For any musician, making a New York debut is a big deal. To be a college student and make a New York debut, that is huge.
Four Bluffton University students made their New York debut Oct. 21 with a piano recital in historic Steinway Hall. Pianists Brandon Fullenkamp, a senior from Wapakoneta, Stephanie Patterson, a junior from Findlay, and Tim Yoder, a junior from Dalton, performed alongside Dr. Lucia Unrau, professor and chair of music. Fullenkamp debuted a piece composed by fellow student James Brake, a junior from Ohio City.
Floyd C. Dickman, a children's literature specialist, will present "Outstanding Picture Books of 2010" on Thursday, Nov. 4, in the Kreider Room of Bluffton University's Marbeck Center.
Free and open to the public, identical hour-long sessions will begin at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sessions for Bluffton third-grade and home-schooled students will be held in the same room at 10:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
Crystal Wilkinson, author of the short story collections Blackberries, Blackberries and Water Street, will give a public reading at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1, in Bluffton University's Musselman Library.
Wilkinson, a faculty member in the Master of Fine Arts writing program at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky., is currently a visiting professor and writer in residence at Morehead (Ky.) State University.
Bluffton University graduate Todd Crail will present a Bluffton Forum, "From Nowhere to Naturalist: An Interpretive History of Mr. Todd Crail," at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2, in Founders Hall.
Amanda Sensenig, assistant professor of psychology at Bluffton University, will discuss her dissertation research on multiple-choice testing at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, in Stutzman Lecture Hall in Centennial Hall. The colloquium is free and open to the public.
The presentation will focus on test taking and whether it can help improve memory for the specific areas of information being tested. Sensenig will outline research she did at Colorado State University, as well as some related general findings that others have published.
Scott Sundberg, director of communications at Mennonite Disaster Service, will speak Tuesday, Nov. 9, at a Bluffton University Forum titled "Disasters Are Like the Poor: A Look at the Response, Responsibility, Resources and Respect from a MDS and Anabaptist Perspective." Beginning at 11 a.m. in Founders Hall, the event is free and open to the public.
