OUR MISSION

The Winchester Academy, located in Waupaca, Wisconsin, is a center for lifelong learning. It was inspired by the tradition of the Scandinavian Folk Academy. Our purposes are threefold:
1) to enrich the life of the community by providing intellectually stimulating and informative programs;
2) to serve the public's wish for continued intellectual growth;
3) to provide a lay audience for Wisconsin's scholars and others with developed expertise to share their knowledge and enthusiasms   outside the traditional structure of school and college.

It is not a military school or a building or a campus. It isn't even in Winchester any more. Those who organized the Academy in 1973 saw it as a center for adult education, a community of scholars and experts, (professional and amateur), and a community of learners - folks who enjoy learning outside the formal school structure. The Winchester Academy is a nonprofit corporation, exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is the 18-member volunteer board of trustees, and it is the 450 or so families on the mailing list. It is 40 or 60 or 150 interested people who come to each free public program. With 25 - 30 Monday evening programs a year, it is the 1000 or more people each year who enjoy the opportunity to learn something interesting and engage in dialog with the experts. It is the daytime Community Outreach open forums, twice or thrice annually, which feature interactive seminars with guest scholars. It is a lifelong learning project, offering the opportunity for continuing informal education to everyone in the Waupaca vicinity.

It was organized and housed for 18 years in Winchester, Wisconsin. It took its logo from the coat of arms of Winchester College, the first public school in England. (The lamp of learning and Waupaca's historic gazebo now make the logo uniquely our own.) The Academy moved in 1991, having chosen Waupaca because of its vibrant and growing population. The Waupaca community also gave enthusiastic support to a "trial run" of several series of programs.

The Academy brings free programs to the community to stimulate participants to want to learn more about the topics. The speakers bring superior scholarship or expertise, yet are understandable to people with any level of education. The topics are diverse, mostly in what we call the humanities, but including liberal arts and sciences as well as moral and ethical issues and current events.

Since the move to Waupaca, the Academy has offered around 25 - 30 free public lectures each year, in three series - fall, winter-spring, and summer. The programs do not promote causes or particular beliefs. Neither are they merely for entertainment (although many speakers entertain delightfully).  In 2007 the Academy introduced three daytime seminars expressly to allow more time for audience participation.  Many programs have been videotaped and are available on loan.

The audiences represent a wide cross-section of the people of the Waupaca area. Some "regulars" come from Waushara, Portage, Winnebago and Outagamie counties, and summer residents come from much farther.

A core of people attend regularly; the majority attend because of interest in the particular topic. Many are retired; many are not. Working people, business and professional people, high school students, young people of school age, and whole families attend. They have in common an interest in learning. Numbers vary from as few as 40 to over 150.

Public donations fund the Academy's free programs. Thanks to a broader base of public support, foundation grants have become another source, as well as the Wisconsin Humanities Council.  Occasionally a "special event" for fund raising purposes is held. Each has a unique theme and emphasis. Expenses include publication and mailing costs, telephone and office expenses, post office box rental and corporate filing fees, honoraria and travel costs for speakers, and a modest stipend for the executive director.

Except for the executive director who provides leadership and follow-through to board decisions, there are no paid workers. A volunteer board meets monthly to consider and act on selection of programs and speakers, fund raising, publications and mailing, and to make budgeting decisions. Board members work in committees, prepare publications, seek out and contact speakers, write grant applications, introduce speakers, stuff envelopes for mailing, and serve refreshments following the programs.

Total costs, including honoraria, travel and lodging for speakers was $13,000.00 in 2006.

ˆ  It is free.
ˆ  There is no tuition, no exams, no dress code.
ˆ  It is live and interactive (vs. TV)
ˆ  It is unique - not available in other communities.
ˆ  It promotes social and cultural integration.
ˆ  It offers a fellowship of learning.
ˆ  Outside the school structure, it offers curriculum enrichment at many
   levels.
ˆ  It offers a public forum to local and state-wide experts in many fields.
ˆ  It brings to the community expert sources usually available only in
   metropolitan areas or college towns.
ˆ  It supports and enhances Waupaca's image as a stimulating, rich,
   satisfying community in which to live and grow.

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WINCHESTER ACADEMY presents the

SUMMER SERIES -- 2010

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The Winchester Academy of Waupaca will present seven programs from June 7 through

August 9. The last program on Monday, August 9 will be held at St. Mary Magdalene Church. All other programs will be held on Mondays at the Waupaca Area Public Library. All programs will start at 6:30 P.M. Admission is free for all programs. If cancellation is required an announcement will be made on WDUX-AM and FM.　

June 7 – “Learning Using Technology.” Waupaca High School teacher Mark Polebitski will show how modern devices are shaping the way we grow intellectually and socially. The program will demonstrate first hand how emerging technologies affect the learning process and put the power of gathering information into the hands of virtually every person in the industrialized world. Library: 6:30 P.M.

