Past Events

OLLI's 30th Anniversary Celebration

September 19, 2017. What a wonderful evening we had with over 200 OLLI members in attendance for our celebration. We gathered at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on Tuesday, September 19 to celebrate OLLI and its 30 years at Northwestern University. We enjoyed a reception on the terrace and were able to wander through the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven with friends old and new.  Dinner was served in the South Gallery which hosts floor-to-ceiling windows that offered us unparalleled views of Lincoln Park. Music was provided by a student quartet from Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music – Nanao Yamada and Megan Rohrer on violin, Sarah Kim on viola and Hana Cohon on cello. Thank you to our committee members for their time and effort in planning such a wonderful evening – Susan Gaud, Martha Bills, Ginny Beck, Jerry Bernstein, Marion Derringer, Steve Fisher, Michael Goodkind, Jean Schwartz, Evelyn Shaevel, Jean Weber, and Nancy Worthington. Here's to another 30 years!

OLLIs at Ravinia

August 10, 2017. The OLLIs from University of Illinois, Bradley University and Northwestern University gathered at Ravinia for A Night to Remember. We dined under a tent; heard an illuminating lecture by Dr. Stephen Alltop, Director of Music for Alice Millar Chapel at Northwestern; and finished off the evening with a performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The CSO performed Rachmaninoff & Shostakovich with Krzysztof Urbanski, Conductor and Garrick Ohlsson, Piano. Over 150 OLLI members attended. Hopefully, it will become an annual event.

Coordinator Appreciation Luncheon Cruise

June 14, 2017. Our amazing OLLI Study Group Coordinators were treated to a luncheon cruise on Lake Michigan in appreciation for all they do for OLLI. The weather was ideal as we set sail from Navy Pier aboard the Mystic Blue for our 2 hour cruise. Thank you again to all our Coordinators. OLLI would not be the same without you!

On The Table

May 16, 2017. For the second year, OLLI was a co-host for On the Table, the Chicago Community Trust's (CCT) annual forum "designed to elevate civic conversation, foster new relationships and inspire collaborative action across the region". We held 3 events on our campuses with over 100 participants. The ideas generated from these events will be combined with those of other participants from around Chicago to be analyzed by the Center for Policy and Civic Engagement at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The topic for this year's event was "Equity and Social Inclusion".

OBOLLI

April 28-May 5, 2017. Once again, we celebrated OBOLLI week this spring. One Book\One OLLI (affectionately known as OBOLLI) is our joint-campus celebration of community through the reading and discussion of one book, augmented by special events. This year’s book was the classic, noir, crime-novel The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing. Discussion groups and lectures were held on campus and we held a screening of the 1940s movie adaptation. The highlights of the week were the Murder Mystery Party held on the Evanston campus and the Noir photo exhibit which displayed the amazing photographic skills of a number of OLLI members.

As part of the exhibit, the OLLI spring photography study group members on both campuses contributed digital images that were compiled into a group video. The video was shown as part of the OBOLLI Noir Photo Exhibit on the Chicago Campus. Thank you to Ted Davis for compiling this video. To view – Click Here.

OLLI in the News!

April 5, 2017. Northwestern engineer and design students participated in a 14-week discussion with OLLI members this past fall to better understand what older adults need and want in a home. Can they be met in a sustainable solar powered home that is inexpensive to operate, easy to maintain and fully ADA accessible? The NU students look to prove just that as they enter the Solar Decathlon for the first time in September 2017 with a fully built house. Read about the project and OLLI's role in Northwestern House –  Click Here.