OLLI EVENTS
Looking for some interesting OLLI at Duke events? You are at the right place. Click on the events below or just scroll down to see all of them.
Looking for some interesting OLLI at Duke events? You are at the right place. Click on the events below or just scroll down to see all of them.
Submit an Event or News Item with a submission form here.
Name Tags: OLLI Members please note, you must have your New OLLI Name Badge to attend OLLI Events. If you are NOT taking a Fall Semester Class you can pickup your new name badge at either the Bishop House (Monday-Friday from 9-4) or JRC - Judea Reform Congregation (Monday-Thursday 9-4). New Name Badges will not be mailed to any home addresses.
Summer Starts with OLLI Singles
Many thanks to Kristiana Kalab and Jan Clark who nurtured OLLI Singles for the past year. With their expert guidance, new contacts were made among OLLI members and when “safer at home” becomes a memory, new opportunities will multiply.
Lynne Grossman will be moderating OLLI Singles Zoom meetings on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month from 1-2 pm, beginning in June-August, with the aim of providing an opportunity for those interested to get to know each other better. As
OLLI Singles supports social engagement for its members by its members, she'll be using "Less Small Talk; More Genuine Conversations" prompts to get the conversation started, open you up to sharing and listening to one another, and having a fun time. We hope these meetings will eventually lead to some opportunities to get together in small groups, at a safe social distance once we emerge from our "shelter in place" phase. If you would like to host and moderate an OLLI Singles Zoom meeting on either the 2nd or 4th Wednesday of the month, contact Lynne at olliatdukesingles@gmail.com. If you are new to OLLI Singles and wish to join the upcoming Zoom conversations send her an email at the previous address.
Diane Hundley will be writing about OLLI Singles activities to inform and expand our membership. She'll be the liaison with OLLI and our OLLI IT consultant. Also, she'll coordinate mailings with Judy Aull. If you have ideas or wish to organize an event for OLLI Singles, contact Diane at olliatdukesingles@gmail.com.
Judy Aull will be "minding the store", so to speak, by monitoring the olliatdukesingles@gmail.com email address, responding to members inquiries, updating the mailing list as new members register with us, and sending out membership updates via email. All OLLI Singles inquiries are to be sent to olliatdukesingles@gmail.com.
Paul Deblinger has set up and is the administrator of the private OLLI Singles Facebook group. Only current paid and registered OLLI Singles members can join this private group, post information, and initiate conversations. If you're on the current email list and request to join, Paul will admit you to the group. He would like to share administration of the group with another person, in the event that work responsibilities make it difficult for him to monitor the group as frequently as he is currently. Contact him at pdeblin@gmail.com if you’re interested.
Finally, if you're no longer interested in being a member of OLLI Singles, let us know and we'll remove you from the email list. If you know of a single friend, who would like to join our SIG, tell them to contact The Steering Committee at olliatdukesingles@gmail.com.
Many thanks to Kristiana Kalab and Jan Clark who nurtured OLLI Singles for the past year. With their expert guidance, new contacts were made among OLLI members and when “safer at home” becomes a memory, new opportunities will multiply.
Lynne Grossman will be moderating OLLI Singles Zoom meetings on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month from 1-2 pm, beginning in June-August, with the aim of providing an opportunity for those interested to get to know each other better. As
OLLI Singles supports social engagement for its members by its members, she'll be using "Less Small Talk; More Genuine Conversations" prompts to get the conversation started, open you up to sharing and listening to one another, and having a fun time. We hope these meetings will eventually lead to some opportunities to get together in small groups, at a safe social distance once we emerge from our "shelter in place" phase. If you would like to host and moderate an OLLI Singles Zoom meeting on either the 2nd or 4th Wednesday of the month, contact Lynne at olliatdukesingles@gmail.com. If you are new to OLLI Singles and wish to join the upcoming Zoom conversations send her an email at the previous address.
Diane Hundley will be writing about OLLI Singles activities to inform and expand our membership. She'll be the liaison with OLLI and our OLLI IT consultant. Also, she'll coordinate mailings with Judy Aull. If you have ideas or wish to organize an event for OLLI Singles, contact Diane at olliatdukesingles@gmail.com.
Judy Aull will be "minding the store", so to speak, by monitoring the olliatdukesingles@gmail.com email address, responding to members inquiries, updating the mailing list as new members register with us, and sending out membership updates via email. All OLLI Singles inquiries are to be sent to olliatdukesingles@gmail.com.
Paul Deblinger has set up and is the administrator of the private OLLI Singles Facebook group. Only current paid and registered OLLI Singles members can join this private group, post information, and initiate conversations. If you're on the current email list and request to join, Paul will admit you to the group. He would like to share administration of the group with another person, in the event that work responsibilities make it difficult for him to monitor the group as frequently as he is currently. Contact him at pdeblin@gmail.com if you’re interested.
