Lectures, Events, Tours, and Mini-Courses   

Oakland is Pittsburgh's second city center. On this mile and a quarter walk we will discuss how the philanthropy of Mary Schenley and Andrew Carnegie initiated Oakland's dramatic change from a suburb situated above the industrial river valleys into Pittsburgh's cultural, educational, and medical center. Central Oakland is one of the finest examples of the City Beautiful movement in America. Sites on the tour include the Cathedral of Learning, Heinz Chapel, the Carnegie Museums, Carnegie Mellon University, Phipps Conservatory, Soldiers & Sailors Memorial, the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Paul Tellers, RA is an architect and planner. He was the University Architect at Carnegie Mellon University, the Director of Planning at WTW Architects, Facilities Planning Director for a CUNY college in New York, and a Project Manager for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. In addition to teaching Osher courses, Tellers serves as a guide for historical Pittsburgh tours for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, Rivers of Steel, Bike the Burgh, and Doors Open Pittsburgh. Tellers is currently a docent at the Carnegie Museum of Art and a member of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh.

Oakland is Pittsburgh's second city center. On this mile and a quarter walk we will discuss how the philanthropy of Mary Schenley and Andrew Carnegie initiated Oakland's dramatic change from a suburb situated above the industrial river valleys into Pittsburgh's cultural, educational, and medical center. Central Oakland is one of the finest examples of the City Beautiful movement in America. Sites on the tour include the Cathedral of Learning, Heinz Chapel, the Carnegie Museums, Carnegie Mellon University, Phipps Conservatory, Soldiers & Sailors Memorial, the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Paul Tellers, RA is an architect and planner. He was the University Architect at Carnegie Mellon University, the Director of Planning at WTW Architects, Facilities Planning Director for a CUNY college in New York, and a Project Manager for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. In addition to teaching Osher courses, Tellers serves as a guide for historical Pittsburgh tours for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, Rivers of Steel, Bike the Burgh, and Doors Open Pittsburgh. Tellers is currently a docent at the Carnegie Museum of Art and a member of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh.

Join Paul Selvaggio, the former conservation photographer for the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, as he shares some of his favorite photos, experiences, and stories captured over the past three and a half decades. Paul's photographs have helped to tell and celebrate the incredible stories of the Zoo. Additionally, Paul, with his dynamic photography and often humorous delivery, will also share some local and international experiences of the Zoo’s conservation efforts and his former assignments.

Paul Selvaggio served as the Zoo's creative director, their first graphic designer, and as the Zoo’s volunteer photographer for over 3 decades and built the Zoo’s award-winning Creative Services Department. In 2021, Paul took on a new role as the Zoo’s first conservation photographer. He now dedicates his time supporting the Zoo’s mission with his photography and videography both locally, nationally, and internationally.

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.

This lecture will deconstruct basic concepts about how dopamine and the brain work, and how these relate to our daily lives. We will cover diverse theories in science and in mainstream culture about dopamine function, ranging from reward and addiction to Parkinson’s disease and motor control. Where do all these wide-ranging theories and misconceptions come from? We will also discuss fundamental scientific experiments and observations that have shaped these views.

Please Note: This lecture will be hybrid. There will be two separate registrations: one for online and another for in-person. Please be sure that you are registered for your desired modality.

Helen Schwerdt, PhD, is researching how to build and apply tools to understand how different modes of neural signaling underlie our everyday behavior. She is especially interested in the neural circuits involved in motivation and learning, and the role of dopamine in these behaviors in health and disease. She received training in biomedical and electrical engineering, and neuroscience.

This lecture will deconstruct basic concepts about how dopamine and the brain work, and how these relate to our daily lives. We will cover diverse theories in science and in mainstream culture about dopamine function, ranging from reward and addiction to Parkinson’s disease and motor control. Where do all these wide-ranging theories and misconceptions come from? We will also discuss fundamental scientific experiments and observations that have shaped these views.

Please Note: This lecture will be hybrid. There will be two separate registrations: one for online and another for in-person. Please be sure that you are registered for your desired modality.

Helen Schwerdt, PhD, is researching how to build and apply tools to understand how different modes of neural signaling underlie our everyday behavior. She is especially interested in the neural circuits involved in motivation and learning, and the role of dopamine in these behaviors in health and disease. She received training in biomedical and electrical engineering, and neuroscience.

Join us for a day at Chautauqua Institute! The main lecturer for the day is Thomas Friedman, the bestselling author of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century and foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times. Renowned for his direct reporting and accessible analysis of complex issues shaping the world, Friedman is the winner of three Pulitzer Prizes — two for international reporting from the Middle East and a third for his columns written about 9/11. It is this extensive reporting and analysis that will inform his remarks as he closes the week exploring “The Middle East: The Gulf States’ Emerging Influence.”(Speaker subject to change.)

After the talk, OLLI will have lunch at the historic Atheneum Hotel. After lunch, everyone will have a few hours to themselves to visit quaint shops, explore unique galleries, take a shuttle around the historic 750-acre compound, walk along the lake, or enjoy people-watching in the town square or on the Atheneum porches.

Cost: $140 · Fee includes motorcoach transportation, buffet lunch, and day admittance to Chautauqua Institution. ·

Online registration for event and/or parking ($10 in Soldiers and Sailors garage) is for members only. Each member is permitted to bring one guest. For guest registration purchases and/or guest parking reservations in Soldiers and Sailors Parking garage ($10), either call  the office 412-624-7308 or visit our office (710 Alumni Hall). 

July 31 is the last day for a full refund and to reserve parking.

We will meet outside Soldiers and Sailors garage on Bigelow Boulevard at 6:00 a.m. to board the bus.