K A N S A S W E S L E YA N U N I V E R S I T Y
CONTACT Fall/Winter 2023
Building on Success
Record-Breaking Enrollment Sets the Stage for KWU’s Future Part of the largest first-year class and overall enrollment in school history participates in an activity during Move-In Week 2023.
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2023
A message from
President Matt Thompson
Reflections on what it means to be a Coyote
Kansas Wesleyan University Fall 2023 Contact is the official magazine of Kansas Wesleyan University and is published by the KWU Office of Marketing and Communications. Managing Editor: Brad Salois Design: Jean Kozubowski Theresa Stevens Writing Assistance: Bob Davidson Jean Kozubowski Skylar Nelson ’21 Brad Salois Photo Credits: Ashley Bissell ’24 Karen Bonar Tanner Colvin ’11 Jean Kozubowski Skylar Nelson ’21 Editorial Assistance: Kris Heck Executive Vice President of Advancement, Admissions and Marketing Ken Oliver Send address changes to: Advancement Office 100 E. Claflin Ave. Salina, KS 67401 alumni@kwu.edu 2 785-833-4392 CONTACT Fall 2023
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What an incredible few months we’ve had – record enrollment, $12 million of campus construction projects, and full accreditation certifications for our teacher education, nursing and social work programs! For these and so many other reasons, it is clear to see why KWU has become “the place to be.” But if you are reading this note, you likely have known that for quite some time. Kansas Wesleyan is a special place. It is the ability for us to provide The Power of AND — classroom AND experiential learning; campus AND community; arts AND athletics. However, there is more to KWU. What are some of the takeaways from the things that make us unique? I would like to offer three. First, we exercise wisdom, particularly in our view of the future. We are especially proud of how our recent efforts have built a pathway upon which Kansas Wesleyan can succeed for decades to come. Our record enrollment this fall shows that students and their families believe in this place. Giving by alumni and friends prove they believe in this place, too. Second, being a Coyote means that we recognize the importance of those who have come before, whether it’s long-serving faculty like Dr. Dorothy Hanna, Dr. Anita Specht or Prof. Bryan Minnich, who will retire this year, or alumnae like Diane Davis ’73 and Della Schwindt ’89, who you’ll read about in this issue. Those who preceded us gave us tools to live into this moment. We are grateful for their contributions. Finally, being a Coyote means that we share common threads and that we are interconnected. This was brought to life when my family made a day trip in September. As many of you know, Kansas features a large number of unique roadside attractions. One of those is in Cawker City, about 85 miles from Kansas Wesleyan. Jen, Darcel and I drove there to see the World’s Largest Ball of Twine. We had a chance to meet the caretaker of
the twine, Linda Clover (pictured at left), a student at KWU in the 1960s. She, her husband and two sons all attended KWU. This chance meeting reminded me of the interconnected nature of the Coyote Pack. We have alumni in every state, and these individuals are doing great things. Here are a few examples: Jim Fletcher ’11, who serves the Salina community as the president of USD 305’s board; the five nurses from last year’s graduating class who took positions right here in our community, working at Salina Regional Health Center; Gus Applequist ’14, who was named at the Salina Business Hall of Fame as the Spirit of Salina; Genell Heimer ’10, who was named by the Salina Women of Achievement as an Emerging Leader. These are just a few Coyotes who are thriving in their professions and communities. They all are tied to their shared experiences here. It’s this sort of community that we’ve built, a community of individuals bonded together by this place, our beliefs, and our history. Thank you for being a part of this Pack! All the best,
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Matt Thompson, Ph.D., President and CEO P.S. Meet Schuyler (named for our famed president and the former campus dorm, referenced in the alma mater “the calls we made on Schuyler Hall”), the new director of Pawsitivity. While Schuyler lives with the Thompsons at Kirwin House, she comes to the Student Development Office every day. She has made great connections with students, faculty, and staff who stop by to pet her, play with her, or take her on walks.
Kansas Wesleyan thanks Nex-Tech for its support!
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Coyote Village nearly ready for move-in!
