Bluffton University

Jacob Buchanan, M’Della Moon endowed chair in botany and environmental science, will present the Colloquium, “The influence of environmental and biotic filters on prairie pothole community dynamics” at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 in Centennial Hall’s Stutzman Lecture Hall.

During the presentation, Buchanan will discuss a subset of his dissertation.

The prairie pothole region is a massive wetland complex in north-central North America. This region is characterized by gentle rolling hills dotted with millions of small wetlands called prairie potholes. These wetlands support aquatic insects and crustaceans adapted to a harsh climate and seasonal availability of surface water. Buchanan will discuss the relative influence of temperature, disturbance, organismal movements and predation on the behavior of these communities.

This event is free and open to the public.

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During the annual State of the University Forum, President Jane Wood announced a major gift from the estate of an alumnus, explained how the state of each student directly impacts the state of the university and shared successes from the past year.

To a round of applause, President Wood revealed a $1.8 million unrestricted gift from the estate of John and Erma Stutzman. A 1950 graduate, John Stutzman was a urologist and lifelong Bluffton supporter.

Connecting the announcement to the main theme, Wood shared the verse Luke 12:48 “To whom much is given, much is expected,” while reminding students how, just as it did for the Stutzman’s, their college education can inspire a lifetime of learning, serving and giving back.