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The mission of Senior College is to provide high-quality educational opportunities for seniors. Courses cover a wide variety of topics in the humanities, sciences, and the arts and are taught by emeritus and current University of Iowa faculty members and others.

Senior College is run by a committee of retired UI faculty and staff members. The volunteer committee works in cooperation with the Association of Emeritus Faculty and the University of Iowa Retirees Association and contracts with the UI Center for Advancement to host this webpage and handle registration.

SPRING 2025 COURSES

Twelve different courses are being offered during the spring semester. Courses typically meet for four 2-hour sessions for a $30 fee.

Please review all courses before registering. Detailed information about each course and instructor can be found by clicking on the "More" arrow in the gray box. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours.

If you have questions about course registration or would like to receive email updates for future sessions of Senior College, please contact the UI Center for Advancement at 319-335-3305 or 800-648-6973 or via email at alumni.seniorcollege@foriowa.org.


Course 1

The History of Jerusalem

INSTRUCTOR: Robert Cargill

Dates: Mondays, February 3, 10, 17, 24

Time: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Location: FilmScene at the Chauncey, Theatre 1, 400 E. College Street, Iowa City

Registration Deadline: Registration is now closed

Class Limit: 120

This course will survey the history of Jerusalem from antiquity to modern times. The first session will consider the archaeological evidence for ancient Israel and its neighbors. Greek and Roman Jerusalem, including at the time of Jesus and the destruction of the second temple, will be the next topic, followed by the Islamic conquest and settlement of the city, the Crusades, and Jerusalem under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The final session will examine the changes brought about by World War I, the rise of Zionism, and the modern conflict between Israel and Palestine.

INSTRUCTOR: Robert Cargill, Roger A. Hornsby Associate Professor in the Classics at the University of Iowa, is a biblical studies scholar and archaeologist. His research includes study of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha, and the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean.

Registration for Course 1 is now closed.


Course 2

American Landscape Art

INSTRUCTOR: Joni Kinsey

Dates: Wednesdays, February 5, 12, 19, 26

Time: 10:00 a.m. - noon

Location: Zoom

Registration Deadline: Registration is now closed

Artistic responses to the American environment have layers of meanings—aesthetic, cultural, historical, and ideological. Analyzing works of landscape art through their visual characteristics, various landscape theories, and environmental and cultural history reveals the deeper meanings of this seemingly “natural” genre. The preeminent American artistic subject in the period of territorial expansion in the mid-1800s, landscape art is also a critically important art form in our own time as the environment has become a global concern. This vividly illustrated course will survey key images and artists and offer ways of seeing and thinking about landscape, both real and imagined. 

INSTRUCTOR: Joni Kinsey was a professor of American art history at the University of Iowa from 1991 to 2024. She specializes in the history of landscape art, especially that of Thomas Moran, the first artist of Yellowstone. She also writes and teaches on other subjects, including popular prints, Grant Wood, and women artists.

Registration for Course 2 is now closed.


Course 3

Designing Sustainable Systems

INSTRUCTOR: Stratis Giannakouros

Dates: Thursdays, February 6, 13, 20, 27

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Location: Zoom

Registration Deadline: Registration is now closed

What do sea urchins in Pacific tidal pools, rain forests in Indonesia, and the UI’s power plant and water systems have in common? They all can help us understand sustainable system design. Using evidence from around the world and the UI campus (including obstacles encountered and lessons learned), input from campus experts, and case studies, this course will illuminate challenges and solutions in energy system redesign and decarbonization, water sustainability, and the emergence of artificial intelligence and other technologies in water use and sustainability. Finally, we will investigate how individual decisions, global policy, and history shape sustainable design.

INSTRUCTOR: Stratis Giannakouros directs the University of Iowa Office of Sustainability and the Environment. He previously worked for the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University and the Colorado State University School of Global Environmental Sustainability, among others. Giannakouros has a master’s degree in environmental politics and policy from Colorado State University.

Registration for Course 3 is now closed.


Course 4

Midwestern Fiddling, Past and Present

INSTRUCTOR: Marc Janssen

Dates: Mondays, March 3, 10, 17, 24

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Location: Coralville Public Library, Room A/B, 1401 Fifth Street, Coralville

Registration Deadline: Monday, February 24

Class Limit: 80

The rich history of old-time fiddling in America includes vast stylistic variation: fiddlers from different regions play the same tune in widely divergent styles. We will draw on recorded and live music from key players of the past and present, learning what makes Midwestern fiddling unique by comparing it to other regional styles. We’ll cover the features of old-time fiddling and how bluegrass music influenced it. Our survey will include players from the fiddle contest era of the 1930s and 1940s through the rise of the bluegrass era, and we will look at what is happening in Midwestern fiddling today.

