Lifelong Learning Offers Educational and Fun Lectures and Hot Topics
The Lourdes University Lifelong Learning program has compiled a great lineup of spring lectures and hot topics. The events are held on select Fridays at the Franciscan Center of Lourdes University, 6832 Convent Blvd., in Sylvania. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. with refreshments offered at 9:15 a.m. Free for members and first-time members. Hot Topics are offered from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. $10 for members and $15 for non-members per meeting. Reservations are strongly encouraged at least one week prior. Friday, January 15 Lecture: Heroin Epidemic in Ohio Featuring John Tharp, Lucas County Sheriff Ohio has a heroin epidemic and “We can’t arrest our way out.” Each year more people are dying from overdoses. So what is being done for heroin addicts and what still needs to be done? Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp has partnered with Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to create a Drug Abuse Response Team that does everything from detective work to social work with an approach that’s unlike anything else in the country. Providing therapeutic assistance, rather than incarceration, for heroin addicts is an idea that Sheriff Tharp will discuss. John Tharp was with the Toledo Police for 25 years before becoming Sheriff of Lucas County in 2013. Hot Topic: Nuns – the Original Extra-terrestrials Featuring Notre Dame Sister Marya Czech Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, many social services have been performed by groups of women and men who banded together and formalized their ministry to include prayer and communal living. Being “in the world but not of it” has given the Church and the world the gifts of Franciscans, Jesuits, Ursulines and many other groups whose founders identified a need and created structures to meet that need. Where are they now, what are they doing and who carries on their legacy? Friday, February 19 Lecture: From Canals to Solar Cells: Toledo Connections Featuring Al Compaan, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Physics and Astronomy Department, at The University of Toledo From the early 1800’s, Toledo was often in the middle of new developments of transportation and energy infrastructure in the U.S. These infrastructure expansions were crucial to the development of modern agriculture, business, and industry in America. State and federal governments played key roles by providing incentives for new technology development. Energy transitions from wood to coal to petroleum to nuclear, hydro, and renewables were exceedingly important and governments again were major players. We now face energy and transportation challenges of historic proportions that will require full engagement of all sectors of our society but solutions are at hand if the will is there. Al Compaan has been leading a research effort for more than 25 years in thin-film photovoltaic materials and devices. Hot Topic: Benefits of Bees Featuring Tony P. Siebeneck, “the Honey Man” Crops from nuts to vegetables and as diverse as alfalfa, apple, cantaloupe, cranberry, pumpkin and sunflower all require pollination by honey bees. Bee keeping is a relatively small industry but a hugely important one for agriculture. Tony P. Siebeneck will discuss the life of a bee and its hive as well as the diseases and weather conditions that affect it. Learn about the sweet role of the back yard bee keeper! Friday, March 11 Lecture: Stop, Look & Listen - Embracing Rail’s Future Featuring Bill Gill, former Board Member of the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers, Northwest Ohio Passenger Rail Associations (NOPRA) and the Rail Users Network Let’s talk about trains in Toledo and why they’re a good choice for travel. How do you walk, eat and sleep on a train? How is Amtrak working in our area? Learn how you can help Toledo’s passenger trains and what will be happening locally on National Train Day. Bill Gill who worked on two major railroads will be joined by Tim Porter, Chair of NOPRA. Friday, March 18 Hot Topic: Wild for Conservation in the Oak Openings Region Featuring Denise Gehring, Naturalist of the Wild Oak Openings Region Did you know that there’s a globally threatened ecosystem, the Oak Openings Region, that’s a hotspot for biodiversity, right here in NW Ohio and SE Michigan? And that there’s three generations who enthusiastically work together to research, conserve and restore this remarkable natural environment. Learn about the new and on-going nationally acclaimed conservation projects. Topics include helping to bring back the American Chestnut, Monarch butterfly and Orange Fringed Orchids, recovering Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve, providing an update on endangered Karner blue butterflies, Green Ribbon and Wild Toledo initiatives and the benefits of growing native plants to conserve this region’s natural heritage. Friday, April 22 Lecture: Toledo Glass – Innovation that Changed the World Featuring Barbara Floyd, Author and Director of the Canaday Center for Special Collections at The University of Toledo Toledo’s glass industry has impacted all of our lives in many ways. From the invention of the automatic bottle machine to the first use of safety glass in automobiles, to making possible modern skyscrapers, to the development of Fiberglas insulation, to the early development of solar energy collectors and many other innovations, our city’s glass industry has been in the forefront. Barbara Floyd is the author of The Glass City: Toledo and the Industry That Built It. Hot Topic: Reducing Academic Dishonesty – A Full-Cycle Approach Featuring Robert F. Campbell, Associate Professor of Psychology at Lourdes University Most institutions of higher learning have a student handbook which typically contains a section on academic honesty. While students know what is expected of them, the temptation to cheat remains strong because there is profit in terms of better grades or less work. The current talk explores some of the psychological factors that may influence the decision to cheat. It identifies instances where choice architecture can be used to reduce cheating and increase the collective academic honesty of the student body. Recommendations are discussed both at the institutional level and at the classroom level. Friday, May 20 Lecture: Comic Chemist Featuring Tom Wray aka “the Comic Chemist,” Certified Hazardous Materials Manager Master Level and Owner and President of Waste Away Services, a hazardous waste brokering firm Chemistry surrounds us and the Comic Chemist will prove how much fun it can be! Using common ingredients, a variety of chemical demonstrations will illustrate scientific principles safely and with humor. This presentation is sure to generate a reaction! Hot Topic: Did You Say What I Heard? “Did you say what I heard?” is a humorous investigation into the pitfalls of verbal communication presented by actors from by the Armchair Theatre branch of the Toledo Repertoire Theatre. Come celebrate the end of the semester with friends, lunch and laughter. $18 members; $25 non-members for lunch and show. ------------------------------------ Lifelong Learning is an exciting educational program at Lourdes University. Open to all interested men and women, the only requirement for participation is an interest in ongoing learning. Lifelong Learning participants enjoy classes on a wide variety of academic subjects, educational field trips and monthly lectures featuring guest speakers. All activities are open to both members and non-members. For more information on upcoming classes and becoming a member of Lourdes University’s Lifelong Learning program, visit www.lourdes.edu/lifelong. Rooted in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, Lourdes University offers baccalaureate degrees in more than 30 academic majors as well as graduate degrees in business, education, nursing, organizational leadership, and theology. Community outreach programs include the Appold Planetarium, the Center for Science Education & the Environment, and Lifelong Learning. A member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Lourdes students can also compete in a variety of men’s and women’s sports. Named a “Best in the Midwest” college by the Princeton Review, Lourdes University is a nationally accredited, veteran and transfer-friendly institution offering a variety of student scholarships. Explore the possibilities online at www.lourdes.edu or by phone at 419-885-3211.
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