Deep roots, broad horizons: Celebrate Harpur Week 2026
Diverse series of events to showcase the University’s oldest and largest school
Celebrate all things Harpur during Harpur College Week, which runs from Nov. 1 to 7 on the Binghamton University campus. This year’s theme is “Deep Roots, Broad Horizons,” reflecting the breadth and depth that mark Harpur’s liberal arts mission.
The historical and intellectual heart of Binghamton University, Harpur College of Arts and Sciences has close to 10,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. It’s also the most academically diverse, with 40 academic departments, 48 undergraduate degree programs, and 44 graduate programs in the School of the Arts, natural sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and more.
Harpur Week provides opportunities for students to learn more about all that Harpur offers. Events are open to the entire campus community. Some may have attendance limits; students should register through B-Engaged. For an official list of events and to register, visit the website.
One extra special event: We’re planting a tree! To recognize Binghamton University’s 80th anniversary, Harpur is dedicating a white oak on the Spine, outside the Library Tower. Join Harpur Dean Celia Klin and University President Anne D’Alleva for the 1 p.m. ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Weeklong events
Throughout Harpur Week, experience Yixuan Pan’s exhibit “Ice Cold: Studies on Glass” in the Elsie B. Rosefsky Memorial Art Gallery, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And make sure to Hydrate with Harpur daily from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, in the LN 1105 lobby, with your choice of flavored water, hot apple cider, tea, or cocoa.
Sunday, Nov. 1
Get a jump-start on Harpur Week by taking a crash course on communications planning and SEO through Harpur Edge, from 1 to 5 p.m. Or, join the Psychology Department from 1 to 4 p.m. for Open Research Day in Science IV. Guests will have the opportunity to take guided lab tours of different psychology labs that study how people think and learn from early development to healthy aging, as well as participate in hands-on activities for all ages.
Enjoy the music of late Renaissance composer John Dowland in a faculty recital featuring Paul Sweeny on guitar and lute, soprano Christina Taylor, Barbara Kaufman on recorder, and Andrew Walkling on cello from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Casadesus Recital Hall. From 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Lecture Hall 6, watch Charlotte Zhang’s 2025 film Tycoon in an event sponsored by Harpur Cinema.
Monday, Nov. 2
Join Coordinator of Religious Studies Douglas Jones at noon in LT 1310 for “Religion and Paradox: The Backrooms of Heaven's Gate,” a discussion of how new and controversial religious movements make sense of failed prophecy. From 1 to 3 p.m., enjoy coffee, tea, treats, and conversation with the Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies program as part of Café con LACAS, the Día de los Muertos edition.
Get your groove on from 2 to 3 p.m. in UU 111 with Bearcat Bash, a pop-up dance party sponsored by the Theatre Department. Or, learn more about the Writing Center during an open house from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Library North 2411, chat with faculty and students over pizza during the Sociology Social Hour from 3 to 4 p.m. in Library Tower 310, or drop in at the Art History Student/Faculty Mixer from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Fine Arts 218. Finally, join Binghamton University’s undergraduate literary magazine, Triple Cities, to read your poetry, creative nonfiction, or fiction during an open mic session from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge.
Tuesday, Nov. 3
In addition to the Oak Tree dedication at 1 p.m. on the Spine, you can join the Earth Sciences Department for tips on writing a personal statement for graduate school applications at 5 p.m. in Science I Room 162.
You have three different events to choose from in the 6 p.m. slot: celebrate the Multicultural Day of the Dead with the Department of Romance Languages in APP 111, learn German in 90 Minutes with the German and Russian Studies Department in CW 212, or join Middle Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (MEAMS) for The Odyssey in 24 Minutes.
End your day on a cultural note with Music NOW! at 7:30 p.m. in the Casadesus Recital Hall. Members of the Binghamton University Composition Studio will present new compositions.
Wednesday, Nov. 4
Wednesday is Harpur Pride Day, and we have a lot going on! Wear your Harpur gear, stop by the Harpur Edge table from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Mandela Room, and you may win a $50 gift card! You can also celebrate Harpur pride by visiting the Harpur Week Pop-Up Shop from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Union lobby, and pick up products made by Harpur students.
Fresh off his national speaking tour, History Professor Robert Parkinson will answer any and all questions undergraduates may have about the frustrations and grievances that led to the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago during “The Declaration of Independence at 250: Everything you ever wanted to know, but were afraid to ask” from 11 a.m. to noon at the fountain outside the Library.
Head over to the Majors, Minors and Munchies Advising Fair from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Mandela Room to explore the many fields of study available at Harpur College. Also, the Chemistry Outreach Program (ChOP) will host an information event from noon to 5 p.m. in the Science II lobby. Or, learn how to get involved with Harpur Undergraduate Research during a panel discussion from 2 to 3 p.m. in UUW 325.
Spend an evening with novelist and Professor Amir Amahdi Arian and TRIP doctoral student Azadeh Eriss, who is translating his novel from Persian, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Old O’Connor Hall’s Alumni Lounge. The Center for Israel Studies will screen the documentary Dead Sea Guardians at 5 p.m. in the IASH Room. At 6 p.m., make or paint a fish friend in CW 324 during the Deep Ocean Craft Night, sponsored by the Marine Science Club.
Thursday, Nov. 5
Thursday features a pair of lectures by respected scholars. The 36th annual Bernardo Lecture runs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Old Chaplain Atrium; University of Vermont History Professor Sean L. Field will discuss “Margherita Colonna: A Religious Rebel in 13th-Century Rome.” At 5 p.m. in the Old O’Connor Alumni Lounge, David Wellbery — 1969 alum and a leading scholar of German literature, thought, and culture — will deliver the Larry Wells Memorial Lecture on “Hamlet and Faust: On the Anthropology of Tragedy.”
Catch the Social Justice Club Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. in Academic A Conference Room 340, snack and chat with Binghamton University Art Museum curator Joseph Leach at Cookies and Curators from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Lower Galleries, or enjoy dinner and a Mel Brooks movie with the Department of Judaic Studies from 7 to 10 p.m. Finally, join a masterclass with tenor Stuart Skelton from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Osterhout Concert Theater.
Friday, Nov. 6
Get moving with an Afro-Cuban dance masterclass from noon to 2 p.m. in Fine Arts Room 104, or join a second masterclass with tenor Stuart Skelton from 3 to 5 p.m. at Tri-Cities Opera on Clinton Street in Binghamton.
From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Science I Room 162, it’s Earth Sciences Craft and Cookies Night — open to everyone, regardless of major. Bring a laptop and meet your next alumni mentor during Make a Mentor Match from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Benet Alumni Lounge. Finally, end your night with a showing of the 2022 Xun Sero film MOM (Mamá), starting at 7:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 6.
Saturday, Nov. 7
The weekend kicks off with the Binghamton Audubon Society’s Biweekly Bird Walk, from 9 to 11 a.m.; meet in the M lot gazebo.
You can also pick from three Harpur Edge crash courses, all from 1 to 5 p.m., on graphic design, social media content strategies, and public speaking. Finally, hear acclaimed tenor Stuart Skelton sing in a 7:30 p.m. performance in the Osterhout Concert Theatre.
Sunday, Nov. 8
We love Harpur Week so much that we’re adding an unofficial last day! Students in Assistant Professor of Theatre Lisa Rothe’s Directing I class will direct public readings of four short plays by contemporary playwrights. We’re Not OK: The 2026 Short Play Reading Festival will run from 6 to 7 p.m. in Fine Arts Studio B.