Worcester University for Adults

Last night I attended a talk at Clark University given by Melissa Harris-Perry. The talk was generally on what it means to be black in America. Melissa Harris-Perry will soon have her own TV show on MSNBC. She is a professor at Princeton.
The week before there was a talk given at Clark by a community activist from Newark, New Jersey, also given as part of black history month. Two children of Minister Sarai Rivera, PhD, Worcester’s first Hispanic female City Council representative, and along with her husband, Jose Encarnacion, the ministers of a non-denominational Pentecostal church here in Worcester, also gave a talk. The children’s speech was wonderful. They represented the nationally mentioned – by the President of the United States no less – University Park School in Worcester, a collaborative school assisted by Clark University.
The week before that I attended a talk on Campaign Finance Reform, also at Clark, sponsored by Congressman McGovern, with national experts giving talks on the corrupt way we finance political campaigns in America.
If anyone is interested in Clark community talks; they are open to the public. Contact the Higgins School of Humanities at Clark and they will send you a pamphlet stating the semester’s topics, their number is 508-793-7479.
Today, the Society of Professional Communicators sponsored James Cordova, a professor also from Clark University for a talk on how to manage marriage and other long-term personal relationships.
But it’s not just Clark. Speakers at Holy Cross this semester included former Holy Cross student and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This Thursday Holy Cross will host Sherry Turkle, from MIT, on how technology is altering our social lives. Previously New York Times columnist, David Brooks; Fox News commentator, Bill Kristol; and Holy Cross grad and MSNBC commentator, Chris Mathews all spoke at Holy Cross.
WPI has hosted talks from professors from TUFTS and Stanford University. Next month, in March, Assumption College will host Jennifer Harbury, a human rights activist, to talk on the history and results of US torture policies. Anna Maria College hosted a talk by the Massachusetts State Senator Harriette Chandler. These talks are all open to the public.
The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences hosts the Municipal Research Bureau’s bi-monthly talks. On March 7th, Worcester City Manager Mike O’Brien will speak about balancing the municipal budget. Two weeks ago I attended an ARTSWorcester art show at the old Aurora Hotel. The show featured the art of the Worcester College community.
In many of the colleges, particularly Assumption, Clark and Anna Maria; one can audit a class- meaning one can attend classes at these colleges without gaining credit for the course. Courses at night cover literature, philosophy, film, art, psychology, sociology, religion, history and other topics. These courses only cost between $400-500 for the whole semester. Assumption College offers daytime courses for $135 for up to 26 courses in the WISE Program. I’ve taken so many of these courses myself that I’ve now moved on to Cambridge and Somerville to find colleges to keep learning.
The point is that Worcester is a university community for adults too – not just college “kids”. It’s not just sports teams and summer camps that our colleges offer us, it’s also intellectual stimulation for adults.
And it’s not just the colleges. The Worcester Chamber of Commerce and Economics Club is bringing former US Comptroller David Walker to Mechanics Hall this coming Thursday evening. Previously they brought former Presidential advisor and CNN contributor, David Gergen; senior political analyst for Time magazine, Mark Halperin; and former White House Chief of Staff John Sanunu.
The point is that if one wishes to have an active intellectual life and/or be an informed citizen, Worcester offers more than almost all communities of its size. Our universities play the largest part in these offerings.
Just last week on the extended WCRN Midday Report, my own show here at the station, I dialogued with Molly Flynn, a Professor at Assumption College, who argued against the proposal of President Obama to require places like St. Vincent Hospital and Holy Cross or Assumption Colleges to offer free contraceptives to all employees. I took the opposite point of view. The show is heard every Friday from 1-2pm on AM830. We deal with many timely, important and difficult topics that affect how we live.
We should all rejoice in what our colleges provide: expertise and intellectual stimulation for our community. We can take advantage of this opportunity to “stay alive” in our own heads, and at the same time, be more informed citizens.