Message from the President

Dear <<First Name>>,

Our fall semester was one for the record books! 

Our largest membership ever: 347 members! Get involved and support LLI with your time and talents. Every member is a treasure indeed! 

Our first semester back on campus since WinterFest 2020: Thanks to the college for inviting us back and to all our volunteers who made it work. Vaccine verification was a mandated task, but it became a super warm welcome to each member by name and a hopeful sign of more good days to come.

Our first semester offering course choices of in-person, Zoom, and hybrid, carefully balanced on two dedicated class days. The numbers show sustained attendance over all seven weeks, and Curriculum is now reading the members’ individual course evaluations. Please check your email to access the form and tell us what you think! All members are invited to attend the Curriculum Team meeting on Tuesday, November 9, at 10:00 a.m. to see how the magic happens! Click here to send an email and you'll get a link to the meeting.

Our highest single course enrollment: African Americans in the Hudson Valley—Then and Now. Seven different presenters shared their significant and varied expertise on the racial history of our beloved valley with insight into the challenges and opportunities for today and tomorrow. Thanks to the passionate course producers who are now part of our new DEI/Social Justice Task Group!

Our fabulous October social gathering: read about it inside! The Bard CCS Hessel Museum tour, canceled by COVID last year, was made even better by the Social Gatherings Team’s renewed collaboration with the museum, and their creative outreach at Greig Farm brought us a perfectly-crafted autumn afternoon. We hope for more gatherings to come!

Our superb off-campus courses: outdoor contemplation of the Torah, hiking in the matchless beauty of our valley, and playing bocce by the Hudson. Cheers to that!

Our LLI banner: raised on campus over Annandale Road during October to commemorate our 20 years in community with Bard. Take a last look below. We’ve shown our colors with dedication, humor, and pizazz!

Yours, 
Nanci 
president@lli.bard.edu

Yours,

LLI Past, Present, and Future

by Gary Miller

Imagine a Maine schooner cruise vacation. Brisk, fresh sea air filling majestic canvas sails. Helping trim the sails, grabbing the wheel, and steering the yacht on course, carefully staying clear of rocks. It’s so exciting the next year you invite a friend to join you. 

You share the same excitement, the realistic feeling of a 19th century sailor, and the enjoyment of watching the sunset with a glass of wine in your hand. The next day you raise anchor and head out of the harbor. Only this time the ship hits a rock, overturns, and you and your friend are hanging on to the upside-down hull. The water is ice cold. You turn to your friend and ask, “You want to sign up again next year?”

Together at Last!

by Felice Gelman

On Wednesday, October 13, LLI members enjoyed the long-awaited tour of the Bard CCS Hessel Museum. Originally planned for the pre-COVID era, the Social Gatherings Team was able to reschedule once the Bard campus was open to people who are fully vaccinated. Two graduate students and the CCS Community Outreach Coordinator from the Bard Center for Curatorial Studies led groups through the two exhibits—Closer to Life: Drawings and Works on Paper in the Marieluise Hessel Collection and With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972-1985. The icing on the cake was a convivial hard cider tasting at the nearby Greig Farm’s Abandoned Hard Cider bar. It was wonderful to have an opportunity to come together again.

Your Opinion Matters

by Deborah Lanser

Did you love your classes this semester? That’s terrific. Please fill out the evaluation form and let the Curriculum Committee know so they can keep the hits coming. Or was the presenter dull or the topic not as described in the catalog? Tell the committee that also. Their goal is to present an assortment of informative classes that keep us engaged. The evaluation form is simple—you can fill it out quickly, unless you have a lot to add. Please do so. Curriculum is always looking to repeat its successes while expanding the offerings. Your input will help improve LLI for everyone. 

