Key Takeaways

• Hung Dance is a contemporary Taiwanese dance company, and their work Birdy, presented at DU’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts.
• Performance, symbolism, and global perspectives in the arts can deepen understanding of culture, power, and change.
• The piece connects DU’s Enrichment Program and Newman Center offerings to lifelong learning in international arts and cultural literacy.

�� A feather is more than just a feather in the hands of Taiwanese dance company . Four feet long, it sweeps across a dancer’s neck—the dancer collapses. Later, it whips back and forth with the energy of the two dancers grappling with it in their hands. This pheasant feather, called a lingzi in Chinese, was traditionally worn on a warrior’s helmet. In Chinese opera, it’s used to express emotion and reveal character. In Hung Dance’s work , it represents something more: the vocabulary of tradition, maybe, or the vagaries of nature, or perhaps the struggle to fly free? These are the questions explored in , an artistically rich course offered this fall through the Enrichment Program. Taught by instructor Luke Wachter, the course will feed the eyes, mind, and spirit with new creative fodder and cultural insight. The course meets Nov. 5 and 12 and includes a live performance of Birdy at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on November 19. “This course gives you the context to have a really rich, deep aesthetic experience with this art,” says Wachter, who serves as the Newman Center’s associate director for educational initiatives. Hung Dance has burst on the dance scene as an innovative dance company that blends traditional Chinese arts—like Peking Opera and Tai Chi—with modern dance techniques. Course participants will learn about that dance history and how dancers use their bodies to create meaning. They’ll also learn why Hung Dance is important as an example of cultural diplomacy. “A small nation like Taiwan, for example, can’t achieve its aims through military strength, but there is a lot of power to shape global perception through the export of its culture,” Wachter says. The course will delve into the ways governments around the world support artists, what types of artists they support, and how this “soft power” is used to transmit ideas and values to the rest of the world. Last year another Taiwanese company, Cloud Gate, impressed audiences at the Newman Center with a buoyant multimedia performance. Hung Dance, meanwhile, is a younger company whose name (the Chinese character 翃 ��ó�Բ�) means “to fly” or “to soar.” Founder Lai Hung-Chung describes Birdy as an exploration of the tension between limitation and freedom. The production won acclaim at the 91st American Dance Festival and has sold out theaters across the U.S. “It’s really interesting work,” says Wachter. “It is very much inspired by the movement of individual birds and flocks of birds, and you’ll recognize the fractal nature of how these animals move.” Tickets to the Birdy performance are included in the Enrichment Program course Dance and Diplomacy: Finding Meaning and Connection through Contemporary Dance with Hung Dance of Taiwan. .

Frequently Asked Questions

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Key Takeaways

• Guest instructor Scott Henke offers a practical Enrichment class on detecting and avoiding internet scams and identity theft, delivered via Zoom for accessible lifelong learning.
• Americans lost billions of dollars (over 12.5 billion) to internet scams in a single year and that the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center receives 4,000+ complaints per day.
• This course teaches participants to recognize scams, lock down online accounts, and secure home Wi-Fi, helping them protect themselves and their families.

This week, we’re pleased to feature a guest blog post from Enrichment Program instructor Scott Henke, the owner of Onsite Consulting, which has been helping Denver-area consumers with their tech issues since 1982. Henke has taught computer classes for three decades, bringing humor and insight to complex issues. He will teach this fall about practical computer skills.

This November, you can take a one-night Zoom class that could save you and your family tens of thousands of dollars.

On November 11, I’ll teach a class for DU’s Enrichment Program called .

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center receives more than 4,000 complaints per day on average and Americans lost $12.5 billion to all kinds of internet scams last year. You can easily avoid most scams with the right information.

The Enrichment Program class will cover text scams, email scams, random phone calls, and how to quickly detect fraud and avoid putting your finances at risk.

One of the scams currently trending is a text message asking you to confirm your Google, Microsoft, or Apple ID. When you click on the link, you are directed to a fake website where you inadvertently give the criminal your information. You can avoid this by hovering over links to assess them before you click on them.

There are also common emails pretending to be from an antivirus program saying you need to renew your antivirus for $499. These are fraudulent messages that trick you into giving them your credit card number.

The most dangerous is when you let someone claiming to be the FBI, IRS, Amazon, or Dell access your computer remotely for free to fix something. Think critically about such claims whenever faced with something too good to be true. Amazon doesn’t fix computers, and how would the FBI or IRS even know if there were something to fix?

