Meet the Instructors

Moe Bidgoli

Moe Bidgoli graduated from University of Tehran and University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was professor of computer science and information system for 35 years. He became Emeritus Professor of CS & IS in June 2018. He thought several courses for SVSU and UofM Ann Arbor OLLI programs. He is married and he lives in Ann Arbor Michigan. His hobbies are reading history, playing pickleball, gardening, and travelling.

Rick Bleiweiss

Author, Publishing Executive, Former Music Industry Executive, University Lecturer, Newspaper & Magazine columnist, and GRAMMY Nominated record producer. At 77-years-old, his first novel, “Pignon Scorbion & The Barbershop Detectives” was published to great acclaim as an Amazon Editors’ Pick, a Debut Mystery Pick by both Barnes & Noble and Publishers Weekly and was voted their Buzz Book by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (among other major endorsements). Bleiweiss started his career in music as a rock performer, producer of over fifty records (including a Grammy nomination), songwriter and record company senior executive in New York City. He worked with numerous music industry legends, including Clive Davis, Melissa Etheridge, the Backstreet Boys, Kiss, U2, Whitney Houston, the BeeGees, and many other superstars. Since 2006 as a publishing company executive with Blackstone Publishing, Bleiweiss has acquired works by bestselling and award-winning authors and celebrities including Rex Pickett (“Sideways”), Robert Downey Jr, Al Roker, James Clavell (“Shogun”), PC Cast (“House of Night”), Gabriel García Márquez (1982 Nobel Prize in Literature), Natasha Boyd (“The Indigo Girl”), Andrews & Wilson (“Tier One”), Ramsey Lewis, Al Di Meola, Catherine Coulter, Heather Graham, Andrew Child, and Nicholas Sansbury Smith (“Hell Divers”), among others. In his latest creative endeavor, Rick has crafted the “Pignon Scorbion” historical mystery series—blending his love of the past with the twisty deliciousness of a whodunit. As fun facts, the author created a video game, theme song, t-shirts and a video trailer for the launch of the book, and was most influenced by his trips to England when developing his Sherlock Holmes-type character and “Pignon Scorbion” book series.

April Bryan

The Air Zoo’s education programs are focused on creating affordable, interactive educational programs that not only stimulate and engage audiences during their presentation, but also inspire them to continue their exploration of science and history long after the program’s conclusion. This program will be led by April Bryan, the Air Zoo’s Exhibits and Interpretation Manager.

Sharon Carlson

Dr. Sharon Carlson retired from WMU in 2020 after heading the Zhang Legacy Collections Center. She is currently serving as the President of the Board of the Historical Society of Michigan. Her interests focus on regional history.

Susan Caulfield

Susan Caulfield taught in higher education for 38 years and recently retired to explore other activities. She recently earned a Master’s degree in Spirituality, Culture, and Health, with a focus on death education. She also has a graduate certificate in Holistic Health and a PhD in Criminology. Susan is also a community mediator and likes to create safe spaces for people to have challenging conversations. Death education is an area where she hopes to create such safe places so that people can address those important topics that might be hard to address with their family or close friends.

John Clark

John Clark is chair of the Political Science Department at Western Michigan University. He’s been teaching and thinking about political parties for more than three decades--and he’s yet to fully figure them out.

Teresa Crumpton

A master clinical faculty specialist in WMU department of speech, language, hearing sciences. She teaches courses in the doctoral program in audiology and coordinates the clinical programs in the Charles Van Riper language, speech, and hearing clinic. Teresa has provided clinical audiology services to infants, children and adults for the past 20 years.

Thomas Dietz

Tom Dietz is the retired Curator of Local History at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. He has taught numerous OLLI courses on local and regional history. He received a Master’s degree in American History from Wayne State University and taught American history at Wayne State, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, as well as at Western Michigan University.

Jane Duran

A retired teacher and entrepreneur. She has been playing Mah Jongg for 25 years and plays a couple of times a week. She has taught Mah Jongg to friends over the years and enjoys the game very much.

John Geisler

Roger Sherman will be portrayed by Dr. John S. Geisler, Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University. Bachelor’s - Adrian College; Master’s and Doctorate - University of Toledo, OH

Sam Grossman

I am a “reformed” dark room photographer with a longtime interest in photography, esp. black and white. I am a docent at the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts. I retired from two careers including college teaching in the humanities.

Stan and Diane Henderson

Avid readers – Stan reads history, Diane fiction. In other lives, they would have been history and English professors. Now they team up to share their passions with us. Pre-retirement, Stan was the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Life at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Diane was an educational program planner and consultant. Both are currently failing retirement.

Lynn Houghton

Lynn Houghton is the Regional History Curator at the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections. She is the co-author of Kalamazoo Lost and Found and leads the Gazelle Sports Historic Walks around Kalamazoo County held during the summer and fall. She also participated in the PBS Series, “10 that Shaped America.” She has both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Western Michigan University and a master’s in library and information science from Wayne State University.