Tech Corner:  Jump on the TechMobile
for a Rewarding Ride!

by Deborah Schwartz

The LLI Tech Team looks for ways to serve LLI members. We are always trying to use technology to improve things, such as:

• Delivering classes via Zoom during the pandemic when we could not meet on campus;
• Providing up-to-date registration data to members about course and event registrations via ProClass;
• Decreasing the amount of volunteer time spent on routine information processing such as taking attendance on ProClass using smartphones or tablets;
• Improving communication with members via the LLI website, monthly newsletters, and MailChimp messages;
• Using Google Drive for accessing folders and files among our committee members rather than sending so many email messages;
• Responding to technical issues among our members with the techhelp@lli.bard.edu email account;
• Improving security and contact information using Google Workspace for Education Gmail accounts for LLI members (did you notice all personal LLI accounts follow the same convention of first initial + last name @ lli.bard.edu?).

All this work and much more is done by a small, dedicated group of superhero volunteers. We need help! There are plenty of uncomplicated tasks you can master easily while helping LLI. 

Bocce Ball Unites Bard LLI Participants

by Carmela Gersbeck

One of the benefits of taking an off-campus course is the opportunity to get to know people outside of a classroom, usually while hiking, visiting a horse farm, or taking a stroll around Olana— often with a picnic lunch after.

When I suggested an off-campus course on how to play bocce ball to the Curriculum Team, I had no idea that it would generate so much fun and enthusiasm for the game. Maybe it’s because people were anxious to get together outside, or maybe people just like learning a new sport, but the response was immediate! 

Council Notes for October 2021

by Deborah Lanser

The following topics were discussed at the October meeting:

The Tech Team urgently needs more session managers.

The Tech Team is trying to reduce the risk that ProClass messages to members go into their spam folders. Members also need to remember to check their spam. 

The WinterFest catalog should be available by mid-December. 

Curriculum is debating whether spring classes should start on March 10/11 or March 17/18.

Membership Development is looking for ideas for future social events.

Any member interested in observing a Council meeting should email Linda Stanley at lstanley@lli.bard.edu. 
 

by Felice Gelman

Sunday, November 7, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Bard Conservatory Faculty will offer an online concert featuring two French composers, Durufle and Chevalier de St. Georges, two American composers who studied with Nadia Boulanger, Copland and Musgrave, and C.P.E. Bach. The program for voice, flute, piano, and viola, will be streamed online.  Email conservatoryconcerts@bard.edu for the link.  

Monday, November 8, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. author, Jenny Offill will give a reading of her works at the Reem-Kayden Center Auditorium. Offill has won a number of awards for her fiction and is a Visiting Writer in Residence at Bard. (Fun fact: her parents, Jane and David Offill, are new Bard LLI members.)

Tuesday, November 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. medieval historian Zrinka Stahuljak will speak about Medieval Fixers: History, Literature, Politics, looking at those subjects through the lens of the interpreters, informants, guides, drivers, and others who facilitated the crusades, pilgrimages, trade, and other multilingual encounters. The talk is in Olin, room 204.

Saturday, November 20, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the pianists of the Bard Conservatory will perform Fanny Mendelssohn’s Das Jahr and Debussy’s Preludes (Book 11) in the performance space at the Bito Conservatory building.

Tuesday, November 30, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Magda Teter, professor of history and chair of Judaic Studies at Fordham, will speak on Antisemitism and Christianity: Reckoning with the Christian Roots of Antisemitism and Racism in the Post-World War II World. The talk will be held in Weis Cinema at the Campus Center.  You must register and provide proof of vaccination. You can find the registration form on the Bard November Events calendar by clicking on the event and following the link. 

Important Dates for LLI Members

November 9: Curriculum Committee Open House at 10 a.m. If you would like to attend, email Bill Tuel at btuel@lli.bard.edu. If you would like to present an idea for a course, please email Curriculum Chair Linda LeGendre at llegendre@lli.bard.edu prior to the meeting.

November 15: Council meeting on Zoom at 9:30 a.m. If you would like to attend, please email Linda Stanley at lstanley@lli.bard.edu.

December 16: WinterFest catalog is released

December 20: Council Meeting on Zoom at 9:30 a.m.