City cancels Sumner University this year

Yearly program that offers residents a primer on city government is canceled for the first time

Roxanne Cooke

City officials have cancelled Sumner University this year because not enough people signed up for the two-night program.

Sumner University provides locals a primer on city government and has been hosted yearly since 2001.

The program requires at least 60 participants, but only 16 had signed up by Tuesday, April 22, said Sally Abrams, the administrative specialist in charge of coordinating Sumner University. Normally there is a waiting list by this time.

“It’s very unusual,” she said. “We’re sad to do it. Everybody loves to come to Sumner University. It always has been successful.”

Some of the residents who did sign up this year were from last year’s waiting list, or they were from the group of regulars who attend every year, Abrams said.

The lack of registrations probably occurred because the program was planned for later in the year than usual, she said. In the past, it has been hosted in February or early March. This year it was pushed to April because of staff schedules.

It’s also possible that other things are on people’s minds, now that it’s spring, Abrams said.

Plus, the Sumner Police Department is currently hosting Citizen’s Academy, a similar program that teaches residents about law enforcement.

Advertisement for the program was the same as previous years — found in residents’ utility bills, on the city’s Web site and in flyers sent out to previous students, she said.

“We did all the normal things,” Abrams said.

The city plans to host it again next year, likely in February or March, she said.

“It wasn’t in our best interest to hold it (this year),” Abrams said.

Sumner University focuses on local history, city government and traditions and consists of a number of lectures.

It’s free and open to the public. Subjects that were planned for this year’s program included historic preservation, marketing and zoning.

The program was first hosted in 1995 and was brought back every two years until 2001. It gained so much popularity that city staff decided to host it yearly after that point.