LEWISBURG, Pa. — These are Bucknell University story ideas that may interest you in September.
SELLER’S MARKET SLOWDOWN – “There’s no question that the market has slowed down a bit,” says Stephen O’Connor, the professor of practice in real estate in Bucknell’s Freeman College of Management, “but we’re still very much in a seller’s market.” While talk of a housing bubble has entered the national conversation, O’Connor, who studies the economics of housing markets, isn’t as bearish. “We’re seeing prices moderate, as the double-digit price appreciation we’ve experienced over the past year is simply not sustainable. But as long as interest rates and the available supply of housing remain at historic lows, a major correction in the foreseeable future is unlikely.” Is there anything on the horizon that could change the short-term outlook? “Inflation,” says O’Connor, “which would move interest rates higher. Although if that happens, it could also move buyers that are now sitting on the sidelines, exhausted from the price wars over the past year, to jump back into the market on the fear of not knowing how high rates might climb.” The bottom line, according to O’Connor, “I think we’re coming down on the other side of the peak. But absent something unforeseen, I don’t think the slope will be very steep.” CONTACT: O’Connor, 570-577-1372, stephen.oconnor@bucknell.edu
REMEMBERING 9/11 AT 20 — Bucknell will hold a campus commemoration service on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m. in the Rooke Chapel Memorial Grove. The leadership of Panhellenic Council has been the primary planning group for the event, which will feature Bucknell President John Bravman offering remarks. The University’s Conservatives Club is also planning to put out American flags by the Elaine Langone Center, which it does annually.. CONTACTS: Rev. Kurt Nelson, director, Religious & Spiritual Life, 570-577-1183, kurt.nelson@bucknell.edu; Brent Papson, director, campus activities and student media, 570-577-1168, brent.papson@bucknell.edu
CHASING FIREFLIES THROUGH ART — Nigerian Ambassador for the Arts Ibiyinka Alao — an artist, filmmaker and author from the African nation — will visit Bucknell next week for a week-long science and art residency funded by a National Science Foundation award to Professors Sarah Lower, biology, and Doug Collins, chemistry, to study North American firefly species. The University will host a reception for Alao on Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Class Gift Patio/Tent behind Bertrand Library and to the side of Academic West. At the reception, Alao will tell his story and showcase his glow-in-the-dark luminescent paintings featuring fireflies. Light refreshments will be served. In collaboration with Lower and Collins, the Lewisburg Children’s Museum will also welcome Alao for “Firefly Supernova: Art Workshop and Experience” on Friday, Sept. 10 from 4 to 5 p.m. In the workshop, children will explore the fascinating world of fireflies, bioluminescence and light and shadow. Ibiyinka won first place in the United Nations Population Fund’s International Art Competition. As a little boy growing up in Nigeria, he enjoyed catching fireflies and looking up at stars, which inspires his work. His fireflies painting Eternity in our Hearts is the inspiration for the 2016 award winning Scholastic published children’s book Ibi’s Fireflies. His paintings have been exhibited at The National Museum of Nigeria, the Harvard Business School, the Indianapolis Art Center and the Martin Luther King Art Center, as well as the Empire State Building, among others. Alao will return to Bucknell for a longer residency in 2024. CONTACTS: Sarah Lower, 570-577-3145, s.lower@bucknell.edu; Doug Collins, 570-577-3683, d.collins@bucknell.edu
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CONTACT: Mike Ferlazzo, 570-577-3212, 570-238-6266 (c), mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.edu