Southwest Florida Symphony presents An Evening in Paris on March 2
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| Hundreds of lectures. Knowledgeable instructors. Join us in-person at one of our 19 locations or participate online.  JANUARY – MAY 2024 PROGRAM REGISTRATION IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE OR VIA PHONE Keep your mind active and engaged in the new year! Register for a lecture with FGCU Academy! Register for a Day Trip with FGCU Academy! Greetings, We offer a wide variety of History, Law & Government courses for the history buff in you. This week we are featuring 3 of our instructors and some of what they have to offer this season. Scroll below to view. Our office is open and we are ready to assist you with your registration needs. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2024 WINTER-SPRING PROGRAM GUIDE ONLINE! WINTER-SPRING REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN AVAILABLE ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE Call our offices anytime for assistance at 239.434.4737 History, Law & Government Featuring Thomas Eastwood Click on any topic below to learn more.  The Failure of Israeli Intelligence in the Hamas Terrorist Attacks – What Went Wrong? January 10 | 1:30 – 3pm Wednesday Naples Center / Online via Zoom Join a former counterintelligence officer in a discussion of the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. How did Israel (and the U.S.) fail to predict the attack? Israel has some of the best intelligence and border security policies of any nation in the world. Was it a failure to collect the clues or were warnings misinterpreted or ignored? This lecture discusses intelligence and military gaffes, not politics. We also examine the structure and history of Israeli intelligence.  The Durham Report January 11 | 10 – 11:30am Thursday Naples Center or Online via Zoom In May 2023 Special Counsel Robert Durham released a report on his four- year DOJ investigation into intelligence activities and investigations arising out of the 2016 presidential campaign. Progressive pundits called it a “no- thing burger.” Conservative commentators say it was evidence of election interference by the “deep state” and proves FBI and DOJ corruption. Does the truth lie between these extremes? Join a former counterintelligence and law enforcement official in a frank, apolitical analysis. Topics include a comparison of three investigations: Mueller, DOJ IG, and Durham; and the political, social and monetary costs.  Media Censorship – Science vs. Politics January 17 | 10 – 11:30am Wednesday The Brooks Enrichment Center This lecture explores the topics of bias and media censorship and if the federal government has encouraged it? We consider if censorship impacted the debate on the origins of Covid-19. Topics include: Covid origin theories; intelligence assessments; debate timeline and evolution; misinformation; trust in media; political influence; and racism. Join a former counterintelligence official in a candid and informative review. History, Law & Government Featuring Gary Stuhltrager  The Manhattan Project January 17 | 1:30 – 3pm Wednesday Naples Center or Online via Zoom During World War II the U.S. and Britain found themselves in a race with the Nazis to develop an atomic bomb. The scope of this endeavor was enormous. There were scientific issues, technical problems as well as the logistics of manufacturing the necessary materials. It involved tens of thousands of people and the creation of new cities all the while trying to maintain the utmost secrecy. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves would emerge as the driving forces of the project. This lecture also discusses the aftereffects of the decision to use the weapon. To this day, the U.S. is still the only nation to ever use an atomic weapon during wartime.  Warren Buffett – The Oracle of Omaha February 8 | 10 – 11:30am Thursday Grey Oaks Country Club Warren Buffett is considered the world’s greatest investor. He built a company from scratch into a top-five Fortune 500 company. His wealth and business acumen are only part of what makes Buffett so interesting. His stellar reputation and home-spun wit and wisdom have made him a cultural icon.  The Berlin Airlift and the Berlin Wall February 14 | 1:30 – 3pm Wednesday Naples Center or Online via Zoom With the end of World War II in 1945, Berlin became the front line in the Cold War between the U.S. and its allies and Soviet Russia. An island in the middle of East Germany, Berlin was in a most unique position. When all road, rail and sea routes to Berlin were cut off in 1948, the Allies undertook the massive task of airlifting all supplies to a city of two million people. History, Law & Government Featuring Lynn Brand  The Life of Robert E. Lee January 15 |10 – 11:30am Monday Moorings Park Original Campus On the eve of the Civil War the U.S. Army had eight colonels from Virginia. Only one, Robert E Lee resigned his commission in order to fight for the Confederacy. This lecture explores Lee’s life, his aristocratic background, his military career and his legend in American history using the latest historical research.  Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1865-1877 January 23 |10 – 11:30am Tuesday Naples Center or Online via Zoom This lecture explores the complicated period directly following the Civil War known as Reconstruction. Perhaps no other period in American history has seen such a complete overthrow of the widely accepted earlier interpretation of what took place in the defeated South after the Civil War. This new interpretation and the research behind it are explored. TAKE A LECTURE AT ONE OF OUR 19 LOCATIONS The Arlington, Naples (AR) Aston Gardens, North Naples (AG) Bentley Village, North Naples (BV) Bonita Bay Community Assoc., Bonita (BB) Brooks Enrichment Center, Bonita (BR) The Collaboratory, Ft. Myers (CO) Cypress Cove, Ft. Myers (CC) FGCU Main Campus, Ft. Myers (FG) Grey Oaks Country Club, Naples (GR) Hideaway Beach Club, Marco island (HB) The Island Country Club, Marco island (IC) Moorings Park Grande Lake, Naples (GL) Moorings Park at Grey Oaks, Naples (GO) Moorings Park Original Campus, Naples (MP) Naples Center, Naples (NC) Siena Lakes, North Naples (SL) The TwinEagles Club, North Naples (TE) United Church of Marco Island, Marco (UC) Wyndemere Country Club, Naples (WC) (see page 4 of the Winter-Spring 2024 Program Guide for location addresses) FGCU Academy  Click Below to View 2024 Travel Open House Presentation  Classic Safari: Kenya & Tanzania August 13-28, 2024 16 days for $11,196 View Brochure  Exploring Iceland August 15-25, 2024 11 days for $6,692 View Brochure  Southern Italy & Sicily September 4-18, 2024 15 days for $6,674 View Brochure  Scotland: Highlands & Islands September 9-20, 2024 12 days for $5,896 View Brochure  Sensations of Lyon & Provence 2024 River Cruise September 17 – 28, 2024 12 days from $5,469 View Brochure  Jewels of the Rhine 2024 River Cruise September 20 – 30, 2024 11 days from $4,925 View Brochure  Provincial French Countryside September 27-October 11, 2024 15 days for $6,297 View Brochure  New Zealand Adventure October 10-25, 2024 16 days for $8,124 View Brochure  Southeast Asia Odysseys October 31-November 18, 2024 19 days for $7,597 View Brochure  Travel Abroad with FGCU Academy Call our office 239.434.4737 for assistance with registration or Click to View our Website DONATE NOW FGCU Academy Needs Your Support Today to Ensure that Our Critical Mission of Adult Education and Enrichment Continues! FGCU Academy is ready to serve the SWFL community for the Winter-Spring 2024 Season— Learning, Growing, Sharing and Socializing. With nearly 700 programs at more than nineteen locations, there is something for everyone. If we have had the opportunity to meet in person or if you have heard me speak, I hope I was able to share with you my passion about FGCU Academy and its mission to provide lifelong learning and enrichment to the SWFL community. I believe it is critical to our well-being to keep exploring new avenues for growth to keep our minds engaged in our past, present and future. Since we are a non-credit programmatic offering, Florida Gulf Coast University can provide $0.00 of support to the Academy. We must be financially self-sustaining. The fact is that the revenue generated through memberships and program fees provides for only 50% of our annual operating costs. Additionally, our attendance has not yet returned to pre- pandemic levels, so revenue is much lower than in the past. As an educator, I find myself slightly uncomfortable talking about the financial needs of the Academy beyond thanking everyone for their participation. But, this year and for the near future, it is important that I find the words to ask for additional support through philanthropic donations. Our passion keeps us moving forward and your donations will do the same. Please take a moment to consider a year-end donation to ensure our continued success. All amounts make a difference in strengthening the work we do in the community. Your gift will allow the Academy to offer more than 1,000 diverse and fascinating programs at more than twenty locations throughout SWFL. Through our mission we promise to enrich the lives, minds and social well-being of more than 10,000 SWFL adults and seniors that participate in our programs each year. CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW or mail your donation to FGCU Academy 704 Goodlette Frank Road North, Suite 330 Naples, FL 34102 I look forward to seeing you at a FGCU Academy program in 2024. Please contact me directly at [email protected] or 239.434.4838 with questions or to learn more. In gratitude, John J. Guerra Director of FGCU Academy     FGCU Academy FGCU ACADEMY NAPLES CENTER 704 Goodlette-Frank Rd N Suite 330 Naples, FL 34102 239.434.4737 [email protected] |