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Welcome to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNR! Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, OLLI at UNR is a spirited community of seasoned adults who gather to explore new interests, share ideas and make friends. Distinguished professors and knowledgeable instructors volunteer their expertise in programs and activities spanning such diverse topics as art, current events, economics, health, history, literature, music, science, travel, theatre and writing. There are no grades, no tests and no pressure at OLLI. We welcome every adult learner regardless of previous educational experience. An annual membership fee of $85 covers attendance at as many programs and activities you choose to attend, including: * 150+ learning experiences every semester - in person at our Moana Campus - online via Zoom - outdoors throughout the Reno-Tahoe area * social and cultural programs * special events, field trips and a host of other enriching activities. Join us at OLLI: its the biggest little secret in the Biggest Little City. > Programs and Activities > Lectures and Mini-Series

Lectures and Mini-Series   

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Interest Groups

Outdoor Activities

Tours and Special Events

 
  • African Wildlife
  • Dates: 3/22/2023 - 3/22/2023
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Carol Grenier, Patrick Pevey
     Show Description
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Borneo Rainforest Adventure
  • Dates: 4/13/2023 - 4/13/2023
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Steven Gessler, Paula Gessler
     Show Description
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Carmen! - Live Opera Returns to Reno
  • Dates: 4/7/2023 - 4/7/2023
    Times: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Lynne Gray
     Show Description
    Come celebrate the return of live opera to Reno. The Reno Philharmonic, with help from our own international operatic superstar, Dolora Zajick, and her Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, will be presenting semi-staged versions – with costumes! – of Bizet’s masterpiece, Carmen, on April 15th and 16th at 4:00p.m. in the Pioneer Center. Before you attend the performance, this class will fill you in on the history, the story and the wonderful music from one of the world’s most popular operas. Hear again the famous “Toreador Song,” “Habanera,” and “Seguidilla.” You will leave both this class and the Pioneer Center humming!
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Death Valley Tragedy
  • Dates: 4/7/2023 - 4/7/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Jim Bonar
     Show Description
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Economic Update for the Nation and Nevada
  • Dates: 4/7/2023 - 4/7/2023
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Main
    Instructor: Elliott Parker
     Show Description


 

  • First Aid
  • Dates: 4/26/2023 - 4/26/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Main
    Instructor: Brock Young
     Show Description


 

  • Healthy Living for Your Brain and Body
  • Dates: 4/12/2023 - 4/12/2023
    Times: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Cathy Maupin
     Show Description
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • How the Writing of English Changed in the 15th Century
  • Dates: 3/24/2023 - 3/31/2023
    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 2
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Main
    Instructor: Phillip Boardman
     Show Description


    Meets for 2 sessions on Friday, March 24 and 31 at 10 a.m. Join for one or both sessions.
 

  • Literature's Greatest Villains
  • Dates: 3/24/2023 - 4/14/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 2
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Joseph Sanpietro
     Show Description
    • March 24: Return to the lives of villains with an examination of Steinbeck's Cathy Ames (Kate Albey or Kate Trask), a "psychic monster" with a "malformed soul" who manipulates and destroys people for her amusement. 
    • April 14: Today's final review of our villainy matrix will touch on the blending of villainy, the antihero, and motives. Calling on philosophy, psychology, and literary theory, we'll examine why many villains have become more popular than the heroes entrusted with protecting us from them. 
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • More Forgotten Films
  • Dates: 3/22/2023 - 4/19/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 5
    Building: Moana
    Room: Lecture Hall
    Instructor: Larry Coffman
     Show Description

    • March 22: The Doll (1919) and Putting Pants on Philip (1927)
    • March 29: Take One False Step (1949)
    • April 5: The Changeling (1980)
    • April 12: King of the Hill (1993)
    • April 19: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019)

 

  • Reno City Council 101
  • Dates: 4/6/2023 - 4/6/2023
    Times: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Naomi Duerr
     Show Description
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Revitalizing American Democracy in the 21st Century
  • Dates: 4/21/2023 - 4/21/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Main
    Instructor: Fred Lokken
     Show Description
    Look at Nevada’s 2023 legislative session as well as discover names that are already bubbling up as possible candidates for 2024 races up and down the ballot.
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • The Irish Good Friday Agreement: 25 Years of Fraught Peace
  • Dates: 4/21/2023 - 4/28/2023
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 2
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Main
    Instructor: Dennis Dworkin
     Show Description
    • April 21: Examine the tortured Anglo-Irish relationship through the lens of history, and explore how it came about that there are two Irelands (the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Discuss the violence that racked Northern Ireland between the late 1960s and the mid-1990s and led to the deaths of more than three thousand people.
    • April 28: The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 has guided the subsequent relationships within Northern Ireland as well as between Britain, the Republic of Ireland, and the North. Discuss the peace talks that led up to the agreement, as well as this remarkably creative and innovative but also fragile and ambiguous compromise. Examine the difficult process of implementation and the recent challenges resulting from Brexit, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
    This is a series of 2 lectures. Join for one or both.
 