Finally, if you're no longer interested in being a member of OLLI Singles, let us know and we'll remove you from the email list. If you know of a single friend, who would like to join our SIG, tell them to contact The Steering Committee at olliatdukesingles@gmail.com.
Let’s Share What We’re Reading as We Stay at Home
Many OLLI members are no doubt using our stay-at-home time to get some reading done.* As a life-long bookaholic, I am always interested in getting book recommendations from friends. So I’d like to suggest that we start sharing what we’re reading during the pandemic – and hopefully beyond – on the OLLI at Duke Member page.
For years, I have been sharing brief book reviews on Facebook. I’ve noticed that during the pandemic, these reviews have been generating more comments and discussions among my friends, with lots of people recommending books they’ve just read or have enjoyed immensely in the past.
Here are a three of my recent mini-reviews:
*A line in The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel, that made me laugh out loud was when she wrote that a spy who was in prison “was using his life sentence to get some reading done.” I could relate, given our current circumstances.
Jeanne Yocum
Many OLLI members are no doubt using our stay-at-home time to get some reading done.* As a life-long bookaholic, I am always interested in getting book recommendations from friends. So I’d like to suggest that we start sharing what we’re reading during the pandemic – and hopefully beyond – on the OLLI at Duke Member page.
For years, I have been sharing brief book reviews on Facebook. I’ve noticed that during the pandemic, these reviews have been generating more comments and discussions among my friends, with lots of people recommending books they’ve just read or have enjoyed immensely in the past.
Here are a three of my recent mini-reviews:
- A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-torn Skies of World War II by Adam Markos with Larry Alexander is one heck of a read. My friend (and fellow OLLI member) Janet Lipman told me she had given this book to her father, who flew in WWII. I thought Bob [my husband, a retired naval aviator] might like it so I gave it to him for his birthday last month. Based on his review, I decided to give it a try. I found it a very compelling book. The heart of the story is an encounter between a badly damaged B17 bomber and a German fighter plane that doesn't go as anyone would have expected such a meet-up would. But the major part of the book is given over to the amazing story of Franz Stigler, a German pilot who managed to survive over 800 missions. If you like aerial combat stories, you will love this book. And even if that's not your thing but you like seeing how someone can maintain his humanity in the midst of slaughter, you'll find this book a good read.
- The Long Call is the first in a new series by major-league mystery author Ann Cleeves, who has written the Shetland and the Vera Stanhope series. Other than seeing a few episodes of Shetland on PBS, I had not read/seen her work before. Well, I'm all in now! I absolutely loved The Long Call, which launches what she is calling her Two River series. The lead detective and his team are all interesting characters that you want to spend more time with and get to know better. The setting in the coastal villages and towns of North Devon is interesting, the pacing is excellent, and you're kept guessing all the way along. What more can you ask from a mystery writer?
- In A Long Petal of the Sea, Isabel Allende covers a wide swatch of history that takes us from the Spanish Civil War to the exile of Spanish war refugees to Chile and then to the Allende years and the Pinochet dictatorship before finally ending up in the 1990s, where a family secret hidden for 50 years are finally revealed. This will not go down as my favorite Allende novel, but even so, it is worth your time. You will learn about a forgotten piece of history in which Chilean poet and sometimes diplomat Pablo Neruda arranged for a ship to carry 1,200 Spanish refugees to Chile from France, where they had fled to escape the horrors of Generalissimo Franco (who is still dead, by the way). You will also learn of the concentration camps set up by the Pinochet regime in Chile and the horrors committed there. And you will learn how love brought people through these horrible times. BTW, a long petal of the sea is how Neruda described his homeland.
*A line in The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel, that made me laugh out loud was when she wrote that a spy who was in prison “was using his life sentence to get some reading done.” I could relate, given our current circumstances.
Jeanne Yocum
Invitation to Participate in Community Engagement Focus Groups
The members of the Community Engagement Committee invite all OLLI members to participate in focus groups regarding OLLI’s new community engagement initiative, an exciting opportunity for members and the Durham community.
In the focus groups we want to share our plans for the coming year including forging relationships with area non-profits to facilitate OLLI volunteer opportunities and the design of a course on community engagement targeting members new to the area and/or retirement. More importantly, we want to get your feedback and hear your thoughts about how you’d like to engage in the community through OLLI and what an OLLI community engagement initiative might look like in the coming months and years.
The focus groups will be small—4-6 OLLI members and two facilitators from the Committee—so that everyone really has an opportunity to contribute. The focus group sessions will be 1 ½ hours long and take place at the Judea Reform Education Building
where classes are held.
