This Week at OLLI – Sept. 23, 2024

Week of September 23

CLASS SPOTLIGHT- Register online or call 401-874-4197.

Steel City- Writing Historical Fiction with William Miller-Wednesday, September 25, 3:30PM-5:00PMJoin the author in a discussion of the writing, publishing, and promotion process he experienced in the creation of Steel City, his first novel.

– The setting: the 1890s, the golden age of Pittsburgh when its technological innovations and wealth creation made it the Silicon Valley of its day. Pittsburgh was first in steel, food processing, and electricity, and the leaders of those industries – Carnegie, Frick, Heinz, and Westinghouse – are names we still know today. The story: A young Yale graduate is faced with a decision: accede to his father’s wishes and pursue a career in law or the steel business or follow his own instincts and become a newspaperman. Witnessing the infamous Johnstown Flood confirms his choice to be a journalist, and he becomes witness to the spectacular boom of the country’s biggest business – steel. Click to read more and to register.

Lost in the Weeds: Navigating Modern Cannibas with Stephanie Forschner-Dancause and Nikki Arnold- Tuesday, Sept 24, 5:00PM-6:30PM- With adult-use cannabis now legal in Rhode Island, many of us are being reintroduced to this controversial plant. Today’s modern cannabis is nothing like the buds of decades past with cannabis now being formulated into oils, edibles, topicals, and more. We will explore the difference between hemp and marijuana as well as THC and CBD. We will discuss the varied cannabis products in the adult marketplace, their medical potential, and accompanying risks. Click to read more and to register.

**Only 6 Spots Left!!** Rhode Island Courts Tour-  After a welcome by Hon. Gilbert V. Indeglia, retired Supreme Court justice, and Kara Picozzi, deputy director, Community Outreach and Public Relations, our tour will include the Rhode Island Superior Court, the State Law Library, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court, where a Q&A session will take place. Click to learn more and to register!

CANCELED CLASSES: 

  • God is in the Details: Symbolic Structure Within Architectural History
  • Tiny Seats: 300 Years of Children’s Chairs

THIS WEEK AT OLLI

Monday

  • 9:15AM-10:15AM Cyber Seniors-Ryan
  • 9:30AM Beginning Italian
  • 9:30AM Mindful Living
  • 11:00AM Tour of the Westerly Armory
  • 11:30AM Tracking Your Ancestors
  • 1:30PM Native Peoples of Two Coasts
  • 3:30PM The Election of 2024
  • 4:00PM Where are We? Intro to Philosophy

Tuesday

  • 9:30 AM Golf 
  • 9:30 Be ready for Ticks!- (Skip Week)
  • 10:00 Clouds Hill Museum Tour
  • 11:30AM Brave New World
  • 1:00PM Cyber Seniors-Alex
  • 1:30PM History and Future of Aviation
  • 3:30PM Ernest Hemingway
  • 5:00PM Lost in the Weeds
  • 6:00PM Not all Superheroes – Graphic Novel

Wednesday

  • 9:30AM Walking RI- Hikes in the Fall
  • 11:00AM Fabulous Fingers
  • 11:00 Roger Williams Park Botanical Center Tour
  • 11:30AM Urban WildLife
  • 12:30PM Bowling
  • 1:00PM Hiking
  • 1:30PM Alfred Hitchcock
  • 1:30PM Soul Collage
  • 3:30PM Steel City

Thursday

  • 10:30AM Rhody Ramblers
  • 11:00AM Current Events Discussion
  • 11:30AM Garden Cemeteries
  • 11:30AM Lunch & Learn- Success as a Caregiver 
  • 11:30AM Cyber Seniors-Alex
  • 12:30PM Cyber Seniors-Ryan
  • 1:00PM Mah Jonng (Lobby)
  • 1:00PM Kaleidoscope Origami (off-site)
  • 1:30PM Watercolor Portraits
  • 3:00PM Program Comm Meeting

Friday

  • 9:30AM Poetry of Bob Dylan and Gordon Lighfoot
  • 10:30AM Ellis Island
  • 1:00PM Meditation
  • 1:00PM The 1960s: Music that Changed the World

CYBER SENIORS IS BACK! Drop in sessions in the lobby for help with all of your technology questions. No registration needed.

