March 11, 2005
Contact: Gordon Ovenshine 724-738-4854;
gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu
SRU’S INSTITUTE FOR LEARNING IN RETIREMENT CONTINUES
GROWTH
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Now in its
fourth year, Slippery Rock University’s Institute for
Learning in Retirement is offering more the 60 courses and eight
day trips as part of its spring semester. It continues to
seek new registrations to meet the learning interests of those who
are retired or near retirement in the Slippery Rock
region.
Spring
semester classes include basic computer skills offered at the
Cranberry Township Library, as well as quilting, bridge,
geology, genealogy and astronomy, among others offered at
SRU. The program also offers trips to the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C., as well as day
trips.
“Our
curriculum committee deliberately tries to new subjects and to
expand topics where our members have shown an interest,”
Executive Director Ruth Hoffman said.
For example, computer classes started
with a single basics class. The institute now offers an
introductory class and courses in Excel, Publisher, Windows and Web
page design. “These classes are very
popular,” Hoffman says “and they tend to fill-up
very quickly. We also have begun a basics class in Cranberry
Township.”
Day trips remain an important part of the
ILR program. Most often the trips are to nearby destinations
such as “A Day in Ohio” featuring visits to
woodcarving, pottery and button museums; a brunch cruise on Lake
Arthur; and a trip to Akron for a matinee of “Beauty
and the Beast” at the Carousel Dinner
Theater.
In addition,
the ILR has begun to offer more extensive trips such as an
overnight to Washington, D.C , to visit the new Native American
Museum at the Smithsonian.
Formed as an affiliate of SRU’s
Alumni Association, the program depends on the availability of
volunteer instructors. Hoffman notes, “The ILR has been
truly blessed with terrific instructors.”
Although the Institute for Learning in
Retirement is a membership organization, some classes and trips are
open to non-members. There are no age or educational
requirements for ILR membership. Inquiries about the ILR are
welcome at 724-738-1604.
#PN