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Those who have read my pre-vious articles or heard me speak at OLLI meetings know that I am a staunch OLLI ad-vocate. In the October news-letter, I summarized a study that sought to determine bene-fits that keep members partici-pating in a lifelong learning program. My November article pointed out some of the bene-

fits and gave examples of possible ways to get involved. If you didn’t get a chance to read those articles and would like to, past newsletter issues are on the OLLI website, or you can contact me; I will get you a copy. Several recent articles in USA Weekend newspaper sup-plement reaffirmed my belief in the positive effects of in-volvement in an organization like OLLI. An article titled “Resolutions That Get Results,” in the January 4-6, 2013, issue explained that a review of over 50 studies showed that, “When people contribute to their community or an organization they are passionate about, they lead happier lives, have lower rates of depression and may even live a little longer than those who do not volunteer….” The Live Smart section in the November 16-18, 2012, issue of USA Weekend featured “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges,” authored by Steven Southwick, professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, and Dennis Charney, professor of psychiatry/neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The authors state that resiliency is not something that we are born with but some-thing we can develop. They have identified ten factors shared by people who effectively respond to traumas in their lives: optimism, flexibility, core value system, faith, positive role models, social support, physical fitness, cogni-tive strength, facing fears, and finding meaning in struggles. I would argue that OLLI participation and its opportunities for volunteering support and enhance most, if not all, of those factors. I encourage you to give back to OLLI by volunteering, but I realize that many of you are already involved in other organizations and causes. I applaud that.

Learning Never Retires!

Febru ar y 2 013

Vo lume XXII , I ssu e 5

OLLI AT CSU, CHICO

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSU, Chico Aymer J. Hamilton 118B, Chico, CA 95929-0792

(530) 898-6679 www.rce.csuchico.edu/osher

CHAIRMAN’S CORNER

by Jerry Dunham

If you would like to know about other ways you can give back to the community, several spring classes address this specific topic. “Givebacks: Do You Make a Difference?” is be-ing offered on Tuesdays from 2:00-3:15 p.m. at Craig Hall in Chico, and “Do-Givers: Do You Make a Difference?” is be-ing offered on Wednesdays from 10:00-11:30 a.m. at the Butte County Department of Education in Oroville (see the OLLI class schedule for specific dates). Earlier, I mentioned an article that dealt with making resolutions for self-improvement. Whether you make reso-lutions at the start of a new year or not, the following two quotes should give some inspiration. For those of you who make resolutions, Louisa May Alcott wrote: “Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” If you are one for whom making resolu-tions is viewed with disdain, this Zen saying may provide you with guidance: “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and be that perfectly.”

“GETTING PAID

TO HAVE FUN…..” These words describe the theme of Nancy Hawley’s presentation for the OLLI March 13 General Meeting at the Masonic Lodge. Nancy says that when the youngest of her five children went to kin-dergarten, she went back to school and finished her BA degree at CSU, Chico. She became a travel agent to support her love of wandering. Soon she became an agency manager. Later she was invited to open the travel agency at an expanding Chico AAA office. When she took an early retirement, she asked “Now what? Take a job in Alaska, of course!" Never having been to Denali National Park and Preserve, she went away in 1999 to join the management team at Aramark Resorts there. Nancy soon realized her love of the park made her a good candi-date for a position with the National Park Service, and the rest is history. Come hear how she did it and some of her experiences as a summer Alaska resident almost every sum-mer to this day. Final details for the program will be in the March newsletter.

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OLLI NOMINATING

COMMITTEE IS AT WORK:

The 2012-13 Nominating

Committee has four members:

Mary Brashears, Roy Cook, Jim

MacMillan, .and Charlie

McCarthy. Program Director

Ann Nikolai is also a member.

Two additional OLLI members

were chosen to be alternates:

Carla Moreno and Roxanne

Ferry. The Committee con-

vened on Dec. 17 and received

guidelines for the nominating

process. Roy Cook was se-

lected Committee Chair. The

Nominating Committee will be

recruiting candidates for the

Advisory Council positions of

Advisory Council Chair,

Events Committee Chair, and

Membership Committee Chair.

According to CSU, Chico

OLLI Policies and Procedures,

the names of candidates for

those three positions will be

published in the March OLLI

newsletter.

IT’S FUN TO COMPARE

The graphic to the right

shows results of a survey of

the nationwide OLLI re-

source network done in early

summer, 2012. This “info-

graphic” is a snapshot of the

OLLI network at that time.

It is obvious that OLLI

groups come in all shapes

and sizes, having different

fee structures, services, and

length of classes. OLLI at

CSU, Chico, can be proud to

be one of the 115 institutes

and proud of offering so

much to its members.

