Don’t miss registering for our Summer semester that runs from June 7-11, 2021
- Ten classes available at one low fee
- Participate in live online classes with interactive discussions
- Five days of lectures with two lectures each day
- Recorded classes mean you never miss a class.
Summer Semester dates
Start: Monday, June 7, 2021
End: Friday, March 11, 2021
How do I become a member of Senior University?
To be eligible for classes, you must be a registered member of Senior University. The cost for an annual membership is $50.00. As an annual member, you can enroll for any of our three semesters (Summer, Fall, Winter) at an additional cost. Register by clicking below.
How do I enroll in the Summer semester?
You can enroll online by clicking below Participate in our live online classes and get access to video recordings of the presentations to watch at your convenience. The cost for the summer semester is $50.00 to participate in up to 10 classes.
Summer 2021 schedule
Read below for a brief description of each class.
Monday June 7, 2021
The Future of Newspapers-Is there one?
9:00 am-10:00 am
Instructor – Ken Herman
Longtime newspaperman Ken Herman has seen the world of news coverage change dramatically since he entered the industry in 1975. Herman will discuss the current and existential challenges facing newspapers in the new world of news coverage.
This live online lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer session.
About the Instructor:
Longtime newspaperman Ken Herman has seen the world of news coverage change dramatically since he entered the industry in 1975. Herman will discuss the current and existential challenges facing newspapers in the new world of news coverage.
 | Available on-demand |
How Photography Gave Us a Beloved Art Movement
10:30-11:30 am
Instructor – Nancy Lilly
It is safe to say that of all the art movements across 4,000 years of art history, impressionism has had the greatest impact and is the most beloved. But how did this movement come about? How did photography enable artists to see in a new way and give us a greater connection to art? This lecture will cover the key events and technology that had the most pivotal impact upon artists of the 19th century. We will cover how artists began to “see” form and light differently, and how they actually painted differently that gave birth to the Modern Art Era.
This live lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer session.
| Available on-demand |
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
The Post-Pandemic Future of Texas Libraries
9:00 am-10:00 am
Instructor- Eric Lashley
Eric Lashley will discuss the future of library services in Texas and his plans of building library consortia to provide greater levels of service to Texas residents. He will talk in-depth about the Central Texas Library System (CTLS) which is a nonprofit-based corporation which he will direct. CTLS is a membership-based organization serving over 200 public libraries spanning over 114 countries and serving 7.76 million Texans.
This live online lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer semester.
| Available on-demand |
Meeting the Challenges of Making a Living in the Arts
10:30 am-11:30 am
Instructor – Kevin Taylor
Artists face many challenges in making a living outside the traditional institutions of universities. Most universities are excellent in teaching the domains of the arts, but university students often develop an anti-business bias inhibiting them from gaining those skills needed to be successful in the free market. My career in arts education was founded on the belief that ALL people value art. I will present the structural requirements that have proven to be essential in maximizing the potential for successful careers and artistic livelihoods.
This live lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer Session.
| Available on-demand |
Wednesday, June, 9, 2021
Climate Change and Texas
9:00 am-10:00 am
Instructor: Jay Banner
Over the last thousand years, tree-ring records indicate significant periods of drought in Texas. These droughts were of longer duration than the 1950s “drought of record” that is commonly used in planning, and they occurred independently of human-induced global climate change. Twenty-first-century climate models consistently project that Texas will likely become significantly warmer and drier, yet the magnitude, timing, and regional distribution of these changes are uncertain. A projected doubling of the state’s population by mid-century will drive increased demand for water, which along with extended droughts will create challenges to resilience on the state’s water resources.
This live lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the Summer session.
| Available on-demand |
Crimes of the Art World 10:30 am-11:30 am
Instructor – Terry Martin
Fine art is often the target of direct actions by criminals, including theft, forgery, destruction or vandalism, illicit excavation. More indirect crimes can include impermissible copying, money laundering, price manipulation, deliberate mis-authentication and other frauds, even “bidding off the chandelier.” Art itself can be a crime: graffiti, pornography, blasphemy. Some criminals who steal or forge art are viewed as attractive rogues, especially in Hollywood. But the FBI and Interpol rank art and cultural property crime as a major economic problem. We will take a quick look at some of the major art crimes of the last century, the characters involved, and why this subject will continue to fascinate and repel us for the next century.
This live lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer session.
| Also available on-demand |
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Hidden Histories in Downtown Georgetown
9:00 am-10:00 am
Instructor – Ann Evans
People regularly enjoy the downtown square for its charm and beautiful buildings. If these buildings could talk, what stories might they tell? Learn some of the stories that have taken place in downtown Georgetown over the last 170 years.
This live lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer session.
| Also available on-demand |
Bio-Security 101: Fighting Serious Infectious Diseases 11:00 am-12:00 pm
Instructor – Adam Samuels
In this overview, learn how infectious diseases spread and mutate and about basic disease detective work, or Epidemiology. Our speaker will discuss his experiences with the Department of Defense’s BioThreat Reduction Program: the origins in the late 1990’s and the early focus on biological weapons elimination in the USSR, and more recent work to improve pandemic prevention measures through partner country engagements in bio-surveillance, bio-safety, and bio-security. Their goal is to reduce the likelihood of natural, accidental, or intentional disease outbreaks impacting not just the host country and regional stability but also our own interests around the globe.
This live lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer session.
| Available on-demand |
Friday, June 11, 2021
Free Trade vs. Tariffs
9:00 am-10:00 am
Instructor – Stephen Benold
The speaker will present a brief history of international trade in the pre-industrial age. The theory of comparative advantage, advanced by the British economist David Ricardo, introduced the concept of the value of free trade. Britain essentially practiced free trade in the early years of the industrial revolution. Tariffs were introduced to protect infant industries in nations other than industrialized Britain. The basic arguments for and against tariffs will be presented, as well as the theoretical disadvantage of tariffs for a nation.
This live online lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer session.
| Also available on-demand |
Why Twain Still Matters
10:30 am-11:30 am
Instructor: Laura Trombley, PhD
Participants will learn how this master storyteller became a national personality, a larger-than-life spokesperson who, through humor, influenced public opinion on issues of race, hypocrisy, government, gender equality, morality, religion, war, and manifest destiny. At the same time, participants will examine how Twain transformed the American novel as a literary genre.
This live online lecture is presented using Zoom. A link to attend the online class will be provided about two weeks prior to the start of the Summer session.
| Also available on-demand |
If you have any questions, contact us at: admin@senioruniv.org | 512-863-1680