INSTRUCTOR: Marc Janssen performs and teaches traditional music in Iowa and beyond. He has taught and performed at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington, at Bluff Country Gathering in Lanesboro, Minnesota, and throughout Iowa. He was proud to serve as performer and producer on the last album from his mentor, Iowa fiddling legend Al Murphy.


Course 5

Autopsies, Forensic Pathology, and Medical Examiners: This Is Not TV

INSTRUCTOR: Marcus Nashelsky

Dates: Wednesdays, March 5, 12, 19, 26

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Location: 2117 Medical Education Research Facility, 375 Newton Road, Iowa City

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, February 26

Class Limit: 123

The course, previously offered in fall 2018, will provide an overview of autopsy pathology, forensic pathology, and medicolegal death investigation. We will discuss history, current practice, and the value of the autopsy. After a week-one introduction to the discipline of pathology and the techniques of autopsy, two sessions will focus on death investigations, which will include anonymous clinical images of deceased individuals. One session may include a tour of the UIHC Decedent Care Center. Another session may have a guest attorney describe how medical examiners interact with the criminal and civil legal systems. The course will conclude with wide-ranging discussions about the public-health impact of autopsies.

INSTRUCTOR: Marcus Nashelsky is a forensic pathologist and medical examiner with practice experience in several states. He has been a University of Iowa Department of Pathology faculty member since 2003. Most of his work has been as medical director of the UIHC Decedent Care Center and as Johnson County medical examiner.


Course 6

Ruth Suckow's Stories: Rural Iowa Between the World Wars

INSTRUCTOR: Julie Husband

Dates: Thursdays, March 6, 13, 20, 27

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Location: Zoom

Registration Deadline: Thursday, February 27

From her small-town roots, Ruth Suckow emerged as a distinctive Iowa voice in the 1920s, just as literary magazines and publishing houses sought to diversify the representation of the United States in literature. Critic H.L. Mencken praised Suckow’s deft description of rural folkways: “the dialogue, the management of the narrative, and the little touches of color were all superb.” We will explore Suckow’s descriptions of the constraints that rural women lived under and her portrayal of intergenerational relations among farm families. We will focus on her short fiction, her novel The Folks, and comparative views of Iowa from Grant Wood, Jane Smiley, and David Rhodes. 

INSTRUCTOR: Julie Husband is professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. She co-wrote the introduction for the 2024 edition of Ruth Suckow’s Country People. She has also co-authored Daily Life in the Industrial United States: 1870–1900 and co-edited The Speeches of Frederick Douglass: A Critical Edition.


Course 7

Shakespeare, Page to Stage: Romeo and Juliet

INSTRUCTOR: Miriam Gilbert

Dates: Tuesdays, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Time: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Location: Zoom

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, March 25

One of Shakespeare’s most familiar plays, Romeo and Juliet still raises questions for us. Is this a play about fate ("star-crossed lovers") or choice? What are we to make of moments and characters that seem comic? How does Shakespeare structure our reactions? And, given the longstanding popularity of the play, what makes it work? We’ll examine the play, with close reading of the text and viewing of selected filmed performances—and look forward to Riverside Theatre's production in City Park this summer.

INSTRUCTOR: Miriam Gilbert is professor emerita of English, having taught at the University of Iowa from 1969 to 2013. She still enjoys studying and teaching Shakespeare and going to see Shakespeare in performance, especially in her second home, Stratford-upon-Avon.


Course 8

What Is Zionism?

INSTRUCTOR: Lisa Heineman

Dates: Wednesdays, April 2, 9, 16, 23

Time: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Location: Iowa Memorial Union, Iowa Theater, 125 N. Madison Street, Iowa City

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, March 26

Class Limit: 166

Is Zionism the culmination of two millennia of Jewish longing for a return to the biblical homeland? Is it the sole guarantee of Jewish safety in an era of nation-states? Or is it a form of settler colonialism that demands the displacement of indigenous Palestinians? In this course, we’ll unpack the meanings of “Zion” and “Zionism,” from biblical times to today’s era of campus protests.

INSTRUCTOR: Lisa Heineman is the co-founder and co-director of Jewish Studies at the University of Iowa. She is a professor in the Department of History and the Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies.


Course 9

How to Become a Traveling Economist

INSTRUCTOR: Todd A. Knoop

Dates: Thursdays, April 3, 10, 17, 24

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Location: Johnson County Extension, Johnson County Fairgrounds, 3109 Old Hwy. 218 S., Iowa City

Registration Deadline: Thursday, March 27

Class Limit: 96

Insights from economics—the study of how incentives shape human behavior—can make us more perceptive observers of human behavior at home and abroad. We will look at global inequality and how incentives are shaped by government policy and societal norms. We will consider technological diffusion (or lack of it) around the world and how incentives encourage and impede the creation of ideas. We will also discuss why we should be skeptical of arguments that culture, long blamed for differences in economic outcomes, is a basis for economic success or failure. These understandings can make us better world citizens and more insightful travelers.

INSTRUCTOR: Todd A. Knoop, David Joyce Professor of Economics and Business at Cornell College, is the author of multiple articles and books, including The Traveling Economist: Using Economics to Think about What Makes Us All So Different and the Same and Understanding Economic Inequality: Bigger Pies and Just Deserts.


Course 10

Brain Myths: Debunking Common Misconceptions About Our Most Complex Organ

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Jan Wessel

Dates: Mondays, April 7, 14, 21, 28

Time: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Location: Coralville Public Library, Room A/B, 1401 Fifth Street, Coralville

Registration Deadline: Monday, March 31

Class Limit: 80

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body, and neuroscience is still a young discipline. Yet popular culture and the news media are full of confidently presented statements about the brain that scientists know to be highly misleading or even false. This course, previously offered in spring 2023 and presented on the level of an introductory college course, will highlight eight of the most popular of these myths, including “We only use 10% of our brain” and “Lies can be detected through brain waves.” It will point out why these assertions are misguided and will offer an accurate picture of the underlying science.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Jan Wessel is a neuroscientist and an associate professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Iowa. He is the director of the Cognitive Neurology Laboratory, which studies the human brain’s ability to flexibly control thoughts and behaviors.


Course 11

The Storytelling Sirens: Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, and Bonnie Raitt

INSTRUCTOR: Ken Anderson

Dates: Wednesdays, May 7, 14, 21, 28

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Location: Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 1301 Fifth Street, Coralville

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, April 30

Class Limit: 175

Joni, Aretha, Carole, and Bonnie. Each of these exceptional singer-songwriters reflects the music of her time—from the 1960s to the 1990s—and each has an interesting set of personal stories. This course will reflect on the music, the artists’ early years, and the volatile cultural landscape of our country at that time to help us reach a deeper understanding of these women’s influence on the American music scene. Musical and video clips and written lyrics will be discussed, and students will be stimulated to apply the lyrics to their own lived experiences through short writings.

INSTRUCTOR: Ken Anderson is a clinical professor in UI’s College of Public Health and director of the Executive MHA Program. He has served as a nephrologist and a chief medical officer and has held several appointments as a state and federal health official. He has a passion for music, literature, and the performing arts.


Course 12

The Broadway Viewing Club: Anatomy of a Musical

INSTRUCTOR: Christopher Okiishi

Dates: Thursdays, May 8, 15, 22, 29

Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 1301 Fifth Street, Coralville

Registration Deadline: Thursday, May 1

Class Limit: 175

What are the rules for writing a good musical? How does the story function, and what types of songs tell that story? How do some of the best artists break the rules? To get at the answers to these questions, we will examine three musicals: Newsies, Matilda, and Tick, Tick… BOOM! All these shows are currently available for viewing at home through a paid streaming service or for listening on CDs. If any show becomes unavailable for streaming by the time the class begins, a substitute production will be chosen.

INSTRUCTOR: Christopher Okiishi is a writer, performer, director, and producer of theater. His work has been seen at City Circle Theatre Company, SPT Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids, Coe College, Cornell College, Riverside Theatre, Los Angeles’s Odyssey Theatre, and the New York Film Academy. He has written scores for nine theater and film projects. He is also a practicing psychiatrist who lectures locally and nationally.


Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the UI Center for Advancement in advance at 319-335-3305 or 800-648-6973.


Senior College Committee

Emil Rinderspacher, Chair 
Tom Rocklin, Vice Chair 
Warren Boe 
Gayle Bray 
Holly Carver 
Kelley Donham 
Lesanne Fliehler 
H. Dee Hoover 

George Johnson 
Greg Johnson 
Frank Mitros 
Sara Rynes-Weller 
Pam Willard 
Nancy Williams 

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PHOTO: COURTESY JULIANN LUX Trent (18BS) and Juliann Lux dancing with Herky at their wedding after meeting at the University of Iowa in 2017. To celebrate Valentine?s Day, we asked Hawkeyes on Facebook to share how they met their significant other. Here are a few of our favorite stories of alumni falling in love in Iowa City and keeping their love for each other and the University of Iowa going ever since. Marv (59BSC) and Ruth Hiddleson ?My parents met on a blind date at an Iowa Homecoming football game in 1959 and were married in 1962. They were season ticket holders for football and men's basketball games for more than 40 years, I-Club and Golden Circle members for years and traveled to nearly 20 bowl games. Die hard and loyal Hawkeyes. 💛🖤🏈🏀? ?Le Ann Finger John (74BA) and Debi Milligan ?Bought my wife of 48.5 years, Debi, a beer at the Airliner in fall of '72 and the rest is history! Still going strong!? ?John Milligan Dwight (76MA) and Lea (77BSN) Jennings ?Met in 1975. Married in Iowa City, July 1977, celebrating 47th anniversary this year! Go Hawks!? ?Lea Jennings John (81BBA) and Denise (81BBA) Wieland ?Lived off campus. The roommate (Denise Albrecht Wieland) of my roommate?s girlfriend (Lisa Bartusek) came over to bake cookies. Mark and Lisa got married before Denise and I got married over 40 years ago.? ?John Wieland Jim (83DDS) and Maureen (83BA) Dempsey ?We met our first week of senior year studying dentistry and elementary education. Our first date was sitting in the window seat at Mickey?s. ☘️ We?ll be celebrating our 40th anniversary in October. 🖤💛? ?Maureen Dempsey Steve (85BBA) and Liz Rodawig (84BSN) Bennett ?I met Liz Rodawig at the Airliner in 1980. I thought an angel had just entered the bar. Had our first date at Iowa River and Power. That was it until four years later when we resumed our relationship. Both of our parents met at the University of Iowa as well, and our three children also went there. My parents were married at that little chapel outside the Union. Tried Chicago for a while but had to get back to Iowa. Still going strong 40 years later!? ?Steve Bennett Tammy (87BBA) and Mike (86BGS) Tschida ?We met in the weight room at Carver-Hawkeye Arena the fall of 1984. Mike was a baseball player for Duane Banks, and I was a basketball player for Vivian Stringer. The rest is history! Married in 1988!? ?Tammy Tschida Paul (91BBA) and Jill (91BA) Huntley ?Met in 1990 at the Hawkeye Huddle in LA before the Rose Bowl. Returned to Iowa City and dated our last semester. Graduated May 1991. Married 1992. Supported and attended Hawkeye sports immediately after graduating. All three kids are Hawkeyes also (2020/2022/2025). Many great Hawkeye memories (bowl games/tailgates). A favorite memory is taking our kids to the Rose Bowl in 2016.? ?Jill Huntley Chad (93BS) and Joan Schneck (94BA, 11MA) Hippen ?We met in the Hawkeye Marching Band in the fall of 1991. We got married on June 25, 1994, and had a black and metallic gold wedding. We have had season football tickets every year since we graduated! We still play our instruments at homecoming every year and even play in alumni pep bands! Both of our daughters are University of Iowa graduates, and we are a whole family of teachers telling all we teach who they should be cheering for. Go Hawks!? ?Chad Schneck Hippen Jerry (94BA) and Pamela (96BA) Fisher ?We met at U of Iowa in the fall of 1992. He lived in Quad, and I lived in Rienow. He ran track and I just watched. My friend tried to set me up with his roommate, but I guess I had other ideas. Two of our three kids were born at UIHC. We have been in TX since 1997, but the University of Iowa has always been a part of our lives. We've been a part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Iowa Club since 1998 with us both on the board for quite a few years.? ?Pamela Fisher Ryan (98BA) and Lindsey (98BA) McDonald ?My husband and I met in 1995 working at the Airliner. He was the manager when I started as a waitress. We worked together until graduating, got engaged, moved to KC. This is us on our wedding day. So many wonderful memories and connections made at the University of Iowa!? ?Lindsey McDonald Eugene (96BA, 98MA) and Ruthina Malone (99BA, 02MA) ?My husband and I met in 1997 through our Greek organizations (Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity) in the basement of the IMU. We exchanged numbers but I couldn?t leave the first call to fate. I