SPRING REGISTRATION is happening now! 

There are 4 ways you can register: 

1. Log on to your OLLI account. 
2. Call the office at 401-874-4197. The office will be open at 9AM.
3. Print the registration form and mail it to the office.
4. Stop by the office. We will be open at 9AM.

VIEW THE LIST OF CLOSED CLASSES HERE. If you are interested in any closed classes, please add your name to the waitlist. There are always cancellations and sometimes we are able to add a second session of the class and will open it first to all members on the waitlist.

SPRING CLASS CHANGES: 

• The Age of Sail – Class time was omitted from the catalog. The time is 5:00PM – 6:30PM
• Fun Facts About RI- The date of the class has been changed to Tuesday, April 9.

REMINDER: Although Wakefield Books offers our members a discount, not all of the “suggested” or “required” reading materials can be found at Wakefield Books. In this case, check your local library or online book dealers. 

CLASS SPOTLIGHT- Many classes still have some room in them.  Consider signing up for one of the following classes, starting in early April:

Cold War Relations with Central America.  5 Sessions, on Mondays from 2:30pm – 4pm, starting on April 1. Register here!

We will explore the controversial relationships that the U.S. had with Central American countries during the Cold War, with an eye toward helping us better understand the illegal immigration coming from most of these countries.

Jim Buxton is a recognized educator with an extensive background in teaching at the high school and university level.  OLLI students who have taken Jim’s classes consistently describe his classes as extremely informative and dynamic.  

Part 2 of Compassionate Conversations.  6 sessions, on Thursdays from 10:00am – 11:30am, starting on April 4. Register here!

If you completed Part 1 of Compassionate Conversations with Kathy Black, consider signing up for Part 2 of this fascinating course. Part 2 takes a deeper look at the communication skills learned in Part 1 and how we can respond with compassion and empathy to hard-to-hear messages from others.

Kathy Black holds a B.S. in social work and a comprehensive certification as a life-empowerment coach. She has over 18 years of experience leading personal growth workshops and retreats, coaching women to own their power and use their voices, and instructing students in the art and practice of compassionate communication. 

Contemporary Economic Policy Issues. This is a ZOOM class, so you can participate from the comfort of your home!  6 sessions, on Mondays from 4:00pm – 5:30pm, starting on April 15. 

Click here to register!

The focus of this course will be on what the economics profession understands to be true about prominent policy issues. We will begin with a lecture on the overall U.S. economy, followed by standalone presentations on selected topics by subject-matter experts. Potential topics include climate change, healthcare, economic inequality, autonomous vehicles, and many more. 

Jon Haveman holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. He is the executive director of the National Economic Education Delegation (NEED) and has a reputation for providing economic information that is readily useful in the work and private lives of people. Previously, Jon was the director of the Economy Program at the Public Policy Institute of California, a senior economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, an economist with the Federal Trade Commission, and faculty at the Business School at Purdue University.

Geof Woglom is emeritus professor of economics at Amherst College, where he taught for over 40 years. He has held visiting positions at Cambridge, Harvard, and the London School of Economics. In addition, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, and at Nanjing University. During his career he also has served as an economic consultant for the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

CHECK OUT OUR VIRTUAL PREVIEWS

• Building a Second Brain Through Digital Note Taking
• Purpose Driven Retirement
• Introduction to DNA Cloning for the Nonscientist
• Women Writing About Marriage in Changing Times: Three Short Novels
• Sleep, Nature’s Soft Nurse
• Galileo, Galilei
• Find Your Voice
• Willa Cather: One of Ours and Five Stories
• The Taming of the Shrew: The Battle of the Sexes

THIS WEEK AT OLLI

Please note: this will be a quiet week here at OLLI, so it will be a great time for you to come meet with our tech helper Paul during Cyber Seniors times on Monday and Tuesday!

Monday

• 9:30AM-11:30AM Cyber Seniors-Paul

Tuesday

• 9:30AM-11:30AM Cyber Seniors-Paul

Wednesday

• 12:30PM Bowling
• 1:00PM Hiking Group

Thursday

• 11:00AM Current Events Discussion Group
• 1:00PM Mahjong
• 2:00PM-4:00PM Cyber Seniors-Flora

Friday

• Office is closed for Good Friday.  Happy Easter, and we’ll see you on Monday! 

Spring Semester begins on April 1! 

PHOTO FRIDAY FAVORITES: Check out this month’s Photo Friday favorites! The themes were The Big Chill and Good to Eat. 

RHODY OUTPOST–  Click here to view the updated Winter wish list. High demand items include raisins and other dried fruit, nuts and seeds, crackers, and cookies.Donations can be dropped off in the office.

