Boston University Physics Professor Dr. Shri Srikanth will review of some of the spectacular pictures and videos and discover what we’ve learned about Mars and our own blue dot in the sky

The “much and learn” free OLLI program on Thursday, April 18 at the Verde Valley Campus  will feature Boston University Physics Professor Dr. Shri Srikanth, who will present,  “A Guided Tour of Mars.” The program runs from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., in room M-137 of YC’s Verde Valley Campus.

“A Guided Tour of Mars” is part of the Verde Valley OLLI program’s Munch and Learn series, presented at Yavapai Community College, Sedona and Verde Valley, Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., through May 9. Attendees are invited to bring a bite to eat, or pick up lunch at the campus café, and dine while learning about a variety of topics: Community issues and programs; or developments in science and the arts.

Although the presentation is free to the public, you must register at 928-649-4275 to ensure seating.

Offered by OLLI with workshop to begin at 7 a.m. each day

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is offering a three-day “Plein Air Painting Workshop” at Yavapai Community College’s  Sedona Center beginning August 1 at 7 a.m.  The workshop will the directed by Dawn Sutherland.  It will be run August 1-3.

Ms. Sutherland will demonstrate two basic approaches to beginning a painting, using a viewfinder, sketchpad, and thumbnail sketches, designing a good composition, and carrying it through to a nearly finished painting in each session. Topics taught throughout the workshop are values, shapes, and edges. How to capture a sense of distance and depth in a painting, plus working effectively with shadows will be stressed. Students should have good familiarity with their equipment and some previous painting and workshop experience. 

Will be held in Room 34 at the Community College’s Sedona Center Wednesday, March 29 at 1 p.m.

Yavapai Community College’s newly appointed Verde Campus/Sedona Center Dean, Dr. Irina Del Genio, will speak Wednesday, March 29, 2023 on “Origins of the Russian-Ukrainian War and Lessons for the Future,” at the Community College’s Sedona Center.

Dr.  Del Genio was  named the new Verde Valley/Sedona Center Dean for Yavapai Community College earlier this year. Dr. Del Genio served as the associate dean of the Liberal, Visual and Performing Arts division at Elgin Community College where she provided strategic leadership for the Division since 2006.

Dr. Del Genio earned her Ph.D. in Political Philosophy and her master’s degrees in History and Political Science. She lived, studied, and worked in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and most recently in the U.S., as a college instructor, grant manager, and college administrator. She is a frequent guest speaker on Russian-American relations, asymmetrical warfare, political impact of radical ideologies, and global consequences of social unrest in contemporary societies.

This program will kick off OLLI’s  at Yavapai Community College Sedona/Verde Valley Spring 2023 Term.  Dr. Del Genio will speak at the Yavapai College Sedona Center, Room 34 from 1:00 – 2:15 PM. This program will also be broadcast, via Zoom, to the Yavapai Community College Prescott Campus.

This program is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

To be considered to teach a course, a proposal must be submitted between September 20 and October 19

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)  has announced that it is accepting proposals for new courses beginning September 20 and ending October 19.  To obtain more information, please visit the OLLI website about submitted a proposal by clicking here. 

Program in Building G-106 from 12:30 to 1:30 on  “Russia and Ukraine–The Ties that bind”

The Osher Lifelong Institute (OLLI) will hold a free brown bag program on the Verde Valley Campus on Tuesday, September 13, from 12:30 to 1:30.  The program features   Charles Blum whose topic is “Russia and Ukraine, The Ties that Bind.”   

Under scheme established by Administration, OLLI director spends only 40% of time on OLLI, remainder of time now spent on administration of separate College life-long learning programs; Claim is that Sedona staff is “overworked,  stretched thin, under stress” and doing two jobs

Dr. Paul Friedman addressing Sedona City Council

One of the most respected voices in the Sedona/Verde Valley OLLI program, Dr. Paul Friedman, asked the Yavapai Community College Prescott-based executives at the Sedona Council meeting Tuesday, April 26 to return to the previous OLLI model where Sedona/Verde Valley  OLLI had a full-time  director.

Three years ago both sides of Mingus Mountain had a full-time OLLI Director.  However, the Community College changed that model for the east side, as explained below.  It kept a full-time OLLI Director in Prescott, Tricia Berlowe, while changing the Director’s responsibilities dramatically in Sedona.

Mr. Friedman is a 15 year volunteer who has facilitated well over 100 OLLI programs. He claimed in his presentation to the Sedona Council that the College made a big adverse administrative change three years ago involving the Sedona operation. That change, according to Dr. Friedman, has seriously damaged the growth and fundraising ability of Sedona/Verde Valley OLLI.  He also claimed that the change is now interfering with plans the local Sedona OLLI group has for expansion and recruitment following a large loss of members and funds because of the pandemic.

Dr. Friedman  explained that three years ago the full-time Sedona/Verde Valley OLLI Director resigned and the Yavapai Community College Dean of its Life-long learning program, Dennis Garvey, was about to retire.  When Garvey retired, instead of replacing him with another full-time dean, the administration combined Gavey’s duties with those of the Sedona/Verde OLLI Director. 

