{"id":49877,"date":"2019-10-25T13:43:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T18:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=49877"},"modified":"2019-10-25T13:43:54","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T18:43:54","slug":"%ef%bb%bffhsu-celebrates-the-bickles-and-their-support-of-the-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=49877","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffFHSU celebrates the Bickles and their support of the university"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Hayley Bieker
<\/strong> FHSU Foundation
<\/em> Don and Chris Bickle have long been known for their philanthropy and support of Fort Hays State University. A reception earlier this week in FHSU\u2019s Center for Applied Technology celebrated the couples latest $1 million commitment to the university.

The majority of their gift will support Tiger Athletics, which will continue to propel FHSU\u2019s student-athletes and programs to success. The remainder of their gift will support:

\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Robotics program within FHSU\u2019s Department of Applied Technology
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Their lifetime support of Fort Hays State University\u2019s Alumni Association
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0FHSU President Tisa Mason in support of her strategic plan for the university

Their gift to the president\u2019s strategic initiatives fund will help fuel the success of FHSU\u2019s strategic plan for years to come

\u201cWe are here to honor Don and Chris Bickle \u2013 some of our most loyal and generous supporters to Fort Hays State University,\u201d said Jason Williby, president and CEO of the FHSU Foundation. \u201cI want to express our humble gratitude for their loyalty and commitment, but also for their ongoing support and encouragement, which permeates throughout our community.\u201d

\u201cYou\u2019ve supported Tiger Athletics in many ways over many years,\u201d added Curtis Hammeke, director of FHSU Athletics. \u201cFrom the indoor training facility, which has meant so much to all of us, to the new video board, and your scholarship support. I could go on.\u201d

\u201cAs you know, we feel it\u2019s important to not just have nice facilities, or facilities that are as good as others, but we strive to have facilities that are even better,\u201d said Hammeke. \u201cRecruiting is the livelihood of our athletic program, and our facilities make a great difference in that recruitment process. I feel that this all leads back to making Hays the special community that it is, and Fort Hays State the special university that it is.\u201d

\u201cI\u2019m so very grateful for this opportunity to recognize the ongoing support of Don and Chris,\u201d said Dr. Melissa Hunsicker Walburn, interim dean of the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

\u201cSometimes we are challenged as educators to ask ourselves: \u2018Why do we do what we do? What is our why?,\u2019 \u201d she said. \u201cFor many of us, our answer is to fuel the passions of the next generation \u2013 \u00a0their curiosities, their imagination and their desire to explore the world around them. There\u2019s no doubt that this support from Don and Chris will create many, many opportunities, which would otherwise not be accessible to a great deal of FHSU students.\u201d

\u201cToday,\u201d she continued, \u201cI thank Don and Chris most specifically for their continued support of experiential world travel and the learning opportunities that would remain ideas and dreams rather than actual plane tickets and detailed itineraries. Thank you for your support of student travel, and for allowing our students the opportunity to learn from other cultures.\u201d

Cody Escritt, a graduate student from Nebraska, spoke on behalf of FHSU\u2019s robotics program.

\u201cI\u2019ve worked a lot with the robotics program here at Fort Hays State \u2013 throughout my undergraduate program in manufacturing and now in my graduate program as I\u2019m taking a course in advanced education through instructional technology,\u201d he said. \u201cI know I would not be where I\u2019m today without our robotics, without our phenomenal instructors and without your support. It\u2019s very important for students, like myself, to have this robot, this up-to-date technology, and to learn what it will be like in the field upon graduation.\u201d

\u201cI\u2019m here today to represent the Fort Hays State University Alumni Association,\u201d said Mike Koerner, vice president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

\u201cWe want to thank you for the many ways you\u2019ve helped our mission of developing positive life-long relationships between the university and our alumni, faculty, staff, friends and students,\u201d he said. \u201cFHSU\u2019s alumni events just wouldn\u2019t be the same without you running up and down the aisles singing the university\u2019s unofficial anthem \u2018In Heaven There is No Beer.\u2019\u201d

In typical Don Bickle fashion, he concluded the celebratory reception by leading the FHSU pep band, cheerleaders and mascot, Victor E. Tiger, in the university\u2019s unofficial anthem and fight song. Before long, the full crowd had joined Don in clapping and singing along.

Join Don and Chris Bickle in supporting the area(s) of campus that mean the most to you by visiting https:\/\/foundation.fhsu.edu\/donate<\/a>.

To learn more, visit https:\/\/foundation.fhsu.edu<\/a> or contact the FHSU Foundation at 785-628-5620 or foundation@fhsu.edu<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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