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(IN-PERSON SECTION)

Session II Add-On: Apr. 15
Wednesday 12:15 - 1:30 pm (one meeting)
Discover methods used to count, track, and describe wild animals by an early woman biologist as she relates experiences conducting field research across varied landscapes and biologist as she relates experiences conducting field research across varied landscapes and waters of Alaska, collecting information under sometimes harrowing conditions to ensure that conservation measures sustained fish and game for the community's well-being. Research on such animals as sockeye, chum, and Chinook salmon, caribou, moose, and red king crab will be discussed as well as the impacts of a changing climate on these populations.
Instructor Margaret F. Merritt, Ph.D. is a retired biologist and adjunct assistant professor at UAF, public speaker, and author who resides in Fairbanks, Alaska.

(ZOOM SECTION)

Session II Add-On: Apr. 15
Wednesday 12:15 - 1:30 pm (one meeting)
Discover methods used to count, track, and describe wild animals by an early woman biologist as she relates experiences conducting field research across varied landscapes and biologist as she relates experiences conducting field research across varied landscapes and waters of Alaska, collecting information under sometimes harrowing conditions to ensure that conservation measures sustained fish and game for the community's well-being. Research on such animals as sockeye, chum, and Chinook salmon, caribou, moose, and red king crab will be discussed as well as the impacts of a changing climate on these populations.
Instructor Margaret F. Merritt, Ph.D. is a retired biologist and adjunct assistant professor at UAF, public speaker, and author who resides in Fairbanks, Alaska.

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.

SOC-09-Z (distance delivered)
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.

Session II: Mar. 19, 26, Apr. 2, 9, 16
Thursdays 12:15 - 1:30 pm (5 Weeks)
*This course meets at the Pioneer Park Dance Hall! 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, AK 99709.
*Participants should bring comfortable, non-marking shoes with smooth soles, and water.
*Each 5-week session stands alone; you may take either one or both.
Come learn the basics of English Country Dancing! Enjoy wonderful music from the 1700s to present, and be social and physically active with others in an easy walking format. All dances will be taught step-by-step, then called as you progress through the centuries of this wonderful dance form. The most challenging thing will be remembering which is your left hand or right hand, how to walk, and then turn in a circle! Partners are not necessary.
Instructor Dennis Rogers has been dancing and playing this form of music since the 1970s. 

EX-05b (in-person)
Session II: Mar. 19, 26, Apr. 2, 9, 16
*Meets at the Fairbanks Senior Center; 1424 Moore St, Fairbanks, AK 99701
**This course is free to attend and OLLI membership is not required.
Taoist Tai Chi offers a pleasant form of exercise which incorporates stretching and relaxation. It is a mind/body activity which, when practiced diligently, is capable of improving balance, strength, range of motion, and overall well-being.
Instructors Kate Hedstrom and Rob Cermak teach Tai Chi with the local chapter of the Taoist Tai Chi Society. They both have well over a decade of experience of learning and instructing the form, and have found many benefits from the practice.

Session II: Mar. 18, 25, Apr. 1, 8, 15
Wednesdays 2:00 - 5:00 pm (5 weeks)
Film Noir (dark film) are films primarily based on hardboiled crime fiction novels from 1940 -
1960. These films have loosely-defined characteristics, but always present the darker side of humanity. In each course meeting, we’ll explore one aspect of film noir, then screen a representative film, followed by a short discussion.
Instructor Jeffrey Simonson has been watching and studying cinema, and attending film festivals for over 30 years. 

 

FLM-02 (in-person)

Session II: Mar. 18, 25, Apr. 1, 8, 15
Wednesdays 2:00 - 5:00 pm (5 weeks)
Film Noir (dark film) are films primarily based on hardboiled crime fiction novels from 1940 -
1960. These films have loosely-defined characteristics, but always present the darker side of humanity. In each course meeting, we’ll explore one aspect of film noir, then screen a representative film, followed by a short discussion.
Instructor Jeffrey Simonson has been watching and studying cinema, and attending film festivals for over 30 years.

FLM-04 (in-person)

Session II: Mar. 20, 27, Apr. 3, 10, 17
Fridays 2:00 - 4:30 (5 weeks)
Humor for these topsy-turvy times? Have we been here before? From Pope Leo XIV, Sci-fi, parodies, from Attu and the Interior; we’ll see and discuss what takes us away (or back) to today.
Session II Films:
The Meaning of Life (DVD 15967, British, 1983, 107 minutes, Monty Python)
Wag the Dog (DVD 10247, 98 minutes, 1997)
Big Year (NW, 100 minutes, 2011)
Raising Arizona (DVD 4603, 1987, 94 minutes, Coen brothers)

FLM-07 (in-person)
Session II Add-On: April 14, 16
Tuesday and Thursday 10:00 am- 2:00 pm (2 meetings)
Exploring Jewish foods, stories, poems, and films, the course charts a sensory journey through the diverse geography of Jewish communities and cultures. Materials fee $20, pay instructor at first meeting. Enrollment limited to 12.
An immigrant, a teacher, and a writer, Dafna Young has lived and taught in Fairbanks for 22 years.
 

