PLATO Weekly Update

May 13, 2025

TOMORROW! PLATO's Member Appreciation Annual Meeting 2025 on Wednesday, May 14 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm at the East Side Club. Registered members and guests may review the Schedule of Events here. Feel free to arrive a bit early to get checked in!

CURRICULUM

SUMMER COURSES
Registration for Summer Courses is underway! Most will begin the week of June 2 and vary in length from 3-10 weeks. There are 14 courses to choose from which include in-person and virtual offerings. Find the Summer Course Schedule on the Courses webpage and contact the course coordinator to register.

CURRICULUM SHOWCASE
The Curriculum and Diversity Awareness Committees are seeking coordinators for two possible new courses: Classic Films II and Criminal Justice – find descriptions of these potential courses in the Curriculum Showcase.

NEXT WEEK! Best-selling author Robert Kurson talks writing at the PLATO Writing Workshop on May 21 at 1pm – learn more and register here!

SPECIAL EVENTS

 FIELD TRIP

NEXT MONTH! Register today for the Circus, Stage and Sips Tour on Thursday, June 19, 2025. This Sauk County summertime adventure will include visits to three destinations: Circus World Museum, AL. Ringling Theatre, and Wollersheim Winery. Organized by PLATO, there will be three pick-up stops in Madison: East Towne Sears, Capital Lakes, and Oakwood Village University Woods. The registration deadline is Sunday, June 1, 2025. Learn more and register here.

THEATER TRIP

The Church Basement Ladies in The Last (Potluck) Supper on Thursday, July 10, 2025 at The Fireside Dinner Theater in Fort Atkinson. "It is 1979, the day of the church’s Centennial Celebration, and past parishioners have gathered to share hotdishes, bars, and stories from the last 100 years. As the women work in the kitchen, shared memories burst into life through a series of flashbacks." PLATO is partnering with the Verona Senior Center and UW Retirement Association on this travel opportunity so pick-up locations are different from PLATO's usual trips. The registration deadline is Thursday, May 29. Learn more and register here.

BREAKFAST & COFFEE GATHERINGS
These social events offer members and their guests opportunities to share conversation over coffee and breakfast or breakfast snacks. Learn more below including updates on two new summertime locations and one time change!

NEXT WEEK! Fourth Friday Coffee – May 23, 9:30-11:30am at Rotunda Café. Learn more and RSVP here.

First Friday Breakfast – June 6, 9:00-11:00am at Yola's Café – note the new summertime location! Learn more and RSVP here.

Second Friday Breakfast – June 13, 10:00am-12:00pm at the Memorial Union Terrace – note the new summertime location and time change! Learn more and RSVP here.

LECTURES
Expand your horizons with past recordings of PLATO Lectures on important topics offered by PLATO members and local, national and international speakers.

ELECTION RESULTS FOR PLATO 2025-26 BOARD

The annual election is now completed. Congratulations to President J. K. Cheema, Vice President MaryJo MacSwain, Treasurer Rod McKenzie, Secretary Edie Urness-Pondillo, and At-Large Director Allen May. The PLATO Board is composed of five officers, standing committee chairpersons, and five At-Large Directors. The new Board’s term starts on July 1, 2025. Learn about PLATO’s structure, policies, and more on the Organizational Documents webpage.

THE AGORA
The Agora, PLATO’s literary and arts journal, 
celebrates members’ creativity and diversity of thought.

View highlights from this past season on the The Agora Features webpage.

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS
Select from a range of topics and formats for your spring viewing or listening pleasure, curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee. 

DID YOU KNOW? for May 6 – 19, 2025

Aileen Cole Stewart (c.1893 – c.1997) passed her nursing exams in Maryland during the same year that the United States entered World War I. Though the army was in desperate need for nurses, it wasn’t until the1918 influenza epidemic that African American nurses were assigned to active duty.

Visit the Social Justice page to read more about Aileen Cole Stewart and past DID YOU KNOW? Features.

DID YOU KNOW? – spotlighting notable historic events and contributions made by non-mainstream individuals and organizations you might not have learned or read about. Suggestions for inclusions are welcome (send to Kathy at: ksmichaelis@gmail.com).