THE VÍQUEZ / WADLEY TRIO PERFORMS A GUEST ARTIST & FACULTY RECITAL AT THE URI FINE ARTS CENTER CONCERT HALl On Thursday, March 28 – 8:00 pm Dr. Darin Wadley (Director of Percussion Studies at the University of South Dakota) and Logan Wadley (Graduate Assistant in Tuba at Eastman School of Music) join URI Music faculty Dr. Luis Víquez (clarinet) with URI’s very own Dr. Kyle Forsthoff.

The concert will feature solo and chamber works by Paul Lombardi, Ian Kocher, George Hamilton Green, Charles Dibley, and Eliane Aberdam. Free Admission

OLLI-UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA INVITES YOU TO A GREAT UPCOMING FREE WEBINAR:
Climate and the Deep Blue Sea- a live Zoom webinar – Click to Directly Register
When: Monday, April 8 at 1 PM (AZ Time) Presented by Prof. Joellen Russell

Delve into the fascinating intersection of oceanography and climate science, gaining valuable insights into the current state of our oceans and their pivotal role in the broader climate system. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with a trailblazing UArizona scientist at the forefront of climate research.

Prof. Joellen Russell is an oceanographer and climate scientist, a Distinguished Professor, and the Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Integrative Science, and (most recently) Department Chair of Geosciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. Dr. Russell’s research uses robot floats, supercomputers and satellites to observe and predict the ocean’s role in climate and the carbon cycle. She is the modeling lead for the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project (SOCCOM), and she currently serves as Chair of the NOAA Science Advisory Board’s Climate Working Group.

The Physical Therapy Department of the URI College of Health Sciences is looking for volunteers to participate in the following three studies:

1. If you’ve had a stroke, you may participate in a study to examine how soft tissue mobilization influences the nervous system.  Click here to see the informational flyer about this study.  
2. If you’ve had a total knee replacement in the past 6-24 months, you may participate in a study of physical activity to assess your mobility, balance, strength and range of motion.  Click here to see the informational flyer about this study.  
3. If you are a healthy adult between the ages of 50 – 80, without a knee replacement or other limitations on mobility you may participate in a study to assess your mobility, balance, strength and range of motion.   Click here to see the informational flyer about this study.  

AUDUBON BUTTERFLY MONITORING PROJECT Have you ever wanted to help pollinators? Are you interested in community-science? The Audubon Society of Rhode Island is looking for volunteers interested in being a part of a community-science based project this Summer. The project involves monitoring Monarch butterflies and other butterfly species on coastal Audubon properties from May through July. To prepare our volunteers, we will be holding virtual training sessions on April 18th and 23rd from 7 PM to 9 PM via Zoom. They will also be holding in-person training sessions on April 27th and May 3rd from 10 AM to 12 PM. In-person training will be held at the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol. They ask that you attend one virtual and one in-person training session. For more information and to register, please click here. 

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE Dr. Malaika Edwards, an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston, is conducting a study on organizational preparedness for the aging workforce, from a retiree perspective, and we would like to invite you to participate in the study. The study is open to retirees between the ages of 54 and 74, who were employed at the Supervisory/ Managerial level and above at the time of their retirement. Retirees who are currently working (full-time or otherwise) and retirees who worked during the first two years after retirement are also being invited to participate. 

Dr. Edwards will conduct a virtual interview with each participant, which is expected to last for approximately 60 minutes. As a token of appreciation, participants are being offered a $50 Amazon gift card. If you are interested in taking part in the study, please visit the link below- you will be contacted by a member of the research team thereafter.

URI BAY CAMPUS LECTURES, Coastal Institute Building auditorium, URI Bay Campus

• Communicating Science in a Crisis, Lecture and book signing, March 28, 3:30pm-4:45pm Speaker: Chris Reddy, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Reception and book signing to follow. Details and registration.  (This event will also be livestreamed.) One of the world’s foremost oil spill scientists, GSO alum Chris Reddy, Ph.D. ‘98, is coming to the URI Bay Campus to discuss communicating science in a crisis. His recent book, Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insider’s Guide, was created from Reddy’s commitment to make the science behind his work accessible and meaningful to the public. 
• Marine-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: The Promise and Peril, March 29, 1-2pm Lecture  Speaker: Wil Burns, Visiting Professor, Environmental Policy & Culture, Northwestern University & Co-Director, Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal, American University  Details and registration (Livestream available)  In the ensuing years after the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, it has become increasingly obvious that achievement of its temperature objectives will require both aggressive emissions reduction initiatives and large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal/negative emissions technologies to either avoid passing critical climatic thresholds. In his talk, Burns will focus on the potential risks and benefits presented by different marine-based carbon removal options, and will also include a discussion of regulatory efforts to date by international treaty regimes.