Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Western Michigan University

02/25/2025

Join the Alzheimer's Association on Thursday, Feb 27 from 3 to 5 p.m. for a special presentation in honor of Black History Month that delves into the critical role of historical inequities and medical mistrust in shaping dementia care outcomes within Black and African American communities.

This free webinar will feature insights from researchers and personal testimonials that illuminate key challenges, health disparities, and strategies for fostering culturally competent, equitable care. Register now at https://alz-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C3LRTPDZRF65fn70YgecfA #/registration

Questions? Contact the Program Manager, Shukurani, at [email protected] or (269) 487-9746.

02/19/2025

In celebration of their 23rd season, Fontana Chamber Arts is offering OLLI members a special discount—so get ready to go out this weekend, jazz lovers! Anat Cohen Quartetinho takes to the stage at Dalton Center Recital Hall for an unforgettable performance on Friday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. Influenced by artists ranging from Antônio Carlos Jobim and Antonín Dvořák to Thelonious Monk, the Quartetinho—“little quartet”—is led by Anat Cohen on clarinet and bass clarinet, and features Vitor Gonçalves on piano and accordion, Tal Mashiach on double bass and guitar, and James Shipp on vibraphone and percussion. Save your seats now at fontanamusic.org/tickets!
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If you have never purchased a ticket to a Fontana concert before, you are eligible to use the online discount code OLLI2025 during check out to receive 25% off a pair of subscriptions or a pair of tickets for any individual concert. if you have questions, reach out to Fontana’s Executive Director Brad at [email protected]. Please note—this special discount is an OLLI members-only benefit, so if you have yet to purchase your membership, now is the perfect time to do so at wmich.edu/olli/membership!

02/19/2025

Did you miss the first event in ValleyHUB KVCC’s Honorable Harvest Lecture Series? Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time to get involved! Throughout the spring season, we’ll explore the many ways in which we can come together to nurture and restore the “Honorable Harvest”—giving back in reciprocity for what we have been given—in our communities and in our everyday lives. Speakers featured in the Honorable Harvest Lecture Series will discuss such topics as...

🌱 Cultivating Community and Good Land Stewardship at Tabitha Farm
🌱 Jerico Kalamazoo: Fostering Gift Economies on a Community Scale
🌱 Water Stewardship Through Public Office and Citizen-Led Initiatives
🌱 Food Innovation Center – A Community Vision
🌱 Community Seed Packing with the Kalamazoo Seed Collaborative
🌱 The Power of Healthy Soil: Two Farmers’ Stories of Falling in Love with Regenerative Agriculture
🌱 Why Do We Garden?
🌱 Writing Workshop: What Is Your Water Story?

All events take place on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and are free; no registration is required. Learn more at valleyhub.kvcc.edu/events/honorable-harvest-lecture-series!

02/17/2025

Discover how you can help smash the stigmas faced by the disability community in the course, “Rise Up! Disability History, Resistance, and Pride!” Many people in the disability community are often unaware of the rich depth of their shared experiences, leading them to feel shame around their identities instead of pride. At the same time, family, friends, and professionals also know little about the historical impact and interwoven culture of the disability community, leading them to struggle to find ways to support the journey to Disability Pride. Let’s change that on Monday, February 24—register today at wmich.edu/olli/courses!

02/17/2025

We want to express our gratitude to Dale Brown, Ann Miles, and McGwire Hidden for speaking at January Thaw last month! If you'd like to learn more about the transformative impact of prison education, join Dale, Ann, and McGwire this Tuesday, February 18 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Public Library’s Central downtown location for a community presentation about WMU’s Higher Education for the Justice-Involved program at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater! No registration is required for this free event.

02/16/2025

Don’t miss your shot to enjoy The Art of Murphy Darden, Sr.—on display now through this Friday, February 21! A Kalamazoo legend, the self-taught “outsider artist” Murphy Darden, Sr.’s powerful works speak out against the injustices of slavery and discrimination that occurred from the post-Civil War period up to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He believed in using his passion as an educator and an artist to share the unflinching truth about Black history, while simultaneously celebrating all that African Americans have achieved in the face of overwhelming odds. See the stories Murphy Darden, Sr. has to tell for yourself at the James C. Westin Gallery at the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo downtown on the Kalamazoo Mall any day this week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. before it's too late! Learn more below...

The Art of Murphy Darden, Sr. will be exhibited in the Westin Gallery from, Tuesday, February 4...

02/14/2025

This Valentine's Day, our OLLI at WMU team wants to show some love for our sponsors—the Kalamazoo Literacy Council and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for empowering us to provide lifelong learning opportunities that make a lifelong impact!

02/13/2025

Calling all veterans! Come gather in community for a special luncheon at the Douglass Community Association tomorrow, February 14, beginning at 11:30 a.m. There, we'll pay tribute to the selfless contributions of Kalamazoo's incredible veterans, honoring their service and sacrifices while also launching an exciting new initiative to preserve the rich legacy of veterans in our community. This event is free, but registration is required—save your seat now at bit.ly/40TaKWy!

Join us for a heartfelt celebration as we pay tribute to the incredible contributions of veterans in Kalamazoo and celebrate our namesake’s birthday!

This special event will honor their service and sacrifices while also marking the beginning of an exciting new initiative, led by Dr. Karika Parker, to document and preserve the rich legacy of veterans in our community.

