Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning Archives

Learn about civil rights movement in lecture by Booker at Roane State

Posted at 9:15 am May 17, 2019
By Katherine Smith Leave a Comment

Robert Booker

Robert J. Booker, local civil rights historian and Knoxville News Sentinel columnist, will present a talk titled “100 Years of the Civil Rights Movement” on Thursday, May 23, at 3 p.m. in the City Room at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge.

A Knoxville native, Booker is a graduate of Knoxville College, where he initiated and led the Sit-in Movement to desegregate lunch counters and movie theaters in Knoxville, a press release said. He was the first African American representing Knox County to be elected to the state legislature, where he served three terms, the press release said. He was administrative assistant to the Knoxville mayor for seven years and was executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center for 17 years. He has also held positions on the State Civil Service Commission and the Tennessee Committee on Humanities. [Read more…]

Sign up for summer term at ORICL

Posted at 1:47 pm April 15, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Catalogs are now available for the summer term at ORICL (Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning). Online registration opens on April 23, and the summer term runs from June 3 through August 2. Registrations may be submitted in paper format as well. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to select from almost 70 interesting, informative, and/or entertaining classes and three special activities.

To take advantage of these outstanding offerings, one must join ORICL as a dues-paying member. The fee for membership is $100 for a full year of fall, winter/spring, and summer terms beginning in September; $80 for two terms beginning in January; and $45 for the summer term only. If you are already a member of ORICL for the 2018-19 session, there are no fees due. If you are new to ORICL, the fee will be $45 for the summer term.

What is ORICL? ORICL is a continuing education opportunity for seniors, retirees, and anyone else who is able to fit the classes into his/her schedule of activities. ORICL is sponsored by Roane State Community College, and most classes are held at the Oak Ridge campus of RSCC. The courses offer varying content and appeal to people from all backgrounds and educational levels. ORICL is learning, for the fun of learning, taught by people who love to teach to people who appreciate gaining new information, a press release said.

“There is no pressure; there are no tests,” the press release said.

[Read more…]

Owner of Pierce Physical Therapy to teach class at ORICL

Posted at 8:17 pm February 4, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Ray Pierce, owner and clinic director of Pierce Physical Therapy of Oak Ridge, will be teaching a class at ORICL (Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning) starting Thursday.

Pierce will be teaching Anatomy and Health of the Musculoskeletal System, a press release said.

“We will review the anatomy of the musculoskeletal system with recommendations for health maintenance,” the press release said. “As a added bonus in one designated class session, we will review the recommendations for maintaining a healthy gut and digestive tract.” [Read more…]

ORICL provides scholarships for five Roane State students

Posted at 11:27 am January 21, 2019
By Owen Driskill Leave a Comment

ORICL board president Priscilla McKenney, right, congratulates scholarship recipients Sara Nesbitt, left, and Jessica Osborn. Not pictured are additional ORICL scholarship recipients Candice Day, Gage Dotson, and Ivorie Hicks. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

Five Roane State Community College students received scholarships through the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, or ORICL.

Roane State and ORICL have a partnership that spans two decades. Established in 1997, ORICL offers dozens of enrichment courses for its members in classrooms provided at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus.

In addition, ORICL has established multiple scholarships supported by its members.

The John Million Scholarship, supported by a $5,000 annual donation by ORICL members.
The ORICL Scholarship Endowment, established in 2002 in celebration of ORICL’s fifth anniversary.
The Bob Jones Memorial Scholarship, established through memorial donations received by the Roane State Foundation in honor of the longtime ORICL member Bob Jones, who passed away in 2012.

[Read more…]

ORICL announces winter/spring classes for 2019

Posted at 5:07 pm December 30, 2018
By Katherine Smith Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning has opened online registration for its winter/spring term. A total of 82 classes and 7 trips are being offered for the winter/spring term running from February 4 through April 26, 2019, a press release said.

For those unfamiliar with ORICL, it is a not-for-profit organization offering classes, field trips, and other opportunities for area residents of all backgrounds and educational levels. ORICL is sponsored by Roane State Community College and located at the Oak Ridge campus of RSCC. ORICL is administered by a board of directors elected by the members and has two part-time paid employees. RSCC provides classrooms, an office, and administrative support. ORICL’s motto is “Enriching Lives Through Continued Learning.” There are no tests.

In order to attend classes, one must join ORICL as a dues-paying member. [Read more…]

‘Jazz & the Civil Rights Movement’ on Thursday

Posted at 11:30 am April 25, 2018
By Katherine Smith Leave a Comment

Master Flautist Galen of Flute Juice Productions will present “Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement” at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The lecture, which will include musical interludes, is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26, in the City Room of the Coffey/McNally building (A-111). It is free and open to the public.