  • Wonders and Curiosities of Our 50 States
  • Dates: 3/31/2023 - 3/31/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 1
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Karin McCollum
     Show Description
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Chair Yoga
  • Dates: 3/3/2023 - 4/28/2023
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 9
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Diane Dunn
     Show Description
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
    Meets for 9 sessions on Friday at 10 a.m. beginning Mar. 3, 2023.
 

  • Discover the Joys of Opera
  • Dates: 3/17/2023 - 6/2/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 6
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Lynne Gray
     Show Description

    The operas we will cover this spring are:

    • March 17: Wagner's incredible Lohengrin
    • March 30: Verdi's comic masterpiece, Falstaff
    • April 6: Strauss's glorious Rosenkavalier
    • April 28: Blanchard's moving Champion
    • May 19: Mozart's classic Don Giovanni
    • June 2: Mozart's delightful Magic Flute
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Gamache's World: Louise Penny's Mystery Novels
  • Dates: 1/11/2023 - 6/14/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 6
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Main
    Instructor: Alice Yucht
     Show Description
    • January 11: Still Life (2005)
    • February 8: Bury Your Dead (2010)
    • March 8: The Beautiful Mystery (2012) OR How the Light Gets In (2013)
    • April 12: Kingdom of the Blind (2019) OR All the Devils are Here (2020)
    • May 10: The Madness of Crowds (2021)
    • June 14: A World of Curiosities (2022)

    For more information, email yzguide@gmail.com.

    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
    These programs will NOT be recorded.
 

  • Great Decisions
  • Dates: 2/8/2023 - 4/5/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 9
    Building: Moana
    Room: Small Classroom
    Instructor: Anne Stilwill
     Show Description


    Meets weekly on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. for 8 sessions beginning Feb. 8th.
 

  • Meditation One-Om-One (c)
  • Dates: 3/10/2023 - 3/31/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 4
    Building: Moana
    Room: Small Classroom
    Instructor: Debbie Bartley
     Show Description

    PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED: To pre-register, please send an email to ollirenosignup@gmail.com between February 24 and March 3 with MEDITATION in the subject line.  Seating is limited to 20 students. Preference will be given to new students. If space allows, you may repeat this course. Please indicate when registering if you have attended this course before.
    Pre-Registration Required: must attend first session
 

  • OLLI Travelers
  • Dates: 2/1/2023 - 5/3/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 4
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Judi Whiting
     Show Description

    March 1: A Namibian Road Trip with Mike and Cindy Goddard. Join us on a great road adventure through Namibia. See stunning landscapes and natural wonders. Experience ancient cultures and stone-age petroglyphs. Get up close and personal with the astounding wildlife at Etosha National Park, one of the best places on the planet for watching wildlife. Mike and Judy visited Namibia in 2021 and 2022.

    April 5:  Here’s looking’ at you, kid!  They may not be Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, but Jill and Mark Richardson will share their travel adventure to Morocco.  From Casablanca to Fez to the Sahara Desert to Marrakesh, come learn why Morocco is so alluring, but “no Arab loves the desert.”  As an added bonus, accompany them to their side trip to Oktoberfest in Munich.  Ein prosit!!
     

    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
    Meets monthly on the 1st Wednesday at 2 p.m. from Feb. 1 to May 5, 2023. This program is not recorded.
 

  • Reno Chamber Orchestra's Art and Artists
  • Dates: 2/17/2023 - 6/16/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 4
    Building: Moana
    Room: Hybrid Lecture
    Instructor: Amy Heald, Kelly Kuo
     Show Description

    Class dates this semester are:

    • February 17: featuring accordionist Hanzhi Wang and maestro Kelly Kuo who will introduce the Feb. 18th and 19th concert entitled Primal Voices
    • April 28: trumpeters Paul Lenz and Jef Derderian with maestro Kuo discuss the April 29th and 30th concert Baroque & Beyond
    • May 19: acclaimed pianist Jon Kimura Parker and maestro Kuo introduce The Brilliant Mind featuring Beethoven's Piano Concerto Number 3
    • June 16: features a sneak peek at the exciting 2023-24 Season
    This is a HYBRID class.  Look for the ZOOM link in the OLLI Weekly.
 

  • Writing Poetry
  • Dates: 1/19/2023 - 6/15/2023
    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 11
    Building: Moana
    Room: Small Classroom
    Instructor: Joan Brick
     Show Description


    Meet 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 2 p.m. from Jan. 19 to Jun. 15, 2023.
 

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Program Contact Information
 Location: Moana Building
 Physical Address: Main OLLI Office: 604 W. Moana Lane | Reno, NV 89509
 Email: olli@unr.edu
 Phone: (775) 784-8053
 Hours: Monday-Friday | 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.