Students and community members looking for enrichment will find offerings this spring at MSU’s Evening College, which opened registration Wednesday.
The Evening College, a division of the MSU Alumni Association, aims to provide continuing education for adults, but gives students an opportunity at evening and weekend activities.
“I believe in lifelong education for adults,” said Louise Cooley, director of the Evening College.
Cooley said most participants are looking to continue their education in a leisurely, low-stress environment. There are no exams, tests or homework, and no credit is given.
Class offerings range from studies of Mayan and Aztec culture to going behind the scenes at Wharton Center.
D. Gordon Rohman, professor emeritus of English and lifelong education, said often people with college degrees want to continue their education.
“Learning breeds learning,” Rohman said. “Evening College is one of the greatest things MSU does for its home community.”
Rohman will be teaching a class titled Benjamin Franklin: Man of Many Worlds. He also started a program he calls “Footsteps,” which helps his students connect with the class material.
The “Footsteps” program involves visiting the historical sites studied in class. For this semester’s Franklin class, Rohman will be taking a small group of interested students to Philadelphia.
For those interested in beginning astronomy, director of Abrams Planetarium David Batch will be teaching Astronomy: Spring Sky-Watching.
“Really it’s designed for people with little experience,” he said.
Batch said most of his students are adults who have graduated from college, but about 10 percent are MSU students.
“It’s a very low-key approach,” he said. “There’s not the pressure of homework or exams.”
Also among the offerings are several online courses, including Floral Design and Gardens of England: Traditional Countryside.
About one-third of the classes this semester have not been offered before.
“You have to offer (participants) new programs every semester,” Cooley said.
For more information, or to register for classes, call 355-4562 or visit www.msualum.com.
