'Mini U' offers chance for more learning

For 32 years, Mini University has been quenching its participants' everlasting thirst for knowledge. This week, the annual event is whetting the wisdom of 375 palates from 27 states. \n"It's a smorgasbord of learning," said Jeanne Madison, assistant director of Lifelong Learning and Mini University at the Bloomington Division of Continuing Studies.\nMini University is sponsored by the IU Alumni Association and the Bloomington Division of Continuing Studies and caters to adults who want to engage in lifelong learning. Participants are spending six days in the Indiana Memorial Union and taking up to 15 classes of the 92 that are offered in the fields of business and technology, domestic issues, fine arts, health and fitness, human development, international issues, humanities, music and theater and science. Esteemed IU professors teach the courses on a volunteer basis.\nIn addition to classroom learning, attendees also are participating in social and community events, such as picnics, films and a trip to the Brown County Playhouse. On Thursday alone, a Mini U student can take a class on cholesterol and atherosclerosis in the morning, understand globalization by early afternoon, embark on a scheduled nature walk during the height of the day and still have time for the evening James Bond movie and discussion. \n"You can be as busy as you want to be," fourth-year participant Norma Shackley said. \nMadison said that one of the biggest strengths of Mini University is the loyalty of its participants. Twenty percent of the participants have been attending the program for 11 years or more, and 50 percent have attended for six years or more. Madison accredits this faithfulness to the quality of the teaching and the wide selection of classes that are offered.\n"The heart and core of Mini University is the IU teaching faculty who donate their time and expertise to teach," she said. \nVi Working, an IU graduate and Bloomington resident, has been attending Mini University with her husband for eight years. Working lauds the courses and the faculty and said she continues to come to learn something new. \n"We need to keep our brain alive," she said.\nWorking said the professors seem very knowledgeable and are noticeably nice.\n"I've been to other universities for graduate work and there is a difference," she said. "IU is still a friendly university."\nPatrick Page graduated from IU in 1958 and has participated in Mini University for six years. He said the program keeps him informed of current affairs.\n"I get updates on economics, the effect of computers and what's happening in the world," he said.\nShackley also appreciates the timeliness and relevance of the courses. \n"It's so now," she said. "I hear the news, but I need a different perspective. It's very unbiased, and I can relate to it."\nMadison said the variety and quality of the curriculum is what earned Mini University an award from Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine for the second time. In its 2002 January/February issue, the publication deemed Mini University to be one of America's nine best learning vacations.\nMini University will continue until Friday's 11 a.m. commencement in Whittenberger Auditorium. For more information on the week's activities, visit www.alumni.indiana.edu/learn/miniuni.html.