RSVP —> bit.ly/40TaKWy

02/07/2025

As we uplift and celebrate Black excellence this month, we invite you to attend the sixth annual Black Artist Exhibit this evening (Friday, February 7) from 5:30 to 8 p.m.! Hosted by the Center for New Media at Kalamazoo Valley, join us in admiring the creative works of local Black artists, including traditional paintings, digital illustrations, photography, and ceramics. Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Center for New Media is joined by their collaborators, the Black Arts & Cultural Center, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the NAACP-Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch, in support of providing a shared connection to the rich Black cultural heritage in the Kalamazoo area. No registration is required for this evening’s free event; light refreshments will be served.

02/04/2025

Attention lifelong learners! Can’t find your course registration information? Sometimes email programs get confused and think our OLLI at WMU emails are “junk mail,” so they automatically send them to a place called your “spam folder.” We don’t know why this happens—but we can teach you how to find them! First, look for an icon made of three horizontal lines. This is called a “hamburger menu” (kind of funny, right?) and it is circled in blue in the first photo. When you click the hamburger menu, a series of “folders” with different titles will appear, as you’ll see in the second photo. Scroll down and click on the folder called “Spam,” where you’ll find all of the emails your application thought, correctly or incorrectly, were “junk mail.” Look through what you see there and, hopefully, you’ll find some of your missing OLLI emails!
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Please note: these are screenshots of the Gmail app as it appears on a cell phone. If you have further questions, reach out to me (Amanda) by writing a note in the comment-box below and I will do my best to help you!

02/03/2025

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each of the over 160 people who joined us for January Thaw this year! The parking lot was full, every seat in the lecture hall was taken, and all the cookies were gone—so it's safe to say our celebration of lifelong learning was a major success! More photos and videos are on the way, so keep an eye out for our traditional multi-media recap post coming soon...

02/02/2025

In honor of Black History Month, we're committed to better understanding the life experiences of our fellow Americans—and why it is so important that we do so. Join us in “Driving Through the Jim Crow Era and the ‘Green Book,’” on Wednesday, February 5, a compelling course that integrates live music with the story of how Victor Green created the “Negro Travelers’ Guide,” a life-saving little green book that empowered countless Black families to travel safely in America for over three decades during the Jim Crow era. This course takes place at the Gilmore Car Museum; “save your seat” today at bit.ly/wmuolliwsp2025!
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After class is finished, students have the option of joining the instructors for two private tours of the earliest cars in the Gilmore Collection and a discussion on Gilmore Museum History; these participants are also welcome to explore the campus on their own following the tour. Interested students can purchase a ticket for admission to the Gilmore Car Museum for $20. In case of inclement weather, this class will be re-scheduled.

01/28/2025

January Thaw is tomorrow! Come explore our 90+ Winter/Spring courses, socialize with fellow knowledge-seekers, discover new stories during our popular Book Swap, and much more. All are welcome to join this free event celebrating lifelong learning—and we look forward to seeing you there!

01/24/2025

With immigration taking center stage in conversations across our country, it is crucial to make sure we have access to accurate information. Led by Dr. Geraldo Cadava, one of the world’s authorities on Latina/Latino immigration in the United States, this series of upcoming events will introduce you to new perspectives about the important contributions immigrants make to our country, as well as discuss the complexities of the situation unfolding at the U.S.-Mexico border. All events are free and open to the public; read WMU College of Arts and Sciences' post below for more details!

📣 Dr. Geraldo Cadava, one of the world’s authorities on Latina/Latino immigration in the U.S., will discuss the importance of Hispanics in the U.S.—their rich history, contributions, and the power of their vote—as well as the 'crisis' at the U.S.-Mexico border in a series of upcoming events:

📅MEET & GREET
Come and meet Dr. Cadava
Monday, Jan. 27, 10:30 a.m.
Friedmann Hall 2302, International Conference Room

📅 PUBLIC LECTURE
“Immigration and the ‘crisis’ at the border”
Monday, Jan. 27, 4 p.m.
Fetzer Center, Putney Lecture Hall

📅ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
“Immigration and the Latina/Latino presence in the U.S.”
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 10 a.m.
Lee Honors College Student Lounge

Presented by the Western Michigan University Department of Economics, WMU Department of History, WMU Department of Political Science, and WMU Department of Spanish, in collaboration with the Lee Honors College and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Hope to see you there!

01/22/2025

January Thaw—OLLI at WMU’s annual celebration of lifelong learning—is one week away! Join us January 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. to explore our 90+ Winter/Spring courses, socialize with fellow knowledge-seekers, discover new stories during our popular Book Swap, and much more. All are welcome to join this free event; learn more and register at bit.ly/sigsevents25wsp!

01/21/2025

The unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust continue to haunt families nearly a century later. Next week, two courses will share deeply personal reflections about the long-lasting impact of this devastating turning point in human history through the lenses of the children of those who survived— “Only Hope: My Mother and the Holocaust Brought to Light” and “The Next Generation's Legacy of the Holocaust.” The stories and experiences of these instructors are both profound and powerful; complete course descriptions can be found at bit.ly/wmuolliwsp2025. If interested, please register right away, as these sessions take place on Tuesday 1/28 and Thursday 1/30, respectively.