Lee University’s Encore Program, which offers people aged 60 and over the opportunity to take university courses, has announced its fall 2024 offerings.  

With a fee of $25, Encore students may choose up to two of the following courses: American Heart Association Saver First Aid CPR AED; Capturing Eternity in Time and Space; C. S. Lewis II: Fiction; Dead President’s Society: Discovering Lives Through Death; Fit4Life: Senior Strength; Great Doctrines of the Bible; Lessons from Leaders: Ancient to Contemporary; Making Sense of Everyday Life: Its Patterns, Challenges, and Surprises; Movement for Life: Stretch, Recovery, Strength and Balance; Psychology’s Four Biggest Ideas; Revisiting the Sixties: Then and Now; The Book of Daniel (Part 1); Telling Your Story: Learn How to Write Your Experiences; Tennessee in Tennis Shoes: A Traveling History Course; Voice Class for Adult Singers and Choral Directors; Watercolor Painting for Beginning and Intermediate Painters; and Women in the Gospel.  

American Heart Association Saver First Aid CPR AED, led by nursing professor Dr. Samantha Spinks, is intended for individuals with little to no medical training who want to learn the fundamentals of first aid, CPR, and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). The course covers basic first aid; medical, injury, and environmental emergencies; illness and injury prevention; adult CPR and AED use; and handling opioid-associated life-threatening emergencies. This 10-week course will meet Wednesdays from 9-10 a.m., beginning August 28. 

Capturing Eternity in Time and Space will focus on the ways that Christians over the last 2,000 years have made specific times and spaces more sacred than others. This course, led by Rev. Dr. Heidi Johnson, explores how Christians have shaped their time and space based on God’s story found in the Bible. This seven-week course will be held on Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m., starting September 10.  

C. S. Lewis II: Fiction will look at some of C. S. Lewis’ most important fiction books over the course of his career and focus on themes, philosophical and religious ideas, and the intellectual traditions on which Lewis built his thought. Students will read three novels in full, along with excerpts of his other works. The class is taught by humanities professor J. David Schlosser and will meet on Wednesdays for 10 weeks, 12:25-1:15 p.m., starting August 28. 

Dead President’s Society: Discovering Lives Through Death is designed to be interactive and conversational and will include an in-depth analysis of presidents’ lives, their families and history, and exploration of their leadership styles. One of the six class periods will involve an optional day trip offering in-person exploration of multiple presidential historic sites in the Nashville area. This course, taught by Cameron Fisher, will meet on Tuesdays, from 4-5:30 p.m., starting October 1.  

Fit4Life: Senior Strength is a fitness class for adults looking to improve cardiovascular health, increase strength, have more energy, and enjoy the camaraderie and benefits of group fitness. Whether an avid exerciser or a beginner, Fit4Life offers an opportunity for all to have a healthier body and mind. Chairs are provided for those who prefer seated exercises or require support while standing. Kendra Gray will teach this 10-week course on Tuesdays, from 5-5:50 p.m., beginning September 3.  

The six-week course, Great Doctrines of the Bible, will include study of The Doctrine of Salvation (repentance, regeneration, justification, and sanctification); The Doctrine of Last Things (Rapture, Tribulation, The Second Coming, The Millennium, and The New Heaven); The Doctrine of the Trinity; and other doctrines as time permits. Dr. Henry Smith, adjunct professor of Christian Ministries, will meet on Mondays, from 5-6:30 p.m., starting August 26. 

Lessons from Leaders: Ancient to Contemporary allows students to glean from the writings and examples of selected Christian leaders from the beginning of Christianity to the present day, including Jesus, Francis of Assisi, John Wesley, Lucy Farrow, Corrie ten Boom, Martin Luther King Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, and C. S. Lewis. Students will also reflect on how they can apply the lessons learned in their personal lives. This five-week course, taught by the Director of Squires Library Dr. Louis Morgan, will meet on Tuesdays, from 5-6 p.m., beginning September 10. 