Some of my clients have told me they were convinced to send $15,000 in cash to a scammer. One client wired $150,000! Scammers are trained to steal your money. They do this full-time every day.

The Enrichment Program class will prepare you for these tricks. You’ll get helpful information in layman’s terms that can greatly lessen the chances of this life-altering identity theft happening to you. In addition to helping you recognize potential scams, I’ll teach you how to take steps like locking down your online accounts and securing your home Wi-Fi. ��

If you know of someone who might be vulnerable and might fall prey to a scammer, they can take the class from anywhere in the country via the Zoom link. As an instructor, I make sure the class is informative and fun. I’ll even email you the class handouts ahead of time so you can reference them.

Online predators do exist, but we can place safeguards against them. Make sure you and your assets remain safe and register now for this valuable and accessible class.

When you enroll in the Enrichment Program’s , you’ll save $10 on three informative classes taught by Scott Henke this fall:

• (Nov. 4)
• (Nov. 11)
• (Nov. 18)

Frequently Asked Questions

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Key Takeaways

• Maps are more than navigation tools, they help people see patterns, connections, and context that are hard to understand in text alone.
• Spatial thinking supports problem-solving across many fields, because it trains you to organize information and interpret relationships.
• Learning with maps can make complex topics feel more approachable and memorable, especially for visual learners.

Joseph Kerski is hard to miss. He most often wears a sharp navy vest, boldly colored glasses, and an animated, bouncing enthusiasm for what he does. Kerski wants you to adore maps as much as he does.

“Place matters,” Kerski says. “Maps aren’t just relevant; they are increasingly relevant as we have an increasingly complex world. People say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a map is worth a thousand pictures.”

Kerski will teach “Mapping the Future” for DU’s Enrichment Program on September 9 and 16, in which he’ll explore both the long history of maps and their dazzling future. The Enrichment Program offers an array of short courses like this one, open to any community member with a sense of curiosity. Classes are offered in the evenings or via Zoom, with no tests or grades – just learning for the love of it.

Kerski is a perfect Enrichment Program instructor, as someone who is happiest talking about their area of expertise. In Kerski’s case, its geographic information systems, or GIS.

“As a child, I liked to do three things: get outside, take pictures (usually looking down from a high place), and make maps,” says Kerski, who grew up on the Western Slope of Colorado. “I also had an early instinct for conserving these natural resources. I had this sense of wanting to do my part to make the planet a better place to be.”

Today, Kerski holds his dream job. As Education Manager for the country’s leading mapping software company, Esri, he travels the country to cheerlead for GIS education and advancement. He spends his days evangelizing for GIS with students and educators, industry groups, nonprofits, government agencies and other entities. He is also a key adjunct faculty member for DU’s GIS master’s degree program.

“Maps are not just reference documents that state where things are. They’re analytical tools; they’re decision-making tools. They can tell us why things are the way they are, and how we can build a more resilient world,” he says.

He issues a litany of questions that can be answered with maps: Where do tornadoes tend to hit over a 100-year span? When a bus breaks down, how many people are on it, and what’s the quickest way to get another bus to them? How do infectious diseases spread through a population? How fast are invasive species entering a habitat? Whose home is threatened by the growth of a certain wildfire? How is income changing over time in various countries?

“All these issues, they’re all spatial,” Kerski says. “Sometimes mapping confirms our preconceived notions, and sometimes maps shatter our ideas of how the world works.”

Kerski promises his Enrichment Program class will be full of interactive moments, hands-on activities, and maybe a few puns. He keeps the energy of the class up and ties his content to what’s happening in the news to illustrate how new maps continue to be needed, long after the Age of Exploration. Students will even get the chance to use digital tools to create their own maps of personally significant spots.

“Enrichment courses are great because everybody is there just because they want to be; they want to learn something and they’re engaged,” Kerski says. “And there’s this wide variety of ages and backgrounds, which is great. I try to tie the class content to everybody’s experience, whether they’re a lawyer or a rancher.”

If you want the chance to learn about maps from this enthusiastic mapping expert, bookmark the Enrichment Program page for July 8, when registration opens for the fall term. You can also sign up for the Enrichment Program newsletter at UniversityCollege.DU.edu/Contact-Us/Enrichment-Program.

For those wanting a deeper dive into the world of GIS and spatial analysis, Kerski also co-teaches courses for , DU’s online accelerated programs (open to all) that can be leveraged toward a micro-master’s certificate or even a full master’s degree through DU’s University College.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Key Takeaways

• Enrichment classes make research accessible, so learners can engage with new ideas without needing an academic background in the topic.
• Exposure to current research can spark curiosity and help people think more critically about what they hear in media and daily life.
• These experiences are a reminder that learning is not only for degrees, it’s also for perspective, growth, and intellectual confidence.