The result of the College’s decision to combine meant that Linda Shook, the current Sedona/Verde OLLI Director, initially spent at  least 40% of her time on College administration for its Life-long learning program and only 60% of her time on OLLI.  After a year or so, her administrative duties were increased so she now spends around 60% of her time on College administration and an estimated 40% on OLLI.   The conclusion reached by Dr. Friedman was that the current Sedona/Verde Valley OLLI director simply does not have the time or opportunity to focus on developing the OLLI program in the Sedona/Verde Valley area.  

Dr. Friedman also said that the entire OLLI staff has been working at “two jobs” and they are ““overworked,  stretched thin and under stress.”  He asked that the College give back the full-time position of OLLI Director, a position that existed for 15 years prior to the dramatic change.

The College administrators appeared somewhat perplexed and unprepared to respond to Dr. Friedman. President Dr. Lisa Rhine claimed the College has to  “fight for that grant.” (See video clip)  Vice President Clint Ewell gently corrected Dr. Rhine by explaining the College has an endowment from OSHA that is permanent and the interest from that investment is what is used to support OLLI on an annual basis. (He did not provide any details such as the amount of the endowment, which is said to be $2 million or how much it annually generates in revenue for OLLI.)  President Rhine said OLLI is not totally supported by the endowment and tuition it charges for its programs.  The College supplements it. (No estimates of amount of supplement provided.)

Vice President Diane Ryan seemed to place blame, if there is blame,  on former Verde Valley Dean James Perey.  She did not know whether the Sedona/Verde Valley program had fully recovered from the pandemic but promised to look into the matter.  She also said that OLLI Sedona/Verde Valley now had a full-time administrative assistant to help Dr. Shook and that arrangement appeared satisfactory.  Shook had not complained to Ryan, according to Ryan.

Shook was hired in February 2019.  The following is a portion of the Community College press release announcing her hiring issued February 2, 2019:

“The associate dean/OLLI direction position is a wonderful opportunity for me,” said Shook. “It is just the right marriage of my skillset, combining university outreach and continuing education with my first love, lifelong learning.

“I am well acquainted with the best lifelong learning programs in our country,” Shook continued. “Yavapai College and Sedona are at the top of the list. The opportunity to move to the beautiful Southwest and Arizona is the chance of a lifetime. My passion for nature and outdoor activities is perfectly suited for life here in Sedona and the Verde Valley.”

During her time as a director at Auburn, the university’s OLLI membership more than doubled, its financial growth and public profile both improved and its educational programming stretched out in a variety of new and creative directions. Most recently, Shook served as Summer Programs Director at the University of Montana. There, she worked with the provost to grow and strengthen course offerings. Summer enrollment grew by 17% during her tenure. She also led an employee committee that assisted the university’s student retention and mentoring efforts.

In addition to her duties as Sedona OLLI Director, Shook will supervise the coordinator of the College’s Community Education program in the Verde Valley and work with community members to develop appropriate higher education and economic development programming for the area.

A video clip of Dr. Friedman’s speech to the Sedona Council and the College’s response can be seen by clicking here.  The entire hour and five minute presentation and discussion can be seen by going to the Sedona City Council website.

Persons  must register to attend

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Yavapai College, Sedona Center, is offering a free class entitled “Climate Change: Cause and Cascading Consequences,” this coming Friday, January 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Sedona Center or on zoom.  Facilitator will be live in the classroom and students can choose to attend either via Zoom or in person.

 Students are asked to select in person or zoom when they register, which is a requirement.   For more information call 928-649-4275 or email [email protected] or visit the website at yc.edu/ollisedonaverde.

The presenter for this program is Dr. Stefan Sommer. He is the Director of Education at the Merriam Powell Center at NAU. His doctoral work is in ecological sustainability, and he has studied effective communication across cultural boundaries in many contexts including PBS film production.

OLLI describes the program as follows: “If you have ever wondered about what aspects of climate are really changing then this is a presentation meant for you. The current scientific understanding of climate change will be presented as well as the effects of these changes on Arizona ecosystems, on human wellbeing, and on the Arizona and US economies. Regional climate change and regional economic impacts will also be discussed.”

Sharleen Henderson, president of the Coalition Against Human Trafficking- Northern Arizona will present “Human Trafficking – It Happens Here Too”

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Yavapai College, Verde Valley Campus is providing six free community presentations (one each week) beginning this week. Members of the community are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch while enjoying these programs.

Wednesday’s presentation will be on the Verde Campus in Clarkdale in Building “G”.  It begins at 1 p.m. and is anticipated to end at 2 p.m. 

Although the program is free, persons desiring to attend must first register. For information call 928-649-4275 or email [email protected] or visit the website at yc.edu/ollisedonaverde. You may register for one or all of the programs at the same time.

Wednesday’s program features Sharleen Henderson, president of the Coalition Against Human Trafficking- Northern Arizona. Her topic is “Human Trafficking- It Happens Here Too”.

The Coalition Against Human Trafficking -Northern Arizona, is a nonprofit grass roots organization dedicated to combating human trafficking in our communities through increasing awareness about this growing problem.  Its mission is to educate, network and partner with law enforcement, schools, community organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, government agencies, first responders and service providers to help eradicate human trafficking.