HL-07 (in-person)
Session II: Mar. 19, 26, Apr. 2, 9, 16
Thursdays 12:15 - 1:30 pm (5 weeks)
The Mayo Clinic, Harvard, the NIH, and the University of Texas, Austin, all agree. Serving others has positive health benefits, including improved physical and mental health; reduced rate of cognitive aging by 15-20%; increased sense of purpose; gaining new skills; increased friendships; and reduced mortality. Aren't we lucky to have so many service organizations in Fairbanks? Find out more about which organizations are active locally as well as their accomplishments and priorities. Consider if you would like to support or become a member of a local service group to improve your health while doing good for others.
Organizer Patricia Merrit has brought together members with over 100 combined years of service in Fairbanks, from multiple service organizations, to provide an overview of their organizations.
 

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. 

MATH-01 (in-person)
Session II: Mar. 18, 25, Apr. 1, 8
Wednesdays 10:30 - 11:45 am
This course explores a broad mix of topics in mathematics, including mathematical aspects of voting methods, economics, collective action, medical studies, public policy, ranked choice voting, gerrymandering, good and bad uses of statistics, and whatever else comes up in the discussion.
Instructor David Withoff has a Ph.D. in Physics, has taught physics and statistics at the college level, and recently retired from a career creating training materials for mathematical software. Dave enjoys identifying and solving simple math problems that come up in everyday life.

MUS-07 (in-person)
Session II: Mar. 19, 26, Apr. 2, 9, 16
Thursdays 10:30 - 11:45 am (5 weeks)
This class will introduce very beginning students to the ukulele. Each week we will learn two chords and 2-3 songs that use those chords. By the end of the class, you will be able to play at least 12 songs on the ukulele. This class requires that you have a soprano, tenor, or concert ukulele and a tuner (can be your phone). If you have a music stand, that's a plus. This class is guaranteed to put you in a good mood during class and each time you practice. Materials fee $5; pay instructor at first meeting. Enrollment limited to 15.
Instructor Cindee Karns picked up the ukulele after she retired from teaching 8th graders in North Pole. She played with the Alaska Jumping Fleas in Anchorage and is now playing with The Raven Guitar group and other likely characters around town.
 

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.
 

Session II: Mar. 20, 27, Apr. 3, 10, 17
Fridays 12:15 - 1:30 pm (5 weeks)
A deeper dive from the initial offering of "Tragic or Comic, It’s All Economics", this partner course builds off the vocabulary introduced in the prior class and focuses on the economic philosophies, policies and current applications to our nation during these turbulent times.
Instructor Patrick Romans (see SOC-02) 
 

Session II Add-On: April 13, 14, 15
Mon, Tues, Wed 10:30 - 11:45 am (3 consecutive meetings)

*OLLI membership is not required.
Learn how easy it is to plan your estate and leave gifts to people and charities that mean the most to your family! Philanthropic advisors for the UA Foundation will discuss giving through your retirement and estate planning and other strategies. All attendees will receive a printed will planning guide. Bring your laptop, and we will show you how to use UA’s FreeWill software. If you’ve never had time to meet with an estate planner or advisor, please feel free to schedule an appointment with Harry, Scott, or Miranda – questions are welcome, but they can give you more in-depth advice during one-on-one appointments.
Facilitator: Miranda Miller, Development Coordinator, with UAF. Presenters: Harry W. Need, Senior, and Scott Taylor.

(ZOOM SECTION)

Session II Add-On: April 13, 14, 15
Mon, Tues, Wed 10:30 - 11:45 am (3 consecutive meetings)

*OLLI membership is not required.
Learn how easy it is to plan your estate and leave gifts to people and charities that mean the most to your family! Philanthropic advisors for the UA Foundation will discuss giving through your retirement and estate planning and other strategies. All attendees will receive a printed will planning guide. Bring your laptop, and we will show you how to use UA’s FreeWill software. If you’ve never had time to meet with an estate planner or advisor, please feel free to schedule an appointment with Harry, Scott, or Miranda – questions are welcome, but they can give you more in-depth advice during one-on-one appointments.
Facilitator: Miranda Miller, Development Coordinator, with UAF. Presenters: Harry W. Need, Senior, and Scott Taylor.