June 14, Monday – “Monarch of the Butterflies: Monarch Butterfly Biology and Conservation.” Professor Ken Parejko of the University of Wisconsin – Stout will discuss the life history, reproduction, ecology, migration, and conservation of this charismatic insect. Library: 6:30 P.M.

June 21, Monday – “Underwater World of the Caribbean with a Fish Researcher’s Unique View.” An expert in fish identification and research with Reef Environment Education Foundation, Joyce Schulke will present an introduction to Caribbean aquatic marine life and the thrills of her search for new and cryptic species. Schulke is also owner of Classic Photography in Waupaca. Library: 6:30 P.M.

June 28, Monday – “A Future Through Rawhide Boys Ranch.” David Krause of the Rawhide Boys Ranch will explain how Rawhide has influenced the lives of boys over the last 25 years. The organization is a premier example of Wisconsin’s community spirit and how disadvantages are converted into fulfilling futures. Library: 6:30 P.M. (Sponsor: Myrtle Ragland)

July 19, Monday – “Wisconsin Works: Paper – It’s In the Water.” Paper production has been a mainstay of Wisconsin industry for more than a century. Alan Button, Chairman of the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame, will review the history of Wisconsin’s preeminence in the field. The program is among a series of presentations which pay tribute to some of the state’s most productive forms of commerce. Library: 6:30 P.M.

July 26, Monday – “Aldo Leopold: The Oldest Task in Human History.” Emeritus Professor Stanley Temple, University of Wisconsin – Madison, will explain Leopold’s concept of “land ethic” and how it applies as much to today’s privately owned land as it did in 1949 when A Sand County Almanac was published. Temple was a successor to Leopold as the Beers-Bascom Professor in Conservation and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Library: 6:30 P.M. (Sponsor: Ann and Vance Linden)

August 9, Monday – “Favorite Operatic Arias and Selections from the American Songbook.” Songs by early humans may have predated speech and contributed to the species. Research today indicates songs help the development of intelligence. Krista Wozniak, New York City, will discuss the development of vocal music, from Stone Age communication to the soaring operas of today’s stage. St. Mary Magdalene Church (N2845 Shadow Road): 6:30 P.M. (Sponsor: J. Ingrid Lesley, in honor of husband, Van)

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THE MISSION OF THE WINCHESTER ACADEMY

The purposes of the organization are:

1. To enrich the life of the community by providing intellectually stimulating and informative programs;

2. To serve the public’s wish for continued intellectual growth;

3. To provide a lay audience for Wisconsin’s scholars and others  with developed expertise to share their knowledge and enthusiasms   outside the traditional structure of school and college.

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WINCHESTER ACADEMY’S EIGHTEENTH YEAR IN WAUPACA

The Academy had its roots as an adult education curriculum in Winchester, Wisconsin, in 1973 under the leadership of Professor Neil Eckstein. It moved to Waupaca in 1993 and has continued to present 25-30 programs annually.

During the recent Sesquicentennial Year 2007 many long-time residents reflected on the changes in the community in the last fifty years. Characteristic of most small Wisconsin towns in the 1950s, Waupaca had little industry and survived on tourism and the daily business of approximately 5000-7000 “town folk” and nearby “country people.” But things have changed dramatically! The area now numbers 10,000-12,000, we have some businesses with world markets, and the school system is among the best in the state.

Winchester Academy is no small part of this progress. Over the last eighteen years we have attempted to provide opportunities for everyone to expand his/her learning experiences to keep pace with the rapidly changing world dynamics – from “Art to Zoology.” Programs have ranged from the “The Song of Bullfrogs” to “Ethics – The Foundation of Freedom.” We feel that Waupaca is among the state’s top five small communities. Ongoing adult education is a key component, and it is the Winchester Academy Board’s objective to help fulfill that role.

*WINCHESTER ACADEMY BOARD OF TRUSTEES*
Robert Benada - Richard Bidwell – Georgia M. Calvo -- Robert Cloud – Rose Marie Dorow
(Pres.) – Carol Elvery -- (Sec.) – Gloria Gruer – David S.
Hathaway (Ex. Dir.) – Bettie Hill – Pat Hollenbeck – J. Ingrid Lesley --
Vance Linden – Teri Moe (Treas.) – Patrick Phair -- Ray Robinson – Joan
Wasserberg -- Maurice Wozniak (VP)

*Emeriti: Neil Eckstein – Gerald F. Moede – Carl Strassburg – Marwin
Wrolstad*

Winchester Academy offers its programs to the public free of charge. It depends on the community in the form of individual and corporate gifts. Contributions are tax deductible under section 501©(3) of the federal tax code. Donors of $300 or more earn ‘sponsorship’ status. The Academy makes every effort to select speakers or topics as requested by the sponsors. For more information please contact David Hathaway, MD (Executive Director – 715-256-1312). General information available at www.waupaca.com/winchesteracademy.html   and http://www.waupacalibrary.org/community/winchester.asp

        Recipient of the 2003 Governor's Award for Excellence in Programming in the Humanities