NCCCR eNautilus newsletter - July-August 2005

FALL REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 10

Members can look for the College for Seniors fall catalog online or in the mail as of early August. They may complete real-time registration at Reuter Center Aug. 10-12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or they may mail their registrations if they prefer.

Requests for courses are numbered in the order received. Applications received in the mail on each day are processed at the end of the day.

TV TURNS LIGHTS ON BOOMERS

Members should mark their calendars for Monday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. so they can see the Center and its goals featured on UNC TV.

The first program, North Carolina Now at 7:30 p.m., will include a segment exploring life and ideals at Reuter Center.

Producer Claire Monroe and photographer Mike Oniffrey, who visited Reuter Center July 26-27, focused on the Center for Creative Retirement because it has a unique reputation in North Carolina and in the nation.

Monroe explained that the segment will focus on Reuter Center programs. “It is a great resource to tap into to learn what is going on with retirees,” she said.

The segment will be a natural introduction for the second program, “The Open Road: America Looks at Aging,” a national broadcast exploring how retiring Boomers reinvent themselves in multiple ways, including volunteerism, re-careering or simply continuing to work. The program asks the question, “What does reaching retirement age mean to individual Boomers?”

In her new documentary, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Nina Gilden Seavey tackles fundamental questions about how the first of 77 million Boomers will handle their new status as retirees.

After marking the calendars, it may be time to phone family members, to e-mail friends and to set the TV to record the programs. Those who miss the first showing of “The Open Road” can see an encore on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m on UNC TV.

SMITH BARNEY GRANTS TOTAL $50,000

Annual donations add up to a major investment. Plus results that change lives.

That is the story of the Smith Barney grants, from 2001-2005, for older adult education in the computer lab. The five $10,000 contributions total a $50,000 investment.

Dan Scannell, Smith Barney vice president, Asheville-Hendersonville branch manager, emphasized the positive results: more than 500 “graduates,” including those who have used new computer skills to obtain full- or part-time work. And he knows the personal satisfaction of participants who give him feedback at the end of each class.

“They send me e-mails stating how the course has enhanced their quality of life by making it possible for them to connect with their grandchildren via e-mail,” he said. “We learn that we have given them a feeling of accomplishment and empowerment.”

Scannell, who has 16 years experience as a mentor in a Teen-Outreach program, recalls that he had seen the give-and-take between generations in the movie “Finding Forester” shortly before beginning his connection with the Center. The background prepared him for the imaginative approach that evolved in discussions with Ron Manheimer, executive director, and Alex Comfort, Associate Vice Chancellor for Development.

Now Scannell sees the payoffs as university coed students teach older adults computer basics. “The result of the grants,” he said, “ is something that is good for the students, meaning the younger ones who are teachers, and for the students, meaning the older adults who are learners.”

NATURALIST PROGRAM SOWS SEEDS IN FALL
Combining both classroom and field study experiences, the Blue Ridge Naturalist program begins offering courses this fall to provide residents of western North Carolina with an opportunity to learn more about the natural world and the cultural heritage of the mountains in this region.

The intergenerational program, coordinated by the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement under the direction of Jeanie Martin, promotes learning from local experts and naturalists. Developed in cooperation with regional organizations focusing on the natural world of the Blue Ridge, the program allows participants to choose only courses that interest them or to complete core classes and field studies to earn a certificate of completion.

The first course, Discovering a Sense of Place, begins Sept. 13 and continues through August 2006 at Reuter Center on second Tuesdays of the month from 7-9 p.m. The series of 12 lectures, taught by university professors and local naturalists, is limited to 20 participants. The field study portion of this class, which meets on second Saturdays, is already filled.

The second course, Fall Tree Identification and History, meets on Thursdays, Sept. 15-Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Class size for the eight-week field study course, taught by naturalist Dan Lazar, is limited to 18. Enrollment is full, but individuals can sign up for information about future opportunities.

Individuals who would like to stay informed about the Blue Ridge Naturalist program may sign up for e-mail communication by contacting the director at her e-mail address: jmartin@unca.edu. Also, anyone who would like to donate binoculars, butterfly nets or field guides for wildflowers, birds, insects, butterflies, mammals, reptiles/amphibians should contact Martin.

Members will find additional information at this Web site: www.unca.edu/ncccr/brnp.

CLASSES FEATURE DUAL PERSPECTIVES

Members can experience new roles as “resource associates” in two intergenerational/freshman seminars that begin Thursday, Aug. 18, and continue for the 16-week fall semester.

"Philosophers Under the Covers," taught by executive director Ron Manheimer, will meet from 3:05-5:30 p.m. on Thursdays while "Law and Literature," taught by university legal counsel Tom Lawton, will meet from 1:45-3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The older adults, who will participate in discussion and classroom activities with the new freshmen, will enhance the classes by sharing their perspectives and life experiences with the younger students.

"It's a great opportunity to rub elbows with the new generation of college students," Manheimer said.

Exploring how romance and reason and heart and mind fit together, students in the philosophy course will read works by such famous philosophical couples as John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill, John-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and Iris Murdoch and John Bayley.

Exploring how literature reflects legal issues and judicial decisions, students in the law-oriented course will consider short stories as well as books such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and films such as “Gideon’s Trumpet” add enlightenment.