A Designation That Opens Doors

Making Research Fun and Accessible

Getting Involved

Frequently Asked Questions

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Key Takeaways

• Veteran photographer Scott Dressel-Martin, known for his work with Denver Botanic Gardens and many nonprofits, leads beginner-friendly photography classes through DU’s Enrichment Program.
• The course helps learners see the world with “wider eyes,” combining technical tips with creative exploration and self-discovery.
• Dressel-Martin’s generous teaching style, including sharing both mistakes and successes, makes photography approachable for true beginners.

For most people, photos from travel are a way to vividly recall a unique and exciting experience. For Scott Dressel-Martin, photos can be much more. “The goal of this class is to inspire people to maybe shoot a little more, shoot a little differently,” he says. “I want people to view the world with wider eyes when they go traveling.”

“I love the opportunity to not just remember a place, but to also reinterpret the world that you’re in and to use your photographic tools to make a statement and capture your feeling for that space,” he says.

Dressel-Martin will teach Travel Photography for DU’s Enrichment Program on March 13, 16, and 20. In the first session, he’ll relay some of his best tips and tricks for capturing great images while traveling and take questions. The second session will be an in-the-field photo shoot with hands-on assistance and answers to specific camera questions. The third session will serve as a peer group critique using the resulting images, giving each other positive feedback and advice.

“One of the biggest challenges before you travel is the issue of what gear to take,” Dressel-Martin says. Despite the temptations of fancy equipment, it’s important not to weigh yourself down too much. “The lighter your gear, the more likely you are to take pictures.”

Dressel-Martin got into photography in high school, in the days of film, and fell in love with it immediately. He earned a bachelor’s in communications and then a master’s in photography. After working as a photojournalist for several years, he realized he wanted to do more creative work in which he could shape stories with his images.

Now Dressel-Martin owns his own powerhouse photography business. You may have seen his work documenting the Denver Botanic Gardens; he has been the official contract photographer there for two decades. He also has worked for many nonprofit clients in health care, early childhood education, and affordable housing.

“Teaching photography is all about helping people achieve their creative goals,” he says. “There’s an element of self-discovery. When you’re out taking pictures you can oftentimes learn as much about yourself as you learn about your subjects.”

Dressel-Martin is a generous teacher, showing students his mistakes as well as his successes, and helping them navigate tricky situations. He even encourages students to keep in touch long after a course, bringing him their questions about equipment or photo composition.

To claim your seat in Scott Dressel-Martin’s Travel Photography class, .

Frequently Asked Questions

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Key Takeaways

• Longtime politico and educator Buie Seawell brings decades of experience in politics, social justice, environment, media, law, and ethics to DU’s Enrichment Program.
• His classes, such as a “Citizen’s First Aid Kit” for election years, blend humor, civil discourse, and big-picture thinking to make challenging topics engaging.
• The Enrichment Program is a “sandbox” for big ideas, where adult learners can explore democracy, ethics, and community with an inspiring instructor.

Buie Seawell has a Jimmy Carter-esque blend of humility, idealism, Southern elegance, and jovial humor.

That alone would make him a terrific instructor. But when you add his decades-long experience in politics, social justice, the environment, media, law, and ethics – a deep well of stories and insights that pour forth in a gentle North Carolina accent – you have a fan favorite whose classes never fail to please.��

“The Enrichment Program – it’s a sandbox. It’s where you can play with big ideas, with people who care,” he says. “I can’t think of anything more rewarding than that.”

Seawell is a well-known figure in Colorado politics, having served in Governor Richard Lamm’s administration and as Senator Gary Hart’s Chief of Staff. He was chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party from 1985 to 1989.

But his experience hasn’t made him jaded – far from it. In his topics for Enrichment Program classes, he returns again and again to issues of justice, community, ethics, and how people can, even in a deeply divided society, work together as human beings.

“Teaching for the Enrichment Program is always fun. They let me get away with stuff nobody else would,” he laughs. “When I say to [the program director] that I want to talk about this or that, they’ve said ‘Do it!’”

His course this February is called . He and his co-instructor, Dominic Dezzutti, help us get through another election year using four tools to help navigate prickly political discussions: humor, civil respect, prioritizing self-government, and care for our fellow citizens. Seawell considers humor to be a critical component of good citizenship.

