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 this year! Register for a lecture with FGCU Academy! Register for a Day Trip with FGCU Academy!
Greetings, With Easter just around the corner, i hope you all have a chance to HOP on Over to FGCU Academy for a few more classes. We have one more trip next week to Dali Museum.
Visit our Sneak Peaks section for next week, below.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2024 WINTER-SPRING PROGRAM GUIDE ONLINE!
REGISTRATION AVAILABLE ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE
Call our offices anytime for assistance at 239.434.4737
Click on any topic below to learn more.
WEDNESDAY’S HOT PICKS
Introduction to Photoshop Elements March 25, 27, 29 | 9:30 – 12:30 pm M / W / F Naples Center / Online via Zoom
Participants must have a working knowledge of computers AND should bring their own laptops with Photo Shop Elements (latest version) installed. In this hands-on lecture, basic and advanced beginner Photoshop Elements techniques are explored. Topics include RAW conversion, rotating photographs, layers, straightening horizons, color adjustments, removing or minimizing wrinkles and blemishes, adding or eliminating items from a scene, changing the color of a particular object in a scene, changing from color to black and white or sepia, moving parts of one picture to another picture and adding text.
How the Electoral College Shapes Presidential Campaigns March 25 | 10- 11:30 am Monday Naples Center / Online via Zoom
Presidential elections are determined by a Byzantine process involving the voters, state governments officials and the U.S. Congress. This lecture addresses how candidates strategize to win 270 Electoral College votes and how it will likely happen.
Advanced Mah Jongg Strategies (3-part series) March 25, 27, 29 | 10 – 11:30 am M / W / F Naples Center / Online via Zoom
Please bring your 2023 Mah Jongg Rule Card (from the National Mah Jongg League; call 212-246-3052) and your own Mah Jongg set. Take your Mah Jongg to a higher level. Be prepared to play hands with defensive strategies and faster decision making. Learn when to call and when to wait. Why is this game more about looking and listen- ing than just studying your hand?
Introduction to Plant Biotechnology March 26 | 10 – 11:30 am Tuesday Naples Center / Online via Zoom
Plant biotechnology has changed the features of crops growing on most of the land in the USA. While plant biotechnology products can be controversial, they are embraced by farmers and represent greater than 90% of the total corn, soybean and cotton acreage. This lecture informs students about how the products of plant biotechnology are generated and evaluated. DNA introduction and genome editing approaches using CRISPR are simply explained, and the current and future products of plant biotechnology are presented.
HOT TOPICS of the Week – Application of Mindfulness to Enhance Health and Well-Being –The First Amendment: What Americans Need to Know –Recovering Ethics in America
Sneak Peak for Next Week – see what is coming –The Rise and Fall of the Habsburg Empire (2-part series) –Introduction to Microsoft Excel –The Vikings and Normans –What Does It Really Mean When the Bible and Constitution Say…? –Introduction to X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube and Telescope –The Pentagon Papers and the Ellsberg Trial
Day Trips / Special Events
The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg March 28 | 8 – 6 pm, Thursday St. Petersburg
Last Chance to Register
Our private, docent-led tour takes us through the highlights of the permanent collection as well as a brand-new exhibition, The Shape of Dreams. The Shape of Dreams explores 500 years of dream-inspired paintings from the 16th to 20th century, demonstrating how artists throughout time have depicted a profound yet common phenomenon of human experience – the dream. The exhibition examines how Western artists have depicted dreams for different audiences throughout time, exploring the continuity and disconnections between the past and present. Our tour includes round-trip motor coach transportation, driver gratuity, entrance fees, a private docent-led tour and audio guides. Lunch is on your own. Departure information will be emailed 3 days prior to the trip. Itineraries are subject to change. No refunds within 10 business days of departure.
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
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2024 Travel Open House Presentation
Classic Safari: Kenya & Tanzania August 13-28, 2024 16 days for $11,196
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Exploring Iceland August 15-25, 2024 11 days for $6,692
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Southern Italy & Sicily September 4-18, 2024 15 days for $6,674
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Scotland: Highlands & Islands September 9-20, 2024 12 days for $5,896
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Sensations of Lyon & Provence 2024 River Cruise September 17 – 28, 2024 12 days from $5,469
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Jewels of the Rhine 2024 River Cruise September 20 – 30, 2024 11 days from $4,925
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Provincial French Countryside September 27-October 11, 2024 15 days for $6,297
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New Zealand Adventure October 10-25, 2024 16 days for $8,124
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Southeast Asia Odysseys October 31-November 18, 2024 19 days for $7,597
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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] |