Channing Blickenstaff papers

Channing Blount Blickenstaff was born in Lafayette, Indiana, on October 8, 1934, to Earl Metzger and Barbara Mary Blickenstaff. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in 1956. He married Janet Frazier on December 23, 1956. They had two children, Barbara and Marianne.

Blickenstaff served in the US Army from 1956-1958 during the Korean War. He then returned to Purdue to pursue his graduate studies, earning his MS in Education in 1961 and completing his PhD in 1965. Blickenstaff joined the faculty at Purdue in 1964 and began teaching Spanish as the Assistant Head of the Department of Foreign Languages. In 1965-66 he was the first Resident Director of the IU-Purdue Program in Madrid, which would grow to include the University of Wisconsin. The "WIP" program has now been in operation for over 60 years.

Blickenstaff became assistant dean in 1971 before accepting a position as the Executive Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School in 1979. 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. Blickenstaff was also a member of the American Society of Composers and the American Choral Directors Association.

Sources: https://tcpl.lib.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2003-01-tcpl-newsletter.pdf https://prabook.com/web/channing_blount.blickenstaff/432271 https://overseas.iu.edu/docs/WIPMadridProgramHistory.pdf