Please contact Virginia Lee, Chair, Community Engagement Committee, vlee31@yahoo.com if you are interested.
The members of the Community Engagement Committee invite all OLLI members to participate in focus groups regarding OLLI’s new community engagement initiative, an exciting opportunity for members and the Durham community.
In the focus groups we want to share our plans for the coming year including forging relationships with area non-profits to facilitate OLLI volunteer opportunities and the design of a course on community engagement targeting members new to the area and/or retirement. More importantly, we want to get your feedback and hear your thoughts about how you’d like to engage in the community through OLLI and what an OLLI community engagement initiative might look like in the coming months and years.
The focus groups will be small—4-6 OLLI members and two facilitators from the Committee—so that everyone really has an opportunity to contribute. The focus group sessions will be 1 ½ hours long and take place at the Judea Reform Education Building
where classes are held.
Please contact Virginia Lee, Chair, Community Engagement Committee, vlee31@yahoo.com if you are interested.
OLLI Foodie Lunch Group Gathers to Enjoy Eating Adventures
It’s a well-kept Durham secret is that the Duke Marketplace student dining facility in the East Campus Union, just across the parking lot from Bishop House, is open to all. A group of OLLI foodie lunch groupers congregated on the front porch of Bishop’s House and then marched to the Union entrance on the Quadrangle. The members were struck by the classic beauty and towering ceilings of the space. A half-dozen menus posted high on the wall spelled out the day’s fare at multiple stations. Fresh and natural are consistent themes. This writer enjoyed a bowl of a homemade, delectable chicken-and-rice soup. We carried a selection of wings, salads, chocolate cake, etc., to our table and everyone ate well.
Then on March 11, more than a dozen members of the Foodie Lunch SIG assembled in the warm sunshine just outside the entrance to one of Durham’s largest and most extensive vendors of Mexican foods, La Superior Carniceria. After saying our
hellos, we wandered through the stacks of unfamiliar goods, fanciful piñatas hanging from the ceiling, sacred icons for sale in a niche, and then through an array of fresh foods, tempting specialties at attractive prices. Specialty cheeses, a custom butcher,
fresh and frozen seafood, Mexican and domestic produce, a tortilleria where both corn and flour tortillas are baked, and a bakery that prepares a tempting selection of pastries and breads were on our stroll.
At last a member grumbled gently that it was time to eat. The food service displays a constantly changing menu with a panorama of offerings. When you see what you want, step to the English-speaking cashier, order, and pay. Have a seat and display your assigned number. A server soon appears with your meal. Don’t forget the extensive toppings bar. Muy mucho caliente! We had a grand time and ate well and learned a lot. Don’t forget to buy a nosh before you leave.
These friendly outings will resume when it is safe enough. To add your name to the SIG email list or view the future lineups, head to our website. Any OLLI member is welcome. Register at: https://foodiefieldtrips.weebly.com
It’s a well-kept Durham secret is that the Duke Marketplace student dining facility in the East Campus Union, just across the parking lot from Bishop House, is open to all. A group of OLLI foodie lunch groupers congregated on the front porch of Bishop’s House and then marched to the Union entrance on the Quadrangle. The members were struck by the classic beauty and towering ceilings of the space. A half-dozen menus posted high on the wall spelled out the day’s fare at multiple stations. Fresh and natural are consistent themes. This writer enjoyed a bowl of a homemade, delectable chicken-and-rice soup. We carried a selection of wings, salads, chocolate cake, etc., to our table and everyone ate well.
Then on March 11, more than a dozen members of the Foodie Lunch SIG assembled in the warm sunshine just outside the entrance to one of Durham’s largest and most extensive vendors of Mexican foods, La Superior Carniceria. After saying our
hellos, we wandered through the stacks of unfamiliar goods, fanciful piñatas hanging from the ceiling, sacred icons for sale in a niche, and then through an array of fresh foods, tempting specialties at attractive prices. Specialty cheeses, a custom butcher,
fresh and frozen seafood, Mexican and domestic produce, a tortilleria where both corn and flour tortillas are baked, and a bakery that prepares a tempting selection of pastries and breads were on our stroll.
At last a member grumbled gently that it was time to eat. The food service displays a constantly changing menu with a panorama of offerings. When you see what you want, step to the English-speaking cashier, order, and pay. Have a seat and display your assigned number. A server soon appears with your meal. Don’t forget the extensive toppings bar. Muy mucho caliente! We had a grand time and ate well and learned a lot. Don’t forget to buy a nosh before you leave.
