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Media Relations

Mini University: An IU tradition expands its offerings, audience

Each June, the Indiana Memorial Union on IU's Bloomington campus bursts with life as excited students greet old friends, meet new friends, and get out their notebooks and pens, ready to delve into summer classes.

But most of these nearly 500 students finished their formal educations long ago. In fact, many are retired and have grown kids -- and grandkids -- of their own.

They flock to Bloomington for "Mini University," a week-long opportunity to take up to 15 different IU courses (from a roster of about 100) with some of IU's top professors on topics ranging from sustainability to globalization, taking place in the classroom and outside in nature or one of IU's libraries or museums. Now entering its 38th year (2009), Mini University has been named one of America's Nine Best Learning Vacations by Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine.

The six-day event is sponsored by the IU Alumni Association and IU Bloomington Continuing Studies. Optional evening activities include a picnic, films, theatrical performances at the Brown County Playhouse and social gatherings.

Jeanne Madison, co-director of Mini University at the Bloomington Division of Continuing Studies, says she sits in on classes and pores over evaluations to hand-pick top faculty members for the program every year. While many favorite professors return annually, about 25 percent of Mini U teachers are new each year, and, with the exception of some technical and computer skills courses (such as Photoshop), all of the offerings are completely new.

"Many faculty members say to me, 'I learn as much as the students do,'" said Madison. "People who come to Mini University are very informed, very bright, and they want to learn. One of the students said to me, 'I can read 100 books and would get the same information, but I don't have the expert synthesis of the most current research and information being presented in the coherent way these faculty members present it.' I think that's what brings people back."

The program is also a little better each year; participants are asked to fill out blue book evaluations about the classes and their feedback is applied to planning for the following year. The final list of course offerings is usually completed by March 1.

While the majority of participants are more than 50 years old, some younger teachers attend Mini University (teachers can earn up to 10 Certification Renewal Units). This year, a 27-year-old attended with her father and plans to come back next year.

In keeping with our artistic spirit, Live at IU attended three of the 11 arts offerings at this year's Mini University: "Choral Conducting -- The Process," with Michael Schwartzkopf; "The History of Blues Music," with Andy Hollinden; and "Improv and Invention: Graffiti Art and Its Makers," with Malcolm Mobutu Smith. What we found were passionate instructors, engaged students -- and more reminders of why learning new things is so essential to a full life at any age.

"Mini University audiences are very fond of music classes, partly because of the reputation of our music school -- and that's not something they can get on CNN," said Madison. "For many people, this is the absolute highlight of their year."

Read more about Malcolm Mobutu Smith's graffiti art class.
Read more about Andy Hollinden's history of blues.
Read more about Michael Schwartzkopf's choral conducting class.

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