The Providence program is held next to Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design campuses where some of our professors currently teach.

Classes are subject to change and a complete and final schedule will be given in your orientation packet upon arrival of the program. This packet will include professor/speaker biographies and class descriptions.

Below is a current sampling of the anticipated lectures being taught in this Providence session.

Local History Series:

• Literary Providence – The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft
• Art and the City
• Rhode Island Women’s History

Health Series:

• Food Prices and Healthy Choices

Art and Literature Series:

• Art Therapy: Pictures that Heal
• The Miniature World of the Prose Poem

The San Diego program is held on the private University of San Diego campus where some of our professors currently teach.

Classes are subject to change and a complete and final schedule will be given in your orientation packet upon arrival of the program. This packet will include professor/speaker biographies and class descriptions.

Below is a current sampling of the lectures we are anticipating being taught in this San Diego session

• California History
• Crossing Generations
• The Art of Reflexology
• The Science vs. Faith Debates in the United States Today
• The Beatles: Their Music and the Era it Defined

Health Series:

• Living Well, Living Long
• Pills & Promises
• Medication Roulette

Domestic Current Events Series:

• The Road to the White House – 2012 Election
• Pending & Recent Legislation
• Pending & Recent Court Cases

Dr. Bruno Leone Lecture Series:

• Mohammed & the Rise of Islam
• The Life and Times of Niccolo Machiavelli

Ancient Religion:

• Shamanism

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The Eugene program is held a few miles from the University of Oregon where most of our professors currently teach.

Classes are subject to change and a complete and final schedule will be given in your orientation packet upon arrival of the program. This packet will include professor/speaker biographies and class descriptions.

Below is a current sampling of the lectures we are anticipating being taught in this Eugene session.

Local History Series:

• The History of Eugene
• Ducktown Disagrees

Health Series:

• Living Well, Living Long
• Pills & Promises
• Medication Roulette

Writing Series:

• Memoir Writing

Political Science Series: 

• Current Events
• Election 2012

Other possible lecture subjects: Medieval Studies, English Folklore, Art History, and Natural Sciences

The Albuquerque program is held near the University of New Mexico campus where most of our professors currently teach.

Classes are subject to change and a complete and final schedule will be given in your orientation packet upon arrival of the program. This packet will include professor/speaker biographies and class descriptions.

Below is a current sampling of the lectures we are anticipating being taught in this Albuquerque session.

First Ladies of the US Series

Health Series:

• Living Well, Living Long: : Integrating the Five Aspects of Health
• Pills & Promises: Avoiding Medical and Nutritional Quackery
• Navigating a Slippery Slope: Medication Roulette

Economic Outlook Series:

• US Deficit – National Debt

Local History Series:

• The White Hat Guys and the Black Hat Guys

Lila loves Senior Summer School, she loves the classes, she loves the program, and she loves Madison! She’s a great advocate for us, and we feel honored to have had her lovely company for so many summers.

Lila grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Belle Harbor after she was married. She was a snowbird for a few years, going back and forth between New York and Florida for winters, before she moved full time to FL in 2001. She learned about Senior Summer School through a social group she met, who encouraged her to attend fifteen years ago. She had a terrific time and hasn’t missed a summer session since. She comes to Wisconsin for the whole summer and even meets up with her children who live in the Midwest.

“Madison is such a great city,” she says, “and the Senior Summer School program is the perfect combination of structured programming and personal time to explore.” And explore she does. “Between Senior Summer School and my own excursions, I’ve been all over the city and the outlying areas. There’s so much to see there, and Madison is just so beautiful. I love the lakes, I love the shows, I love the summer climate – I just love everything about it.”

Lila recommends going on Madison Bill’s tour of the city, no matter how many times one may have done it before. “The city is unique, and there’s always some new detail. Either something I missed before, or something completely new.”

When pressed to pick one particular thing she likes about Madison, it’s hard for her to choose – though she is very partial the Imperial Gardens Chinese food restaurant. “Honestly, I just like it all. I consider it my home away from home. I’m happy traveling to the sites in the outlying areas around the city, and I’m happy sitting next to the lake, looking out over the water. The Concerts on the Square are fun, and they offer a lot of different kinds of music. So for someone like me, who comes to more than one session, there’s a good mix of styles and bands.”

Lila appreciates the classes, which are both academically interesting and entertaining. “It’s summer. I don’t want to earn a Ph.D. I want to learn a little something about an appealing subject in an easy-going format. And I like the flexibility of the schedule, too. Class time is optional, though I enjoy the topics and generally attend. Even so, there’s enough time to explore on your own, do some shopping and get to know the city. I hope everyone takes the time to get to know the city. It’s a great city to get to know!”