These friendly outings will resume when it is safe enough. To add your name to the SIG email list or view the future lineups, head to our website. Any OLLI member is welcome. Register at: https://foodiefieldtrips.weebly.com
Third Speaker from Diversity and Inclusion Initiative
In February, OLLI at Duke co-sponsored a Speaker Series with New Creation United Methodist Church. The Speaker Series, which was arranged by OLLI’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, was an opportunity to highlight the African American experience in the American South: Then and Now. Our third speaker, Leoneda Inge, WUNC’s award winning reporter on Race and Southern Culture, presented an unique program that included a “debate” between Pauli Murray (November 20, 1910 -- July 1, 1985) civil/women’s rights activist, lawyer and Episcopal priest and James E. Shepard (November 3, 1875 – October 6, 1947) a pharmacist, civil servant, educator, and the founder of what became North Carolina Central University. This debate highlighted the contrasting views about how African Americans should pursue higher education in the 1930s and 1940s. Pauli Murray’s view was that Negroes should be able to integrate venues of higher education that were currently segregated. In 1938, Murray tried unsuccessfully to integrate UNC. Dr. Shepard’s view was that blacks should attend and support avenues of higher education that were becoming more readily available within the African American community - like his institution, North Carolina College.
This imagined debate was ongoing within the African American community during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. It should be noted that Pauli Murray earned degrees from University of California Boalt School of Law and Howard University School of Law. In the 1930s, she attended Hunter College until forced to leave during the Depression. Dr. Shepard was a graduate of Shaw University (a HBCU) in Raleigh, NC.
Ms. Inge used this “debate” to highlight the importance of the development of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) during this timeframe (1930-1960).
For more information on HBCUs, please visit these sites: http://www.thehundred-seven.org/index.html and https://tmcf.org/about-us/member-schools/about-hbcus/
Additionally, Ms. Inge shared how fortunate she had been to have born into a family that valued education. Her father was a pharmacist who served as Chairman of the Florida Board of Pharmacy having earned his degree in Pharmacy from Florida A&M University (an HBCU) in 1967 and later a master’s degree. Her mother is a graduate of Tennessee State University (an HBCU) and was a financial aid administrator at Florida A&M.
Ms. Inge is a graduate of Florida A&M University and Columbia University where she earned her master's degree in Journalism as a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics. We thank Ms. Inge creating a program that highlighted her own personal educational journey but also provided a showcased for HBCUs.
We hope that you have enjoyed this series of articles recapping this Speaker Series and that your interest has been piqued. As and when we are able to present more programs fostering a greater understanding of trials and triumphs of the African American community, we hope that you will make every effort to attend.
In February, OLLI at Duke co-sponsored a Speaker Series with New Creation United Methodist Church. The Speaker Series, which was arranged by OLLI’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, was an opportunity to highlight the African American experience in the American South: Then and Now. Our third speaker, Leoneda Inge, WUNC’s award winning reporter on Race and Southern Culture, presented an unique program that included a “debate” between Pauli Murray (November 20, 1910 -- July 1, 1985) civil/women’s rights activist, lawyer and Episcopal priest and James E. Shepard (November 3, 1875 – October 6, 1947) a pharmacist, civil servant, educator, and the founder of what became North Carolina Central University. This debate highlighted the contrasting views about how African Americans should pursue higher education in the 1930s and 1940s. Pauli Murray’s view was that Negroes should be able to integrate venues of higher education that were currently segregated. In 1938, Murray tried unsuccessfully to integrate UNC. Dr. Shepard’s view was that blacks should attend and support avenues of higher education that were becoming more readily available within the African American community - like his institution, North Carolina College.
This imagined debate was ongoing within the African American community during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. It should be noted that Pauli Murray earned degrees from University of California Boalt School of Law and Howard University School of Law. In the 1930s, she attended Hunter College until forced to leave during the Depression. Dr. Shepard was a graduate of Shaw University (a HBCU) in Raleigh, NC.
Ms. Inge used this “debate” to highlight the importance of the development of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) during this timeframe (1930-1960).
For more information on HBCUs, please visit these sites: http://www.thehundred-seven.org/index.html and https://tmcf.org/about-us/member-schools/about-hbcus/
Additionally, Ms. Inge shared how fortunate she had been to have born into a family that valued education. Her father was a pharmacist who served as Chairman of the Florida Board of Pharmacy having earned his degree in Pharmacy from Florida A&M University (an HBCU) in 1967 and later a master’s degree. Her mother is a graduate of Tennessee State University (an HBCU) and was a financial aid administrator at Florida A&M.
Ms. Inge is a graduate of Florida A&M University and Columbia University where she earned her master's degree in Journalism as a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics. We thank Ms. Inge creating a program that highlighted her own personal educational journey but also provided a showcased for HBCUs.
We hope that you have enjoyed this series of articles recapping this Speaker Series and that your interest has been piqued. As and when we are able to present more programs fostering a greater understanding of trials and triumphs of the African American community, we hope that you will make every effort to attend.