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IN MEMORIAM

GEORGIA GROVE: Georgia V. Grove of Paradise passed away on December 30, 2012. Georgia was a

very loyal attendee of the Prime Timers and then OLLI Cracker Barrel sessions for many years and was also active on the Membership Committee for the welcome sessions and general meetings for around 3 years. Services for Georgia were held in Tracy, CA on January 10, 2013. A tribute to her is at:

www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicoer/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=162126627

CONDOLENCES go to OLLI Peer Leader JoAnne Starnes on the death of her husband, Robert, on January 14.

TITLES FOR READING HISTORICAL NOVELS

SPRING TERM 2013

(meets at Craig Hall, alt. Tuesdays, 12:30-1:45pm)

2/5 Time and Chance Sharon Penman

2/19 The Radetzky March Joseph Roth

3/5 The Secrets of Mary Bowser Lois Leveen

3/26 The Spring of the Ram Dorothy Dunnett

4/2 The Last Jew Noah Gordon

4/16 Julian: A Novel Gore Vidal

4/30 Memoirs of Hadrian Marguerite Yourcenar

5/14 Germinal Emile Zola

TITLES FOR GREAT BOOKS OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION SPRING TERM 2013

(meets at Craig Hall, alt. Mondays, 1-2:45 pm)

2/4 King Lear William Shakespeare

2/18 Selected Works John Donne

3/4 Dialogue Concerning Galileo Galilei

The Two Chief World Systems

3/25 Leviathan Thomas Hobbes

4/8 Discourse on Method Rene Descartes

4/15 Paradise Lost John Milton

4/29 The Misanthrope Moliere

and Tartuffe

5/13 Thoughts or Pensées Blaise Pascal

SPRING 2013 OLLI CALENDAR

Feb. 4 Chico Classes Begin Feb. 12 Oroville Spring Class Preview, 5-7pm - Butte County Office of Education, 1859 Bird Street, Oroville March 13 General Meeting - Masonic Family Center, 1110 West East Avenue, Chico March 18-22 Spring Break, March 18-22 April 1 Cesar Chavez Day April 10 OLLI Business Meeting - Masonic Family Center, 1110 West East Avenue, Chico

May 8 Spring Luncheon - Masonic Family Center, 1110 West East Avenue, Chico

May 17 Spring Classes End

Nancy McCartney and Rhonda Blanchard compare notes on new classes

at the January 15 Spring Class Preview Meeting. Registrations both high-tech and low-tech were warmly accepted at the

OLLI Office beginning on January 17.

SIGNS OF SPRING SEMESTER ARE HERE...

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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, CSU, Chico Aymer J. Hamilton 118B, Chico, CA 95929-0792 www.rce.csuchico.edu/osher Hours: Monday-Thursday 9 am– 1 pm

Program Director: Ann Nikolai, 898-5858, anikolai@csuchico.edu Program Assistant: Susan Levine, 898-6679, smlevine@csuchico.edu

ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS: General Chair: Jerry Dunham, 899-8393 Events Chair: Sherri Faroky, 636-4940 Communications Chair: Gayle Womack, 332-9414

Curriculum Chair: William Tefteller, 879-0231 Membership Chair: Ali Sarsour, 893-1768 Program Director: Ann Nikolai, 898-5858 Scholarship/Fundraising Chair: Kathryn Hogue, 343-0445

Newsletter Editor: Marian Milling, 864-2269,

mmilling_2000@yahoo.com

’TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING…STILL

Last spring OLLI awarded two scholarships to returning students: Dan Lebesohn and Shannon Clymer each grate-fully received $2000. This year’s goal is to match that total of $4000; so far only $1000 been taken in. Please consider this worthy cause for a generous donation now.

Recipients will be selected in April.

What they get depends on what you give!

Tax-deductible donations are payable to CSU, Chico State University Foundation Fund #7217, with Prime Timers’ Re-entry Scholarship on the memo line. Mail checks to OLLI Office at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, CSU, Chico, Aymer J. Hamilton #118B, Chico, CA 95929-0792. Ques-tions? Call Kathryn Hogue, 343-0445.

CLASSES START ON MONDAY,

FEBRUARY 4

Springtime is for New Beginnings:

We are opening a new chapter in Oro-ville this spring.

We are offering 20 new classes, includ-ing 5 in Oroville.

We are welcoming 14 new peer leaders.

We are introducing “Special Interest Groups” for the first time.

We are grateful for more than 30 new volunteers.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

California State University, Chico

118B Aymer J. Hamilton

Chico, CA 95929-0792

Learning Never Retires!