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When the highest enrollment in university history hit campus this fall, the completion of new housing became more important than ever. That completion is nearly here, as Coyote Village is set for a January 2024 opening. The village, announced at Homecoming and Family Weekend 2022, looks at student housing from a new angle. Unlike the traditional residence hall, Coyote Village is
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February 2023
July 2023
1. Digging begins to create room for the foundation of the tiny homes.
5. The homes are painted using some of the most popular house colors as reference.
April 2023 2. As framing of the homes continues, walls go up in multiple tiny houses.
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May 2023 3. Siding and windows go up on the houses. Inside, stairs to the upper floor are built.
June 2023
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4. Further progress is made on the interior of the tiny homes, including electric, plumbing and the addition of drywall.
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comprised of tiny homes that can house five students each. This configuration, aimed largely at upperclass students, gives Coyotes a pathway to independence by providing them with their own kitchens, bathrooms, bedroom spaces and more. These residences are learning experiences that will equip students to care for a home, cooking their own meals and collaborating with roommates.
August 2023 6. The homes are fitted with kitchen cabinets, bathroom fixtures and appliances. The crew begins work on the sidewalks that connect the houses.
September 2023 (Above) 7. One of the homes is open to tours during Family Weekend. Micah Crosley, KWU’s director of student housing, is pictured in the nearly complete kitchen of one of the tiny homes, Sept. 15. Fall 2023
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Applequist Family Music Center Opens! The Applequist Family Music Center — KWU’s renovated Music Department academic space — opened for student use Monday, Oct. 23! The space features numerous practice rooms, the Harold ’49 and Evelyn ’50 (Eisenhauer) Nelson Student Lounge, and improved acoustics, including soundproofing. Faculty offices have also moved into the Center as work continues on the remainder of the Music renovation.
View more photos of the Applequist Family Music Center opening here:
construction
Continues
Work is ongoing inside Sams Chapel and on the exterior of Pioneer Hall as construction continues on the Music renovation! Scan this QR code to see some of the latest photos from campus! 4 CONTACT
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Music plans concerts at community venues In a semester filled with changes, the KWU Music Department reached into its creativity and used perhaps the most unique schedule in school history. During the construction of the Applequist Family Music Center, the department’s new academic area, and the renovation of Sams Chapel, the department was left without some of its traditional spaces. It entered the year without its usual rehearsal space, without a primary concert hall, and without its usual storage areas for instruments and other supplies. The question was: How would the department rise to the occasion immediately, while the glistening new facilities awaited? “This year always promised to be a challenge,” said Dr. Bill Backlin, interim department chair. “Everyone knew the Music project would change KWU, and change it for the better, but we knew we also had to serve our students now. That’s why I couldn’t be more proud of how our faculty rose to the occasion. They found
Instrumental and vocal students pose with their instructors at a collage concert in the Student Activities Center, part of Family Weekend in September. creative solutions to scheduling, they engaged with our students consistently and with positive attitudes, and they moved this department forward in ways I couldn’t have imagined.” Perhaps the most creative solution of all was three concerts performed by the String Orchestra alongside local high schools. KWU performed
with Smoky Valley High School (Sept. 21), Salina South HS (Oct. 3) and Manhattan HS (Oct. 26) on the road in the high school’s venues. “These concerts were a great opportunity for our program and, yes, for our entire department,” said Dr. Leonardo Rosario, director of strings, who organized the performances. “It gave our orchestra
KWU’s
FineArts UPCOMING
schedule
Scan the QR code to see the upcoming Fine Arts schedule. 5 CONTACT
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www.kwu.edu
chances to play in different venues and new locations, and it helped spread the word about the great work being done by our talented students.” Christmas by Candlelight, of course, was also part of that creativity, as it was held Dec. 3 at the Stiefel Theatre in downtown Salina.
2023-24
KWU Celebrates
RECORD-BREAKING ENROLLMENT 400 NEW STUDENTS
952 STUDENTS
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MORE THAN
30% INCREASE
SINCE 2019
31 STATES 25 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED THIS FALL
40%
OF STUDENTS ARE PELL GRANT-ELIGIBLE*
STUDENT TEACHER RATIO
14:1
99%
OF FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATES RECEIVE A KWU SCHOLARSHIP TOP SIX STATES FOR ENROLLMENT
Kansas
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* Eligible for greatest needs, grant from U.S. Government.
