NASA's latest great flagship observatory, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), was built in part to reveal the earliest moments of cosmic history. In the few years, JWST has enthralled scientists and the public alike with beautiful observations of the Universe. The astronomical community has set distance records and demonstrated that galaxies and black holes formed even more rapidly than we had ever expected. This talk will highlight some of the exciting results from the UNCOVER program in Pandora's Cluster. The UNCOVER program is part of the James Webb Telescope initiative aimed at uncovering insights about the early universe.

Rachel Bezanson, PhD, is an observational astronomer, whose expertise is in the formation and evolution of the largest galaxies in the Universe. She got her bachelor's degree at Barnard College, her PhD at Yale University, and joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2017, where she is now an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The tragic events of October 7, 2023, produced global protests from both sides. This has resulted in renewed studies of the origins of continuing antisemitism. Then, as now, religious convictions were not separated from cultural traditions, social conventions, and politics. The gospels are being re-evaluated in attempts to separate literary polemic (negative attacks against opponents) that were used to claim that Jews persecuted and executed the first Christians. Is there any historical evidence for the charge that remains fundamental to Christianity for 2,000 years?

Rebecca Denova, PhD, is senior lecturer emerita in religious studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She regularly teaches courses on the history of early Christianity (her specialty), ancient religions in the Mediterranean world, and several topics related to ancient popular religion and society.

OLLI at Pitt, within the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs, has a unique opportunity to view its work through the paradigm of community engagement. OLLIs at several universities are similarly situated. This session will consider the unique context of OLLI as a part of the community engagement and outreach landscape in higher education, welcoming senior engagement and outreach leaders from different universities to provide their thoughts on the opportunities provided by this positioning, particularly as we consider OLLI of the future. The panel will close with thoughts about the future of community-engaged OLLIs, welcoming a provocative perspective on the potential for co-generational learning and social impact.

Lina Dostilio, EdD, is Vice Chancellor, Office of Engagement and Community Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. She sets and advances the University's community engagement agenda and catalyzes community-facing efforts across the University, including place-based engagement efforts, engaged scholarship, strategic partnership development, and community affairs. She is also an associate professor of practice within the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy in the School of Education. Her research explores the community engagement professional in higher education and hyperlocal, place-based engagement.