Student Research

The Bluffton history department firmly believes in the merits of undergraduate research and practical work in the field. Not only are various internships available to students, but they also have participated in the following special research opportunities:

Student Summer Historian Research Grants:  In past years, the history department has awarded research grants of $1,500 each to two Bluffton students to conduct historical reasearch during the summer. Funded by the Pathways program and open to all majors, these research grants allow students to engage in significant primary research into the history of a minority community in Northwest Ohio. Overseen by Dr. Perry Bush, these grants ask students to complete research into a topic of their own choosing and then write up their findings in a paper which will also be presented publicly at some occasion in the following academic year. In the past two years, these grants have been awarded to:

  • Marissa Semon, in 2005, for her research into the history of the African American community in Sandusky, Ohio;
  • Sarah Ricks, in 2006, for her historical exploration of the African American experience on the south side of Lima, Ohio.
  • Cody McPherson, in 2007, for his research paper, America vs Native Americans
  • Cyrus Weigand, in 2007, for his research paper, The Development of an Industry and its Inhabitants: The Midwest Rubber Workers
  • Brendan Haggerty, in 2007, for his research paper, From the South, to the City, to Segregated Suburbs: Black Sububanization in Cleveland's Westside 

The Technology Learning Circles Program:  in 1999-2000, as the history department’s contribution to this campus-wide program, four history majors worked closely with Dr. Perry Bush in collaborative research on the history of a historic neighborhood in Lima, Ohio, its Old North End. The research team displayed its work to the public through an extensive web-site.

Student participation in professional conferences:
In September 2006, three senior history majors – Jacob Kovach, Joel Koerner and Neil Yoder – presented papers on various aspects of German and Italian Fascism to the undergraduate student section of the biennial meeting of the Conference on Faith and History, meeting at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla. These students initially completed their papers as part of the coursework for History 350, Senior Research Seminar. Their travel, accommodations and all other conference expenses were underwritten by the Pathways program.

Conference on Faith and History, Oklahoma Baptist University, Fall 2006

(From Left to Right): Neil Yoder, Joel Koerner, Perry Bush, Bill Trollinger and Jacob Kovach 

Jacob Kovach on Feb. 20, 2007, presented his departmental honors paper, "Free Speech Under Attack: The Sedition Legislation 1917-18 and the USA Patriot Act of 2001" at Heidelberg College's Minds at Work Student Research Conference. This conference included presentations by students from several colleges and universities in northwest Ohio.