Spring is here in all its glory, but Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning is already planning the fall 2019 semester. The curriculum committee, headed by Ed Minch, is currently seeking course proposals from members of the community as well as WC-ALL members. The fall semester will have 2 sessions, from Tuesday, September 3-Friday, October 11, and Sunday, October 20-Friday, December 6. There are no classes during fall break from October 13-18 or during the week of Thanksgiving, November 24-29. Classes generally meet once a week on campus in the late afternoon for 60-75 minutes for 4-6 times during a session. Larger classes sometimes meet at off-campus sites, and all locations are handicapped accessible.

If you or someone you know has an area of expertise, an interesting or unusual career or life experience, or a lifelong hobby or avocation, it could be the seed for developing a WC-ALL course. Instructors may also choose to plan a series of classes which bring in experts to speak about different aspects of a common topic. Excursions are possible as well as the potential to meet at times other than the usual weekday afternoon slot. The curriculum committee is always ready to consider new ideas from the community and looks forward to welcoming instructors who want to share in the exciting venture of lifelong learning for the joy of it.

Course proposals are due by Wednesday, May 15, and may be submitted in various ways. For on-line submissions, go to http://www.washcoll.edu/propose-a-course.php. To email a proposal, go to wc_all@washcoll.edu, and for regular mail, send submissions to WC-ALL, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620. Ed Minch can be reached at edminch3@gmail.com or 410-778-0990 with questions or ideas. More information is also available by calling the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221.

WC-ALL has planned an exciting spring trip to the world-class Philadelphia Museum of Art on Tuesday, April 9. Founded during the nation’s first centennial in 1876 as a museum of decorative arts, the PMA’s current building, in the form of three linked Greek temples, opened in 1928. It is well known for its impressive holdings in Renaissance, American, Impressionist, and Modern art.

Participants on the trip will have an hour-long guided introductory Highlights Tour of the Museum and will also have access to the nearby Rodin Museum, the Perelman Building, and the Sculpture Garden. The Rodin Museum houses one of the most comprehensive collections of Rodin’s work outside of Paris, and the Perelman Building features galleries dedicated to modern and contemporary design, prints, drawings, photographs, costumes, and textiles. Lunch is on your own to allow participants maximum flexibility in determining how they wish to spend time after the guided tour. Food is available in the Museum’s cafeteria, its restaurant, Stir, or at one of the eateries located along nearby Fairmount Avenue.

The trip is open to WC-ALL members as well as non-members for $70, which includes bus transportation, driver tip, admission cost for the guided tour and access to the Rodin Museum and Perelman Building. A restroom-equipped bus will depart from Redner’s parking lot at 8:00 a.m. (7:45 boarding), and depart from Philadelphia at 3:00 p.m. The bus, museum, garden, and annexes are all ADA-compliant and wheelchair accessible.

To reserve a place on the trip, please send a check to WC-ALL at 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD. 21620 by Tuesday, March 26. Include name, phone, and email for those planning to attend. Please contact WC-ALL at 410-778-7221 with any questions.

Have you ever wondered how and when the government classifies and declassifies national security information? Chestertown resident Bill Leary, the former Senior Director of Records and Access Management at the National Security Council, will discuss this and other aspects of the government security classification program at WC-ALL’s next Learn at Lunch presentation entitled “Keeping Secrets at the White House.” The event will take place on Wednesday, March 20, beginning with a catered buffet lunch at 12 noon in Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall on the Washington College campus. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.

Bill Leary received his BA, MA, and ABD from the University of Virginia and taught American history at the College of William and Mary, the University of South Alabama, and the University of Virginia where he also taught the University’s first course in African American history. He then worked for 20 years at the National Archives, primarily in the Still Picture Branch. From 1992 until his retirement, he worked at the National Security Council as Special Advisor to the National Security Advisor and then as Senior Director of Records and Access Management. After Leary’s retirement, President Obama appointed him to the Public Interest Declassification Board. Since moving to Chestertown in 2012, he has served on the Boards of the Historical Society of Kent County and Sumner Hall.

