AUM OLLI Making Preparations for Fall The Osher Foundation, from which AUM OLLI receives some funding, states its mission as promoting “learning for the joy of learning-- without examinations or grades--and keeping in touch with a larger world.” AUM OLLI seeks to fulfill those goals through course offerings in several areas: study/discussion classes in many fields, do-it-yourself (DIY) classes, and active classes. In addition to these offerings, it creates a community among its members by offering opportunities for visiting and building friendships. The crisis of the coronavirus has complicated the ability to provide all of these activities. When the 2020 spring classes had to be discontinued, AUM OLLI was able to provide some online offerings – a few courses and two book discussion classes. The responses to these options have been quite enthusiastic.
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July 2020
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AUM OLLI has begun planning the fall 2020 schedule considering a number of options that will allow us to fulfill goals and provide for the safety of our members: • Assessing every room for an appropriate class capacity to maintain social distancing; • Considering a different class schedule to limit the number of people in the building and moving from one class to another and to allow for cleaning the rooms between classes; • Offering “hybrid” classes that will allow some members in the classroom while others participate online (classrooms are being equipped with webcams); • Asking participants to bring their own thermoses of water or coffee. Some actions will be added to this list as time passes. For the fall, AUM OLLI will concentrate
on the study/discussion classes, book groups, and perhaps some online lunch presentations because of the difficulty of following safety guidelines in the DIY and active classes. We are developing some exciting new courses to interest members to allow them to continue “the joy of learning” and to “keep in touch with a larger world.” Now is a good time to become a member of AUM OLLI. As we look to the fall, we invite – even urge – new and current members to join us in planning. Recommend courses to add to the schedule – for online or face-to-face offerings (or combined), especially if there is a recommended instructor. We are trying to be flexible in our planning since options are still uncertain. Visit our website at www.aum.edu/OLLI to join and to stay informed.
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