OSU Alumni Association
2009 Spring Term
Issues and Ideas Strand
Great Decisions - Human Rights
Thursday, April 2, 9:30
This is the final session of Great Decisions 2009, which began in Winter Term. The class is limited to previously enrolled participants, and will follow the format of previous classes. Human Rights will be the topic.
Host: Becky McKenzie
Eastern Oregon Rangeland and Forests: Values and Concerns
Thursday, April 9, 9:30
Forest and rangelands each account for some 43 percent of Oregon land area, and about 50 percent of each type is under state or federal management; enthusiastic stakeholders are many and diverse. Long-term collaborators Marty Vavra (PNW Forestry and Range Sciences Lab, LaGrande) and Rick Miller (OSU Department of Range Ecology and Management) will describe this unique resource, its past and current utilization patterns, issues affecting its conservation and strategies for its multiple and sustainable use.
Host: Bill Hohenboken
The Sustainability Imperative--
Lessons Learned and Future Opportunities
Thursday, April 16, 9:30
Natural resource dependent areas (forest and range communities especially) are undergoing dramatic changes. Martin Goebel, President of Sustainable Northwest, will describe these changes and the strategies many are employing to embrace change and move decisively forward. Where conflict-ridden relationships once prevailed, as in the Klamath Basin, cooperative initiatives now enhance economic, ecological, and social outcomes.
Host: Ed Heath
City Government Potpourri
Thursday, April 23, 9:30
Jon Nelson, Corvallis City Manager, will tackle several key questions: In our current economic uncertainties, what new challenges face city government? What will the next five years bring to Corvallis? What do citizens expect of city government? And how can Corvallis balance P, T and G (public process, transparency, and growth)?
Host: Ed Heath
Ranching in the New West
Thursday, April 30, 9:30
An ownership transition with significant implications for biodiversity, ecosystem function, and community stability is underway on the ranchlands of the American West, especially in areas that serve as critical wildlife habitat. OSU Geosciences professor Hannah Gosnell will explore the social and ecological implications of the shift and how rural communities are responding to emerging challenges.
Host: Ed Heath
HP Halo: Experience Video Conferencing First Hand
Tuesday, May 5, 7:00 PM
HP Corvallis, in collaboration with DreamWorks Animation, has designed and is marketing the ultimate in video collaboration. The Halo studio provides life-size, real-time, eye-to-eye conferencing with outstanding audio and no delay. Halo gives the sense of being in the same room together. Come experience Halo with Steve Jewell-Larsen, Halo Manufacturing Director, as a special ALL class for a VERY limited number of students [20]. Please note that this class will be held at the Hewlett-Packard campus in the evening. Details on location will follow registration notification.
Host: Bill Kemper
Founding and Maintaining a Children's Choir For 25 Years
Wednesday, May 6, 2:30
Carol Nelson-Rea, Founder and Artistic Director of Heart of the Valley Children's Choir, will highlight HVCC's history, mission, and future in Corvallis. HVCC has toured throughout Europe and China. This choir has grown from 80 singers to over 300 and one choir to five. Some of the current singers will perform during the latter half of the class.
Host: Bill Kemper
Cruising through the Panama Canal
Thursday, May 7, 9:30
The Panama Canal is a considered one of the wonders of the world. Here is a sharing of a recent cruise through the canal by ALL members Keith and Joan Dunlap. This 15-day cruise proved very interesting with more than a few surprises!
Host: Keith Dunlap
Oregon Health Care Policy: Innovation and Reform
Thursday, May 14, 9:30
Kelley C. Kaiser, Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Health Plans, will cover the history of the Oregon Health Plan and what it did for the citizens of Oregon in the 1990s and then move into the current era of reform and the next phase that the health care policy makers in Oregon are looking at in this legislative session.
Host: Bill Kemper
Corvallis Economic Vitality and Sustainability
Thursday, May 21, 9:30
John Sechrest, Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition Economic Development Director, will discuss the Corvallis Business Ecosystem and the current state of economic vitality and sustainability efforts in the Corvallis and Benton County area. He will focus on how economic gardening over the last three years has lead to substantial changes in the local conversation and how it led to the creation of the Willamette Angel Conference held on May 14, 2009.
Host: Bill Kemper
Two Family Farm Histories: Trees and Sheep to Trees and Nuts
Thursday, May 28, 9:30
Hazelnut Hill farm of Corvallis was in the Rickard family prior to Oregon statehood. Sally Hilles (5th generation on the farm) will describe farm and family history, culminating in their enterprise which grows and processes hazelnuts, produces disease-resistant nursery stock, and markets confectionary products on-site and on-line. Delbert Kessi will describe the history of cattle, sheep, Angora goat, and timber production on their farm, homesteaded near Harlan by his grandfather in 1911. They have been recognized in statewide competition for progressive management and conservation practices.
Host: Bill Hohenboken
Your Health and Medicare: How To Be A Savvy Consumer
Thursday, June 4, 9:30
Cristie Lynch, Marketing Manager, Samaritan Health Plans, will discuss how to compare Medicare insurance options and provide tools for setting your own criteria for rating plans and learn about your choices before and after you have selected a plan. Lee Strandberg, Director, Managed Care Pharmacy for Samaritan Health Plans and OSU Professor Emeritus of Pharmacy, will then discuss what you need to know about navigating the pharmacy benefit of Medicare's Part D drug coverage.
Host: Bill Kemper