Adults ages 50 and older who would like to serve as resource associates for these courses may enroll for $100, a fee that is much lower than the normal rate for university courses.

Individuals who want to apply should contact Manheimer at 232-5180 or e-mail him at Rmanheimer@unca.edu

PARTICIPANTS RETURN AS LEADERS FOR SEMINAR

When participant Paul Rubinfeld of San Francisco said, “It helped start the journey to the next phase of my life,” he captured the purpose of the Paths to Creative Retirement in Uncertain Times Workshop, in its third calendar year and sixth presentation Sept. 2-4.

The Labor Day weekend event, which includes evening activities, begins Friday at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The three-day “journey,” according to director Denise Snodgrass, helps people examine their assumptions and choices, prepare for change and challenge, clarify the options and make a plan for the new pathway.

The workshop includes seminars, case studies and small group activities as well as social time. The 25-40 participants, who pay $500 per person for workshops and meals, come from throughout nation to explore questions, share experiences with others who are anticipating similar transitions, practice with planning tools and enjoy themselves in the process.

Now “alumni” of the workshop share in the leadership. In the upcoming workshop, Lou Orlando of Southport, North Carolina will assist as a facilitator after his participation in March. In that workshop, Barnard Foy of Winston-Salem helped as a facilitator after her participation last September.

Also, Keith Bruce and Sandy Pelletier, two participants from Denver, were interviewed for an article appearing in the August issue of Money Magazine.

For information, interested individuals should call Tina Schwartz (828) 250-3871 or e-mail her at cschwartz@unca.edu to learn more about how to register.

NEW STAFF SUPPORTS PROGRAMS

To serve the growing membership, now 1,557 individuals, and to develop the expanding programs, the Center for Creative Retirement has added four new staff members, bringing the total paid staff to 10 individuals at the end of July.

The four individuals bring diverse backgrounds to their jobs:

*EMILY BOONE: Part of the intergenerational emphasis, the UNCA junior worked three hours a day as an office assistant. First, she served as the facility coordinator. Then Boone helped file deposit and registration information for the Elderhostel Institute Network Mid-Atlantic Conference conference that NCCCR is hosting Sept. 10-12. In addition, she has done other jobs, ranging from entering information on computers to stuffing envelopes and watering plants.

The lit major discovered that she had prepared for the job by working two summers at her father’s neurosurgical clinic in Raleigh. To recover from the challenge of balancing work and her literature class on the King Arthur period, she has escaped to France for a brief holiday before the academic year begins.

*JOAN GALVIN: Known as Joan Ponder Galvin, distantly related to the new chancellor Anne Ponder, she works 12-20 hours per week to launch a new series of workshops/courses targeting Baby Boomers. Her primary focus is to coordinate a Transitions program based on the Transitions Proposal, which was developed by a sub-committee. The job involves recruitment of facilitators and work with a new steering committee to guide program implementation with an emphasis on marketing outreach to the local community.

She brings 20 years experience designing, coordinating and managing programs for adult learners in academic, government, corporate, state and national association environments. She also has helped adults pursue new careers as a result of layoffs by companies such as Alcatel, Nortel, IBM and WorldCom. In addition to designing a program that is attractive to the audience, her biggest challenge is preparing for a time-crunching goal: an October start date.

*PERIEN GRAY: A temporary administrative assistant, Gray works 12 hours per week to help prepare catalog copy and provide clerical assistance to the director of College for Seniors, to the Curriculum Committee and to the Faculty Development Committee. Gray has taken CFS courses for 15 years and has been involved in committee work and teaching. Her background includes owning and operating A Way with Words, a résumé and secretarial service, as well as being a program developer and manager at a mental health center. At Reuter Center, her biggest challenge is playing musical chairs for office space.

*BARBARA TERRY: The new building manager schedules the master calendar and coordinates customer relations on and off campus. She also supervises audio-visual training and troubleshooting. In addition, Terry provides program support for College for Seniors instructors and serves as staff liaison to the Facilities Committee.

She comes with an academic background in psychology and 25 years of working for the Slosman Corporation as inventory manager, billing and export manager. She has also worked with a customer database that was interfaced with the billing/accounting package. “I love to organize,” Terry said. At Reuter Center, her challenges involve endless learning: about how to manage the building, about the AV equipment and, of course, about hundreds of people, especially their names.

UPCOMING EVENTS

AUGUST
1 2005-06 membership year begins
10-12 CFS fall registration
15 CFS summer term ends
UNC TV: “North Carolina Now”
& “The Open Road: America Looks at Aging”
28 Encore of “The Open Road”

SEPTEMBER
2-4 Creative Retirement in Uncertain Times Workshop
5 Reuter Center closed — Labor Day
6 Blue Ridge Naturalist orientation
8 CFS fall faculty orientation
9-13 Elderhostel Institute Network Mid-Atlantic Conference
15 Deadline: CFS course proposals for spring ‘06
16 New member orientation
19 CFS: Fall classes begin
19 Reuter Center Community Chorus begins
20 Leadership Asheville Seniors begins
23 TGIF lunches begin

FALL REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 10

TV TURNS LIGHTS ON BOOMERS

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