Blickenstaff, Channing Blount, 1934-

Dates

• Existence: October 8, 1934 -

Biographical Information

Channing Blickenstaff grew up and graduated from high school in Frankfort, Indiana in 1952. Blickenstaff met his wife in high school, and they married after his graduation. In high school, Blickenstaff played piano and trumpet, and joined Purdue’s Marching Band and Symphonic Band directed by Spotts Emerick. Neal Armstrong was a fellow band member. He graduated from Purdue in 1956 with a degree in economics, and then served in the US Army from 1956-1958 during the Korean War. He returned to Purdue for graduate study in Spanish, receiving his MA in 1961 and his PhD in 1965, and joined the faculty of the then Modern Languages Department at Purdue as an Associate Professor.

He attended the 1960 Summer Institute run by the National Defense Act. Blickenstaff served as Assistant Department Head and was Director of the new Foreign Study Program. He then became Assistant Dean of Humanities and went on to serve as Assistant Dean in the Graduate School. As a Spanish professor, he worked with the new audio-lingual approach to foreign language instruction and started Purdue’s first study-abroad program. As Assistant Dean he oversaw the fellowships office, also managing the awards of research grants. He retired from Purdue in 1984.

After retirement, Blickenstaff and his wife increased their volunteer work, especially at the Tippecanoe County Public Library. Blickenstaff had also served as a consultant to the West Lafayette Public Schools and served with the Lafayette Volunteer Bureau from 1973-2006. He received their Excellence in Community Service Award in 2004. He started a swing band, the Cherry Lane Dudes. Blickenstaff was also a member of the American Society of Composers and the American Choral Directors Association.

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