The lecture is co-sponsored by RSCC’s International Education Department and their Arts and Lectures Committee, and Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning. [Read more…]

ORICL winter-spring classes begin Feb. 5

Posted at 10:42 am December 27, 2017
By Katherine Smith Leave a Comment

Submitted

Looking for a way to beat the winter blahs? Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning announces that registration for its winter/spring term will open on January 2, 2018. ORICL is a not-for-profit organization offering a full catalog of classes, field trips, and other activities for area residents of all backgrounds and education levels. All of this is available for as little as $100 for full year of three terms beginning in September, $80 for two terms beginning in February, or $45 for the summer term only. What a bargain for all these opportunities for enlightenment and intellectual stimulation.

Classes are held at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College. Some meet once a week for several weeks; others are held for only one or two sessions. There are no tests and, in most cases, no homework. This is learning for the fun of it. [Read more…]

ORICL has 20th anniversary celebration Thursday

Posted at 9:09 am September 4, 2017
By Carolyn H Krause Leave a Comment

Members of an early ORICL board are, standing from left, George Jasny, Janet Evans, and Martha Hobson; sitting from left, Jeannie Cole, Reeva Abraham, Harwell Smith, and Murray Rosenthal, founder and first board president. (Submitted photo)

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning (ORICL), a celebration will take place on Thursday (September 7) at its home base, the Oak Ridge Branch Campus of Roane State Community College (RSCC).

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally will read a proclamation in honor of ORICL’s 20 years of providing educational experiences for hundreds of retirees in and around Oak Ridge.

RSCC President Chris Whaley will speak on “Lifelong Learning: the Roane State Commitment to ORICL and Oak Ridge.” He will mention Tennessee Reconnects, the state-funded program that will start in fall 2018 to provide a free two-year education to willing adults in Tennessee who have no degrees. [Read more…]

ORICL courses benefit seniors; register by Aug. 7 for fall term

Posted at 9:26 am July 28, 2017
By Carolyn H Krause Leave a Comment

ORICL members recently toured Mayfield Dairy. (Submitted photo)

By Carolyn Krause

As traditionalists and baby boomers age, they are looking for ways to be as productive, safe, healthy, and comfortable as possible. This September, the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, is offering many practical courses for seniors.

Sample topics are caregiving, movement improvement, maximizing the brain-body connection, aging in place, fall prevention, effects of normal aging on driving, and making lifestyle changes, such as downsizing and moving.

At ORICL, you can learn how to write a memoir, operate a computer, invest wisely in the stock market, and do estate planning. [Read more…]

Learn about this summer’s total solar eclipse at ORICL

Posted at 5:26 pm April 24, 2017
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Chip Bailey, seen here on the banjo, taught an ORICL course earlier this year on Celtic music in Ireland and Scotland and will teach a course this summer on Celtic music in eastern Canada. He is a teaching artist with the Tennessee Arts Commission. (Submitted photo)

Would you like to know more about the August 21 total solar eclipse, investing to make your retirement secure, famous Tennessee ladies, Emily Dickinson’s nimble mind, and the inventions of Knoxville’s Weston Fulton (“Edison of the South”)?

Do you have a hankering for learning about and hearing more Celtic music, as discussed and played by Chip Bailey, a teaching artist with the Tennessee Arts Commission?

Want to learn how to travel the world the easy way, write a memoir, crochet creatively, and do visual journaling? How to identify summer birds and butterflies on the Melton Lake Greenway, prepare and cook three Asian dishes, do cryptal varietal crossword puzzles, upgrade a computer, and determine when to replace your PC?

Read Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” out loud with others? Hear about successful and healthy aging, calories and metabolism and “blue zones,” where people live the longest?

These are among the courses offered during the summer 2017 term of the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, starting June 5 and ending August 4. [Read more…]

Immigrant, refugee rights to be discussed in RSCC-ORICL lecture Thursday

Posted at 2:37 pm March 26, 2017
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Kasar Abdulla

Kasar Abdulla, a Muslim refugee from Kurdistan of Iraq and director of advocacy and education at the Nashville nonprofit Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, will speak at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus of Roane State Community College.

Abdulla will tell her story and discuss immigrant and refugee rights in the first talk of 2017 in the RSCC-Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, or ORICL, Lecture Series. Her lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be delivered in the City Room (A-111) of the Coffey-McNally Building.

Abdulla has received awards and recognition on television and in publications for her community activism in Nashville. In 2013, President Barack Obama named her a “Champion of Change” for her work on immigrant integration in Tennessee. [Read more…]

Watch a free showing of movie ‘Psycho’ Oct. 20 at Princess Theatre in Harriman

Posted at 6:24 pm October 18, 2016
By Owen Driskill Leave a Comment

Roane State English professor DeAnna Stephens will introduce a free screening of “Psycho,” regarded as Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of a psychological thriller, at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in the Princess Theatre in Harriman.

The R-rated film, often described as “creepy,” is the tale of a woman on the lam who checks into the mysterious Bates Motel, apparently vacant except for proprietors Norman Bates and his mother.

The 1960 movie, now considered a classic, gives audiences a whole new perspective on taking showers and became Hitchcock’s biggest hit. [Read more…]