(Back row, L-R:) Dave Frankel (instructor), Dr. Irene Deitch (Founder, Chair, Professor Emerita), Joel Cohen (instructor), Dr. Hugo Kijne (Executive Director, Continuing Education), Betty Bonczek (OPTIONS coordinator). (Front row, L-R:) Dr. Tomás D. Morales (CSI President), and Lelah Urban (student).
The OPTIONS Program for Mature Learners at CSI celebrated student success with 140 people attending a year-end barbecue. The program, which was started by CSI Professor Emerita Dr. Irene Deitch, has been operating for more than 15 years and is still growing, according to Dr. Hugo Kijne, Executive Director of Continuing Education at CSI.
This past spring semester, approximately 180 students paid $50 to explore as many of the 37 courses offered as they wanted, ranging from art to history to literature to computers. Dr. Kijne added that many of the courses are taught by retired CSI faculty members who keep in touch with their fields that way and bolster their own personal and professional development.
