The SAGE Lecture Series
Senior Adults Gaining Enrichment 

The Senior Adults Gaining Enrichment program is one designed for adults over 55 years of age who are interested in expanding life's experiences. SAGE offers an opportunity to enrich one's life through learning in a relaxed and accepting environment among peers. We cover a wide range of subjects in our college level lectures including social and cultural trends, evolving technologies, the arts, food and wine, politics, religion, economics, health and wellness, and many more!

All SAGE lectures are held in room 135 at Penn State Lehigh Valley located at 2809 Saucon Valley Road in Center Valley.

Registration is REQUIRED for all of these lifetime learning opportunities. Register and pay by check by emailing Sara Roth at [email protected]. Make check payable to Penn State for the amount of $22.50. Payment by check may be made the day of the event.

For all lectures, we invite our participants to arrive at Penn State Lehigh Valley at 10:30 am for coffee and tea. The lectures will take place between 11:00 am and noon, after which lunch will be served.  

Fall 2025

A bottle of whiskey sits on a wooden surface beside two barrels, with a red barn and green rolling hills in the background.

Friday, September 12, 2025: Bradley Smith- A Spirited People: Pennsylvania German Whiskey Distilling: In the 1700s and early 1800s, many Pennsylvania Germans distilled whiskey and brandy using abundant ingredients from their farms including rye, corn, apples, and peaches.  Join Bradley Smith for a discussion about the prevalence of small farm distilleries and their importance to our region’s local economy. 
 

A large waterfall cascades with powerful rushing water under a partly cloudy blue sky, surrounded by greenery.

Friday, October 10, 2025: Kermit Burley- Niagara Falls, as a native, has experienced it: You will experience the grandeur of the mighty Niagara Falls from both the American and Canadian vistas and hear about the incredible people and events that have fascinated visitors to the Falls for hundreds of years. You will almost feel the mist envelop you. 
 

A red brick building labeled “Silk Mill” stands in a grassy rural setting under a partly cloudy sky.

Friday, November 14, 2025: Martha Capwell-Fox  - When Silk Was Queen: The Silk Industry in the Eastern Pennsylvania:  1890-1990: Many people living in eastern Pennsylvania today know, remember, or are descended from, women who worked in our region’s silk mills. For the first half of the 20th century,  most communities in Pennsylvania, large or small, had at least one silk mill. Even after the industry moved into the South, and later to Asia, many mills survived by making synthetic goods alongside silk.   
From 1913 until 1930, more silk goods were produced in eastern Pennsylvania than anywhere else in the world. The silk industry offered the first industrial jobs for women, and in fact moved into the Commonwealth largely because of its human resources rather than its natural ones. The story of how and why silk played a large role in our region’s history will be told with photographs that span the 20th century, including a video and photos that were taken in the last silk mill to operate in Allentown 

A mounted dinosaur skeleton, likely a Tyrannosaurus rex, displayed in a glass case at a museum.

Friday, December 12, 2025: Dr Dale Malinzak - MORE INFO TO COME 

Registration to come, check back soon!

Schedule

Lectures will be held from 11:00 a.m.–noon
Lunch will be served from noon–1:00 p.m.
All SAGE lectures will be held in room 135,
Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Road, Center Valley, PA 18034.

Contact Sara Roth at 610-285-5000 - press 4, or [email protected]