INSIDE OLLI -
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An Interview with David Perper,
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Editor's Note: David Perper has served on the OLLI Curriculum Committee for 5 ½ years and has been Committee Chair for 4 ½ years. Here is an interview with David where he discusses the Committee’s activities and its role with our program. The interview was conducted by Mike Lambert, a member of the OLLI community since 2015.
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Mike: Hello David. I noticed in one of our OLLI newsletters a while ago that you are still serving on the Curriculum Committee. You were doing that when I met you a couple of years ago. Thank you for still helping! Tell us the role of the Curriculum Committee.
David: Hi Mike. Thanks for the opportunity to talk a bit about the Curriculum Committee’s work. The Curriculum Committee reviews and recommends all new OLLI SFSU class proposals and inquiries as they are received each month. This includes proposals for six-week classes as well as Mini Courses, both from existing instructors and new potential instructors. New instructors are interviewed by Curriculum Committee members as a final step in the review process. We also review Course Evaluation Surveys, which as you know, are sent to students upon the completion of a course. In addition, we provide feedback and counsel to Director Kathy Bruin on both individual proposals as well as a range of discussion topics. We meet the second Wednesday of each month.
David: Hi Mike. Thanks for the opportunity to talk a bit about the Curriculum Committee’s work. The Curriculum Committee reviews and recommends all new OLLI SFSU class proposals and inquiries as they are received each month. This includes proposals for six-week classes as well as Mini Courses, both from existing instructors and new potential instructors. New instructors are interviewed by Curriculum Committee members as a final step in the review process. We also review Course Evaluation Surveys, which as you know, are sent to students upon the completion of a course. In addition, we provide feedback and counsel to Director Kathy Bruin on both individual proposals as well as a range of discussion topics. We meet the second Wednesday of each month.
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PMike: Who is with you on the Committee this year?
David: Joining me on the Curriculum Committee are Richard Chackerian, Dennis Gale, Fred Goldman, Yane Nordhav, Sara Seims, Kathy Setian, and Jill Stovall. They are a great group!!
Mike: Tell us a little about your background and what draws you to this activity.
David: Sure. I’ve been a professional musician (drums) since I was seventeen. I’ve played, recorded and toured with many Bay Area and national music artists. In my later years, I was a program associate and program coordinator at The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. My Packard Foundation duties in the Arts Program and later in Organizational Effectiveness/Philanthropy and Special (board directed and president directed) Grants allowed me to track and review hundreds of grant proposals and grantee reports. I enjoyed the process of working with grantees and helping to track and shepherd a grant proposal through the many administrative and programmatic steps toward awarding a grant. Both in administrative and programmatic roles, my current work with the Curriculum Committee as chair and member dovetails nicely with the experience I gained at The Packard Foundation. Of course, in both my music and foundation roles, teamwork equals success!
Mike: I was guessing that our OLLI curriculum would crash and burn when we went to online instruction two years ago. It is such a different teaching and learning style from what most of us OLLI members are used to. But, when I see the listings for the new courses each session, I am amazed at how broad the subjects are. How does that happen?
David: First of all, we have subject area criteria that we use to guide each session to ensure the broadest coverage for our students. Subject areas include Writing, Arts and Creative Expression, Humanities and Literature, Social Sciences, and Science and Technology. Secondly, and this has been a benefit to remote learning (Zoom), we can now draw from brilliant instructors who live virtually anywhere. Some of our instructors will often refer other teachers to our program. Also outreach efforts from the Course Development Committee has resulted in additional proposals and classes from new instructors.
Mike: What has happened to our enrollment stats since we went to online instruction?
David: Since March 2020, our OLLI has benefited from higher class enrollments. Our average class attendance has increased. One of the factors that I believe has helped us is that online classes have no geographic boundaries. We now have OLLI members in many states! Members with physical challenges can also continue to attend OLLI classes too. While we know that in-person classes add important social interaction, during the pandemic students didn’t have to leave their homes to attend our classes. Incidentally, we will continue to offer some classes via Zoom only, even as we begin to go back to in-person classes.
David: Joining me on the Curriculum Committee are Richard Chackerian, Dennis Gale, Fred Goldman, Yane Nordhav, Sara Seims, Kathy Setian, and Jill Stovall. They are a great group!!
Mike: Tell us a little about your background and what draws you to this activity.
David: Sure. I’ve been a professional musician (drums) since I was seventeen. I’ve played, recorded and toured with many Bay Area and national music artists. In my later years, I was a program associate and program coordinator at The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. My Packard Foundation duties in the Arts Program and later in Organizational Effectiveness/Philanthropy and Special (board directed and president directed) Grants allowed me to track and review hundreds of grant proposals and grantee reports. I enjoyed the process of working with grantees and helping to track and shepherd a grant proposal through the many administrative and programmatic steps toward awarding a grant. Both in administrative and programmatic roles, my current work with the Curriculum Committee as chair and member dovetails nicely with the experience I gained at The Packard Foundation. Of course, in both my music and foundation roles, teamwork equals success!
