Curious to keep learning?
You’re in luck! Registration is open for the Presidents’ College Fall 2026 season. We welcome alumni, as well as the UHart and Greater Hartford communities, to try our non-credit lectures and 2-4 session courses, taught by University faculty and distinguished thought leaders from the community.
Not sure what to expect?
Come join us for our free Kickoff event on Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 4:30 p.m.–6 p.m. at Wilde Auditorium. Enjoy refreshments and jazz (thank you, Hartt School students!) plus hear about upcoming courses and lectures from some of our presenters. See what intrigues you. But make sure to reserve a seat at www.hartford.edu/pc.
This semester, glean insights about Bach with Concora’s Chris Shepard (alum of The Hartt School!), a possible Major League baseball strike with UHart president emeritus Walt Harrison, the history and culture of Iran with Trinity College’s Janet Bauer, and Jane Eyre with UHart’s Emerita English professor Catherine Stevenson. Channel your inner CSI with forensic investigator and UHart alum, Michelle Clark. Let professional storyteller Tom Lee immerse you in world myths of those who’ve made it to the underworld and back, or seize the moment to sink into Bob Dylan, all jazzed up by The Hartt School’s Javon Jackson and Matt DeChamplain. Interested in political thought? The politics and government department will guide us this season, with Jilda Aliotta bringing back her Supreme Court course, and Michael Clancy taking over “Hot Topics” to get you talking midterm politics. Elly Vozzola, emerita psychology professor at St. Joseph’s College, also hones in on why it is so darn hard to agree on moral truth. There’s more, of course: more arts, with how music and art mirror each other in different eras, with the musical Hair (why not a little more love and revolution?), and more opera (hint: get ready for The Hartt School’s Opera Gala), and more theater (Dracula at Hartford Stage, anyone?); more history, including the story of Connecticut’s Wangunk Tribe; more science – from clouds, to immunology (the world within us), and extraterrestrial life (the world out there, beyond…).
We curate our semester courses with you in mind and hope you’ll try something that inspires!
Gather with us for thought-provoking Presidents’ College Conversations (free for Fellows, in thanks for a donation of $100+ per year):
- Local Beats, Vital Streets: Why Neighborhood Newsrooms Matter. Introductory Comments by Lawrence P. Ward (University of Hartford President), moderated by Deepa Fadnis (University of Hartford Associate Professor of Digital Media and Journalism). Panel: Arunan Arulampalam (Mayor of Hartford), Helen Bennett (Executive Editor for The Hartford Courant) and Elizabeth Hamilton (Executive Editor of The Connecticut Mirror), Thursday, Oct. 1, 12:45–2 p.m., Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center. Free to the Community, but we ask that you register. Register
- Making Sense of Insurance Math. Josh Hershman (Connecticut Insurance Commissioner). Thursday, Dec. 3, 10:30–11:45 a.m., Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center. Register
All these offerings, and more, including our handy-dandy schedule chart, await you on our website: hartford.edu/pc. Our snazzy Presidents’ College Gift Certificates also let you give the perfect gift—the gift of knowledge—to neighbors, friends, and family for birthdays and un-birthdays alike. No membership necessary; just pay per course or lecture.
Faculty and staff?
Take one Presidents' College lecture for free each semester, or take $20 off a longer course.
Emeriti Association member?
Choose whatever course you please for free each semester, as long as you’ve renewed your dues. Contact us to make it happen at pcollege@hartford.edu or 860.768.4495.
