Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy
Hosts Open House with Ringling College President Dr. Larry R. Thompson
Friday, March 24, at Temple Beth Sholom
Dr. Thompson will provide updates on the Academy’s upcoming merger with Pierian Spring Academy and on the status of the Ringling College Museum Campus.
(Sarasota-Manatee) Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy (RCLLA) invites the public to an open house on March 24, 2-3:30 p.m., at RCLLA’s interim facility at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Building #1, Sarasota. Dr. Larry R. Thompson, President of Ringling College of Art and Design, will provide updates on the status of RCLLA’s upcoming merger with Pierian Spring Academy, and on the relocation to the Ringling College Museum Campus. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For additional information on Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy, visit www.rclla.org or call 941-309-5111.
The area’s ever expanding lifelong learning community received a boost last spring when Ringling College announced plans to merge with Pierian Spring Academy in June of 2017. The merger unites two of the area’s most successful lifelong learning programs as Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy of Sarasota (RCLLA) joins forces with Pierian Spring Academy under the Ringling College of Art and Design umbrella.
“This is wonderful news for the quickly growing population of adult learners in the region,” says Janna Overstreet, director of RCLLA. “We welcome all to learn more about how they can benefit from the classes and activities we will be offering.”
About Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy (RCLLA)
Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy offers educational opportunities for adults to pursue new interests, expand intellectual horizons and enrich their lives. Courses cover a wide range of stimulating topics and are taught by scholars, retired faculty members and professional practitioners. Courses are taught in an engaging, collaborative manner where learning results in the development of civic awareness, ongoing learning communities of peers and intellectual and cultural connections to our communities. As a private, not-for-profit, RCLLA has served the Sarasota-Manatee region for the past 18 years growing lifelong learning program offerings in number and variety as the demand for services has grown. The Academy is funded by donations and registration fees and led by an executive director and volunteer advisory board. Visit www.rclla.org.
About Pierian Spring Academy
Pierian Spring Academy has been flourishing in Sarasota for 18 years. Its instructors are retired and non-retired professors in every field, along with orchestra and jazz musicians, ballet and theater professionals, art critics, scientists and nature lovers. This diverse group of experts designs classes —four to six weeks long, to instruct, entertain and exercise the minds of people who seek intellectual challenge, fun, and a chance to interact with other lifelong learners of Sarasota. Pierian Spring classes are not only about gathering facts but also about delving into ideas and thinking anew about the arts, government, literature, medicine, science, nanotechnology, sports, film, history, nature, economics, and even spirituality or astronomy. Visit www.pierianspringacademy.org.
About Ringling College of Art and Design
For 85 years, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students from around the globe. The private, not-for-profit fully accredited college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ten disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in two. The College’s rigorous curriculum employs the studio model of teaching and immediately engages students through a comprehensive, first-year program that is both specific to the major of study and focused on the liberal arts. The Ringling College teaching model ultimately shapes students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers. Visit www.ringling.edu.