In the course, Making Sense of Everyday Life: Its Patterns, Challenges, and Surprises, students will focus on presentation of self (embarrassment, managed emotions, turning points in identity), breaking rules versus conformity, friendship and intimate relationships, personal space and territories, and life in groups and community. Instructors will provide a bibliography of research in the “grounded theory” of everyday life. This five-week course, taught by Dr. Karen Mundy-Judkins and Dr. Bennett M. Judkins, will meet on Mondays, from 4-5:30 p.m., starting September 9. 

Movement for Life: Stretch, Recovery, Strength, and Balance will include stretching, recovery, strength, and balance exercises designed to help students improve their overall health, mobility, posture, and range of motion. Kim Iosia will teach two classes, one on Wednesdays from 12-12:50 p.m. and one on Wednesdays from 1-1:50 p.m. Both classes will begin on September 4 and run for 10 weeks. 

Psychology’s Four Biggest Ideas will be taught by Dr. Paul Conn, Lee president and chancellor. During this five-week course students will discuss important theorists and their ideas, viewing human behavior through the eyes of Freud, Pavlov, Skinner, and Maslow. For those who remember their introductory college psychology course, this mini-course will be a familiar review; for others, it will be a ground-level introduction to some of modern history’s most influential thinkers. The class will take place on Tuesdays, from 5:30-7 p.m., starting October 1.  

Revisiting the Sixties: Then and Now will explore the major events and ideas of the sixties and their impact on politics, higher education, religion, culture, and society in general, as well as the resistance. This course will culminate in a “Back to the Sixties Celebration Dinner.” The Judkins will teach this five-week course on Mondays, from 4-5:30 p.m., beginning October 21.  

The Book of Daniel (Part 1) is taught by Dr. Brian Peterson, associate professor of Old Testament. This class covers a verse-by-verse analysis of the Old Testament book of Daniel with a special focus on interpretation, prophetic aspects, and application for a modern context. This six-week course, beginning August 21, takes place on Wednesdays, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. 

During the course, Telling Your Story: Learn How to Write Your Experiences, students will learn how to write about their experiences in ways that will bring them to life and evoke cherished memories. In the process, students will read passages from published memoirs and do writing and reflection inside and outside of the classroom. Taught by Dr. Carolyn Dirksen, distinguished professor emerita, this five-week course will be held on Mondays, from 3-4 p.m., beginning September 9.  

Tennessee in Tennis Shoes: A Traveling History Course, led by David Altopp, is a traveling course that will include visits to historical sites and/or points of interest in Tennessee and a special trip to Pennsylvania’s Amishlands. Class participants may choose which sites they wish to visit with a minimum of 30 participants required for each trip. Dates of travel and locations will be announced at an informational meeting being held on Thursday, August 29, at 4:30 p.m. in the Rose Lecture Hall, located in the Helen DeVos College of Education at the intersection of Paul Conn Parkway and Billy Graham Avenue. 

Voice Class for Adult Singers and Choral Directors, led by voice professor James Frost, focuses on teaching adult singers and choral directors the art of healthy vocal singing and speaking. The main philosophy is built on the McClosky Vocal Technique which was devised to promote healthy vocal habits for professional and amateur voice users, such as singers, teachers, actors, politicians, and ministers. This five-week course will meet on Tuesdays, from 6-7 p.m., starting September 17. 

Watercolor Painting for Beginning and Intermediate Painters will introduce students to the basics and variety of watercolor techniques. The course, designed to build skills and confidence in artists, will focus on learning a variety of techniques that students will incorporate into original compositions. There will be an extra $40 supply fee. Beginning September 10, this eight-week course led by Mary Ann Poplin, will meet on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. 

Women in the Gospels will be taught by Dr. Lisa Stephenson, professor of systematic theology. Students will explore the attributes of God in a way that promotes an authentic relationship with God. This four-week course will be held on Tuesdays, from 2:45-3:45 p.m., starting October 29.  

Lee University’s Encore Program is a part of the institution’s commitment of service to the community.  

For more information about Encore, contact Audra Iannarone at (423) 614-8310, [email protected], or visit leeuniversity.edu/encore/.