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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 have outdone ourselves this season with our offerings. Your feedback has been quite positive to us and it shows with increased registrations. Thank you for keeping FGCU Academy in the forefront. We strive to provide the best and most interesting topics and top level instructors for you. 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 Featured Classes for Week of February 12 – Feb 16 Click on any topic below to learn more.  Operation Paperclip – Recruiting Nazi Scientists February 13 | 10 – 11:30 am Tuesday Naples Center / Online via Zoom As World War II waned, the Allies raced to recruit German scientists and technology. This was a highly effective effort led by the OSS. Among the scientists brought to America was Wernher von Braun, who developed the V-2. Topics include: secret U.S. interrogation centers, history of Paper- clip (and related operations), Peenemunde, the Church Committee, declassified CIA research (Star Gate, MKULTRA) and related British and Soviet operations. A detailed and fascinating examination of a major intelligence operation.  Influential Speeches of World War II February 13 | 1:30 – 3 pm Tuesday Naples Center / Online via Zoom World War II was won and lost amidst several remarkable speeches. Some inspired nobleness while others exploited evil. We examine famous speeches, quotes, quips and letters and the historical events surrounding them. We also discuss Churchill’s remarkable oratory abilities and secrets. Topics include: Churchill; FDR; DDE; Patton; “Wild Bill” Donovan; MacArthur; Joe Kennedy; Cordell Hull; Hirohito; Hitler; Goring; and the Nuremberg trials.  The First Amendment: What Americans Need to Know February 14 | 10 – 11:30 am Wednesday FGCU Main Campus – AB9 Room 106 This presentation facilitates an understanding of the development of First Amendment rights in American history. It explores protections and limitations regarding speech and the press, rights of petition and assembly. It also explores how to legally exercise freedom of religion and apply what is taught to other First Amendment- related situations.  The Berlin Airlift and the Berlin Wall February 14 | 1:30 – 3 pm Wednesday Naples Center / 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. For 15 months everything from basic food to coal for heating was sent in by aircraft. At its peak, a plane was landing every 45 seconds around the clock. The blockade was lifted in May 1949 but it had forever changed the future of Europe. Twelve years later Soviet controlled East Germany erected a 96-mile wall around West Berlin. For the next 28 years East Germans became prisoners in their country. People continued to try to escape to the West, some losing their lives in the process. We explore the reasons why the wall was erected, how people lived with it, and why it ultimate- ly came down.  Three Crucial and Useful Bridge Conventions All Players Should Know February 15 | 10 – 11:30 am Thursday Naples Center / Online via Zoom How can we forge unity in a world that is deeply polarized? Historically, this was done well by an organization named Moral Re-Armament. They were masterful at reconciling the political left and right, unions and management, and East and West. They were extremely successful in hundreds of situations in the 1940s and 1950s. This lecture presents how they did it and invites participants to think about developing an equivalent approach for modern times.  Diversity and Unity February 16 | 10 – 11:30 am Friday Brooks Enrichment Center How can we forge unity in a world that is deeply polarized? Historically, this was done well by an organization named Moral Re-Armament. They were masterful at reconciling the political left and right, unions and management, and East and West. They were extremely successful in hundreds of situations in the 1940s and 1950s. This lecture presents how they did it and invites participants to think about developing an equivalent approach for modern times. DAY TRIPS  Wine and Food Pairing Social Event at Mare Terra March 4 | 3 – 5 pm Bonita Springs Pre-registration is required. Our first event was such a success, we had to do it again! Make new friends and enjoy several courses of mouth-watering Italian food bites paired with wonderful wines personally chosen by Mare Terra’s sommelier. Eat, laugh and be merry at the Academy’s second Wine and Food Pairing Social Event!  Vizcaya Museum Tour with Lunch March 6 | 7:30 – 6:30 pm Miami Vizcaya was created as James Deering’s subtropical winter home in the 1910s and today it is a National Historic Landmark and accredited museum. Vizcaya is beautiful and serene. It is also a place of intellectual stimulation, compelling us to consider the relationships between native and foreign, old and new and natural and designed. Vizcaya has been described as “the finest private house ever built in America,” “a jewel among Miami’s skyscrapers and subdivisions” and “some Noah’s Ark of decorative arts” with its exteriors offering the “manic tranquility of the great European folly gardens.” Included are transportation, driver gratuity and a docent-led tour of portions of the collection. A box lunch is also included. Departure information will be emailed 3 days prior to the trip. Itineraries are subject to change.. The Week Ahead Monday February 12 –Get More From Your Digital Camera –Introduction to Microsoft Windows 11 –Who Really Discovered America? Tuesday February 13 –The Roots of the Israel-Palestine Conflict –Understanding OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Other Artificial Intelligence Tools –They Were Children: Rescue as Resistance Special Exhibition –Long Term Care Insurance: Protecting Your Independence The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of Globalization –Ladies First: Triumphant Women Artists from the Renaissance to the French Revolution Wednesday February 14 –Rabbinic Judaism & Christianity in the First Century: Origins of Western Anti-Semitism 3-part series –FGCU Academy 2024 Travel Open Houses –How to Write a Cookbook (3-part series) Thursday February 15 –From Laboratory To Bedside – How Biopharmaceutical Companies Discover And Develop New Drugs –Woodrow Wilson: His Legacy to the World –Immigration 2024: Crossroads of “Legal” and “Illegal” Immigration –Introduction to Facebook and Instagram –The Koreshans of Estero and the Link to the Waco Tragedy Friday February 16 –Supervised Mah Jongg Play for Beginners 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 explor- ing 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] |