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Texas
Oklahoma
California
Missouri
Fall 2023
Colorado
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PUSHING TOWARD 1,000 STUDENTS!
KWU IS
THE PLACE TO BE! 8 CONTACT
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Record-breaking enrollment
is just one of the many things that have made KWU the place to be! National accreditation of the Social Work program, growth in academic programs like Criminal Justice, $12 million in new construction, 100 percent passing the NCLEX, and tremendous success in activities like DECA have put KWU on the precipice of its golden age.
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SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM EARNS ACCREDITATION Kansas Wesleyan’s Social Work program earned long-awaited national accreditation this fall, capping a three-year journey that will open doors for KWU students. With that goal crossed off, you might thank Social Work program director Kelly Hopkins ’15, LMSW, would take a breath and a break. Hopkins, however, has plans to build on that tremendous accomplishment. “The reason for the accreditation shows our commitment to a quality education and that our curriculum and what we’re teaching is up to the highest standards of the accrediting body,” she said. In practical terms for KWU students, besides ensuring that they receive an excellent education, with that on their transcripts, they can complete the Master of Social Work degree in one year instead of two. Receiving the accreditation was a three-year process, she said, and was “a lot of work that occasionally included nights and weekends.” The process involved program self-studies, site visits and several reviews by the CSWE Board of Accreditation to ensure compliance with the standards. The program will be fully accredited until 2031. In the meantime, Hopkins and Bridget Goodness, assistant professor of Social Work and field education director, are building onto the program. The two see Social Work as a great place to start, if students are still exploring career options. “It’s a very diverse major that allows you to explore what your strengths are. It allows you to look at a lot of different professions and explore and kind of experiment if you’re just not sure where you fit in,” Goodness said. Some majors are working at the hospital, in corrections, child welfare or therapy. Organizations such as the Secret Service and
KWU’s Social Work Club members proudly gather around a banner announcing the Social Work Department gaining national accreditation. the FBI are hiring social workers for long-term recovery response after a disaster, as well as investigations of crimes against children. “There’s so many different ways you can work,” she said. “It’s not just child welfare. There are 13, 14 other categories where you can go.” “Social work is a degree that will take you anywhere,” Hopkins said. “It teaches you to work with people, with communities, with organizations. All of our courses are transferable,” if a student chooses another path. “We have created a Social Work minor, if students want to gain some of that knowledge without a full major, they do have that option.” They also are working on an Environmental Justice minor, in cooperation with the Community Resilience Hub (CRH) at Kansas Wesleyan. Both minors will be in the 2024 fall catalog, she said. The Environmental Justice minor will house different things that have to do with climate change and the environment, Hopkins said.
“We have partnered with a university in El Salvador for educational opportunities with agroecology, which is what we’re developing right now,” Hopkins said. That program will study sustainable and regenerative farming with CRH there and in Puerto Rico, where Hopkins visited in August. “It’s separate, but Social Work is a part of it,” she said. She’s exploring a certificate program for international social welfare, with the Environmental Justice minor and one for forensic social work. A child welfare certificate program is ready to go and will be offered in the fall, Hopkins said, and one for addiction counseling is already offered. Child welfare and other avenues of social work can be stressful and hard work. Social workers are considered first responders, Hopkins said: “We see a lot of the bad stuff.” “Compassion fatigue and burnout are real,” Goodness said. “We teach self-care in our classrooms.” Goodness and Hopkins make sure their doors are always open to their students, especially those doing field work, but beyond that, they want students to recognize when they need help. “We created a course called Vicarious Trauma, that is where you learn about what that means,” Hopkins said. “We teach them what actual self-care is, dealing with the trauma that you witnessed. We teach them not only to see it in themselves but in organizations.” The course, which is unusual in most social work programs, is required for majors, and nurses are starting to take advantage of it, she said. “They are going to be prepared for what they have to deal with, if they are in those fields.” By Jean Kozubowski