Course + Lecture Offerings
ARTS
- J.S. Bach–Still Amazing After All These Years*, Chris Shepard, Friday, Sept. 18, 2–3:30 p.m., The McAuley (off-campus, West Hartford) Register, or Monday, Sept. 28, 2–3:30 p.m., McLean (off-campus, Simsbury) Register
- Art and Music As Mirrors of Their Era*, Dee Hansen, Fran Altvater, Eric Hansen, and Neal Humphreys, Fridays, Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 9:45–11:15 a.m., Fuller Music Center, Room 21 Register
- Jazz Takes on Bob Dylan*, Javon Jackson and Matt DeChamplain, Wednesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 3–4:30 p.m., Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center Register
- Reimagining "Dracula" at Hartford Stage*, Pamela Bedore and Melia Bensussen, Lectures: Mondays, Oct. 12, 19, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., KF Room/Harrison Libraries; Performance: Sunday, Oct. 18, 1 p.m. preview with Melia Bensussen; 2 p.m. performance, The Hartford Stage Register
- Peace, Love, & Show Tunes: "Hair’s Enduring Appeal*, John Pike, Lecture: Friday, Oct. 16, 10:30 a.m.–noon, KF Room/Harrison Libraries; Hartt School Performance: Sunday, Nov. 1, 3 p.m., Lincoln Theater Register
- Opera’s Magic Demystified*, Troy Cook, Lecture: Thursday, Oct. 22, 3:30–5 p.m., Berkman Recital Hall/Fuller Music Center; Performance: The Hartt School Opera Gala, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2–4 p.m., Roberts Foundation Theater/Handel Performing Arts Center Register
- Really Good French Films, Vraiment!*, Michael Walsh, Mondays, Oct. 26, Nov. 2, 9, 16, 3–4:30 p.m., Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center Register
- The New Broadway Just Wants to Have Fun*, Frank Rizzo, Tuesdays, Dec. 1 and 8, 12:30–2 p.m., KF Room/Harrison Libraries Register
*Made possible in part by the generosity of the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
HISTORY AND CURRENT EVENTS
- Hidden Iran: The Making of a Complex Society, Janet Bauer, Tuesdays, Sept. 22, 29, Oct. 6, 2–3:30 p.m., Hillyer Hall 125 Register
- The Latest on the Supreme Court, Jilda Aliotta, Mondays, Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26, 5:30–7 p.m., Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center Register
- American Democracy After the Midterms—Still a Thing?, Michael Clancy, Thursdays, Oct.15, 29, Nov. 12, 3–4:30 p.m., Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center Register
- Major League Baseball: Here Today, Gone Next Season?, Walt Harrison, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2–3:30 p.m., Hillyer Hall 125 OR Tuesday, Nov. 10, 3:30–5 p.m., Duncaster (off-campus, Bloomfield) Register
- Unearthing the Story of the Connecticut Wangunk Tribe, Gary Red Oak O’Neil, Sarah Sportman and Tom Wickman, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Hillyer Hall 125 Register
LITERATURE AND CULTURE
- Two Bookers + A Bonus: 2026 Novels to Get You Talking, Michele Troy, Tuesdays, Sept. 15, Oct. 13, Nov. 10, 2–3:30 p.m., KF Room/Harrison Libraries Register
- To Hell and Back: World Myths of Return from the Underworld, Tom Lee, Thursday, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, 15, 10:30 a.m.–noon, KF Room/Harrison Libraries Register
- Why Is It Hard to Agree on Moral Truth?, Elizabeth Vozzola, Monday, Nov. 2 and 9, 10:30 a.m.–noon, KF Room/Harrison Libraries Register
- Jane Eyre and the Female Gothic: Escaping Locked Rooms, Catherine Stevenson, Thursdays, Nov. 5 and 19, 2–3:30 p.m., Greenberg Center/Harry Jack Gray Center Register
SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND MATH
- Channel Your Inner CSI: Solving Cold Cases, Michelle Clark, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 29, Oct. 6, 5:30–7 p.m., Hillyer Hall 125 Register
- Beyond the Fluff: The Science of Clouds, Howard Wright, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., McLean (off-campus, Simsbury) OR Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1–2:30 p.m., KF Room/Harrison Libraries Register
- Immunology’s Potential to Revolutionize Medicine, Mike Magee, MD, Wednesdays, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, 11, 1–2:30 p.m., Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center Register
- Is Anybody Out There? Searching for ET Life, Michael Robinson, Wednesdays, Nov. 18, Dec. 2, 9, 2–3:30 p.m., KF Room/Harrison Libraries Register