With economist and housing expert Karl “Chip” Case, the popular Lunchtime Lectures at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center starts another season on Monday, Oct. 3, 12 noon to 1.30 pm, at the ICC at 50 Warren St. in downtown Lowell. Case is the co-author of the highly regarded Case-Shiller Index, the leading measure of home prices in the US. He will discuss the relationship between home prices and the economy. He is professor emeritus of Economics at Wellesley College and has many other prestigious affiliations.

The talk is free and open to the public, but a reservation is required for this program because a light lunch buffet is provided. Seating is limited to 100 persons. To reserve a place, please send email to artsandideas@uml.edu or call 978-934-3107 (Paul_Marion@uml.edu).

The series is co-sponsored by the venerable Moses Greeley Parker Lectures, UMass Lowell, Middlesex Community College, Prof. Bill Mass of the UML Center for Industrial Competitiveness, and the Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL).

Future programs in the series include “What to Look for in the 2012 Presidential Primaries,” a panel discussion among media and political experts moderated by UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan on Nov. 7, and author Jane Brox’s presentation on “Writing About Place: Local to Global” on April 23, 2012.