Cornell Announces Expanded Program for Its 2013 Summer Learning Vacations

After many years of assuming that Cornell's Adult University (CAU) in Ithaca, New York, was not the equivalent in profundity of those other summer learning vacations at Oxford, Cambridge, and St. John’s College in Santa Fe, I finally attended a summer week at Cornell and learned how wrong I had been. The course I took with distinguished Cornell faculty was an intellectual adventure, enjoyable beyond measure and deeply rewarding, and the courses pursued by other adult participants -- as described to me during the excellent meals we took in Cornell’s dining halls -- were equally memorable. And when we all got together for a final banquet dinner and sang the Cornell song -- "High above Cayuga’s waters . . ." there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Four separate weeks will be offered: July 7-13, July 14-20, July 21-27, and July 28-August 3, 2013, with as many as eight different courses offered each week. And although some of these are for pure recreation:

 

The Wines CourseThe Golf ClinicThe Tennis ClinicThe Harried Gourmet Does Simple Dining: Soups, Breads and Salads

 

Others are serious, day-long, all-week, intensive excursions into academic subjects:

 

The Birth of Stars, Galaxies and Black HolesNatural History in the Field.Great TrialsIndividual Liberty, Privacy and Religious FreedomThe Psychology of Suspense in ArtMath: Personal Paths and Occasional Prodigies.

 

All courses are taught by the renowned faculty of Cornell. My own course in "Great Trials" two summers ago, taught by historian-sociologist Glenn Altschuler and law professor Faust Rossi, and dealing with the judicial trials of the Haymarket protestors, the Barry Bond and Martha Stewart prosecutions, the Suffragette ordeals, and others, remains vivid in my memory and constantly refreshing; my fellow students were an amazing lot from all ages and professions of articulate and highly-engaged people.

What is also unique about Cornell's summer program is that a parallel program for children of different ages is offered to the offspring of parents attending a weeklong course, keeping those children engaged and absorbed while their parents pursue a different course. People of all ages then meet three times a day in the dining halls of Cornell where the food is unlimited, varied, and surprisingly good.

For adults, a week at Cornell costs $1,669, including housing in a comfortable, private, student residence; all tuition; all meals; late afternoon and evening activities and tours; the final banquet dinner; and more. It is some of the best money you'll ever spend. You can learn more, or obtain a catalogue, from www.cau.cornell.edu, or by requesting information from cauinfo@cornell.edu, or by phoning 607/255-6260.