KWU TO WELCOME STATE’S TOP SPELLERS
Kansas Wesleyan will host the Sunflower State’s top elementary and middle school spellers for each of the next two years, thanks to an agreement announced in midOctober. KWU is the new host for the Kansas Press Association’s (KPA) Sunflower State Spelling Bee, an event that will bring approximately 100 students and their families to Salina. “All of us at Kansas Wesleyan are thrilled to host this event,” said Brad Salois, director of marketing 10 CONTACT
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and communications, whose team spearheaded discussions. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase our campus to some of the best and brightest students in the state! Academics is the centerpiece of KWU, and we’re proud to be a part of something that shares that philosophy.” “The Kansas Press Association is proud to partner with Kansas Wesleyan for the 2024 and 2025 Kansas Sunflower State Spelling Bee,” said Amber Jackson, KPA’s
state bee coordinator. “We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to welcoming the best spellers in the state to Salina in March.” The 2024 version of the bee is scheduled for March 23 in Mabee Arena, with a start time yet to be announced. The 2025 competition is tentatively slated for KWU’s Sams Chapel, which is currently undergoing renovations that will turn it into one of the top venues in
the region. Students up to eighth grade are eligible for the state competition. Each Kansas county may send its respective county bee winner to the state event. The winner of the Sunflower State Spelling Bee will be eligible for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, broadcast yearly on national television. Learn more about the Sunflower State Spelling Bee by visiting kspress.org/sunflower-state-spelling-bee.
Hale family gifts $1.5 million for CRH Gift also will launch H.D. ‘Joe’ Hale Chair of Regenerative Agriculture One of the region’s leading families has gifted Kansas Wesleyan $1.5 million in support of the university’s newest initiative, the Community Resilience Hub. It comes from the family of Joyce Vanier Hale, presented by Mollie Hale Carter, executive chairman of FirstSun and Sunflower Bank. The gift was announced in July at a ceremony in KWU’s Hauptli Student Center that included campus leadership, members of the Hale family and Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam. The family’s generosity will be recognized in the naming of the first full-time KWU faculty position associated with CRH as the H.D. “Joe” Hale Chair of Regenerative Agriculture. Farming part of family’s identity “Farming and ranching have always been a big part of my family’s identity,” said Carter. “Mother wanted to find a way to honor my father’s love of farming. We believe that, to carry on that legacy, it is vital to be good stewards of the land and preserve it for future generations. This will require new, innovative thinking, just like the Community Resilience Hub. We believe this work will enrich the lives of Kansans and help ensure that agriculture remains a viable,
Mollie Hale Carter speaks at the announcement of her mother’s gift of $1.5 million to the Community Resilience Hub at Kansas Wesleyan. Some of the money will be used to endow a faculty chair named for Carter’s father, H.D. “Joe” Hale. rewarding industry for future generations.” Joyce Hale passed away in late June. She owned Cedar Creek Ranch near Manhattan, Kan., which produced championship Hereford cattle, and was a former chair of Sunflower Bank, among other accomplishments. The gift continues significant support from the family in recent years. In fact, the lobby of Peters Science Hall — renovated in 2021 — bears the
name of Hale’s father, J.J. Vanier, in recognition of similar support. The Hales’ contributions through the years include scholarship funding, supporting the launch of online classes and campuswide technology infrastructure upgrades, and now, funding a truly Kansas-focused approach to community and farm education. “We are truly grateful for the Hale family’s commitment,” said Dr. Matt Thompson, KWU president. “Their philanthropic legacy in the state is well-known. They care about Kansas and its people. The Community Resilience Hub’s focus on our home state, both in education and in real-world results, will help improve the future right here. This gift helps make that future possible.” The CRH kicked off in 2021 and has seen a great deal of movement in recent months, including inclusion in a grant to help create a food corridor between Salina and Wichita. It recently announced an educational partnership with Rodale Institute, a worldwide leader in regenerative organic farming, and JRI Hospitality/ Quail Creek Family Farms. “Kansans have always been leaders and innovators,” said Secretary Beam. “The Community Resilience Hub is the latest in a long line of great examples of that, and I look forward to seeing it make a difference in the months and years to come.” For more information on the Community Resilience Hub, please visit www.kwu.edu/crh.
Interns, volunteers step up for Campus Ministry Kansas Wesleyan’s Campus Ministry program, fueled by a deepening relationship with University United Methodist Church, has been at the forefront of recent developments on campus. “We’ve done a lot of interesting things these past few years,” said Scott Jagodzinske, campus minister. “One of the main ones, however, is increasing the responsibility of students in our programs.” Nowhere is that more evident than in the peer minister Scott program, which is now an Jagodzinske internship opportunity. One of those interns, Shayna Murape, has taken over the leadership of CampusServe. At press time, the program is working on a significant, local, canned-food drive and has met with multiple local nursing homes to discuss an adopt-a11 CONTACT
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grandparent program. “We’re excited about the increased role of students in our programs, and they’ve done great work,” said Jagodzinske. “We give the students the tools and the opportunity, but much like in the real world, they must problem-solve and learn how to complete the task. Many people don’t know about the networking, the connections, that it takes to serve a community. Developing those connections is great, real-world experience for our students and really highlights the mission of KWU.” Another recent highlight has been the increase in the number of students in Rise Up!, the school’s student-led praise band. Campus Ministry has taken the leadership role in this program, which has helped provide clarity to its purpose and goals. Rise Up! led worship at multiple public services this semester, including the Homecoming Worship on the Lawn service
Oct. 22. “Campus Ministry has always been a way for students to prioritize their faith while they are in college,” said Jagodzinske. “These are individuals who want to express what they believe in a real, hands-on way, and KWU provides them with those opportunities. Our recent increase in volunteer positions has opened new doors in the community, as well, and helped diversify our ability to relate to students who may have different belief systems. “Going forward, our primary goal is to expand our interaction with students who are not in activities,” he said. “How do we involve those who are not ‘plugged in’ elsewhere? We expect that our increased student involvement and diversification of volunteers will help, and we look forward to answering this question in the months to come.”
By Brad Salois
Fall 2023
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KWU SPONSORS RACE CAR ON NATIONAL BROADCAST
Courtesy photo
Stephanie Moyer shows off the car she drove at the Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 at Pocono Raceway in Pocono, Pa. Moyer was recognized for the "Reese's Sweet Move of the Race."
KWU works to benefit area high schools Kansas Wesleyan University announced in late August that it would join a project to benefit USD 307, centered around Ell-Saline High School. KWU worked with numerous organizations across the community to partner with Brookville Community Foundation to help the school purchase a new scoreboard. “So much of what happens in communities revolves around schools, and our marketing strategy certainly reflects that,” said Brad Salois, KWU director of marketing and communications. “This project, however, was a little different. Ell-Saline has a long-term vision of using this board to teach students transferable skills, both in terms of technical operation and digital media. That made this opportunity stand out, and we’re proud to be a partner on the project.” The scoreboard was installed and operational for Ell-Saline’s first home football game on Friday, Sept. 1. Signage from each of the sponsoring organizations will be on the board, and numerous businesses – including KWU – will have digital ad opportunities on the new screen, as well. The Ell-Saline agreement gave KWU a visual presence at 11 regional high schools or school districts. 12 CONTACT
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The momentum around Kansas Wesleyan’s marketing continued in a unique way July 21, when the university served as an associate sponsor for Stephanie Moyer, one of Fast Track Racing’s drivers in the ARCA Menards Series. The KWU logo was prominently featured on Moyer’s car during the Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 at Pocono Raceway in Pocono, Pa. Fans were able to watch the race free of charge on FS1 or via subscription at floracing.com. “This opportunity has multiple benefits for KWU,” said Brad Salois, director of marketing and communications, before the race occurred. “It is a chance to get exposure in a unique, nationally televised fashion, and those opportunities are rare. It is also a real, tangible chance to support the growth of diversity and inclusion.
Creating opportunities for underrepresented groups is important to Kansas Wesleyan. Stephanie is one of the rare female drivers in a national NASCAR-affiliated series, and we hope this sponsorship helps her have a strong race at Pocono.” Moyer finished the race in 14th position and was recognized for the “Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race” on Twitter. Moyer finished the 2022 season fourth in points in the ARCA Menards Series East, the highest finish by a female driver in that division. Her 2023 season includes a part-time schedule in the national ARCA Menards Series. The university’s affiliation with Moyer marked its first foray into ontrack racing sponsorship following 18 months of supporting a local iRacing effort — Riggs Racing — in the world of esports.