Mike: I was guessing that our OLLI curriculum would crash and burn when we went to online instruction two years ago. It is such a different teaching and learning style from what most of us OLLI members are used to. But, when I see the listings for the new courses each session, I am amazed at how broad the subjects are. How does that happen?
David: First of all, we have subject area criteria that we use to guide each session to ensure the broadest coverage for our students. Subject areas include Writing, Arts and Creative Expression, Humanities and Literature, Social Sciences, and Science and Technology. Secondly, and this has been a benefit to remote learning (Zoom), we can now draw from brilliant instructors who live virtually anywhere. Some of our instructors will often refer other teachers to our program. Also outreach efforts from the Course Development Committee has resulted in additional proposals and classes from new instructors.
Mike: What has happened to our enrollment stats since we went to online instruction?
David: Since March 2020, our OLLI has benefited from higher class enrollments. Our average class attendance has increased. One of the factors that I believe has helped us is that online classes have no geographic boundaries. We now have OLLI members in many states! Members with physical challenges can also continue to attend OLLI classes too. While we know that in-person classes add important social interaction, during the pandemic students didn’t have to leave their homes to attend our classes. Incidentally, we will continue to offer some classes via Zoom only, even as we begin to go back to in-person classes.
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Mike: How do you collaborate with Kathy Bruin, our Program Director, on the choice of courses and instructors for each session?
David: Both during meetings and between meetings, Kathy reaches out to our group for feedback on session balance, specific proposals, or course ideas from an instructor.
Mike: I noticed that you helped teach an OLLI class in January. It was entitled News Junkies Unite! Discussing the Headlines of the Day. What prompted you to do that?
David: My good friend and Curriculum Committee colleague, Sara Seims, had attended a current events class through a program in Maine and thought we might try to create a similar course in which the two of us facilitate discussion on topics ranging from international, to domestic and local issues. Actually, this was the second time we co-facilitated this class. We limited the class to 20 students to better manage discussions. The first time we were in-person—as much different dynamic, although the recent class on Zoom went very well.
Mike: Is there anything you would like to tell our OLLI members? Or ask of them?
David: Yes! Please fill out your Course Evaluation Surveys! We take your ratings and comments very seriously. Not only do these surveys let us know how our instructors are doing, but also our students’ impressions of the subject matter and whether/how much they have learned. In addition, OLLI staff share the evaluation summaries with the instructor. And the surveys also provide a place to make suggestions for other courses that you’d like to see at OLLI. And lastly, please share our OLLI with your friends and family. In 2023 OLLI SFSU will be twenty years old!! We are trying to increase membership to 1000 by the end of our 2022/2023 FY, which will bring more stability and sustainability to OLLI. Word of mouth has proven to be the most effective tool for increasing membership. Let’s do this together!!
Mike: Thanks, David, for your thoughts today.
David: My pleasure, Mike!
David: Both during meetings and between meetings, Kathy reaches out to our group for feedback on session balance, specific proposals, or course ideas from an instructor.
Mike: I noticed that you helped teach an OLLI class in January. It was entitled News Junkies Unite! Discussing the Headlines of the Day. What prompted you to do that?
David: My good friend and Curriculum Committee colleague, Sara Seims, had attended a current events class through a program in Maine and thought we might try to create a similar course in which the two of us facilitate discussion on topics ranging from international, to domestic and local issues. Actually, this was the second time we co-facilitated this class. We limited the class to 20 students to better manage discussions. The first time we were in-person—as much different dynamic, although the recent class on Zoom went very well.
Mike: Is there anything you would like to tell our OLLI members? Or ask of them?
David: Yes! Please fill out your Course Evaluation Surveys! We take your ratings and comments very seriously. Not only do these surveys let us know how our instructors are doing, but also our students’ impressions of the subject matter and whether/how much they have learned. In addition, OLLI staff share the evaluation summaries with the instructor. And the surveys also provide a place to make suggestions for other courses that you’d like to see at OLLI. And lastly, please share our OLLI with your friends and family. In 2023 OLLI SFSU will be twenty years old!! We are trying to increase membership to 1000 by the end of our 2022/2023 FY, which will bring more stability and sustainability to OLLI. Word of mouth has proven to be the most effective tool for increasing membership. Let’s do this together!!
Mike: Thanks, David, for your thoughts today.
David: My pleasure, Mike!
More Info on David: David Perper is an SFSU graduate with a degree in Political Science and Urban Studies. He was a program manager for The David and Lucile Packard Foundation in the Organizational Effectiveness and Special Opportunities/President’s Fund programs, overseeing the distribution of $40M per year. He has a lifelong passion in playing drums as a professional musician. He has been an OLLI member since 2011 and strongly supports steps to develop a vibrant and sustainable OLLI.
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Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction and poetry by members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University.
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University (OLLI at SF State) provides communal and material support to theVistas & Byways volunteer staff.
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