Distance-Delivery   

FF-06-Z (distance-delivered)
Session II: Mar. 19, 26, Apr. 2, 9
Thursdays 2:00 - 3:15 pm
Growing Roses in Alaska at the UAF-GBG, by the Georgeson Botanical Garden rose crew. Guest speakers planned!
Instructor Janet Matheson has been a rose grower since 1974 (test panelist for Jackson & Perkins, master gardener, & GBG rose crew since 2014; Millie Peek - rose grower, master gardener, & leader of GBG rose crew). 

LIT-04-Z (distance-delivered)
Session II: Mar. 19, 26, Apr. 2, 9, 16
Thursdays 12:00 - 1:00 pm (5 weeks)
We will end up reading five books: two about the race for the North and South Poles; two about the search for the Northwest Passage. The fifth book will be a philosophical novel about exploration.
Instructor Toby Widdicombe specializes in Tolkien studies, American and British literature, Shakespeare, textual studies, critical theory, film, and utopianism. He has published books on (among others) Tolkien, Edward Bellamy, Utopianism, Shakespeare, Shakespeare and film, Raymond Chandler, Max Nettlau, and Anglo-American travel writing. One of his current projects studies the rhetoric of polar exploration. 

Session II: Mar. 20, 27, Apr. 3, 10
Fridays 2:00 - 3:15 pm
Weather drives wildfire behavior in Alaska and across the world. Learn about Alaska's classic weather patterns during the wildfire season and how every season has its own personality. Historic Alaskan wildfires will be investigated, with emphasis also given to impactful fires burning outside Alaska such as the August 2023 wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii and the January 2025 wildfire in Los Angeles, California.
Instructor Eric Stevens worked as a meteorologist in Alaska for over 30 years, with time at the National Weather Service, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Alaska Fire Service.
 

Session II Add-On: April 13, 15, 17
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:15 - 10:15am (3 meetings)
Join us as we dive into varying different topics within the umbrella of sustainability science alongside UAF undergraduate students, participating in their presentations, and fostering a sense of intergenerational learning. Come ready to ask questions and learn more about sustainability!
Your instructor Associate Professor Katie Spellman will have various UAF undergraduate students present during each of these meetings.
 

SOC-09 (in-person)
Session II Add-On: April 16, 17
Thursday and Friday 10:30 - 11:45 am (2 consecutive meetings)

*OLLI membership is not required.

Title: Guide to Retirement

Presenter: Jordan Hendry, Financial Advisor, MBA, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ®

Date: Thursday, April 16

Course Description:

We will discuss general guidelines to retirement principles that include,  saving, spending, investing, gifting, Social Security, health, and planning opportunities to minimize taxes in retirement.  We’ll explore the relationship between IRA withdrawals, Roth IRA conversions, taxability of Social Security and Medicare part B premiums, and how to leverage your giving power with Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA. We would encourage those attending to bring their statements or have them available to participate in this activity.

Title: The Psychology of Investing: Discipline, Emotions, and Meaningful Giving

Presenter: Ethan Daniels, Financial Advisor, MSPFP, CFP®
Date: Friday, April 17 

Course Description:
Explore how behavioral biases such as envy, regret, and loss aversion shape the way we invest and make financial decisions. This session also highlights how emotions influence charitable giving and how donors can create intentional, tax‑efficient strategies that align with their values. Attendees will learn practical ways to stay disciplined during market turbulence while building an investment and giving plan that supports both their long‑term goals and the causes they care about.

LIT-03-Z (distance-delivered)
Session II: Mar. 17, 24, 31, Apr. 7, 14
Tuesdays 12:00 - 2:00 pm (5 weeks)
Our discussions of several "tales of best sentence and most solaas" (i.e., instruction and entertainment) by Geoffrey Chaucer will mostly feature modern-English translations. Nevertheless, I encourage frequent exposure to the original Middle-English text; its verbal grace and vibrant nuances are charming. David Wright's excellent verse translation is in Oxford World's Classics. Online is poetryintranslation.com. Original and translated texts are side-by-side in librarius.com. Bantam Classic paperback (2006), edited by Peter G. Beidler, has facing-page versions. Other expert options are in W.W. Norton, Penguin, Signet, Hackett, Vintage, and Insignia.
Instructor Joe Dupras, Professor Emeritus of English (UAF 1979-2010), has taught OLLI classes featuring novels as well as surveys of poetry. 

MUS-05-Z (distance-delivered)
Session II: Mar. 16, 23, 30, Apr. 6
Mondays 3:45 - 5:00 pm
Music has great power to restore us to feeling calm and happy. It is the best antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication I know. In this class we’ll listen to some of the great music from the movies: musicals, theme songs, great singers, etc. Come take a break from this uncertain and unstable world to enjoy one of the good things in life and to rejuvenate yourself.
Instructor Larry Moen provides comprehensive therapy services as a Licensed Professional Counselor in his private practice, Uncommon Therapy (https://www.utherapy.net/). Previously he has been acting coordinator of the counseling center in Utqiagvik, manager of adult services at Fairbanks Community Behavioral Health Center, treatment director of Children's Services on the North Slope, Dean of Students at Ilisagvik College, and the creator of the social skills curriculum used by Job Corps.

RB-01-Z (distance-delivered)
Session I: Feb. 11, 18, 25, Mar. 4, 11
Session II: Mar. 18, 25, Apr. 1
Wednesdays 10:30 - 11:45 am
*This course meets for 8 weeks.
This experimental iteration of beginning astrology will take eight consecutive weeks, including the inter-session week, and ending a week early. We'll start with building the astrological chart, while you compare your chart from day one. We'll look at the chart Houses and zodiac Signs, before focusing on the main action, the Planets, plus the Lunar Nodes and Chiron. We will summarize with overviews of elements and energetic modes. That leaves two classes for pulling all the details