Photo by Samantha Davis Former longtime SMSU teacher and wheelchair basketball coach Lew Shaver speaks during the GOLD College welcoming conference Wednesday afternoon.

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota State University held a welcoming conference to go over the fall class sessions for GOLD College on Wednesday afternoon.

GOLD College is open to all adults with no specific required age or education level. There are two six-week sessions offered each year, in the fall and spring. The classes range over a variety of topics like art, history, philosophy, current events and more. The program is structured as non-credit classes, held once a week for up to 90 minutes. There are no exams or official grades, the sole purpose of the college is to engage in experiential learning of personal interest.

There are classes offered every day of the week this fall, which begins Sept. 16 through Oct. 25. Classes are offered in-person and on Zoom, unless otherwise specified by the instructor.

Fourteen classes are being offered and available for registration.

Bill Palmer will teach a class titled The U.S. War in Vietnam, which will engage conversation about personal experiences in relation to the Vietnam War, and will include guest speakers from veterans.

“The first couple class days, we will be going over ‘What was the history, why was the U.S. involved in Vietnam, how did we get involved in Vietnam, what did that involvement look like, how did it evolve over time?’ Palmer said. “I’m getting all excited about the course.”

Palmer identified himself as a ‘local and regional historian,’ and takes a lot of pride in helping veterans share their stories.

“The best part of this class is not me up there speaking. It’s inviting four Vietnam veterans to come in and share their experiences with us,” Palmer said. “They’ll be narrating the story, and we’ll be using their photographs and their experiences, and they’ll be sharing what it was like.”

Another class taught will be Love, Friendship and Resilience in Literature by Janet Ellingworth, who has lived in Redwood Falls for 48 years and taught English at the middle and high school for four decades.

“During the class, we will explore these themes by reading this book called ‘The Book of Charlie,’ Ellingworth said. “The book is based on a friendship that a journalist developed with his neighbor, who was over 100 years old, and he learns many profound lessons about resilience in tough times, and friendship between people of different generations and the importance of simple truths about life.”

This is Ellingworth’s fourth year instructing at the GOLD College. 

“I especially appreciate the book’s message that highlights the value that we at this age still have purpose,” Ellingworth said. “We have meaning, and we should share our wisdom and our life experiences with the younger generations. And likewise, the younger generations can offer a lot of enthusiasm and fresh new ideas for us too, that might even keep us feeling young.” 

An interactive course that will not be taking place in a traditional classroom will be Adventures on the Prairie, taught by Katie Chapman, who will be teaching her fifth session.

The class will visit prairies in the region and learn about ecosystems, animal adaptations and more.

“It (the class) is an absolute riot. There is no other way to describe our time together,” Chapman said. “We learn about what truly makes a prairie special. We live in southwest Minnesota, we’re used to the agricultural side of things … When you really take note of just how precious and beautiful the prairie is, it gives you a whole different perspective on what you’re seeing as you’re driving through the countryside.” Chapman also is the director of environmental education at Shetek Lutheran Ministries.

BC Franson will be incorporating her GOLD College students with her regular SMSU students, as she is an associate professor of justice administration in the social science department.

Her SMSU class will be reading a book on the life of George Floyd.

“The idea is that my students are going to be presenting every week to you guys what part of the book they’ve read,” Franson said. “Then, we’re going to talk about some of the injustices that George faced throughout his life.”

To begin the fall session with some motivation, longtime SMSU teacher and wheelchair basketball coach Lew Shaver spoke at the conference to talk about his coaching experiences and his latest book “From the First Brick: It Changed My Life.”

Shaver comes from southern Illinois, where he taught high school and was a coach for several sports before he moved to Marshall and began his career here in 1969. He led the wheelchair basketball program for 26 seasons, winning three national championships and finishing as national runners-up six times.

Howard Bellows was SMSU’s first President from 1965-73, and the university opened in 1967. Shavers mentioned the impact Bellows still has, as he was a key factor in making sure the school was built accessibly, so those with disabilities could also get around easily.

“I’ve written several books, and I tried to get in his (Bellows’) head, and what it must have been like to sell to the state legislature that when they built this university, it had to be accessible,” Shaver said. “I can’t even imagine it. Finally, in this book, I said ‘I don’t really care,’ because he did it. Because of this man, we have changed so many lives.”

That’s where part of Shaver’s title in his book comes from — the impact of Bellows and helping people of all demographics, which played into the wheelchair basketball program and the success they were able to achieve.

“These kids (wheelchair basketball team) won national tournaments. These kids went all over the world, and I went with them to Hong Kong, to you name it, we’ve been there. Belgium, Germany, We’ve been there,” Shaver said. “These kids, because of this man, celebrated Southwest (SMSU).”

Adults interested in attending GOLD College can still register by grabbing a fall 2024 form, also found online, and submitting a check. Payments are $110 for up to four classes, and an extra $10 for any additional classes.