{"id":65624,"date":"2022-06-23T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=65624"},"modified":"2022-06-20T11:22:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T16:22:29","slug":"%ef%bb%bffhsu-at-120-a-legacy-of-massive-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=65624","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffFHSU at 120: A legacy of massive moments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In June 1902, Theodore Roosevelt was president. The Wizard of Oz opened as a musical in Chicago. And on June 23 of that year, 57 students attended the first day of classes in the infirmary building on the grounds of the former military outpost, Fort Hays. Few could have predicted the extraordinary journey of service, innovation and persistence that would follow for what was then known as the Western Branch of the Kansas State Normal School. As we celebrate our blessings on this 120th<\/sup> anniversary, I thought I would share some massive moments that have shaped our journey.
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humble beginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress introduced legislation in 1900 to transfer the abandoned military reservation in Hays to the State of Kansas to establish the Western Branch of the State Normal School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independence Day in Hays<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state legislature severed the\nHays branch from Emporia as part of a more extensive restructuring, thus\nchanging the name to Fort Hays Kansas Normal School on March 6, 1914. Thus,\nbegan FHSU\u2019s substantial growth in enrollment, facilities, and, most\nimportantly, in the scope of our academic and cultural mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building the academy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focusing on building a faculty of scholars and researchers, in March 1927, George Sternberg, the noted fossil hunter and geologist joined the faculty. Discovering the fish within the fish brought international attention to our research prominence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new name and an expanded\nrole<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Bill No. 487 authorized a\nname change to Fort Hays Kansas State College in 1931. More importantly, we\nrecognized a much broader role for the institution advancing from a normal\nschool to a liberal arts institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1980s, FHSU received a\nTitle III Strengthening Institution Grant for $2,423,567 that provided major\nIBM mainframe computing equipment for FHSU, laying the foundation for a new\nhigh-tech\/high-touch learning environment. Today, we are pioneering a\nuniversity digital master plan, one of the first in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rise of a basketball\npowerhouse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1984 and 1985, the men\u2019s basketball team won back-to-back NAIA national championships. The women won the NAIA national title in 1991. Five years later, the 1995-96 men\u2019s team won the NCAA Division II national championship to complete a perfect 34-0 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanded financial freedom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1999-2000, the Kansas Board of Regents\u00a0<\/strong>secured a change to the established tuition\u00a0<\/strong>model to allow each university to keep any\u00a0<\/strong>tuition and fees collected. Other institutions\u00a0<\/strong>used this new authority to raise tuition. FHSU launched an affordability advantage\u00a0<\/strong>mission that drove enrollment and expanded\u00a0<\/strong>access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction of online\nlearning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education at a distance began in\n1911, with <\/strong>coursework\noffered by mail. Highly successful, <\/strong>the\nprogram grew year by year, developing new <\/strong>techniques\nand adopting new technology. In <\/strong>1977,\nthe Division of Continuing Education <\/strong>emerged,\nlater becoming the Virtual College. <\/strong>The\nfirst online courses were offered in 1998, <\/strong>and the first full-degree programs\nstarted in <\/strong>1999.\nThe ability to provide online classes was <\/strong>a\ngame-changer for the university. Today we a<\/strong>re\nonly one of six universities in the world to <\/strong>earn the United States Distance\nLearning <\/strong>Association\u2019s\nrigorous 91-point quality <\/strong>certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East meets west <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FHSU established a partnership with Zhengzhou\u00a0<\/strong>Sias University to offer four-year degrees in\u00a0<\/strong>China in 1999. FHSU has granted degrees to\u00a0<\/strong>more than 12,000 Chinese graduates at two\u00a0<\/strong>partner universities in China –Sias University\u00a0<\/strong>and Shenyang Normal University. Today, our students represent more than 30 countries and a growing number of educational partnerships in Bolivia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Senegal and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military partnerships<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our long history of serving military-connected\u00a0<\/strong>students included an Army ROTC program\u00a0<\/strong>(1980-1987). With the increase in distance\u00a0<\/strong>learning in the late 1990s, FHSU began to\u00a0<\/strong>deliver education to military students across the\u00a0<\/strong>nation, joining the Navy College Program\u00a0<\/strong>Distance Learning Partnership in 2001. Today\u00a0<\/strong>we serve every branch of the military. Over the\u00a0<\/strong>past three years, we have launched the\u00a0<\/strong>Associate of Applied Science (AAS) \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Technology & Leadership (2019), the Transfer &\u00a0<\/strong>Military Center (2020), and the Kansas Army\u00a0<\/strong>National Guard Officer Candidate School\u00a0<\/strong>Program (2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding the regional\nreach of FHSU affordability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, we expanded our commitment\u00a0<\/strong>to providing high-quality and accessible education,\u00a0<\/strong>making a bold move to redefine the meaning of\u00a0<\/strong>regional tuition. We now offer in-state tuition to students from 13 states across a swath of the central United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FHSU today is a regional comprehensive public university where determined, innovative and caring faculty and staff share a deep commitment to teaching and mentoring students. This commitment, established and built upon for 120 years, will continue to guide us forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission remains relentlessly\nfocused on developing the engaged global-citizen leaders our world needs today.\nThis singular focus has been the principal driver of our success for more than\n120 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FHSU consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the American Midwest. A remarkable 95% of FHSU students secure jobs or higher-education opportunities after graduation. Employers tell us the combination of challenging academic programs, close faculty\/student relationships, and the abundance of experiential learning opportunities our students enjoy while at FHSU set our students apart in a competitive job market worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout our history, the quality of our academic programs, our unmatched affordability, and generations of caring and supportive people have been the hallmarks of the Fort Hays State University experience. On this 120th<\/sup> anniversary of the founding of our university, I continue to marvel at the remarkable Tiger Nation we\u2019ve all built. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tisa Mason is president of Fort Hays State University.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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