Director's Note
Giving Day 2025 has drawn to a close and I want to personally express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who helped support the future of our lifelong learning community by donating this year! Thanks to all of you, OLLI at WMU secured our spot in the Top Ten Designations by Donors—plus, we won the Giving Day Kickoff challenge, which earned us an extra $1,000 bonus award on top of $4,700 in donations! Thank you again to everyone who participated; your support on Giving Day gives our lifelong learning community the ability to continue growing and thriving in the year ahead.
Also, we are extremely proud of the amazing array of courses that were offered this past semester. Thank you to our Curriculum Committee for establishing such a strong curriculum, to every person who registered for a course, all of those who participated in our Bring a Friend program, and our wonderful volunteer instructors for sharing their abundant knowledge—this was a very successful semester!
Sincerely,
Toni Woolfork-Barnes, Ed.D.
Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at WMU
Curriculum
Summer Course Registration
Get excited—our summer course catalog is now available online! Check out the detailed course descriptions and learn more about our passionate instructors. Then, choose your favorites and get ready to register on Tuesday, May 13, at 10 a.m.!
Exclusive Free Course Offering for OLLI Members Only!
We’re offering another exciting blended course where OLLI members can join WMU students to dive deep into a special topic while enjoying the unique experience of intergenerational learning! Taught by the multi-award-winning Dr. Ashley Atkins, “Phil 3140: Solving Other People’s Problems,” tackles tricky ethical questions and community concerns by drawing on the rich history of philosophical tradition to provide answers. This 8-week course, held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11:30 a.m., runs from May 6 through June 24 and is open to members only. Click here to learn more about this exclusive opportunity; if you’re interested in enrolling, call the OLLI Team now at (269) 387-4157!
Friendly Reminders
- If you’re attending an online class, please log into the meeting 10 minutes before, mute your audio, and check that your video image is capturing your full face.
- Also, remember that eating and drinking in any class can impact those around you, so please be mindful of smells and promptly attend to any messes that may occur.
We'd Like to Know...
Who attended the Weather 101 course with a service animal and volunteered to perhaps teach an OLLI class? We’d like to chat with you...please give our team a call at (269) 387-4157 or email us at wmu-olli@wmich.edu!
Membership and Marketing
Time to Rejoin and Become a New Member
Get ready for another exciting year of learning, travel, and fun by joining our lifelong learning community or renewing your membership now!
Let's make OLLI at WMU blossom this spring with new and renewed friendships, interesting courses, and special events! In the spirit of spring, we look forward to welcoming our beautiful “perennial” members and those who are experiencing “new growth” during this time of renewal.
The good news is that if you join or renew after Thursday, May 1, your membership will not end until June 30, 2026. What a deal! Just click here to easily add a new membership to your cart and simply check out to secure an additional year of lifelong learning!
Bring A Friend
Our Bring a Friend program returns just in time for your family and friends to get acquainted with and join our lifelong learning community for the 2025-2026 membership year! If you enroll in a course this semester that isn’t full, our Bring a Friend program allows you to invite those who are curious about OLLI to sit in on a course with you for free. Just please remember to contact the office beforehand to let us know that you will be bringing a friend so we can know who our guests are.
We Came, We Saw, We Had a Great Time…Seeing Live Theater Together!
OLLI folks participated in two live theater events at Miller Auditorium this Winter/Spring semester and we had a ball! A group of 40 lifelong learners attended Disney’s The Lion King, while a group of 26 watched August Wilson’s Two Trains Running together. We also offered courses that centered around the performances for those who wanted to dive deeper into the plays and the productions themselves. We even had a special guest from the cast of Lion King, Thom Christopher Warren, attend and answer questions! Tons of people have been asking for more immersive learning opportunities like this—so stay tuned for what we have coming up next!
Volunteer
We are so thankful for our volunteer instructors and want to recognize their efforts! Read OLLI member praise for the recent 'Hearts on Fire: How Higher Education Impacts Incarcerated' course taught by Dr. Ann Miles, Dr. Dale Brown, and McGwire Hidden:
Thank you, Dr. Ann Miles, Dr. Dale Brown and McGwire Hidden for teaching for OLLI. Thank you for your dedication to teaching incarcerated students. I feel that the valuable services they are leading and the dedication they bring to their tasks are outstanding and worthy of recognition—above and beyond the ordinary high standards usually seen. Dr. Miles, Dr. Brown and Mr. Hidden are pioneers who are succeeding in doing the work deeply desired, needed, and for a long time forbidden to inmates behind the barbed wire walls of the Michigan Department of Corrections. The caring and the compassion for people society has thrown away—and their lighting the torch of humanity for these folks—definitely merits Special Recognition. MDOC, for too many years, has made entrance to their kingdom too difficult. This is a very special break through moment—possible only through the special qualities of dedication, innovation and compassion demonstrated by Dr. Miles, Dr. Brown and Mr. Hidden.
When asked what they enjoyed most about the course, other participants echoed these beautiful sentiments on the course survey:
Everything! What a great program. The instructors were passionate and enthusiastic about their program. I enjoyed hearing about the letters the inmates wrote. I would love to attend a follow-up class about this topic next year, to see how the program is growing and adapting.
It was fascinating to hear what WMU is doing for incarcerated people and the connections they’ve made with other universities and colleges doing something similar.
Travel
Tiger Day
Calling all Tiger Fans! If you would like to attend a Tigers baseball game live at Comerica Park on Wednesday, May 28, OLLI at U of M is coordinating a trip to Detroit to see the team play—and we’re invited! A delicious luncheon will be served on the party deck at 12 p.m., after which we’ll head to our reserved seating in the shade to watch the game beginning at 1:10 p.m.