In his presentation, Leary will discuss his work on major interagency declassification projects such as the Chile Declassification Project and the review of records related to 9/11. He will also share anecdotes from his 20 years at the White House where he worked for Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barak Obama.

The cost of the Learn at Lunch with Bill Leary is $20 for WC-ALL members and $25 for others. Reservations and payment are due by Thursday, March 14. Please send a check payable to WC-ALL to them at 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620 and include name, phone, and email of those planning to attend. Questions can be directed to the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221.

Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning’s next Learn at Lunch will be on Tuesday, February 19, when Thomas G. West will present “Seeing What Others Cannot See…” West will discuss visual thinking, visual technologies, and the distinctive capabilities often seen among dyslexics and other different thinkers. The author of 3 books, his latest in 2017 is Seeing What Others Cannot See: The Hidden Advantages of Visual Thinkers and Differently Wired Brains. In it, West explores how different ways of thinking can help make discoveries and solve problems in innovative and unexpected ways. In his presentation, West will briefly profile some of the different thinkers he has encountered, including a prize-winning dyslexic paleontologist, a group of dyslexic master code-breakers in a British electronic intelligence organization, an expert livestock handler who has become a forceful advocate for those with autism, and a family of visual thinkers and dyslexics which includes 4 winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics.

West has personal connections to Washington College and the Eastern Shore, and his research, writing, and speaking engagements have taken him all over the US and to 19 foreign countries where he has engaged with scientific, medical, art, design, computer, and business groups. Besides his most recent book, West is also the author of Thinking Like Einstein: Returning to Our Visual Roots with the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization and In the Mind’s Eye: Creative Thinkers, Gifted Dyslexics and the Rise of Visual Technologies. In the Mind’s Eye… was selected as one of the “best of the best” for the year by the American Library Association. The second edition (2009) includes a foreword by the late Oliver Sacks, MD, who wrote, “In the Mind’s Eye… stands alongside Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind as a testament to the range of human talent and possibility.”

The 12 noon Learn at Lunch program will be held in Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall at Washington College. Shuttle service will run from the North Student Parking Lot which can be accessed from Rt. 291 (Speer Rd.). The last shuttle leaves at 11:55 a.m. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for all others, with reservations due by Thursday, February 14. Please send a check with name, phone, and email of those attending to WC-ALL at 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620. Contact WC-ALL at 410-778-7221 with questions.

WC-ALL’s first Learn at Lunch of the Spring 2019 semester will feature Sherwin Markman on Wednesday, January 23. Back by popular demand, and always an engaging speaker, Markman’s topic will be “The Resiliency of Our American Democracy”. The buffet luncheon will begin at noon in Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall on the Washington College Campus. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.

Sherwin Markman believes that there is a tendency nowadays to view America through a dark and cloudy lens, thinking that what we are currently experiencing is uniquely destructive. His message is that we should never lose our perspective, and remember that our nation has undergone, and survived, worse times. Markman will illuminate some of those events that have occurred during his 90-year lifetime of observation and participation in our democracy, demonstrating that we as a nation and people have always been resilient, and will continue to be so.

Born and raised in Iowa, Markman graduated from the University of Iowa and Yale University Law School. He went to Washington, DC, as an Assistant to President Lyndon Johnson and stayed on as a senior trial lawyer at a major DC law firm, representing such diverse clients as Howard Hughes and Cornell University. He has so far published 3 books. Markman and his wife Peggy lived on a sailboat for seven years, crossing the North Atlantic by themselves. They now make their home on five and a half acres between Rock Hall and Tolchester.

Reservations for the Learn at Lunch are due by Thursday, January 17. The cost is $20 for WC-ALL members and $25 for all others. Shuttle service will run from the North Student Parking Lot, which can be accessed from Rt. 291, with the last shuttle departing for the event at 11:55. Please send a check made out to WC-ALL to WC-ALL, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620 with name, phone, and email of those attending. Contact the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221 for more information.

