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Series Description: This course will review cutting edge research from the last decade to better understand the purpose of sleep. The first session will examine sleep as a critical process from neurodevelopment (i.e., the development of our brain) to neurodegeneration (the decline of our brain function). The second session will review the causes and treatments of the most common sleep disorders including sleep apnea, insomnia, restless legs disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder, and parasomnias like sleepwalking. The final session will review the fascinating new field of circadian medicine, which helps us understand how conditions like jetlag and shift work disorder impair physical and psychological health.

Series Instructor: J. Roxann Prichard, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas. She earned a BA in Biopsychology from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a widely sought after speaker and served on the NCAA Taskforce for Sleep and Well-being. Her research on sleep and mental health has been summarized in a variety of national media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and NPR’s 1A podcast, among others. Her TEDx talk “Addressing our Children’s Sleep Debt” was featured in the lecture series: Transforming Education. She is also the Principal Investigator on major grants from Howard Hughes Medical Association and the National Science Foundation on inclusive excellence in STEM education.

Session Descriptions:

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link:

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form:Printable Registration Form

This class is only available as an online live Zoom broadcast. No recordings will be available and no in-person sessions will be available. The Zoom link for this class will be emailed out to registrants 2 business days prior to the first session.

Series Description: This course will look at basic information about how drugs work, the history and politics of how they are classified, and the ways particular drugs work including sedatives, opiates, cannabis, and hallucinogens. We will examine drugs in the context of changing government regulation, social context, and medical research.

Series Instructor: J. Roxann Prichard, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas. She earned a BA in Biopsychology from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a widely sought after speaker and served on the NCAA Taskforce for Sleep and Well-being. Her research on sleep and mental health has been summarized in a variety of national media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and NPR’s 1A podcast, among others. Her TEDx talk “Addressing our Children’s Sleep Debt” was featured in the lecture series: Transforming Education. She is also the Principal Investigator on major grants from Howard Hughes Medical Association and the National Science Foundation on inclusive excellence in STEM education.

Session Descriptions:

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link:

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

This class is only available as an online live Zoom broadcast. No recordings will be available and no in-person sessions will be available. The Zoom link for this class will be emailed out to registrants 2 business days prior to the first session.

Series Description: In this series, we’ll explore several types of lessons that Dr. Giebel learned from conducting extensive life-story interviews with 17 award-winning moral exemplars (“ethical rock stars”). First, we’ll consider philosophical lessons about the nature of virtue—both in general and specific virtues like generosity and perseverance. Second, we’ll look at psychological lessons regarding the ways in which virtue is developed and expressed. Finally, we’ll learn from these rock stars just how far most of us are from being—or even thinking like—a real moral exemplar.

Series Instructor: Dr. Heidi Giebel is Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas and Managing Editor of American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly. She received her BA from St. Norbert College and her MA and PhD from the University of Notre Dame. Her research interests lie mainly in ethics and the philosophy and psychology of moral development. Dr. Geibel’s recent book, Ethical Excellence, draws on classical Aristotelian and Confucian virtue theory, contemporary psychology, and her own interviews with recognized moral exemplars.

Session Descriptions:

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link:

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

This class is only available as an online live Zoom broadcast. No recordings will be available and no in-person sessions will be available. The Zoom link for this class will be emailed out to registrants 2 business days prior to the first session.

Series Description: Why is English so weird? Why do we pronounce the letters G and H differently in “ghost” than we do in “laugh” or “neighbor”? Why does our language look like German sometimes and like French other times? Why do we have so many words that mean “poop”? The history of English has some answers, plus a lot more questions, all along with invading armies and doomed romances, consequential misfits and crazy coincidences.

Series Instructor: Dr. Michael Getty is a St. Thomas staff member who, before becoming an academic administrator, started his working life as a linguist. In that role, his love for language remains strong. He has taught courses on the English language at colleges and universities throughout the Midwest.

Session Descriptions:

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link:

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

This class is only available as an online live Zoom broadcast. No recordings will be available and no in-person sessions will be available. The Zoom link for this class will be emailed out to registrants 2 business days prior to the first session.

Series Description: Economist Kenneth Boulding once wrote that “Anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist”. Must economic growth really come to an end? And if so, can society thrive without it? This seminar will introduce and evaluate a new social movement called “Degrowth”, which suggests that we can reorganize our social systems towards a smaller economy in a way that improves our wellbeing, reduces social inequalities, and prevents environmental destruction.

Series Instructors:

• Dr. Adam Kay is a Professor in the Biology Department at the University of St. Thomas. His scholarship and teaching focus on environmental sustainability, with a focus on urban food systems and urban ecology.
• Dr. Justa Heinen-Kay is co-Director of BrightSide Produce, a Twin Cities non-profit focused on equitable access to fruits and vegetables. She is also the founder of DegrowthMN. Dr. Heinen-Kay has a PhD in Biology from North Carolina State University and recently completed an MBA from the University of St. Thomas

Session Descriptions:

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link:

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

This class is only available as an online live Zoom broadcast. No recordings will be available and no in-person sessions will be available. The Zoom link for this class will be emailed out to registrants 2 business days prior to the first session.

We March for Justice Civil Rights Study-Travel: March 21-29, 2025

Hosts: Todd Lawrence, Ph.D. and David Williard, Ph.D.

Program Description: Join the Selim Center and UST undergraduate students from March 21-29 for a unique intergenerational study-travel experience. You'll learn about the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, visiting the sites where this history happened and guided by people who were there as foot soldiers in the struggles for justice and freedom.

Program details will be found in this informational piece: Program Overview

Complete cost information will be found in this document: Terms and Conditions

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link:

Art, Architecture, and Culture in Norway: September 4-14, 2025

Host: Kristin Anderson, Ph.D.

Program Description: Join us on this 11-day journey through the stunning scenery and distinctive art and architecture of southern Norway. We will see the gorgeous beauty of Norway's geography while delving into its layered culture and history, paying particular attention to the interaction among nature, the arts, and architecture. Read more in the Program Brochure.

Program Registration Fee: Deposit of $600.00 per person. Total cost: $5,995.00 per person. Single Accommodations supplement: $1,048. Cost based on a group size of 25 paying participants. Program cost will increase if group size is smaller.

To register with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link:

Stay tuned! The spring term schedule will publish on January 24th and will open for registration that day.

Beginning January 24th, you'll find individual pages for each upcoming event, and also find this registration link: To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: