Published: Mon, February 24, 2014 @ 12:04 a.m.

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley Lifelong Learning Institute, shaped by Park Vista of Youngstown, welcomed its first learners this month.

The Mahoning Valley Lifelong Learning Institute extends and strengthens Park Vista of Youngstowns whole-person wellness approach, said Brian Kolenich, Park Vista executive director and a member of the institutes advisory board.

The institute is the Valleys opportunity for intellectual wellness later in life: affordable, accessible, academic-level lectures. The institutes rich educational opportunities will inspire and challenge people throughout the Valley age 50 and up by inviting them to explore new ideas in a fresh, imaginative way, Kolenich said.

The institute opened its spring semester Feb. 11 with Dr. Greg Ferro, who gave participants insight into the lives of two 20th-century U.S. presidents. The Presidents Day course kicked off the institutes Harris Lecture Series on History and Political Science.

The Institutes four donor-funded series, supported by charitable gifts, also include the Gelhaar Lecture Series on Arts and Culture, Kyle Lecture Series on Religion and Spirituality, and a Wellness and Rehabilitation Lecture Series.

The donor gifts are inspiring and show trust in the institute, its vision and Park Vista, Kolenich said. Future endowments will ensure the institute fulfills its mission of bringing new ideas, adventures and understanding to Mahoning Valleys older adults.

The institute is presenting the series in partnership with the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County and Youngstown State University, organizations that share the institutes goal and mission, said the institutes director, Marise Sahyoun.

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Topics: Arts and culture, religion and spirituality, wellness and rehab