Week of September 8, 2025
FALL REGISTRATION IS ONGOING: Register online or give us a call in the office at 401.874.4197.
FALL SCHEDULE CHANGES–
The date of the class Learn to Smock has been changed from Nov 6, to Dec 4. Please make note of this change.
The class Boston Stronger was listed as a Wednesday in the catalog. The class is on Tuesdays, Oct 7, 14, 21.
The QiGong class time is 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM on Fridays, beginning Sept 19. It was listed in the catalog as 10:00 AM-11:30 AM.
The dates of the class Remarkable Countries We Rarely Hear About have been changed. The class will start a week earlier on Oct 20, and continue Oct 27 and Nov 3.
VIRTUAL PREVIEWS– Click here to check out our Virtual Previews for the upcoming Fall semester.
PARKING REGISTRATION – All OLLI members MUST have a parking pass. Parking is FREE with membership but you must register your vehicle now if you are taking classes in 2025 -2026. If you get a ticket you will be responsible for appealing it with the URI parking administration. Call the office at 401.874.4197 with your license plate #, make, model and color of your car.
CLASS SPOTLIGHT-
Intergenerational Perspectives on Healthy Living Environments – 4 sessions with Skye Leedahl beginning Thurs, Sept 11 at 2PM Here is an opportunity for the OLLI community to interact with the wider URI community, and younger people, which in itself has proven beneficial to seniors. This intergenerational course will meet during a planned URI class, HDF 440: Healthy Living Environments for Older Adults. In this class, URI students will be partnered with OLLI participants to complete activities, and discuss topics related to healthy living, such as nutrition, physical activity, mental health, living spaces, technology, community engagement, sleep, healthcare, and culture. Beginning with a brief lecture, or introductory video on these topics, each session will provide ample time for discussion and sharing with the other groups. Click Here to Register
Puerto Ricans: Half-in, Half-Out – 5 Sessions with Judith Gamble beginning Mon, Sept 15 at 1:30PM Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Yet their island homeland in the Caribbean is not a U.S. state but has been an ambiguously defined territory/commonwealth since the end of the Spanish-American War in 1900. More Puerto Ricans live in New York City than the capital of San Juan, founded in 1521. They are bilingual and hang onto their Spanish language, giving them a unique voice in the U.S. We will follow them in their journey north and explore their contributions as U.S. citizens and as part of the larger Latinx population here. We’ll also investigate, through their voices, the rich history and culture of their home island to better understand their dual political and cultural loyalty. Click Here to Register
Margaret Atwood: The Early Years- 3 Sessions with Jane Barstow beginning Tues, Sept 16 at 11:30AM We will look at both the overall arc of Atwood’s long career and the early fiction, poetry, and essays that launched it. We will focus on the short story collection Dancing Girls and Other Stories (1977), the novel Surfacing (1972), and Selected Poems: 1965-1975. Click Here to Register
THIS WEEK AT OLLI
Monday
Tuesday
- 9:00AM Biking Group
Wednesday
- 12:30PM Bowling
- 1:00PM Hiking
- 2:00PM Cribbage
Thursday
- 11:00AM Current Events
- 1:00PM Mah Jongg
- 2:00PM Intergenerational Perspectives on Healthy Environments (URI Campus)
Friday
DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD BOOK A ONE-ON-ONE TECH CALL WITH CYBER SENIORS? Click here to get started! They also have some tech webinars this week. All webinars start at 4:00PM and you can register online
COFFEE DONATIONS – Let’s keep our coffee station up and running this fall! Donations of caffeinated Keurig pods and ground coffee are appreciated. Drop them off in the office.
URI FOOTBALL – CLICK HERE for OLLI discounted URI football tickets. (Family Weekend tickets are SOLD OUT)
THE URI DIVISION OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT is seeking a community member to serve on the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). This committee provides oversight for the biohazardous research that takes place at URI. The community member needn’t have any background in the biological sciences; they need only be interested in representing the local community’s interests regarding the use of biohazardous materials on campus.