Diane Jones

A retired KPS School Teacher, with a BA in Elementary Education and MA in Counseling. After having taught school for 32 years, she pursued her interest and hobby as a freelance photographer and scrapbooker. She has been called the great photojournalist, by many of her friends, because her photos always tell a story of what is happening in the interesting ways in which she arranges them on a page--complete with captions. She has volunteered her talents of scrapbooking at a Senior Center as well as with small groups of interested participants.

Christy Kincaid

The Air Zoo’s education programs are focused on creating affordable, interactive educational programs that not only stimulate and engage audiences during their presentation, but also inspire them to continue their exploration of science and history long after the program’s conclusion. This program will be lead by Christy Kincaid, the Air Zoo’s Collections Manager.

Frances Kubicek

Frances Kubicek is a retired business instructor from Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She also has held securities, long-term care, and insurance licenses. Teaching personal finance to young students has been a passion at the College for more than a decade. Life experiences have given her the opportunity to work within the long-term care system and the legal system while caring for family members. She will bring illustrations relevant to the topic and will share insights from interviews with experts in the areas listed above.

Sharon Landman

Senior Business Development Specialist at StoryPoint. I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working in senior health care for 10+ years, 5 years with StoryPoint and the other 5+ in rehabilitation & skilled nursing. I’m a Certified Dementia Specialist, passionate about empathy and allowing people to thrive regardless of their limitations and driven to be a lifelong learner and educator.

Scott Lingenfelter

Scott Lingenfelter (Ph.D. University of Illinois) has traveled to Russia several times and was there during the aborted coup of 1991. Recipient of an outstanding teaching award from the Illinois Community College Trustees Association, he taught for 15 years in the Chicago area before joining the history faculty at Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University. He is the author of Russia in the 21st Century.

Gary Mitchell

A 1975 West Point graduate and lifelong student of military history. An vowed research junkie, who enjoys sharing the fascinating stories he finds lurking in unexplored corners of American history. He has taught coursed for years at his local Osher Institute and is a published author.

Eric Nelson

Eric Nelson received his BA and MA, in Social Psychology and Organizational Communication, from Western Michigan University, was a Program Officer at the Fetzer Institute for 22 years, received training in Mindfulness from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and founded Stress Less Kzoo in 2012 which provides courses to reduce physical and emotion suffering and foster health and well-being.

Charlie Olszewski

Associate Professor (retired), MS Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, MA Educational Psychology Michigan State University, 24 years in higher education: Associate Professor CIS, Director Regional Cisco Networking Academy, Department chair CIS/GRDN/OIS/ BUSA, 21 years in private sector: Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program (consultin engineering firm) Cleveland, Ohio Ford Motor Company, Cleveland Ohio, Industrial Metal Products Corp. (Machine tool company) Lansing, MI. Did scams seminars as a contractor for the Michigan Attorne General’s office. , g y

Zaide Pixley

Zaide Pixley’s work as an educator began at P.S. 58, Bronx and continued at Interlochen and the University of Michigan, where she earned a Ph.D. in Musicology. A member of the faculty at Kalamazoo College for thirtyone years, she taught a wide range of courses, from music history and theory to rock and roll, and served as Dean of the First Year and Advising. Named an Outstanding Student Advocate by the National Center for the First-Year Experience, she also received Kalamazoo College’s Lux Esto Award for Excellence and is now Professor Emerita. She was president of the board and executive director of the Kalamazoo Bach Festival. Dr. Pixley is the author of “Great Ensemble,” a history of the first seventy-five years of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1921), and with Jane Rooks Ross has written “100 Years of Great Music: Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra” to celebrate its centenary. She is honored to serve as program annotator for the Gilmore Piano Festival and is a member of the board.

Barbara Rider

Barbara Rider was Professor and Chair of Occupational Therapy at WMU. Her long career included practice in pediatrics, geriatrics and mental health, including a program using LSD as treatment for alcoholism. She is an active member of the Kalamazoo community and has served on many boards and committees, including elective terms on the Kalamazoo Board of Commissioners and 20 years on the board of the Kalamazoo County Department of Social Services. She also served on the OLLI curriculum committee and advisory board.

Jane Rooks Ross

Jane Rooks Ross is the Kalamazoo Symphony’s founding Director of Education. A lifelong educator, she has taught in area schools, WMU, KVCC, Kalamazoo College. She has led workshops, served on grant panels, and created educational materials. She wrote the Listener’s Guide to the Orchestra and co-authoring KSO’s 100th Anniversary book. She holds a M.M. in music education cum laude (WMU). Her honors include 2003 Community Medal of Arts and 2018 YWCA Woman of Achievement awards.

Judy Rough

Judy Rough is newly retired and has many years of expertise in the aging services, professional organizing including records and documents, vetting professionals, and providing valuable “quality of life” resources. Since 2007, Judy has given the Ducks in a Row workshop to Senior Planet members, library patrons, and various individuals, groups, and organizations nationwide.

