Open Lectures Series Over Various Topics to be Held at Vol State

By Caleb Baldwin 

Vol State Community College will be hosting a Key Lifelong Learning Lecture Series at their Gallatin Campus. This lecture series will take place on Friday mornings between March 13 and April 24, in the Caudill Hall. The lectures are open to anyone available to attend, but they are targeted to retirees who may want to continue learning about different topics.

This semester’s series will include a wide variety of topics, ranging from “Safety Awareness,” to “Forensic Dentistry.” There is a $59 fee that will grant admission to one or all the lectures.

These are not lectures in the traditional class style; there is no homework or assignments, but they are rather a more casual lecture mainly focused on educating anyone who may be interested in the topics. Most of the lectures are given by teachers and faculty at Vol State, about any topic that they may be interested and knowledgeable in.

Eric Melcher works in Public Relations at Vol State and he is one of the parties responsible for organizing this lecture series. In an interview with Melcher, he explained how the program started and why it has been a success that has continued for years. “We thought it would be nice to have educational opportunities for people who have retired, or maybe just have time throughout the day,” said Melcher.

Melcher also discussed how topics are chosen for the lectures. “We have several of the classes that are taught by Vol State professors who have a special interest in one of these topics, such as ‘Evaluating the Kennedy Presidency,’ which is taught by one of the Political Science professors,” explained Melcher.

These lectures have been very successful in the community which is why they have been continued for years. “It’s been a good response through the years, I think we’ve had some core people that go every year to all of them but we’re getting new people all the time, and really it just runs the gambit of people that are interested,” said Melcher. This spring’s lecture series will begin on March 13 and run through April 24.