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The Onondaga Citizens League (OCL) is offering a series of informational seminars focused on the design and development of cities, including a historical perspective on how Syracuse took shape. Participants will learn what led to Syracuse’s street layouts, neighborhood patterns and well known properties and how they have changed over time. The importance of sound urban design practices as a means of fostering a strong, positive community image will also be discussed, with an emphasis on how details—within public space or private buildings—contribute to the collective image of the city.

The five sessions will be conducted by Christine Capella-Peters from the New York State Historic Preservation Office; George Curry, Department of Landscape Architecture, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; and Dennis Connors, from the Onondaga Historical Association. The seminars will include three Saturday walking tours that will allow participants to examine real-life examples of the discussion topics. The five Thursday sessions take place from 7-8:30 p.m. on March 29, April 12 and 26, and May 10 and 24.

All programs are free but registration is required. Registration deadline is March 15. Class size is limited. For complete details on the seminars and to fill out an application online, visit onondagacitizensleague.org, email ocl@syr.edu, or call 315-443-4846.

Onondaga Citizens League (OCL), in partnership with University College (UC) of Syracuse University, is designed to promote citizen education and involvement in public affairs.

At the Feb. 16 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP), Carol Faulkner, associate professor and chair of the Department of History at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, will discuss Lucretia Mott and the Seneca Falls Convention.

Mott, a Quaker minister who was dubbed by fellow suffragists as the “moving spirit” of the 1848 women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, may have been one of the most famous, yet little known, figures in the suffragist movement.

Faulkner, whose specialty is 19th-century America, U.S. women, gender, sexuality and social movements, received a Ph.D. from Binghamton University. She is the author of several articles and books including, “Lucretia Mott’s Heresy: Abolition and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-Century America;” “Women in American History to 1880: A Documentary Reader,” and “Women’s Radical Reconstruction: The Freedmen’s Aid Movement.”

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and is free and open to the public. IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 East Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville. For more information, call 443-4846 or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu.

University College of Syracuse University has announced the newly named Talent and Education Development Center (TEDCenter) and the appointment of Karen DeJarnette as the center’s director.

Formerly the WorkKeys Center, the TEDCenter will provide programming to support the workforce needs of businesses and the career development opportunities for individuals in Central New York and across the state. The TEDCenter will use a variety of delivery methods to provide both credit and noncredit programs and certifications. Working closely with employers and regional organizations to understand their critical business requirements, the center will create customized and onsite programs and certificate offerings in order to bring skilled workers into closer alignment with the needs of public and private sectors.

DeJarnette’s role will include evaluating program needs, determining the strategic fit for new programs, identifying and sourcing needed resources, delivering programming and ascertaining its effectiveness.

The CNY Regional Economic Development Council Strategic Plan reports that talent shortages in areas such as engineering, information technologies and medical care compel businesses to expand outside of the region. This trend has negatively impacted economic growth and employment, a trend the TEDCenter hopes to have a role in reversing.

“We have long heard employers say they are unable to find employees with the skills the business needs to be competitive,” says DeJarnette. “University College’s investment in the TEDCenter will help us close that gap.”

DeJarnette brings a collaborative approach to her work at University College, having gained a broad perspective on the diversity of both national and global markets and customers throughout her career. She was the director of Workforce Development for Empire State Development Corp. prior to joining the TEDCenter team. DeJarnette also worked at the Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY), serving as the vice president of training and corporate development, and before that, worked at Carrier Corp. She was also an adjunct professor at SU’s School of Information Studies.

DeJarnette earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and master’s degrees in business administration and information management from SU.

At the Feb. 2 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP), Pam Hyland, CEO of Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Inc., will provide an overview of the first 100 years of Girl Scouts from a Central New York perspective, as well as a glimpse of the next 100 years. The Girl Scouts of America was established in March 1912.

Prior to her position as CEO of Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Inc., Hyland served as vice president of direct services at Girl Scouts in South Carolina for nine years; in mainland Japan, Okinawa and Korea for three years, and at other locations throughout the U.S. She holds a bachelor’s degree in recreation from the University of Northern Colorado and a master’s degree in adult education from Virginia Tech University.

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and is free and open to the public. IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 East Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville. For more information, call 315-443-4846 or email cmkarlho@syr.edu.

At the Jan. 19 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP), Jeffrey Stonecash, a professor of political science at the Maxwell School, will provide his perspective on the 2012 election and the alternative realities of Democrats and Republicans.

Stonecash received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. His specialty is American political parties and electoral behavior.

He is the author/contributor of several books and articles, including “Counter Realignment: Political Change in the Northeast” (with Howard L. Reiter: Cambridge, 2011); “New Directions in Party Politics, Editor” (Routledge, 2010); and “The Dynamics of the American Party System” (with Mark D. Brewer: Cambridge, 2009).

Stonecash’s research projects include: Party Pursuits and Connecting Presidential-House Elections, 1900-2008; The Battle Over Personal Responsibility and Political Polarization; Legislative Careers and Realignment; and The Role of Class in American Politics.

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and is free and open to the public. IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville.