Who we are and what we are about?
Nestled in the rolling hills of the Cannon River Valley lies the town of Northfield, Minnesota. Northfield is a small community rich in educational resources with two nationally-ranked liberal arts colleges — Carleton and St. Olaf — and outstanding K-12 schools and community education programs. The city also is home for an increasing number of retirees who are attracted by the wide range of cultural opportunities available in a small town setting. In the spirit of “life-long learning,” the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium (CVEC) provides high quality academic experiences in the humanities for students over age fifty (retired or not). The faculty members of the Collegium, predominantly retirees themselves, include emeriti faculty from the colleges and retired public school teachers.
The Cannon Valley Elder Collegium program is supported financially by a grant from the Minnesota Humanities Center, and contributions from its members. The CVEC is incorporated as a non-profit charitable 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
The Founding Principles of the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium
- We focus on “life-long learning”
- Course offerings are selected from the liberal arts
- We offer a curriculum to challenge participants with serious academic course work
- Instructors offer their personal favorite courses developed during life-long teaching careers
- Most courses have a seminar format. Learners participate in research and dialogue
- Students register without prerequisites. Previous formal education is not a requirement
- The program encourages collaborative leadership — all participants (faculty and students) have opportunities to take part in forming policy, deciding course offerings, selecting instructors, and evaluating courses.
On Dec. 9, 2010, Ed Lufkin was interviewed by Kari Berit of KYMN about CVEC. Click here to listen to a portion of that radio interview.
January 15th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Edit | Leave a comment