This summer, of course, Lila expects to take advantage of the weekend side trips to the great city of Chicago and Wisconsin’s fabulous Door County, and is delighted at the prospect. “It’s a great idea, and I’m always looking for a new place to explore. These mini-tours sound wonderful!” (Be sure to check out this opportunity here)

So take it from our long-time friend Lila – you definitely want to spend some time in Madison, WI, and you can’t pick a better way to do that than with Senior Summer School! Come and visit. You’ll be glad you did!

Brown University was founded in 1764. It is the third oldest institution of higher education in New England, and the seventh oldest in the U.S. Brown’s main campus is located on College Hill on the East side of Providence. The campus is known for its Georgian architecture, with several of the buildings, built from its earliest days through the 20th century, reflecting this American colonial style.

Interestingly, Brown University was originally chartered in 1764, by grant of King George III, as the first Baptist college in New England, though there was plenty of resistance to the idea within the church itself. The college’s stated mission was to prepare students “for discharging the Offices of Life with usefulness & reputation” by providing instruction “in the Vernacular and Learned Languages, and in the liberal Arts and Sciences.” However, it also stated, in effect, that students wouldn’t be bound to any particular religion, and the creation of the board provided for members of a spectrum of religious backgrounds, a liberal idea for the day, and one that led to a largely sectarian institutional governance. In fact, Brown was the first college in the nation to accept students regardless of religious affiliation.

Today, Brown is considered one of the best schools in the U.S., and the most academically liberal of the Ivy League (meaning that students have the most freedom in their curriculum). Its students are also considered among the most content with their courses and their campus culture.

The school and campus integrate 200+ years of history, from Revolutionary War Hero founders to a close affiliation to the Brown family, with members who planted their feet on both sides of the ideological fence of the Civil War. Today, students celebrate and study many rites and traditions that have trickled through the ages, and straddle both American and school history.

Brown is the largest institutional landowner in Providence, and its campus includes the original campuses of Pembroke College – which merged with Brown in 1971 to officially integrate female undergraduates – and Bryant College, Brown’s former neighbor who sold its property to Brown when it relocated in 1969. This section of Brown is known as East Campus.

The university has an extraordinary collection of academic and artistic papers and works, housed in its two library buildings. Most of its archives, rare books and manuscripts and special collections are housed in the John Hay Library, named after an alumnus who was the personal secretary to Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State for two other Presidents. Construction costs for the building were seeded by Hay’s friend Andrew Carnegie, who requested the library honor him.

Brown is geographically contiguous to the Rhode Island School of Design, considered the best art school in America. Known as RISD (pronounced Riz-D), the school was founded after a group known as The Centennial Women had money ($1,675) left over from fundraising efforts to support the Rhode Island exhibit at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Inspired by foreign exhibits on design and interior decorating, the women were persuaded to found a school “for the purpose of aiding in the cultivation of the arts of design.” RISD was incorporated in 1877 and opened the following fall.

The RISD Museum houses a collection of fine and decorative art objects. The first public galleries opened in 1893. The RISD Library was founded in 1878 and is one of the oldest independent art college libraries in the country. Its houses more than 145,000 volumes and its 380 periodical subscriptions offer unusual depth and richness in the areas of architecture, art, design and photography. The collection provides strong historical and contemporary perspectives, and materials in landscape architecture, ceramics, textiles, and jewelry support upper-level research. The library is also noted for its artist’s book collection, its rare books and outstanding visual resources collections.

Senior Summer School looks forward to touring these renowned and vibrant schools, and learning more about their history and impact on Providence, art and education.

The University of San Diego was chartered as a Catholic college in 1949, and drew from resources from the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to move forward on a site known as Alcalá Park.

Alcalá Park sits atop the edge of a mesa overlooking San Diego’s famous Mission Bay and other parts of the city. The philosophy of the university’s primary founder, Reverend Mother Rosalie Hill, RSCJ, a Superior Vicaress of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, rested on the belief that studying in beautiful surroundings could improve a student’s educational experience. According to USD’s history, Mother Hill wanted the site to be unrivaled in its exquisite beauty and intricate design.

“There are three things that are significant in education: beauty, truth and goodness,” she said. “But the only one that attracts people on sight is beauty. If beauty attracts people, they will come and find the truth and have goodness communicated to them by the kind of people here.”

