East Tennessee State University’s Alliance for Continued Learning (ACL) will offer a wide range of seminars and activities during the fall session beginning Sept. 22, and ending Oct. 29. Morning sessions will be held from 10-noon and afternoon courses usually run from 1-3 p.m.

The program will include sessions featuring author Jan Barnett speaking on “History of Limestone and Unicoi;” Master Gardener Jean Cope, who will address “Topiary Design and Care;” and ETSU Professor Emeritus Dr. Jack Higgs explaining “Cuba Before and After the Revolution.”

Dr. Roberta Herrin will offer “Food, Film and Fiddles: The ETSU Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at Twenty-Five,” while “Comedy from Radio’s Golden Age” will be outlined by Bill Campbell.

Dr. Ardis Nelson of ETSU’s Foreign Languages Department will present “From Books to the Barrio;” Dr. John King will discuss “The Al Jazeera Brand: How Newspapers Around the World Frame the Most Influential Television Network in the Middle East;” and ETSU’s English Department chair, Dr. Judith Slagle, will present “Romantic Women Poets in the Retelling of History.”

Among the more dramatic offerings are “ETSU Theatre and Dance: We’re on the Move” presented by ETSU Artist-in-Residence Pat Cronin and Cara Harker of the university’s Department of Communication; “A Piece of My Heart: A Celebration of the Women Who Served in Vietnam” by Bobby Funk, ETSU professor of drama; and “As You Like It and Hamlet: Designing Shakespeare for the 21st Century,” offered by ETSU professor Herb Parker.

Other topics include the separation of church and state, treating veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, cancer control efforts, travel to Costa Rica, Dawn of Hope’s history and service, and, for crime detection buffs, the use of K-9 dogs and forensic toxicology.

A field trip is planned to Kingsport’s Bays Mountain to view the wolves at the Nature Center and enjoy a planetarium show.

Another day will be spent at Roan Mountain and Miller Farm. On the final day, participants can meet at St. John’s Episcopal Church to enjoy a classical piano performance and a program by ETSU musicians.

To give new members an opportunity to become acquainted with the group, the ACL will host an informal continental breakfast on Sept. 22 from 9-9:30 a.m., in the Carnegie Library, Building 17, on the VA campus at Mountain Home.

Parking is available at the Carnegie Library or between Stanton-Gerber Hall and the Johnson City Medical Center on Med Center Drive North, with van shuttle service to the Carnegie Library.

Sponsored by the ETSU Office of Professional Development, the ACL is “member-empowered, member-driven and member-governed.”

Participants decide the study groups, forums, classes, and other activities to be held, find leaders for the sessions, and elect officers. Most courses will be held on the campus of the Quillen VA Medical Center.

No educational pre-requisites, no examinations, and no grades are involved in the courses — just a love of learning.

A $40 fee allows participants to attend any or all sessions.

For more information or a schedule of classes, call the ETSU Office of Professional Development at 423-439-8267.

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