“We need a sense of humor that is not mean,” he says. “The scariest words to me as a politician are ‘That’s no laughing matter.’ My God, if you can’t laugh about it, you can’t get the perspective to deal with it.”

It’s not hard to hear the Presbyterian minister that Seawell once was, early in his career. His first church was in Alabama, and he “got himself into trouble” engaging in civil rights issues and participating in the Selma-to-Montgomery march. With his next congregation in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he helped Howard Lee become the first Black mayor of a major Southern city.

He came to Denver in 1971 to attend the University of Denver law school, got a job with a local environmental firm, and also began side projects to create more than 50 environmental programs for Rocky Mountain PBS. The connections he made led to his career in politics and later in academia, teaching business law and ethics at the Daniels Business College.

As a matter of fact, Seawell helped create public programming at DU that would inform the genesis of the Enrichment Program. Following 9/11, he helped create the Bridges to the Future lectures that hosted national political figures in a community-wide public forum. Later, more public not-for-credit classes would become the Enrichment Program.

“The Enrichment Program is the university facing outward and not facing inward,” Seawell says. “It’s become a piece of the community and that’s a big achievement.”

Seawell’s love of big ideas was evident then and has only grown deeper in the popular classes he has taught nearly every year of the Enrichment Program’s 20-year history. To attend his classes, it seems, is to experience the Enrichment Program’s tagline come to life: “Simply for the Love of Learning.”

Denver-area residents can get a taste of Seawell’s inspiring teaching by attending the free series on Jan. 9, or by enrolling in A Citizen’s First Aid Kit for the 2024 Election on February 20 and 27. Register .

Frequently Asked Questions

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Key Takeaways

• Enrichment programs create space for deeper understanding, especially around culture, history, and the way communities are shaped over time.
• Learning about Islam in the U.S. can help people move beyond stereotypes and build more informed, respectful conversations.
• These experiences show how lifelong learning supports civic awareness, empathy, and stronger communication in diverse settings.

The idea of Islam as an American religion can be surprising, if not polarizing.

And yet, Muslims have been a part of our country since colonial times, notes Andrea Stanton, Senior Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences and Chair of DU’s Department of Religious Studies.

“It’s a fun religion to teach about in the U.S. because we think of Islam as a minority or immigrant religion, but we have denominations of Islam that originated in this country,” she says. “It’s a religion that actually has some very homegrown American aspects to it.”

Stanton will teach Islam in the U.S.: Belief and Practice on American Soil on September 6, 13, 20, and 27 for the Enrichment Program, which offers accessible short courses simply for the love of learning.

Stanton is a historian, not a theologian, and says that gives her a unique lens on Islam as a force in people’s lives. She began her academic career studying 20th Century events in the Middle East. But she quickly became interested in Islam as one of the world’s great religions, and the ways people embody it – or seek to influence it – in the contemporary world.

“It’s not just about reading scripture,” Stanton says. “It’s about seeing how people actually live. The reality of worship can be messy – people come in late and the audio system is questionable, and so is the air conditioning. I like thinking about the rich, complicated way humans live out their religion in practice.”

That means Stanton has studied things like online mosque-rating and mosque-finding apps, or the use of Islamic emoticons.

Stanton’s Enrichment Program course promises a dynamic venue for learning about how Islam is practiced in our nation, whether you’re coming as an afficionado of U.S. history, sociology, politics, or current affairs.

“I find that the people who take Enrichment Program courses are truly engaged, partly because they have such interesting life experiences,” Stanton says. “I love the way I’m not the only expert in the room.”

You can or explore the rest of the .

Frequently Asked Questions

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Key Takeaways

• Music education can enrich lifelong learning and help individuals explore new creative perspectives.
• Educators and lecturers often bring professional experience to courses designed for adult learners and community audiences.
• Programs like OLLI Enrichment offer opportunities for learners to engage with music, history, and culture in an accessible environment.

Betsy Schwarm sometimes gets so excited when talking about the ins and outs of classical music that she interrupts herself with little asides and cadenzas to underscore her message.

“Passion” may be an overused word, but it perfectly describes how Betsy Schwarm feels about classical music. For about 27 years, Schwarm has been sharing her love for it throughout the Denver metro area with her radio programs, lectures, and books.

In September, Schwarm will teach From the Danube to the Volga: Classical Music of Eastern Europe for DU’s Enrichment Program, which offers short courses open to anyone in the community, simply for the love of learning. She’s excited to talk about a geographic region that doesn’t always get top billing.

