Community Engagement Calendar

The session will offer insights into how adult learning systems in the United States, Thailand, and Cambodia support learning across the lifespan and how cultural values influence access, participation, and meaning making in lifelong learning. Participants will also have an opportunity to reflect on and share their own experiences with lifelong learning and consider how these ideas connect to their personal and community contexts.

Jeff Pearson, Mike Brockley, and George Wolfe are poets contributing and doing their best to follow Mildred’s legacy by continuing the poetry writing group she started in the early 1980s. This program will cover the group's origins and traditions, poetry written by current members, and an invitation to the audience to share their memories of Mildred and her family.

Guatemala is a land of mystery and majesty, home to 1,700-year-old Mayan Temples, active volcanoes and the deepest lake in Central America. From the bustle of Guatemala City to the Mayan mystery of Tikal, Guatemala was an awesome experience that needs to be shared, and Deb Smith, recently returned from an Overseas Adventure Travel week, is eager to share her stories with you.

Muncie’s quality of place didn’t happen by accident, it’s the long-term result of decades of infrastructure growth, rising maintenance responsibilities, and development patterns that change slowly and compound over time. This presentation tells Muncie’s growth story through an infrastructure lens, explains why real change can’t happen overnight, and argues that this reality isn’t hopeless—it’s manageable.

This session will look at a brief history of housing at colleges and universities. The presentation pays close attention to the housing history of Ball State University and how this compares to the growth of housing operations at American Universities. The presentation includes a photo history of Ball State’s housing.

Most people know that you can determine the age of some trees by counting their annual growth ring. However, those growth rings can tell us so much more. Measurement of dated tree-rings have been used to determine when the Anasazi built their large community in the American Southwest and to document the mega drought that forced them to leave these homes. After listening to this presentation, you will never look at trees the same way again.

Operation Iceberg-Heroes of the Fleet - Okinawa was the last battle of the war. The casualties were greater and the duration longer than any battle of the war. It was nearly beyond what the mind could absorb and yet it would be a small percentage of the ferocity of the battle to come. Nobody can take away from the sacrifice of our soldiers and marines. Few understand the sacrifice of our sailors. This is a story of near misses, miracles, loss, and stand-your-ground heroism.

Why 65 Changes the Rules, Your Income Picture After 65, The Three Big Deductions for 2026, Medical, Given, and Itemizing—When to Skip the Standard Deduction, RMD’s, Roths, and Timing Withdrawals, Indiana -Specific, Q&A and Resources

Charles Dickens and Christmas have been inextricably linked in the popular imagination since the publication of “A Christmas Carol” in 1843. This talk explores the circumstances under which Dickens wrote the novella, the place it occupies in its author’s career, and the impact it made from the beginning in promoting benevolence and charity. Adapted for stage, radio and screen, nearly two centuries later it retains its power to move and inspire.