Blog

The OLLI Blog showcases the voices and perspectives of our community (members, faculty and staff) as well as news from and about OLLI. It's a place to share and reflect, contribute and engage. Personal observations of life in this moment, of growing older, of self-discoveries large and small are just a handful of possible areas to explore. Please contact Nancy Murr to learn more.

Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2023

Letter from the Director: Engaging History at OLLI @Berkeley

Courses about History have been perennial favorites at OLLI @Berkeley, and our member surveys tell us to keep offering them. Whether it’s local or national, just-past or the…
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Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2023

Faculty Q&A: Bill Smoot on Teaching, Learning, and the Moral Dimensions of Prison

Bill Smoot received his PhD in philosophy from Northwestern University, specializing in existentialism and ethics. A lifelong teacher, for the past decade he has taught at Mount…
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Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023

The Birth of a Memoir and How to Write One

By Louise Nayer Nayer is the author of six books, including Narrow Escapes: A Memoir, out in March. She is teaching a memoir writing course with us this spring. The Genesis of…
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Thursday, Jan. 05, 2023

History Books for "Cultivating Empathy and Solidarity"

By Linda Wing, PhD Dr. Wing spent more than 45 years working to transform public schools in order to enable students in the nation’s cities to learn and achieve at high levels…
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Thursday, Jan. 05, 2023

Faculty Q&A: Karina Palau on Boroughs, Barrios and Creating Place in the Face of Erasure

Karina Palau (pictured here with her daughter) is a lecturer in and coordinator of reading and composition for UC Berkeley’s Department of Comparative Literature. She is…
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Wednesday, Jan. 04, 2023

Book Review: "In Defense of a Liberal Education" by Fareed Zakaria

By Hugh Winig, M.D.Dr. Winig is a retired psychiatrist and a longtime OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteer Writing a review of In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed…
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Wednesday, Jan. 04, 2023

Director's Message: Your Lifelong Learning Future

As we enter 2023, I can’t help but reflect on the past and future of lifelong learning. Perhaps you are, as well. At the first Town Hall meeting we held in May, 2020, after our…
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Friday, Dec. 23, 2022

Can You Learn to Increase Your Sense of Wellbeing? Yes, with Practice and a Community

Amelia Barili, an award-winning UC Berkeley faculty member, teaches a systematic embodied approach for brain fitness and personal transformation, integrating discoveries of…
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Monday, Dec. 12, 2022

Franklin Roosevelt's Wisdom Resonates Today: America is Once Again the Arsenal of Democracy

Dr. Michael Baker is a retired general surgeon who also served in the military and retired as a rear admiral. He currently serves as the Chapter Chair of the East Bay Chapter…
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Thursday, Dec. 01, 2022

Faculty Q&A: Arthur Eckstein on Greed, Racism, Violence, and How "Dark" Westerns Exposed Them All

Arthur M. Eckstein is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Maryland. His scholarship includes imperialism in the ancient and modern worlds. He is the author of…
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Monday, Nov. 07, 2022

Faculty Q&A: Belvie Rooks on Meeting Dr. Martin Luther King and Learning to Lead with the Heart

Belvie Rooks is co-founder of the Growing a Global Heart project. She is a writer, educator and human rights and social justice advocate whose work weaves the worlds of…
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Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022

Faculty Q&A: Susan Van Dyne on Women's Studies, Turning Points, and Connecting Family Histories

Susan Van Dyne earned her Ph.D. at Harvard and taught at Smith College for 40 years. She loves to teach in an interdisciplinary context and collaborate with students in an…
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