“In the time period we’ll be examining, these Eastern European areas were not the bright lights and big cities,” says Schwarm. “We’ll get to look at how these musicians are expressing their unique cultures in their music and how it gives us insights into people at that time.”

Some of these identities are still highly relevant today. Schwarm relates that when she worked as a radio host for KVOD, “the Classical Voice of Denver,” the station’s Ukrainian-American receptionist would enter the control room singing whenever they played Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 because she recognized the folk melodies within it. “She’d say, ‘They call it the Little Russian Symphony but these are Ukrainian ���DzԲ���!’�ĝ

The class will also look at composers from the Balkans, Poland, the Baltic states, and even Armenia. It will delve into the works of famous composers, such as Chopin, Liszt, Dvořák, and Tchaikovsky, but also some lesser-known creators. Schwarm says that in all her classes she tries to present a mix of recognizable material and less-familiar works.

How the classics still resonate

“Humans have not changed that much in the past 200 years. We’re all still people,” Schwarm points out. “If we take a minute to look at why a piece of music was created, and what the composer was trying to say with it, we can appreciate it. These works don’t all sound the same.”

Schwarm didn’t set out to become a classical music expert. She was raised listening to her parents’ big band music, but came to love classical music in high school and college. Then she landed a job at KVOD 99.5 FM and spent 12 years as a classical radio host. Largely self-taught, she quickly discovered she loved sharing her insights and enthusiasm for the subject.

Over the years, Schwarm has written ten books on classical music, given pre-performance talks at the Colorado Symphony and Opera Colorado, taught at Metropolitan State University, and of course has taught classes through DU’s Enrichment Program for more than a decade. She says the Enrichment Program offers a unique venue for curious learners to get more in-depth knowledge about a subject they’re interested in.

“Everyone’s busy nowadays, but we still love to learn,” Schwarm says. “The Enrichment Program gives me a chance to share not just my insights into what’s special about the music, but also the reasons for my enthusiasm.”

Frequently Asked Questions

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David Thomas may have the ultimate dream job: his LinkedIn profile reads “professor of fun.”

Thomas has spent a lifetime thinking about what makes something fun and how play can improve work, learning, and life in general.

Thomas will be teaching “Finding Your Fun: How Play Can Save Your Life” over two evenings this September for University College’s Enrichment Program. With a tagline of “Catering to the curious,” the Enrichment Program has been offering evening and online classes with no tests, grades, or admission requirements for 20 years.

Thomas’ course is sure to have broad appeal, promising to help attendees unlock their inner playfulness and discover ways to incorporate more fun into everyday life. Before the first session, students will receive a “mystery pack” in the mail with an assortment of tools to help attendees discover more fun.

“Play is this gift that we have been given by life,” Thomas says. “What we have to do is overcome the fear of play to bring it back into our life.”

Thomas didn’t set out to study the theory of fun. He began his career as a journalist covering youth culture, and then specialized in coverage of video games.

“It started with this question of what makes one game better than the other,” Thomas says. “I found myself, little by little, moving towards this central point, which was: What is fun? How does it work?”

Because there was so little existing research on games and play, Thomas quickly became the expert himself. He explored what makes places fun (and got a Ph.D. in architecture), and studied virtual spaces, digital media, learning through games, and the aesthetics of fun objects.

Adding fun back into life

Play is actually very important, Thomas points out. Research shows that regular play improves our mental, emotional and even physical health. It can improve brain function, lower stress, and strengthen relationships.

Like any aspect of life, Thomas says fun is intuitive but can also be learned and taught.

“I want to give people a fuller palette of play colors that they can try for themselves. It’s truly the people that don’t feel like they’re having enough fun who should come to this class.”

While he does plan to relay a theoretical understanding of what exactly fun is and how play works, Thomas also promises an interactive class full of entertaining activities to help you build fun into your world.

“I will definitely give you a conversation topic for your next cocktail party,” he says, “but I will also give you googly eyes and challenge you to go make the world more fun.”

Thomas’ passion for this subject shines through; he believes that play has a place in the lives of everyone, young and old.

“Play may be amusing at the short term, but it can be kind of transformational in terms of how you view life. And if I do my job right, I want to open the door to that transformation. That’s what the Enrichment Program can do.”

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Key Takeaways

• Leadership appointments signal where an institution is investing focus, including how programs are supported and how operations evolve.
• Roles like associate dean often impact student experience behind the scenes, through resources, processes, and program direction.
• Changes in leadership can strengthen consistency and momentum when paired with clear priorities and strong collaboration.

Frequently Asked Questions

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