Fred Sammons

Fred Sammons took his shop teacher skills into occupational therapy, where he developed assistive devices for his patients. He built it into a business which is now the largest provider of assistive devices in the world.

Randall Schau

Randy Schau has been a high school football referee for the past 14 years (and though recently retired from it, for basketball for 33 years). Until his retirement he was Kalamazoo’s Deputy City Attorney. He has also presented classes on The Beatles, Fascinating Facts about Birds, How the U.S. States Got Their Borders, the Story behind the Hit Television Shows of the 60s, the Rules of Basketball and others.

Don Schmidt

Don Schmidt is a long-time Kalamazoo resident and retired attorney. As a young attorney in Kalamazoo, he practiced law with William Culver. His personal and professional association with William Culver, his experience in visiting Omaha Beach, his acquaintance with the son of Robert Collins, and his reading of Robert Collins’s flight log book lead to his interest in presenting this course. He presented this course previously for OLLI in 2016 and 2017.

Andrew Sivak

Andrew holds a PhD in History of Consciousness with an emphasis in Political Theory. He has won numerous awards related to his teaching and published work. He wrote his dissertation on the political theology of nuclear war. He currently resides in Santa Cruz, California with his dog Aldo and is the proprietor of Bad Animal, a combo bookshop, restaurant, and natural wine bar where he also lectures to the public on a range of subjects on Sunday afternoons.

Robin A Skitt

I am also a Life-Long Learner. I retired on a Friday and was in class at WMU on Monday. Since my retirement, I have received an additional master’s degree from WMU and certificates in Design and Innovation Management and Design Thinking. I applied quantitative tools to assist decision-makers at the leading company in three industries during my working career. I supported and improved optimization programs that informed multi-million-dollar consumer product purchases. I constructed models that estimated the impacts of national legislation. I produced a financial model that provided insight into a multi-national merger’s foreign exchange rate impacts. Having seen the thinking and decision-making in these processes, I agree with Albert Einstein. We need new ways of thinking to address the current challenges in the world.

Gillian Stoltman

Gillian Stoltman has been a frequent OLLI instructor and volunteer. She received her PhD in the study of viruses and her master’s degree in Public Health Policy. She is a former Health Director for Kalamazoo County and former Director of the Division of Communicable Disease and Immunization at the state health department. She is currently an independent Consultant to the state health department on public health policy.

Karen Trout

Karen has been with Kalamazoo Public Library for 20 years. As community engagement librarian, she oversees Reading Together, the library’s signature “one book one city” program, and coordinates adult program offerings at KPL locations. Previously, she was the system-wide book selector for the teen collection and later for adult fiction.

Tom Vance

Tom, who studied history at Western Michigan University (BS, MA), is a frequent OLLI instructor. He was commissioned from Army ROTC and served on active duty in New York City, Germany and Fort Knox, Kentucky. In the Army Reserve, he was an evening ROTC instructor for ten years at WMU, along with public affairs assignments in Washington, D.C. A lifelong student of Napoleon Bonaparte, Tom wrote “Napoleon in America: Essays in Biography & Popular Culture” (2012), based on lectures delivered at the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters, and is currently working on, “Francis Bonaparte, A Military Life: An American View of Napoleon II.”

Amy Walker

The Air Zoo’s education programs are focused on creating affordable, interactive educational programs that not only stimulate and engage audiences during their presentation, but also inspire them to continue their exploration of science and history long after the program’s conclusion. This program will be led by Air Zoo educators.

Jonnie R. Wilhite

A graduate of Western Michigan University with BA and MA degrees in English, French and Spanish, and the University of Grenoble with the First Degree in French, Jonnie Wilhite taught those languages at Purdue University for 1 year and at Kalamazoo Valley Community College for 47 years before retiring in 2015. While at KVCC, she conducted numerous student trips to France and Spain. She continues to enjoy travel to these and other countries in retirement.

Brian C. Wilson

Brian C. Wilson is Professor of Comparative Religion at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. A native of Santa Clara, California, he earned a B.S. in Medical Microbiology from Stanford University (1982), and, after three years in the Peace Corps (Honduras, Dominican Republic), went on to earn an M.A. in Spanish from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (1990) and an M.A. (1991) and Ph.D. (1996) in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara. Professor Wilson joined the faculty of the WMU Department of Comparative Religion in 1996 and served as department chair from 2001 to 2009. His areas of research and teaching include American religious history with an emphasis on new religious movements and religion in the Midwest. Among his recent books are Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Religion of Biologic Living (Indiana University Press 2014) and John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age, both of which won the State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan. Professor Wilson’s latest book, The California Days of Ralph Waldo Emerson, will be available in bookstores this May.

Mary Zoeller

Working with The Medical Team Hospice Mary has seen many families go through tough and challenging times due to not being prepared. Everyone over the age of 18 should have a living will set for an unexpected event. I can help you have this set for you or a loved one without going through and attorney.

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