In support of her vision, her religious society dedicated a $4 million endowment in support of a women’s college, which opened its doors in 1952 as The San Diego College for Women. Reflecting her belief in an aesthetic environment and to pay homage to San Diego’s Catholic heritage, the university’s buildings are designed in a 16th-century Spanish Renaissance architectural style, in the way of the revered Universidad de Alcalá in Spain. The campus is resplendent with elaborate façades, delicate ironwork, and carved woodwork, and enhanced by ocean views and palm-tree-lined courtyards.

The university is located in the community of Linda Vista, on the north crest of Mission Valley and approximately two miles north of downtown San Diego. From its perch on the tip of the mesa, the campus offers views of the Pacific Ocean, San Diego Harbor, the Coronado Islands and La Jolla. Visible from the westernmost edges of the Alcalá Park campus are the renowned communities of Mission Hills, Old Town, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Bay Park, Mission Beach and Pacific Beach.

Today, in large part due to the patronage of some wealthy business owners with whom the University has established strong ties, the campus boasts a number of buildings and institutes that continue its traditions of beauty, truth and goodness. These include The School of Peace Studies and numerous buildings and centers built with the school’s famous aestheticism in mind.

Senior Summer School is pleased to have the University of San Diego’s beautiful campus as its home away from home in California, and we look forward to exploring this sunny, vibrant region from such a lovely base.

For more information on The University of San Diego, start here: http://www.sandiego.edu/about/history.php

We hear from clients all the time about how much they love Senior Summer School, and this makes us feel very warm & fuzzy. We know that the people who come to our programs are smart, fun and friendly – in short, awesome! – and for them to come back again and again, and share with us how much they appreciate our sessions, classes, teachers, program directors, etc. is an honor indeed!

We’ve also experienced first hand how powerful your recommendations are. We’ve been fortunate through the years to have so many clients share their great experiences with friends, family and neighbors, and we get many referrals from your generosity in spreading the word about us.

We can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate your continued loyalty and enthusiasm, so we thought we’d show you instead.

In 2012, we’re initiating some exciting discount and rebate programs for return clients and for those of you who tell the world – or your world, anyway – about us, and send new Senior Summer School participants to us. In lieu of thank you notes, we’ll help you save a few dollars.

“Make new friends and keep the old, some are silver and the others gold.” We’re sure you’ve heard that song somewhere along the line, and we’re always happy to meet some new friends. If you bring a friend with you who’s new to Senior Summer School, we’ll give you a rebate on your fees. The more friends you bring, the more money you get back!

Simply, if you refer a friend who signs up for Senior Summer School, you’ll receive a $40 rebate for your 2012 program. For each additional friend you refer who signs up, you’ll receive an additional $25 rebate. There is no limit to the number of referrals, and to sweeten the deal, for every 4 people you refer who sign up, you’ll receive a $35 dollar bonus rebate.

There are certain details and qualifications, which you can find HERE, as well as a handy dandy rebate chart for up to five referrals.

And as for those “gold” friends? We’ve got that covered, too, and then some.

For return clients, we’ve put a couple of discount programs in place: Platinum and Gold Membership.

Platinum Members have traveled with Senior Summer School for 2 or more summers since 2007.

       Benefits Include:

                     • $100 Program Discounts

                     • $100 Trip Credit – to be used towards additional trips

Gold Members traveled with us for the first time last summer, in 2011.

        Benefits Include:

                    • $50 Program Discount

                    • $75 Trip Credit – to be used towards additional trips

Again, you can find more details and qualifications HERE, but these are the basics.

We’re grateful for so many of you who’ve made a difference to Senior Summer School through the years, either by coming back year after year, or by bringing your friends. This year, we’re giving back!

Everyone knows Chicago, of course but if the avalanche of choices on what to do in The Windy City has been overwhelming and paralyzing, or if you’re simply happy to sit back and relax, while we do the work, then this is the trip for you! It includes The Art Institute, Ali’s Cheese Cake World & Bakery Tour, the Sky Deck, Michigan Avenue, Dinner at Gino’s East for legendary Chicago deep dish pizza, a Windella Lake & River Cruise and lunch at the world-famous Lawry’s.

As for Door County, most Midwesterners are familiar with this charming region, known as the ‘Cape Cod of the Midwest,’ but since you may not be, let us introduce you!

Door County is actually the largest country in Wisconsin, geographically, though it is sparsely populated during every season but summer, when it becomes a popular tourist haven. Known for its physical beauty – it covers the majority of the Door Peninsula, which juts into both Lake Michigan and Green Bay, and includes nearly three hundred miles of shoreline – it is home to five of Wisconsin’s state parks and twelve lighthouses. Its economy is mainly based on tourism, and most businesses close during the off-season, though there are some apple and a number of cherry orchards, for which the region is also known.