Click here to meet Alex

Hours:

  • Mondays 9:15AM-10:15AM (Ryan)
  • Tuesdays1:00PM-2:00PM (Alex)
  • Thursdays: 11:30AM-12:30PM (Alex)
  • Thursdays: 12:30PM-1:30PM (Ryan)

“EXPLORE THE WORLD BY RAIL” with Railbookers & Amtrak Vacations Join us at OLLI for an exhilarating trip preview meeting on Tuesday, October 8, at 12:00 PM, that unveils the beauty and excitement of rail travel across the globe, presented by Jim Marini (URI Alumnus – class of 97’ and SVP of Amtrak Vacations and Railbookers). Whether you dream of traversing the Swiss Alps onboard the Iconic Glacier Express, experiencing the delicious cuisine and traveling on one of the high-speed trains of Italy, witnessing the magnificent views from the comfort of a Rocky Mountaineer Luxury Train in the Canadian Rockies, meandering through the landscapes of Alaska, or experiencing the breathtaking transcontinental journeys around the world……Railbookers has you covered. Are you looking to visit the U.S. National Parks to breathe in the fresh open air? Amtrak Vacations offers a variety of destinations from the Grand Canyon, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Seattle, New Orleans and more! Plus, learn about how any rail journey be customized just the way you want…..making it the perfect vacation. This trip preview meeting is your passport to a world of rail adventures that will ignite your wanderlust and leave you ready to embark on a global rail journey!!

SAVE THE DATE- OLLI 15th Anniversary Celebration and Year in Review will be on November 7, 1:00PM-4:00PM at the Haversham in Westerly. More details coming soon. Registration begins Oct 1.

DISCOUNTED TICKETS FOR OLLI MEMBERS: Group discount for all URI Football games (except Family Weekend) and Wheel of Fortune. Basketball will be added when those games are set up in late October. https://uritix.evenue.net/promotions/OLLI

RHODY OUTPOST- There’s an updated list of needed items. Click here to view. You can also purchase items directly from Amazon on the Rhody Outpost Wish List. 

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SERIES TAKES DEEP DIVE INTO FIELDWORK. The University of Rhode Island’s 32nd annual Landscape Architecture Lecture Series returns this fall with a focus on the many ways we think about landscape architecture. Speakers will include Gareth Doherty of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Gena Wirth of SCAPE Landscape Architecture, and URI President Marc Parlange – will cover a wide range of topics, from landscape architecture in Africa to using sediment and dredging for coastal resilience to the complexity of airflow and trees in cities.The series, which opens Sept. 25, will be held Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in the Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences. The lectures – free and open to the public – will be held in-person only. Click for more information.

GLOBAL LEADERS IN REFUGEE RIGHTS- Joint event offered in partnership with the University of Rhode Island, September 25, 2024 at 6:00PM at Hope Room, URI Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center, 45 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI (GPS address: 75 Briar Lane Kingston, RI)- Featuring Dr. Skip Mark, Director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. 

Dr. Brendan Skip Mark works at URI as an Assistant Professor of political science, a faculty affiliate of Africana Studies, the Director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, the current Sylvia-Chandley Peace Professor. He is also a Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellow in Atrocity Prevention for the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention at Binghamton University. He is one of Diverse Issues in Higher Educations 2024 emerging scholars. He is a co-director of the CIRIGHTS data project, the world’s largest human rights dataset. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of human rights violations, how to measure complex phenomena, and the interrelationships between human rights, development, and conflict. Click for more information and to register.

CAREWEAR: WEARABLE STUDY– Would you like to take part in a wearable study? In this feasibility study they aim to validate the use of wearable devices such as commercially available smart watches and an in-lab developed chest belt to monitor daily life stress events. You will be paid a base compensation of $10 with a $5 increment when you complete each task. Click for more details and email Dr. Kunal Mankodiya- kunalm@uri.edu or Shehjar Sadhu shehjar _sadhu@edu

STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS– President Marc B. Parlange invites you to attend the annual State of the University Address on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. at Edwards Hall, 64 Upper College Road, Kingston, Rhode Island. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony at the Alumni Center, 73 Upper College Road, Kingston, Rhode Island. Click for more information and to register. 

FREE PRESENTATION SPONSORED BY A COMMUNITY TOGETHER– How URI Advocates for Older Adults with Phillip G. Clark, Thursday, September 26, at 1:00 p.m.at the South Kingstown Recreation Center, 30 St Dominic Road Wakefield- Free and open to all.

Professor Clark will talk about current research at the University of Rhode Island — its Program in Gerontology and the RIGEC workforce education program. URI is a member of the Age-Friendly University Global Network, whose aim is to shape how we live and work by increasing educational opportunities across our life span to promote positive and healthy aging and enhance our lives through innovative educational programs, research agendas, curriculum development, online education, health and wellness activities, arts and culture programs, and civic engagement Opportunities. 

Professor Clark is Professor and Director, Program in Gerontology and the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center (RIGEC) at the University of Rhode Island.  For more information To register, go to https://acommunitytogether.helpfulvillage.com/events

email actneighbors@gmail.com or call 401-360-6006