7, 2022

Cost:   $135

 *Only 6 spots remain*

*Note: The total number of registrants for this tour will be 30 based on the maximum number of participants allowed by the Michigan Supreme Court for its tours. To assure a seat on this tour, register early.

Enjoy a luxury bus tour from Ann Arbor to Lansing where you will spend the day in our State’s Capitol. Tour the Michigan Supreme Court Hall of Justice and Learning Center and observe oral arguments at the Michigan Supreme Court. After an included lunch, you will conclude the day with a guided tour of the Michigan State Capitol.

*Masks are highly recommended, but not required*

ITINERARY

7:45 a.m.         Depart from Meijer parking lot, Carpenter Rd

9:00 a.m.        Arrive at Michigan Supreme Court Hall of Justice

9:30 a.m.       Observe oral arguments at the Michigan Supreme Court

10:30 a.m.    Guided tour of Michigan Supreme Court's Learning Center

12:00 p.m.      Lunch at Bravo Italian Kitchen

2:00 p.m.       Guided tour of Michigan State Capitol (1 hour)

3:15 p.m.        Depart for Ann Arbor

4:15 p.m.       Arrive at Meijer Parking Lot, Carpenter Rd