UH-Clear Lake announces 2009-2010 CLASP schedule

An astronaut, an environmentalist, a county judge, a doctor and a local historian are just a few of the exciting guest speakers presenting lectures during the 2009-2010 season of the Clear Lake Association of Senior Programs. As in the past, the association will offer the “Visions in Our Midst” evening lectures at the university as well as daytime presentations at the Clear Lake City—County Freeman Branch Library. Beginning in 2010, CLASP will also offer morning classes at the Melvin Knapp Center in Pearland.

“Every year, we are so honored by those who volunteer to speak at CLASP,” says Marilyn Lunney, a retired judge who created CLASP and continues to serves as chairman of CLASP. “Yet, it seems that we always manage to do so; possibly because the area is filled with brilliant and talented people. Our speakers are priceless to us.”

“Through CLASP, local residents have a terrific opportunity to learn more about a wide variety of subjects,” explains UH-Clear Lake Director of Alumni and Community Relations Charity Ellis. “As in the past, our mini-courses will be held during the day and ‘Visions in our Midst’ will be offered in the evening. We encourage community friends of all ages who are interested to join us for these informative programs.”

“Visions in our Midst” evening lectures are held on Thursdays, 5:30 – 7 p.m., in UH-Clear Lake’s Bayou Building, Garden Room 1510, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston. The 2009-2010 schedule includes the following:

* Sept. 10: “Personal Perspectives of Aviation and Space”  by NASA’s first female shuttle commander Col. Eileen Collins
* Oct. 8: “A New Light on the Moon” by USRA Lunar Planetary Institute Staff Scientist Paul Spudis
* Oct. 29: “Water: Current and Future Challenges in the Houston-Galveston Area” by Environmental Institute of Houston Executive Director George Guillen
* Nov. 5: “Should We Worry About our Safety Yet? Is Homeland Security for Everyone Else?” by Alvin Police Department Chief and Homeland/Community Security Instructor Mike Merkel
* Dec. 3: “The USS Houston (CA-30) and Her Crew: War, the POW Experience and Remembrance” by University of Houston Digital Projects and Instruction for Special Collections Julie Grob
* Jan. 7, 2010:  “Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story” by Skylab missions and Apollo 13 Capsule Communicator Dr. Joe Kerwin
* Jan. 21, 2010: “Advancements in Robotic Medicine” by UTMB Director of Comprehensive Simulation Center  Dr. Gabriel Rodriguez
* Feb. 4, 2010: “The Battle of the Alamo” by UH-Clear Lake adjunct history instructor Eddie Weller
* March 4, 2010: “An Overview of the Past, Present and Future of Harris County” by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett
* March 18, 2010: “Memories of a Texas Ranger” by retired Texas Ranger Sgt. Haskell A. Taylor
* April 1, 2010: “Dinosaurs to Diesel: Oil and Its Implications” by UH-Clear Lake adjunct history instructor William Powers
* April 15, 2010: “Geological Visions from an Underground Explorer” by Texas A & M adjunct professor of geology Louise Hose
* May 6, 2010: “Breaking Down the Barriers to Health: Telehealth & Access to Care” by University of Texas Medical Branch AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy Executive Director Alexander H. Vo

Daytime mini-courses will be offered at the Clear Lake City-Country Freeman Branch Library, 16616 Diana Lane, Houston, from 10:30 a.m. – noon on the following dates:

* Oct. 2: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” dramatic reading by Betty Crockford
* Nov. 6: “My Heroes, the Code Talker and the Commandant” by Sam Houston Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Regent Alice Braud-Jones
* Dec. 4: “The Cycle of One's Life as the Topic of the Poem” by UH-Clear Lake Professor of Literature John Gorman
* Jan. 8, 2010: “Integrative and Complementary Medicine” by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center-Nassau Bay Health Education Specialist Jerah Thomas
* Feb. 5, 2010: “From Piles of Junk to Polished Prose: Writing Your Family’s History” by historian Kathryn Black Morrow
* March 5, 2010: “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God: Colonial American Religion” by historian Kimberley Weathers
* April 9, 2010: “Community Emergency Response Team: Your Community, What's So Special?” by Harris County (CERT) Community Emergency Response Team Coordinator Mardie Menke

Daytime mini-courses also will be held at the Melvin Knapp Center-Pearland, 2424 South Park Ave., from 9:30 – 11 a.m. on the following dates:

* Jan. 11, 2010: “Mark Twain: A Charismatic Enigma” dramatic reading by Betty Crockford
* Feb. 8, 2010: “The Science of Happiness” by UH-Clear Lake Associate Professor of Psychology Robert Bartsch
* March 8, 2010: “The Mayan Culture” by UH-Clear Lake Alfred R. Neumann Chief Librarian Karen Wielhorski
* April 2, 2010: “Voices from the 1900 Galveston Storm” by UH-Clear Lake Alfred R. Neumann University Archivist Shelly Kelly
* May 10, 2010: “The Churchill Letters” dramatic reading by local residents Walt Hansen, Shirley Wettling and Ron Lohec. Script compiled by Betty Crockford.

Reservations are requested for the mini-courses by calling 281-283-2021 or e-mailing clasp@uhcl.edu. No reservations are needed to attend the evening lectures. For more information on CLASP, visit http://www.uhcl.edu/clasp.