purposefully waited outside areas I knew he would be for a couple of weeks to 'accidentally' run into him and strike up conversations. Then, I abruptly stopped showing up. He called and that led to our first date in Hubbard Park seeing Run D.M.C performing and us almost being crushed by the crowd because we were towards the front. We've been together ever since. Wedding picture is of us in Danforth Chapel.? ?Ruthina Malone Mike (00BA, 20MBA) and Alyssa Ault (00BBA) Collier ?My husband Mike and I met in the fall of 1999 at the beginning of our senior year at Iowa. We were randomly assigned to a group project and as marketing majors, ended up having several classes together. We started out as friends and bonded over our love of Hawkeye sports. We graduated in 2000 and were married in 2002, moving around the country before settling back where it all started, in Iowa City, 6 years ago. We have three kids and our oldest will be a freshman at Iowa next fall.? ?Alyssa Ault Collier Mark (04BA) and Emily (03BBA) Gores ?Met in Burge in January 2000, married in September 2004 at the Danforth Chapel. 🖤💛 Looking forward to celebrating 20 years this fall with a season opening Hawkeye victory!? ?Emily Gores Marc (03BS) and Leslie (03BA) Conte-Russian ?I met my husband the summer before senior year (after seeing his picture while studying abroad in Spain with his roommate) at Iowa. We dated (mostly long distance) for 10 years before getting married at Hotel Vetro (with our rehearsal dinner at Kinnick) and now we?re raising the next (4th) generation of Hawkeyes!? ?Leslie Conte-Russian Chikezie and Mandey (07BA) Ejiasi ?We met in the fall of 2005 when I was brave enough one night to approach this good-looking door guy at a downtown Iowa City bar. We hit it off immediately and spent a lot of our time cheering on the Hawks. We continued watching the team every fall weekend even after moving to CA in 2009. Here we are 17 years together, cheering on the Hawks with our Hawkeye raised twins at the Music City Bowl!? ?Mandey Ejiasi Andy (16BS) and Dedee (15BA) Thammavongsa ?My husband and I met at the University of Iowa in 2012. We lived on the same floor in Mayflower. The first thing he said to me was, 'Hey, where do you get those cupcakes?' The cupcakes came from a Mayflower new student event where we tie dyed Hawkeye shirts. We learned quickly we both always jump to an opportunity for free food. 😂 We eloped at the Johnson County Courthouse in Iowa City on my birthday in 2021 and then went out to eat at Cheddar?s with a small group of friends and family after. It?s only fitting that we had cupcakes for dessert afterwards. 🧁 No kids for us, but happily married and proud pawrents to a mini schnauzer named Chester! ☺️🐾? ?Dedee Thammavongsa QuynhAnh Nguyen (15MS, 19PhD) and Alejandro David Samaniego (14MS) ?We met in fall 2013 at the 'meet the first year' event of the math department. We were both grad students. He was in his second year while I was in my first year. He mistakenly thought I was from Thailand even though my last name is a common Vietnamese last name. He later said that he had no idea why he made such a mistake, but that mistake made me remember him from the first day. We later also found out that we were in the same room presenting our math posters at a conference in California a couple years before coming to Iowa. Fast forward to 2017, we had our first baby, and we named her IOWA. We had our vow renewal at the IMU in 2019, and here is one picture from that day. I was pregnant with our second baby in that picture. 🙂? ?QuynhAnh Nguyen Jorge (17BS) and Sarah (17MA) Martinez ?Saw my future wife at a club retreat fall of 2016, and thought she was cute, but didn?t have the courage to talk to her. The following week I walk into my biochemistry class at the Bowen Science Building, and there she was sitting towards the front. We were halfway through the semester, and I didn?t even realize we were in the same class! I then spent the next few weeks chatting with her after class where I eventually asked her to study with me, and the rest is history. We graduated spring of 2017. Engaged that December and married September 2018. Currently living in the Chicago area with our doggo. ? ?Jorge Martinez blockquote { padding: 10px 20px; margin: 0 0 20px; font-size: .9rem; border-left: 0px solid #eee; font-weight:700; color: #000; line-height: 1.5; text-align: left; margin: 30px 0; border-radius: 25px; background: #F5F5F5; padding: 20px; } blockquote cite { font-size: .7em; } .imagecontent-top img { border-radius: 25px; background: #ffffff; } hr { background-color: #dddddd; height: 2px; border: none; } h3 { padding-bottom: 15px; } .mainButton { margin: 0; }

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