Come in from the cold and join a WC-ALL class this winter as the Spring 2019 semester gets underway. Classes begin on January 27 with two 6-week sessions running from January 27-March 8 and March 17-April 26. WC-ALL is open to adults of any age who are looking for intellectual stimulation without the requirements of academic credit. For one all-inclusive membership fee, participants can sign up for as many courses as they want. With 31 classes to choose from this coming semester, everyone is sure to find something to stretch the mind, ward off cabin fever, and inspire learning for the joy of it!

Several new courses are being offered in both sessions. A few highlights of the first session include Prisoners of Geography taught by Warren Beaven. Based on Tim Marshall’s book of the same name, participants will explore the principles of geo-politics around the world – past, present, and future. Mythbusting GMOs will be taught by agronomist Joe Maloney, who will guide his students in separating  fact from fiction about GMOs and other new technologies in agriculture and help them become well-informed consumers as they make decisions in the marketplace. Bob Moores will bring to the classroom his 45-year hobby of studying the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids. The architectural achievements of the builders and how those deeds may have been accomplished will be explored. Bob’s photos and line drawings will be used in Building the Pyramids. In Moral Issues from “The Stone”, Colleen Sundstrom will moderate discussions based on readings from “The Stone”, a New York Times philosophy series addressing modern philosophical issues in an accessible manner.

During the second session, nature and environmental enthusiasts will find several courses of interest. In Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge: Yesterday and Today, Simon Kenyon and guest speakers will introduce the class to Eastern Neck’s history, birdlife, its place in the National Wildlife Refuge system, and its environmental and wildlife management plans. Let’s Get to Know Some of Maryland’s Native Trees will be taught by Agnes Kedmenecz and include a few half-hour walks to practice tree identification. Global Warming is Speeding Up with Ben Orrick will analyze the latest findings on this timely subject.Those looking for courses in the arts will find Examining “Hamilton: An American Musical” by Maria Wood, Art in Series by Beverly Smith, and Enjoying the Poetry of John Keats by Jim Campbell worth looking into.

For a complete listing and description of all courses offered, please visit http://www.washcoll.edu/offices/wc-all/what-were-studying.php/. You can hear the instructors describe their courses at Spring 2019 Showcase on January 15 at 4:00 in Hotchkiss Recital Hall on the Washington College Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Registration for both sessions of spring semester is now open and runs through January 18. Registration takes place on-line, by mail, or in person at Showcase. Please call the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221 for more information.

Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning (WC-ALL) is a peer-led, self-supported, autonomous department of Washington College that was created for adults of any age who seek intellectual stimulation without the requirements for academic credit. For the Spring of 1019, the theme will be,”for the joy of it”

Each semester the Academy offers 2 6-week sessions with 12-15 courses each session. Eastern Shore residents become members and register for as many courses as they wish for one all-inclusive fee. The instructors are community members who bring with them knowledge, skill, and passion about a particular subject or life experience which they take joy in sharing with others.

Showcase is Tuesday, January 15 at 4:00 PM at the Hotchkiss Recital Hall on the Washington College Campus. Learn about each course and meet instructors. Web or mail-in Registration may also be done there or any time until Friday, January 18.

For more information, visit our website at www.washcoll/edu/offices/wc-all.

Session 1 (January 27 – March 8)

Sunday at the Movies: WC-ALL Premieres, Part III – Nancy Hartman (Sunday)
Basic Introduction to the US Constitution, Part I – Conway Gregory (Monday)
Windows 10 Revisited – Dick Lance (Monday)
God, Angels, and Demons: Studying the Unseen World – Mel Brindley (Monday)
Astronomy for Fun – Dennis Herrmann (Tuesday)
Prisoners of Geography – Warren Beaven (Tuesday)
Mythbusting GMOs – Joe Maloney (Tuesday)
The Strange Nature of Money – George “Doc” Smith (Wednesday)
Silent Cinema 2 – John Wieczoreck (Wednesday)
History of the Digital Computer – Chris Gordon (Wednesday)
Basic Spanish III – George Shivers (Thursday)
Building the Pyramids – Bob Moores (Thursday)
Intellectual Property for Everyone – James Astrachan (Friday)
Moral Issues from “The Stone” – Colleen Sundstrom (Friday)
Read a Play/See a Play: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” – J. Austin/J. Kohl (Friday)

