 Dear Senior Academy Members, Last weekend we had the first snow—little accumulation and short-lived—calling attention to the trees already bare and those still in full leaf with some of them in beautiful colors ranging from bright yellow, like the Gingkoes in front of my windows, to very dark wine red. Gray, however, was the predominant color for the tour of the Miller House in Columbus, IN, but the rain held mostly off and did not diminish the enjoyment of visiting a house and garden of extraordinary, eclectic, and trend-setting beauty, design, and ingenuity, suggesting that other, architecturally focused outings may be welcome additions to the Senior Academy’s programs. Some of you may have attended the inauguration of the Indiana University President Pam Whitten on the IUPUI campus, a festive event of special significance since it is the first time that a woman is leading the institution. As many of you experienced, scheduling conflicts are common at IUPUI and, therefore, the Last Lecture had to be re-scheduled in order to avoid competing with the inauguration, clearly not an option. Erwin Boschman presented the 2021 Last Lecture not via Zoom but in person to a live audience in the Campus Center Theater, with a reception following in the atrium, a welcome way to enjoy the ability and pleasure to be together on campus. The Last Lecture was recorded and can be accessed on the IUPUI Senior Academy website (Activities > Last Lecture). Please note that this tab will also alloww you to nominate speakers, who can be faculty as well as staff, for the 2022 Last Lecture. The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow provided a most suitable background to the discussion of “Climate Change and American Religion” during the Spirit & Place Festival, an event that the Senior Academy sponsored and supported—a well-attended and successful event that called attention to our organization that many people, even at IUPUI, do not know and the name of which some do not find descriptive or meaningful. As the year winds down the programming for the fall semester is coming to an end with a celebratory in-person holiday party in the Courses Restaurant on Thursday, December 9, 2021, that includes entertainment by The Majestics (see below). I hope you and maybe a guest plan to join the party. If you have not yet registered for the event, please do so before November 22, 2021, because the students who do the cooking and serving need to know well enough in advance for how many guests to prepare meals and set the tables (visit our websitefor registration, including payment). The holiday party is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends and make new ones, especially after such a long time during which we could not meet in person. It serves also as a reminder that some of our students and colleagues at IUPUI are struggling with life that is not fully post-COVID-19, maybe at a new normal. The Senior Academy Board had planned to use the occasion of the holiday party to collect donations for IUPUI’s Paws Closet. It turns out that donations in kind, that is clothing, are necessarily highly regulated and therefore impossible to combine with this holiday gathering. It is possible, however, to alleviate the needs of Paws Pantry with cash contributions. Please consider bringing your checkbook or cash and making a donation. Plans for programs in the spring semester are under way and will be posted on the website under Activities > Upcoming Events and also announced and highlighted in future Bulletins (please note that there will be no December Bulletin). You may want to mark your calendar for an early event, that is a Zoom presentation by TIAA on January 25, 2022, “Paying Yourself: Ongoing Income in Retirement and the Secure Act.” In addition, I would like to encourage you to check for upcoming programs on the website and take advantage of the opportunities to connect with other, like-minded, and similarly interested members through the Member Center. In the course of the year several Interest Groups have formed, starting with the String Theory Group and currently organizing one for members curious about outdoor activities such as gardening and visiting others’ gardens. A new set of possible Interest Groups under the umbrella of “Volunteering” is being explored, very much in line with findings that volunteering often is an important part of life after retirement from IUPUI. The meetings of those Interest Groups are posted on the website under Activities > Upcoming Events and require registration but also provide pertinent information, like the next book on the reading list of the Book Club and the meeting place and planned route for the Walking Group. The registration of you and guests you may want to bring allows contacting registrants should there be a last-minute change. Next week is Thanksgiving, a very American holiday that commemorates early American history from a very particular perspective. As we continue to learn about the European colonies in North America, more of the views and voices of those with ancestral lands along the East coast have been included in the narrative—featuring more complex beginnings to what became the United States. The invitation to reflect and express gratitude remains the universal aspect of the holiday for me, even and maybe especially when times have been difficult. May you enjoy a healthy and happy Thanksgiving, traditionally marking the beginning of the holiday season! Marianne S. Wokeck IUPUI Senior Academy Holiday Luncheon Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021 Place: Courses Restaurant (Penthouse floor) Arrival and Parking:
COVID-19 Precautions:
Program: 11:00 a.m. Doors open; attendees check-in and find a seat for lunch Andrew Brown, Dianne Brown & Shirley Ward (not pictured)
Note: Russell Vertner has performed with The Majestics and will join the group for 1-2 songs Menu: Starter Entrée Dessert For questions and comments, contact us at ude[dot]iupui[at]ymedacas. |
The Majestics