A successful fundraising year that ended June 30 helped Bluffton University achieve annual financial objectives and move forward with construction of a new, 60,000-square-foot building.
During the 2011-12 year, the university achieved a 15 percent increase in giving to the Bluffton Fund, surpassing its fundraising goal and providing the university with increased gift revenue for annual operations and student financial aid.

Bluffton University has named public spaces in its new Sommer Center for Health and Fitness Education in honor of Tom and Helen Reichenbach (left) and Larry and Shirley Copeland (right).

Two public spaces in Bluffton University's soon-to-be-completed Sommer Center for Health and Fitness Education will be named for two couples who provided substantial financial support and volunteer leadership for "Extending Our Reach-The Campaign for Bluffton," which funded the new building.

Perry Bush

Dr. Perry Bush says his new book is about several things.
How Lima, Ohio, saved its oil refinery from closure by British Petroleum in the 1990s is the story of a city's fight and survival against long odds, says the Bluffton University history professor and author of "Rust Belt Resistance: How a Small Community Took on Big Oil and Won."

Marcus Meyers (center) receives his diploma and congratulations from Dr. James Harder, Bluffton University president, during Bluffton's commencement ceremony on May 6. Aiding Meyers is one of his 2011-12 personal care assistants on campus, fellow student Evan Skilliter.

Bluffton University's small size and Christian atmosphere were among the selling points that brought Marcus Meyers to campus as a transfer student in fall 2010.
But after arriving, the Holland, Ohio, resident also saw something else, not obvious to most students, that he says made his two years at Bluffton a life-changing experience.

Bluffton University will offer two mathematics workshops Aug. 7-9 for middle and high school math teachers and intervention specialists.
July 30 is the registration deadline for both "Become a Master Teacher in Middle School Ratio and Proportional Thinking," taught by Marilyn Link, a retired teacher from Coldwater, Ohio, and "205 Things That Every High School Mathematics Teacher Should Know." That course will be taught by Duane Bollenbacher, a 30-year high school teacher and now an adjunct faculty member at Bluffton.

Single-event tickets go on sale Friday, July 20, for the 2012-13 Bluffton University Artist Series, featuring The Alley Cats, the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, pianist Alexander Schimpf, the Petar Jankovic Ensemble and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.

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