UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Emeritus Academy has partnered with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Penn State to host the 2026-27 “Explorations: The Penn State Emeritus Academy Lecture Series.”
Now in its third year, “Explorations” provides a venue for retired Penn State faculty members to share their research, creative projects, and unique perspectives with the wider Penn State community and the public.
The fall semester line-up will touch on the curious connection between Wodehouse and Liberace, the integral contribution of fruit flies to the modern understanding how chromosomes evolve through genome biology, an exploration of 40 years of correspondence between two influential Peruvian activists, and a behind-the-scenes look at Rec Hall’s unoccupied spaces from the person who designed its renovation.
All Fall 2026 lectures will take place at OLLI’s University Park campus location, 100 Innovation Boulevard, Outreach Building, Rooms 121 G and H, and will also be streamed via Zoom. These events are free and open to the public. Registration is requested. Please see the details of individual lectures below for registration links.
Event schedule
Robert Rains, “Wodehouse and Liberace: The Long-Lost Link”
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Sept. 14
Available in person and via Zoom. Register here for Rains’ lecture.
Despite being widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s greatest humorists, Wodehouse was painfully shy, while Liberace was the wildly flamboyant pianist and great entertainer known as “Mr. Showmanship.” Yet this presentation will uncover a surprising connection between these two cultural icons involving World War II, Nazi Germany, internment, defamation, litigation and, of course, humor. Rains is a past president of the Wodehouse Society in the U.S. and the author of numerous articles on Wodehouse for Plum Lines, the journal of the Wodehouse Society; and Wooster Sauce, the journal of the P.G. Wodehouse Society in Great Britain.
Stephen W. Schaeffer, “Genetics, Genomics, and Genealogy: A Fruit Fly Geneticist’s Journey”
10:30 a.m. to noon, Oct. 21
Available in person and via Zoom. Register here for Schaeffer’s lecture.
Fruit flies (Drosophila) are not just an annoying problem in your kitchen, but have served as a model system for the study of biological systems for over 100 years, leading to 10 Nobel Prize winners in genetics, development, immunity and circadian rhythm. This lecture will examine how fruit flies have contributed to our understanding of how chromosomes evolve through genome biology and will segue into a personal discussion of how direct-to-consumer DNA tests can help us understand our personal genealogical history. Schaeffer has worked in the field of genetics for over 40 years and has seen the expansion of DNA sequencing from short sequences to complete genomes. He served as a group leader for analysis of chromosomal evolution of 12 diverse Drosophila species. For over 10 years, he has worked with direct-to-consumer databases to learn about his own family history.
Gloria Bodtorf Clark, “Living Aprismo: The Correspondence Between Luis Alberto Sánchez and Manuel Alejandro Seoane Corrales (1924-61)”
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Nov. 13
Available in person and via Zoom. Register here for Clark’s lecture.
Luis Alberto Sánchez and Manuel Alejandro Seoane Corrales, two Peruvian political activists, exchanged a voluminous correspondence over nearly 40 years that reveals a multilayered portrait of the political movement aprismo that is not found in conventional party histories. This presentation will highlight what a political movement looks like from the inside. Clark’s research into these two towering figures in Peruvian law, literature and politics opens a window that official histories have kept shut. An examination of these letters exposes the human dimensions of the APRA party's rise: the ambitions, the doubts, and an abiding devotion to Peru.
Dan Willis, “Spaces for Ghosts: Why the Best Buildings Contain Spaces Where No One Ever Goes”
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Dec. 2
Available in person and via Zoom. Register here for Willis’ lecture.
Architects are tasked with designing spaces to accommodate people and the things they do within buildings. There are, however, buildings that benefit from containing spaces no one ever occupies. The Recreation Building on the University Park campus, known familiarly as “Rec Hall,” is such a building, and this helps to explain why it is so popular as a place to watch Penn State’s athletes compete. Willis is a practicing architect and former professor and department head of Penn State’s Department of Architecture. Among his publications are "The Emerald City and Other Essays on the Architectural Imagination" (1999). He is also the designer of the 1999 renovation to the main gymnasium of Rec Hall.
More information
For more information about the Emeritus Academy, visit the Penn State Emeritus Academy website through the Office of Faculty Affairs’ Center for Faculty Development and Advancement. Applications for the Emeritus Academy are accepted year-round and reviewed in August and January.
For more about OLLI at Penn State, visit olli.psu.edu. A service of Penn State Outreach, OLLI has enriched the lives of adults aged 50 and better through educational experiences, travel, volunteerism and social engagement.