OLLI at U of M has arranged round-trip transportation from Ypsilanti to Detroit, but members are also welcome to drive themselves. Those who choose to take the bus will meet up at the Meijer parking lot at 3825 Carpenter Road in Ypsilanti. Boarding begins at 10:30 a.m. and we will depart at 11 a.m.
Price:
- $120 for bus fare, lunch, and game tickets
- $70 for lunch and tickets only; parking around Comerica Park on game day generally costs between $20 to $50
To sign up, reach out to Wendy from the OLLI at U of M team by calling her at (734) 998-7429 or sending an email to wascione@med.umich.edu. The registration deadline is Monday, May 12.
Wellness Moment
Back to Basics: Metabolism 101
Manager of Corporate Outreach
ACSM Exercise Physiologist
NCFI Corporate Fitness Specialist
West Hills Athletic Club, WMU
Sometimes it helps us to be reminded of stuff we already know but need a catalyst to spark a behavior change. I’ve been told about the helpfulness of some of the OLLI newsletter articles I’ve written, which is nice to hear. For example, a woman was frustrated in dealing with chronic muscle cramping for several months, read the article about hydration and realized she wasn’t drinking any water. She started drinking water and the cramping stopped! As important as metabolism is to our overall health, and the cascading effects it has on our health, I figured I’d show some metabolic respect and make it the focus of this month’s article.
So, what the heck is metabolism? It’s the rate at which our bodies burn calories. If you have a fast metabolism, you burn more calories over the course of the day, and conversely, a slow metabolism burns less. That is of course, the cliff notes short answer, but you get the idea.
Why should I care about it? The most common benefit is that it helps/hinders weight management, but the way that it does that is important. We benefit from an accelerated metabolism with overall caloric expenditure. The short answer on how it does this is that it chemically converts food and drink into energy.
How do I increase my metabolism? There are a number of ways to increase metabolism that are lifestyle oriented, so in the name of not being longwinded, I’ll briefly describe my favorites.
- Lift weights! Muscles are the one substance in our bodies that uses calories to do work. Therefore, muscle equals metabolism, and muscle should be the nucleus of any discussion on metabolism.
- Frequency of eating. “They” say eat small frequent meals. “They” is me, and the reason for this is that your metabolism adapts to the frequency of eating. If we skip breakfast our metabolism adapts by slowing down to conserve calories. The sumo wrestler does this on purpose, to maximize fat storage. If you asked me the best way to gain fat, the answer is to eat once per day. Small, frequent eating is the opposite of the sumo diet.
- Intermittent fasting can also be called intermittent disintegration of muscle. Now that you know that muscle equals metabolism, you also know that intermittent fasting is bad. I’ll debate anyone on this.
- Protein grams! My clients will tell you I sound like a broken record on this. Protein is used by damaged muscles for repair. Sub-standard protein consumption equals sub-standard muscle repair.
- Proper hydration is important because your metabolism cannot function at its highest potential without proper hydration. In other words, dehydration makes our bodies less effective at burning calories.
- Sleep is part of the discussion on metabolism because our muscles are repaired during REM state. Ironically, we break the muscles down in the gym and rebuild them with protein and rest. It’s the time we spend out of the gym where the actual strength building occurs!
Kalamazoo Literacy Council
Call to Action: Volunteer as a Digital Skills Class Assistant!
Are you passionate about empowering others through education? The Kalamazoo Literacy Council is seeking enthusiastic volunteers to assist with our Digital Skills Level 1 or Level 2 classes. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a difference in your community by helping adults improve their basic digital literacy skills. These learners are working on things like using a mouse, typing, sending email, and using Google. The Class Assistant will help them as they work on lessons provided by the instructor. No previous teaching experience is necessary to lend a hand!
What we're looking for:
- Volunteers who are comfortable with basic computer skills and using the Internet.
- A commitment to supporting learners of all backgrounds and ages.
- An eagerness to inspire and foster a love of learning!
Why volunteer?
- Share your knowledge and experience with those willing to learn.
- Help individuals gain confidence in their tech skills, opening doors to new opportunities.
- Support the KLC, the only local nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that Kalamazoo becomes a fully literate community.
How to join:
If you’re interested in becoming a Digital Skills Class Assistant, please contact Abbey at aweathers@kalamazooliteracy.org or (269) 382-0490 ext. 219. Classes are on Tuesdays from 2 to 3 p.m. or on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 420 E. Alcott St. in Kalamazoo. To learn more about the KLC's free literacy services, please visit kalamazooliteracy.org. Your time and talents can truly help change someone's life!
What is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute?
The program was initiated under the auspices of the WMU Emeriti Council and WMUx. OLLI offers intellectually lively and culturally appealing learning experiences. We accomplish this by focusing on intellectual stimulation, personal growth, social engagement and enrichment. Read more
What do we do?
We offer short courses for one to four weeks. Sessions are usually two hours long. Travel programs are also a part of our offerings. There are no tests and no required homework, just exploring lots of interesting topics.
In the near future we will offer courses in different formats -- noon hour discussions, several sessions in one week, and more evening courses. OLLI courses and activities are developed and produced by its members with the support of the staff of WMUx.
We need your ideas for course topics and instructors. Let us know your suggestions. Call the OLLI office at (269) 387-4157 or send an email. The curriculum committee will review all suggestions.