Meetings take place via Zoom on the second Wednesday of every month at 10 AM. The community member will be compensated for their participation. Please contact Heather McClary, Director of Research Integrity, for more information: heather.mcclary@uri.edu
RHODY WORKATHONS ARE BACK! URI Crew Club Members can stop by to help provide general yardwork, moving furniture, cleaning, painting, etc. for a maximum of approximately four hours at a time. You tell them the task, the number of rowers you need, and they schedule a time to help you out. Most of the rowers are on URI Kingston campus or in Narragansett, and can travel within a reasonable distance. The hourly rate for each rower is $30/hour for returning customers who have used URI Crew Club two or more times during the 2024/2025 season, and $35/hour for new customers. Workathons will be starting Sept 13, with weekend scheduling only. Dates may change as regatta schedule and rower availability change. Contact Cody or Cassidy at rhodyworkathon@gmail.com for more information.
RHODY OUTPOST– URI’s principal basic needs pantry for students experiencing food insecurity. The Outpost provides fresh and non-perishable food and personal care items at no charge to students. Click Here to view the updated list of all urgently needed items. You can also purchase items directly from Amazon on the Rhody Outpost Wish List.
Thank you so much for your amazing response for bags with handles! OLLI members donated so many bags they are currently at capacity. Rhody Outpost will let us know when they need more bags in the future! As always, thank you so much for your support!
URI’S FALL 2025 HONORS COLLOQUIUM: URI public lecture series launches Sept. 16 with former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, examining evolving public education landscape With changes in the education landscape an ever-present topic in the news, the University of Rhode Island Honors Program presents its 62nd annual Honors Colloquium, “Education, Behind the Curtains,” to examine the evolving landscape of public education.Honors Colloquium lectures will be held most Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. in Edwards Hall on URI’s Kingston Campus through Dec. 2. While all lectures are free and open to the public, registration is required for the opening lecture on Sept. 16. The event will also be livestreamed. Registration is required in order to receive a link.
URI DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY PRESENTS REVELATIONS! Education: Behind The Curtain – In Words and Images. Exhibition is from September 15- December 11, with a reception and art conversations on September 17 4:30-7 in Lippitt Hall 4 th floor,
What is it like being in the classroom? What challenges do educators face? What restrictions are there preventing education from occurring? Are the requirements, expectations and limitations changing the way educators function? What are the successes – giving students the opportunity to find their expressive voice? This exhibit will include the artwork and voices of a group of area educators from public, private and independent educational settings on all levels. The artist/educators will share their creative voices in various forms of expression as they also reflect on the challenges and celebrations they experience in and out of the classroom.
On exhibit in URI Lippitt Hall (3rd & 4th floor), Green Hall and The Higgins Welcome Center. Open Monday – Friday 7:30-4:30, closed weekends and holidays. For information: (401)286-4620 or email: spennell@uri.edu
SOUTH COUNTY ART ASSOCIATION (SCAA) GALLERY TOUR – Thurs, Sept 11, 2PM 257 Kingstown Road in Historic Kingston Village. No registration required. www.southcountyart.org
SENIOR AGENDA COALITION of RI PRESENTS: Shelter From the Storm EXPO – Navigating Choppy Waters. Are you ready to navigate life’s challenges with confidence and find shelter from the storm? Join us for an empowering day of insights, resources, and expert guidance at our “Navigating Choppy Waters” Conference and “Shelter from the Storm” Expo. This event is designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to make informed decisions about your health, your future, and the well-being of your loved ones. Sept 25, 2025 at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet 9AM-1PM. Click HERE for more information.
THE GILBERT STUART BIRTHPLACE & MUSEUM is holding one of two formal teas in a few weeks. It is preceded by a demonstration and talk about 17th century hairstyles and fashions. The fashion historian Renee Walker-Tuttle will even style the hair of one of our event goers in a Georgian pompadour style using 18th century tools and techniques. Click here for more information and to register..