Adult University again offers hot summer studies

By Rafaelito Sy

This July, and each July for the past 30 years, Cornell has opened the campus to alumni and staff members, their relatives and children, as well as some unaffiliated with the university to participate in weeklong seminars and workshops catering to every interest as part of Cornell's Adult University (CAU).

Topics covered in the CAU summer program (July 5 to Aug. 1) range from literature, the performing arts, politics and economics to the social and natural sciences, agriculture and world history. All the workshops and seminars are taught by Cornell lecturers and faculty members.

"CAU's purpose has always been simple," said Director Ralph Janis. "It was created to help Cornell graduates maintain strong, exciting intellectual ties to the faculty and the university throughout their lives."

Indeed, about 75 percent are either Cornell alumni or spouses; another 20 percent are people with connections to Cornell (this includes parents of Cornell students and friends and relatives of alumni).

A sampling of this year's seminars include "Childhood: The Way It Was, the Way It Is, the Way It Ought to Be" and "Two Chickens in Every Pot: American Food from Farm to Freezer." Several field studies are also offered, including one -- "Exploring the Finger Lakes Trail" -- in which participants will hike through the glaciated fields and valleys south of the Finger Lakes to learn about the flora and wildlife of the region.

For participants who are young parents, their children will be engaged in activities of their own. CAU has organized a youth program for toddlers to 16-year-olds. All the activities are educational in nature and are designed for particular age groups. "The Deep Blue Sea," for instance, is a program created to teach children, ages 7 to 8, about sea animals and the changing features of the sea. Teen-agers have, among other selections, a journalism workshop, skin-diving lessons and instructions on personal defense to choose from. And part-day, full-day and evening baby-sitting is available upon request for infants.

CAU also offers seminars and study tours throughout the United States and abroad during the other months of the year. Among the states included in this year's list of programs are Idaho in August, for an expedition to the Salmon River, and Virginia in October where, through the architectural structures of Charlottesville, participants will learn about the influence of classical Greece and Rome on the ideals of the Founding Fathers. In programs abroad, there will be a family cruise focusing on the culture and wildlife of Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in December, and an excursion through Peru is scheduled for two weeks in August. Study tours will be held in England, Norway and the Arctic, as well.

Since it was created in 1968 by two 1956 Cornell alumni, Curtis Reis and Ernie Stern, CAU (originally called Cornell Alumni University) has a return rate of well over 50 percent each year. CAU Associate Director Lynn Abbott attributes the program's success to the bond formed between participants and faculty within a sprawling campus and the opportunity for them to submerge intensely in their study material. "Cornell University is a very big place," she said. "CAU is intimate."

Members of the teaching staff share in the excitement.

"I enjoy teaching CAU because there is a terrific enthusiasm level," said restaurateur, wine specialist and visiting lecturer Abby Nash. He will be conducting "The Wine Class," a seminar on wine appreciation from July 26 to Aug. 1. "These folks have been away long enough to become comfortable financially and with themselves to the point where they can really enjoy being here," Nash said.

Roberta Moudry, architectural and cultural historian and visiting scholar in architecture, art and planning, who will be teaching "Architecture from the Ground Up" (also from July 26 to Aug. 1) with her husband, architecture Professor Christian Otto, said, "CAU is a wonderful and intense venue for teaching. The students are relaxed but enthusiastic, eager for information and generally fun. CAU attracts people of all ages and backgrounds, which provides for great diversity of opinions and insights."

For more information and registration materials, contact Cornell's Adult University at 626B Thurston Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850-2490; telephone: 255-6260; fax: 254-4482; e-mail: cauinfo@cornell.edu. The application deadline depends on the course, when it is scheduled and its availability.