Bluffton alumna to address aging, wellness in Carl Smucker Lecture
Dr. Elaine Ragsdale Schott, a professor and former director of the School of Social Work at Grand Valley State University, will discuss aging and wellness during a Bluffton University Forum at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 20, in Yoder Recital Hall.
"Vintage Status: Shock, Awe and Awesome!" is the title of Schott's presentation, which is free and open to the public.
Schott, who earned a bachelor's degree in social work from Bluffton in 1966, is currently serving as interim director of the social work school at Grand Valley State, located in Grand Rapids, Mich.
She is a licensed master social worker who holds a master's degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. In 2004, she was among 35 professionals and educators from the United States and the United Kingdom who were invited to present at the Oxford Round Table at Oxford University in England.
Schott's Bluffton presentation is also the university's annual Smucker Lecture. The lecture series, which brings significant contributors to the field of social work to speak on campus, is named for Carl Smucker, who taught social work at Bluffton for 34 years beginning in 1944.
Stories Posted This Week
Sunday, September 13, 2026
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Friday, September 11, 2026
- Mennonite Home Communities provide backup phone numbers during outage
- Pirate volleyball wins in four vs. Elmwood
- Howard Thornsberry worked in the produce industry
- Pirate girls soccer silenced by Bath
- Pirate boys soccer nipped by Liberty-Benton
- September 11 Bluffton High School athletics lineup, streaming
- Sept. 12 Open Doors offers sneak peek at future Bluffton museum space
- Innovation Forum challenges leaders to think deeper about AI
- Invitation to Sept 15 Bluffton Lions program with Dr. William H. Kose
- Deer archery hunting begins Sept. 12 in Disease Surveillance Area
Thursday, September 10, 2026
- Women in Business program with Positive Nutrition
- It's time for Fall Storytime at the Bluffton Public Library
- Pirate girls golf win vs. Lima Central Catholic
- Pirate boys golf splits NWC tri
- Bluffton PTO is collecting Community Markets receipts
- Richland Twp. trustees hire mower and Zoning Inspector
- Schumacher Homestead plans a farm full of Fall Fest activities
- Hindsight is 20/20: Recent reports for RSV, flu, and COVID-19
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
- Darrell Lee Diller, 92, managed a farming business
- Bluffton alumni will discuss pathways to chaplaincy
- Beaverdam cleanup day is Sept. 12
- Pirate boys golf 3rd at NWC quad
- Pirate volleyball outlasts Arlington
- Pirate girls soccer blanks Crestview
- Pirate boys soccer tie vs. Kalida
- Letter: The future of American agriculture
- Maple Grove Cemetery records now online