Forum and Non-Credit Programs

Polio in 20^th Century America
Presenter: Katherine Fischer
Thursdays, April 1^st, 8^th, 15^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The U.S. had to reckon with polio long before COVID-19. This course will investigate how Americans overcame the epidemic through the lens of history and literature, while contextualizing those efforts in today’s pandemic.

Intro to Interior Design & Decorating
Presenter: Jessica O’Brien, M.A.
Fridays, April 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Are you a creative person with a flair for design? Or maybe the thought of redecorating your living room is stressing you out! Take this class to tackle the basics of designing and decorating a space from floor to ceiling. (A Pinterest account will be needed to participate in the class.)

Choices. The Tough Decisions That Defined American Presidencies
Presenter: Diana Rodgers, M.A., Ed.D.
Wednesdays, April 7^th, 14^th, 21^st from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Journalist John Dickerson describes the presidency as “the hardest job in the world,” and it is easy to understand why. The 46 men who have served our country in this role have been required to make agonizing, often lose-lose, decisions. However, it is through these choices that seem so bleak at the outset that presidencies are made. In 3 sessions, we will examine 6 of the most consequential presidential choices. Topics will likely include FDR and the Lend Lease Act, JFK and the Bay of Pigs, Woodrow Wilson’s WWI legacy, and George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

History of Hollywood Movie Musicals: Part One
Presenter: Jessica O’Brien, M.A.
Wednesdays, April 7th, 14th, 21st from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Do you miss Broadway? While the industry is on pause, learn about the emergence of the American Broadway musical, its collective impact on pop culture, and how this multi-million dollar theatrical genre continues to evolve. Part Two to be offered in Fall 2021.

Week One: Late 1800s – 1930s

Week Two: 1940s – 1950s

Week Three: 1960s – 1970s

The Symbolic and Historical Significance of Gothic Cathedrals
Presenter: Helen McDevitt-Smith, M.S., M.A., M.A.
Thursdays, April 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Two years ago on April 15, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire, resulting in extensive damage to the structure celebrated for its Gothic architecture and place in the history of France. As a result, there has been a renewed interest in Gothic cathedrals. In this course, we will examine several French and English Gothic cathedrals that are architecturally and historically significant.

Take Control of Your Time – Time Management
Presenter: Anne Weisbord
Monday, March 29^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Do you feel overwhelmed and stressed because you are juggling so many things at once? In this 1-hour workshop, you will learn some practical methods to help you take control of your time. You will discover ways to be more effective and efficient by aligning your priorities, eliminating time wasters, and organizing your workspace. Become more productive, manage your activities, and decrease your stress.

Garden School: Adventures in Ecological Gardening Part 1 & 2
Presenter: Neeti Bathala, Ph.D
Session I: Tuesday, April 6^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Join us as we learn basic plant terminology - knowledge that will help you better understand your home garden. Learn the difference between a simple and compound leaf, how to tell a deciduous plant from a conifer, and basic plant reproduction strategies. Apply a combination of plant types to create a visually and ecologically appealing greenspace. This lecture will teach you how to find your growing zone and introduce you to a selection of native- and pollinator-friendly plants appropriate for our region.

Session II: Tuesday, April 13^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Learn the basics for encouraging wildlife in your own backyard and contributing to scientific data right from your garden. Questions answered include “What is a habitat?” and “What makes a wildlife-friendly garden?” We will explore the concept of citizen science and how the general public, even the novice gardener, can contribute to scientific research. Our course will culminate with the opportunity to contribute to a citizen science project monitoring birds that visit our green spaces. 

Stretch & Strengthen With Sinatra
Presenter: Jessica O’Brien, M.A.
Tuesday, April 20^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Get your workout in while listening to one of the greatest singers of all time, Frank Sinatra! A stretching and strengthening class using the fundamentals of ballet to increase flexibility while toning and elongating muscles. Class can be completed seated or standing.

Her Holiness & Mine: Female Saints & The English Reformation
Presenter: Katherine Fischer
Thursday, April 22^nd from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The absence of female bodies in Protestant churches following the Reformation in England caused a seismic shift for pious women in rural towns. Some of the saints discussed may be found in Rosemont College’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception! Learn about their stories as we consider how iconography impacted daily life for women in this tumultuous period.

Quarantined With A King: Celebrating Shakespeare's King Lear
Presenter: Katherine Fischer
Thursday, April 29^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Shakespeare wrote King Lear, a meditation on age and power, during an outbreak of plague in London. Considering that King Lear remains one Shakespeare’s haunting characters, it prompts the question —did the constraint of quarantine push his writing to explore even more aspects of the human condition? In this course, we will explore that very question and how Shakespeare and the rest of 17th century England coped during quarantine.

