March 2008

After having served on the Board as First Vice President for eight months, I assumed the position of President of OLLI at BCC upon Steve Radin’s resignation.  Prior to that, I served on the Board as a Director-at-Large for three years with my specific contribution as the Arts Subcommittee Chair under the auspices of the Curriculum Committee.  The future of our organization looks very bright, and I am delighted to be able to play a significant role in the continued growth of OLLI.

Thanks to the hard work of the Curriculum Committee and its subcommittees, the winter semester offered an outstanding selection of diverse courses.  From our passionate discussions in the headlines course to our new experiments in oriental painting, from poetry to the Internet, from music to archeology, our members had access to a variety of courses that accommodated their eclectic interests.  All committees and their chairs are working hard for the organization.  Special Events and the Distinguished Speaker Series continue to bring even more choices to OLLI members.  

In March comes The Clark Art Series, Art and the Muses, which will examine the various ways in which the visual arts interconnect with history, astronomy and the performing arts.  The spring semester begins in April and will showcase OLLI’s first classroom-to-classroom videoconferencing of a course.  And, starting this June, we will introduce our first summer semester.

Finally, we need your help—OLLI cannot function without you!  It only takes a small investment of time and effort to help our organization grow and flourish.  Call the OLLI office at 413.236.2190 or e-mail the office at www.OLLI@berkshirecc.edu for information about becoming a volunteer.  Have fun and get involved—I did.

I’m looking forward to seeing you at classes and events.

Howard Arkans