Session 2 (March 17 – April 26)

Sunday at the Movies: WC-ALL Premieres, Part IV – Nancy Hartman (Sunday)
Basic Introduction to the US Constitution, Part II – Conway Gregory (Monday)
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge: Yesterday & Today – Simon Kenyon (Monday)
Examining “Hamilton: An American Musical” – Maria Wood (Monday)
Enjoying the Poetry of John Keats – Jim Campbell (Tuesday)
A Brief History of Education in America – Wendy Costa (Tuesday)
Let’s Get to Know Some of Maryland’s Native Trees! – Agnes Kedmenecz (Tuesday)
It’s Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile – David Keating (Wednesday)
Art in Series – Beverly Smith (Wednesday)
The Road from Astrophysics to Cosmology – Satinder Sidhu (Wednesday)
Basic Spanish IV – George Shivers (Thursday)
Food & Healing Through the Seasons – K. Lamoreaux/D. Mizeur (Thursday)
Great Decisions 2019 – David White (Thursday)
Gun Control & the Second Amendment – James Astrachan (Friday)
The Art of the America’s Cup – Hanson Robbins (Friday)
Global Warming is Speeding Up – Ben Orrick (Friday)

The full catalog and registration information are available here or call 410-778-7221.

 

WC-ALL has planned a holiday tour of Historic Odessa, DE, for Thursday, December 13. Once a busy Delaware River port town for the shipment of grain and other agricultural products, Odessa has some of the finest examples of 18^th and 19^th century architecture in the state. WC-ALL has made arrangements with the Odessa Historic Foundation for a 90-minute guided tour of three historic houses which will be festively decorated for the holidays. The houses contain a remarkable collection of antiques and Americana in period room settings and quaint exhibits. Houses on the tour include the Collins-Sharp House (1700), one of Delaware’s  oldest structures, the Corbit-Sharp House (1774), a National Historic Landmark, and the Wilson-Warren House (1769), constructed in the Delaware-Georgian style.

Following the tour, the group will enjoy a buffet luncheon at Cantwell’s Tavern, located on the original site of The Brick Hotel (1822). After lunch, participants are free to enjoy the area at their leisure until the 2:30 p.m. departure for Chestertown.

The restroom-equipped bus will leave Redners’ parking lot at 8:45 a.m. Please note that the tour has limited accessibility due to entry steps and multiple staircases within the historic buildings.

The cost of the trip is $65 for WC-ALL members as well as non-members, and includes the bus ride, guided tour of 3 historic houses, lunch, and driver tip.  The deadline for registration is Thursday, December 6. Please send a check made payable to WC-ALL to WC-ALL, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620 and include name, phone, and email for each person attending. For more information, please call the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221.

WC-ALL will host the 3^rd and final Learn at Lunch Program of the fall semester on Wednesday, November 14. Dr. Andrew Oros will present “Japan’s Changing Military Policy and the Balance of Power in East Asia”. Japan is currently the key U.S. ally in Asia in a new presidential era when the role of allies is being called into question. As the third largest economy in the world and one of the world’s largest military spenders, what role will Japan play in U.S./Asia policy and in regional affairs? Professor Oros will seek to answer these questions using ideas and information from his latest book, Japan’s Security Renaissance: New Policies and Politics for the 21^st Century.

Andrew Oros is professor of Political Science and International Studies and Associate Dean for International Education at Washington College where he has taught for 17 years. He travels regularly to Japan, China, and elsewhere around the world and lectures internationally.

The noon buffet luncheon will be held in the Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall on the Washington College campus. Following a delicious catered lunch, Dr. Oros will give his presentation with a question and answer session to follow. A shuttle service will run from the North Student Parking Lot on the campus with access from Rt. 291 (Speer Rd..) The last shuttle leaves the lot at 11:55 a.m.

Reservations are required by Thursday, November 8 and may be sent with a check made payable to WC-ALL to WC-ALL, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620. The cost is $20 for WC-ALL members and $25 for non-members. Please include names, emails, and phone numbers for those attending. No email or phone reservations can be accepted. Please call the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221 with any questions.