KU News Release

June 4, 2009
Contact: Christie Appelhanz, College of Liberal Arts andn Sciences, (785) 864-3516.

Hill steeper, graduation sweeter for Mini College participants

LAWRENCE — The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas will recognize 129 participants from 17 states as the first graduates of Mini College, a week-long learning retreat on campus in which adults became students again. The graduation ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. today in the Adams Alumni Center.

Mini College was open to any interested adult, not just KU alumni. Participants of all ages from across the country commuted, stayed in local accommodations or roomed in KU’s residence halls for the ultimate student experience.

“Learning doesn’t end when you walk down the Hill with a degree,” said Jessica Beeson, Mini College organizer and project coordinator in the College dean’s office. “Mini Collegians have told me they’re already planning to return next year. This inaugural event marks the beginning of a new KU tradition.”

Participants said Mini College proved to be a rewarding experience that didn’t break their vacation budgets. The $175 registration fee included thought-provoking courses, most meals and extracurricular activities. For an additional $25, educators could receive two continuing education units.

“It has been a wonderful experience to reconnect with professors,” said Elaine Frisbie, a Mini Collegian. “No finals, no tests, no papers, no grades. It’s great.”

Mini Collegians attended up to nine classes chosen from nearly 30 offerings featuring College faculty. Some of the most popular courses included Use it or Lose it: Can You Slow Down Aging; The Crusades and Christian-Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Mediterranean World; Six Degrees of Separation: How Everything in Nature (and Your Mind) is Connected; and Money Makes the World Go ’Round: Geographies of Global Finance.

In addition to the courses, participants followed one of four specialized tracks. The options were Independent Film: Outsiders’ Voices; Meet the Authors: English Faculty Book Club; Ecology and Evolution of a Changing Planet; and The Art of Collecting: Curators Share How Museum Pieces are Chosen.

Extracurricular activities offered the opportunity to learn more about acclaimed institutions and traditions at KU with an exclusive production from the Department of Theatre and Film, trips to museums and the Dole Institute of Politics, a carillon demonstration at the campanile and a campus architecture tour. Lunches were hosted by the KU Alumni Association and Continuing Education.

Participants are listed below by hometown.

KANSAS
Abilene 67410: Marcia Williamson and Rick Williamson
Baldwin City 66006: Mary Askew
Cherryvale 67335: Leigh Griffin
Clay Center 67432: Nancy McIntosh
Coffeyville 67337: Vicki Rauch
Fredonia 66736: Marilyn Graham
Hays 67601: Aileen Johnson and Anita Pfannenstiel
Hiawatha 66434: Helen Sourk
Kansas City 66103: Mary-Lucille Mantz
Kansas City 66106: Gail Spaits
Kansas City 66109: Cassandra Jackson, Mike Perez, Kali Standish and Thomas Standish
Kansas City 66117: Charlie Perdue
Lansing 66043: Cindy Coleman
Larned 67550: Karen Gore
Lawrence 66044: Janet Ashburn, Richard Crank and Judith Pohl
Lawrence 66045: Rita Wilson
Lawrence 66046: Amanda McIntosh and Isabelle Tait
Lawrence 66047: Cheryl Chaput, Pamela Fangohr, Mary Beth Leininger, Judith Randolph, Barbara Starrett, Diane Thomas and Eleanor Unruh
Lawrence 66049: Eva Alley, Deborah Ashlock, Flora Hsu, Evan Jorn, Mary Jorn, Susie Nightingale, Patricia Roth, Lynn Russell and Sandra Steinmetz
Leavenworth 66048: JoEtta Kaaz, Carol Mullen and Carolyn Tillotson
Leawood 66211: Trudie Goldberg, Robert Smith and Sally Smith
Lenexa 66215: Randy Dunford, Cathy Elliott
Lenexa 66219: Betty Ellis
Manhattan 66502: Ginny Arthur
Marion 66861: Barbara Smith and Larry Smith
McLouth 66054: Bernice Daniels and Edward Daniels
McPherson 67460: Edith Huffman and Louise Otero
Mission 66202: Tom Bath
Mission Hills 66208: Connie Ashcraft and Keith Ashcraft
Olathe 66061: Mark Zeligman
Ottawa 66067: Jeanette Lowry
Overland Park 66202: Sara Etrick
Overland Park 66207: Donald Allen, Linda Allen and Richard Huff
Overland Park 66210: Dee Robertson
Overland Park 66215: Delmont Hadley
Overland Park 66224: Anne Brumbaugh
Prairie Village 66207: Larry Colburn, Virginia Colburn and Lee Greif
Prairie Village 66208: Denny Aguiar
Salina 67401: Shirley Andrews and William Andrews
Shawnee 66226: Mary Breneman
Silver Lake 66539: Mary Keller
Stilwell 66085: Pamelyn Richardson
Topeka 66606: Robert Dorst and Laura Kelly
Topeka 66610: Martha Lusk and Stephen Paige
Topeka 66614: Elaine Frisbie, Jo Ann Kemp, Jennifer McDonald and John Strahan
Topeka 66617: Elizabeth Woodman
White City 66872: Vernetta Hammersmith
Wichita 67203: Diane Wahto
Wichita 67206: Lori Bigler
Wichita 67212: Linda Hathaway and Richard Hathaway
Wichita 67235: Carla Freeberg
Winfield 67156: Jason Hibbs

ARIZONA
Tucson 85742: Barbara Duncan

COLORADO
Castle Rock 80104: John Vaughan
Evergreen 80439: Charles Masner
Longmont 80503: Lillian Connelly
Pueblo West 81007: Steve Parke

FLORIDA
Sanibel 33957: Kay Morse

IOWA
Sioux City 51108: Deb Andriessen

ILLINOIS
Oak Park 60304: Connie Henderson-Damon

KENTUCKY
Florence 41042: Merry Gray and Steven Gray

MARYLAND
Columbia 21044: George Pangburn

MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor 48108: Marcia Chesney and Richard Chesney

MINNESOTA
Edina 55439: David Rinker and Ruth Rinker

MISSOURI
Independence 64055: Ronald Adams
Kansas City 64112: Jeanine Cobler and Patrick Rush
Kansas City 64114: Dennis Brook and Thomas Minges
Lake Ozark 65079: Teri Loney
Lake Winnebago 64034: Marcia Rippey and Richard Rippey
Sunrise Beach 65079: John Loney

NORTH CAROLINA
Greensboro 27407: Dale VanHoose
Greensboro 27410: Stuart Forster

NEW MEXICO
Taos 87571: William Harrison

NEVADA
Henderson 89052: Gertrude Mattson and Vernon Mattson

OKLAHOMA
Okmulgee 74447: Barbara Osborn and Edward Osborn
Tulsa 74136: Nancy Anderson

TEXAS
Austin 78727: Bridget Kane
Palestine 75801: Valerie Badgett

VIRGINIA
Charlottesville 22903: Linda Borgo

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