Detention! Free Speech in American Schools
Presenter: Diana Rodgers, M.A., Ed.D.
Friday, April 30^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
What can you say in an American public school? Or perhaps more important, what can’t you say? This course will examine 4 student freedom-of-speech cases that appeared before the Supreme Court. They are: Tinker v. Des Moines, Bethel v. Fraser, Hazelwood Sch. V. Kuhlmeier, and BONG HiTs 4 JESUS (Morse v. Frederick). We will also examine how the growth of WiFi and how internet speech may impact these rulings in the future.

Katherine Fischer 
Polio in 20th-Century America
Thursdays, April 1^st, 8^th, 15^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Quarantined with a King: Celebrating Shakespeare's King Lear
Thursday, April 29^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Her Holiness and Mine: Female Saints and the English Reformation
Thursday, April 22^nd from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Katherine Fischer is a theatre educator and artist based in Philadelphia. She holds a BA in Theatre from Penn State University as well as a minor in History, with an emphasis on graduate-level studies in South American religious and theatre history during the Spanish Golden Age. Katherine has traveled extensively, including spending a year studying in London as well as a summer in Seville. She works in regional and local theatres as a dramaturg, stage manager, and and as a development assistant. For the past decade, Fischer focused on teaching K-12 students about theatre, history, language, and design. Fischer is currently pursuing an MA in Theatre at Villanova University. Her scholarship is centered on reconceptualizing theatre history as a tool for illuminating ignored or silenced histories. 

Helen McDevitt-Smith, M.S., M.A. 
The Symbolic and Historical Significance of Gothic Cathedrals
Thursdays, April 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Helen McDevitt-Smith graduated from Rosemont College with a BA in Chemistry. Since then, she has pursued graduate studies in Chemistry, Theology, and Pastoral Counseling, She has taught courses on the college and high school levels as well as adult education classes and presentations. 

Jessica O’Brien, M.A. 
Intro to Interior Design and Decorating
Fridays, April 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

History of Hollywood Movie Musicals: Part One
Wednesdays, April 7th, 9th, 16th from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Stretch and Strengthen with Sinatra
Tuesday, April 20^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Jessica O’Brien has an M.A. in Theatre from Villanova University, and a B.A. in Musical Theatre/Theatre Performance from Marymount Manhattan College. She is an Education Associate and Resident Teaching Artist at the Count Basie Center for the Arts. She works professionally as a Director/Choreographer and has staged more than 200 productions. She is a four-time IMEA Award nominee for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Production of a Musical (Gypsy, The Last Five Years). She is a nine-time NJACT Perry Award nominee, and two-time winner for Outstanding Choreography (Me and My Girl, Crazy for You). She is a two-time Count Basie Award nominee for Outstanding Choreography (Crazy for You, The Little Mermaid). In 2017, O’Brien was the youngest choreographer to be inducted into the NJACT Hall of Fame. She currently serves on the State Board as the Workshop Coordinator for the New Jersey chapter of the Educational Theatre Association. 

Diana Rodgers, M.A., Ed.D.
Choices. The Tough Decisions that Defined American Presidencies
Wednesdays, April 7^th, 9^th, 16^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Detention! Free Speech in American Schools
Friday, April 30^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Dr. Diana H. Rodgers earned a baccalaureate degree in History, with high honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, from Boston College and a master’s degree in history from Carnegie Mellon University. She continued her undergraduate minor studies in education at Harvard University, where she completed a master's degree in Instructional Leadership. She completed her Doctorate of Education at the University of Pittsburgh in Higher Education Management. Rodgers has five years of teaching experience at a suburban public high school where she taught Social Studies and History courses ranging from Sociology to World History to Advanced Placement U.S. Government. In her teaching career, Rodgers received the highest ranking of "exemplary" on her most recent classroom performance evaluation, a distinction given to only a small percentage of Massachusetts educators. Currently, Rodgers is the founder and CEO of Fit Education Consulting, LLC. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and three young daughters. 

Anne Weisbord 
Take Control of Your Time – Time Management
Monday, March 29^th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Anne Weisbord, president of Career Services Unlimited, has a solid background in training, coaching and public speaking. For over 20 years she has conducted programs on professional development and leadership for all levels of employees in national and multi-national corporations. She frequently serves as a private coach to help business leaders improve their presentations and communication skills. She has helped managers and staff with issues such as time management, organization, and communication to help them meet their strategic goals. She taught in the Communication Program in the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and in the Wharton Executive MBA Program. She holds a M.Ed. degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and a BA from Ithaca College in New York. In her community, Weisbord volunteers as an instructor in and English as a Second Language (ESL) program.