As is often the case, Door County’s regional tourism industry developed around the recreational opportunities offered by its vast natural resources, but soon expanded and the area became nearly as famous for its restaurants, sightseeing, and artistic and cultural offerings.

We are delighted to help you get acquainted with this little gem of the Midwest. Our week-end getaway offers some Door County staples and not-to-be-missed institutions, including Karins Gardens, the Door County Maritime Museum, Door County’s Famous Fish Bowl, a Fireboat Cruise, Boynton Chapel, Peninsula State Park, an Eagle Bluff Lighthouse tour, breakfast at the famous Al Johnson’s Swedish restaurant, a winery tour and tasting, Renard’s Cheese Store and shopping the eclectic lakeshore and bayside towns of Founders Square, Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek. If you’re coming to Madison, we hope you’ll consider these great getaways – you’ll be glad you did!

Bruno started life in Brooklyn, NY and made his way as a young adult to Hollywood, with the intention of being a studio piano player for the movies. “That didn’t quite come about, but I did make a lot of connections there, and I was always working,” Bruno says. Some of these connections he so modestly refers to may sound familiar – Mel Tormé, for instance. “I traveled around a lot, touring. I enjoyed the life, but I was getting older. I got married, my wife got pregnant and I knew that wasn’t a life for a family. It was time for a change.”If you’ve been to a Senior Summer School session in either San Diego or Madison over the past few years, chances are you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Bruno Leone, our entertaining – in more ways than one! – professor of intellectual history and piano concerts.

Around that time, Bruno’s father took a job in Phoenix, AZ, so Bruno and his family moved there. He took a steady piano job at a supper club and enrolled at Arizona State University. “I was an older student, but it worked out well. I enjoyed it. I majored in history, with minors in anthropology and political theory, which ultimately led me to the field I’ve been in since – intellectual history, which is sort of a combination of all of those disciplines. How nations and civilizations formed, on what philosophical and intellectual bases, and the influence of all of those things on history through the ages.”

Bruno did well in Arizona and was able to leverage that success into a graduate study fellowship at the University of Minnesota that turned into a professorship. “It was a nice choice for our young family. During the summers, I’d get resort work in Minnesota or Wisconsin through my piano and we’d spend the summers in a cabin on a lake somewhere. And then during the year, I’d lecture or do research on my academic pursuits.”

It’s a balance of music and intellectualism that has served him well and that he has appreciated since he enrolled as an undergrad. He’s spent his life pursuing both professional opportunities, and finding success in each. You don’t need to speak to him for long before you pick up on his joyful outlook on life, and his deep appreciation for the many blessings he’s had. His low-key recitation of his journey – from professorship in Minnesota to publication as a non-fiction author, from music gigs in clubs and on cruise ships across the country and around the globe, to his work with a publishing company as a content editor that led to the Executive Editor’s position with the company and a move to San Diego, CA – clues you in to Bruno’s Renaissance mind, his intellectual curiosity, and his warm sense of humor.

After a long and satisfying professional journey, he maintains a youthful attitude toward adventure. He’s currently working on a novel, fiction being a new frontier for Bruno, not to mention the current Wild West atmosphere of today’s publishing industry. But as with most things he’s encountered, he’s enjoying the ride.

Which is exactly how he feels about Senior Summer School.

Bruno came to Senior Summer School after he was approached to teach in San Diego a few years ago. “I thought, ‘Why not? It sounds like fun.’ And if I hated it, I didn’t ever have to do it again.”

Nearly ten years later, he’s still here.

“Senior Summer School is a great program, and I tell you, the people you meet there are first class. These aren’t people who retired to watch TV. They’re a bright, engaged group and they come to these programs because they relish learning. I appreciate that. Most of them are well-educated and fun to meet, and their minds are truly like sponges. They ask challenging questions and keep me on my toes. I really enjoy my time at Senior Summer School.”

We’ve been lucky to have Bruno in two sites, San Diego and Madison, and in two capacities. Not only does he teach classes in his favorite discipline, intellectual history, but he also treats the group to an entertaining piano concert that’s really more like musical lectures. “I play music – a lot of ‘Golden Age of Broadway’ pieces, Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Rogers and Hammerstein, Rogers and Hart, like that. And then I tell some funny stories about the business, some behind-the-scenes things I’ve heard or read here and there. I refer to it as ‘the mud and the glitter.’ The audience enjoys it, and it allows me to share that Piano Man part of me with the Senior Summer School crowd.”

And the crowd loves it. Bruno is a perennial favorite, and we are so lucky to know him and to know he enjoys being part of our sessions. We’re thrilled to share that he’ll be in both Madison and San Diego this summer, too, with all new classes.