KWU PARTNERS WITH COMMUNITY COLLEGES TO HELP STUDENTS Kansas Wesleyan continued to support regional community colleges with an announcement in early October, when KWU revealed sponsorship of two community colleges within Kansas. KWU’s sponsorships are with Allen Community College in Iola and Seward County Community College in Liberal. “KWU believes in clear, simple paths for students,” said Ken Oliver, executive vice president of advancement and university operations. “Community colleges share that belief, as those institutions are integrated into their communities, with grassroots connections that draw in students in unique ways. We want those students to know that we value their
experiences, their education and their knowledge, and that they can find similar community here at Kansas Wesleyan.” KWU has agreed to place signage in the primary athletic facility at Allen CC. This builds off a recent agreement with Ad Astra Radio in Iola, where KWU runs several ads daily. At Seward, the university will have signage on the baseball scoreboard, where both Seward’s program and the Rocky Mountain Baseball League’s Liberal Bee Jays play. KWU will also receive a logo on the Seward athletic page, linking to KWU’s community college scholarship offering, and mentions by the public address announcer during several sports.
Both agreements cover multiple academic years. These agreements build off of KWU’s November 2023 announcement of the Kansas Advancement Scholarship, a guarantee of at least $20,000 per year in financial assistance for any graduate of a Kansas community college. The university is also part of the Kansas Independent College Association’s global transfer and course articulation agreement with the state’s community college system. This means that any student graduating from a Kansas community college has automatically completed their KWU general studies requirements. This simplifies the student’s pathway to earning a bachelor’s degree.
‘Student’ comes first in ‘student-athletes’ Dustin Sahlmann is like any other coach: He wants his Kansas Wesleyan men’s volleyball team to be successful and works tirelessly to make it happen. “My philosophy is I want to be competitive in three things — on the court, in the classroom and, once you leave here, in your job,” said Sahlmann who is entering his second season. One takes precedence, though. “I think the easiest impact I can have immediately is in the classroom,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve got to build a roster and I’ve got to build talent. But if I can get their heads wrapped around what we’ve got to do on a daily basis in school — because we are student-athletes, not athlete-students — that can set the tone early.” “If we’re going to talk about being at a place with high expectations, that has to correlate off the court in the classroom,” KWU Director of Athletics Miguel Paredes said. “That’s something we strive to do here, and it’s been going on for quite some time.” Results show that it’s been successful. • Twenty of 25 sports teams received NAIA Scholar Team recognition. • 63.1 percent of student-athletes (350 total) had a 3.0 grade-point average or better for the spring semester; 233 had a 3.5 or better. • Fourteen teams improved their cumulative GPA from 2021-22. Sahlmann’s team raised its cumulative GPA by a department-best 0.56 during the 2022-23 school year. Overall, athletics finished with a 3.14 cumulative GPA – one of the highest in recent memory. “For us as coaches, as educators, we have the opportunity, the power to influence our students to always strive to be at their best. We’ve got to make sure that we’re doing our due diligence to help them prepare for what happens,” Paredes said. “The bad thing about sports is sports will retire you before you can retire it. I tell people I don’t have coaches; I have teachers.” The department’s academic endeavors are led by Ryan Showman, who coaches the women’s basketball team and is assistant athletic director for student experience, a position he assumed in March 2021. “It’s a long road, because I’m asking coaches to do different things,” he said. “I’m asking them to have meetings with me, I’m asking them to meet with their players who are struggling. I asked a lot of these coaches to be able to get where we are now.” Showman established a committee of head coaches to help monitor things during the year. It featured a department-wide study hall with time requirements and tutor services. He also met 13 CONTACT
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Student-athletes study in Peters Science Hall 201. The majority of KWU athletes have a GPA of 3.0 or better.
Dustin Sahlmann
“Obviously, I’ve got to build a roster and I’ve got to build talent. But if I can get their heads wrapped around what we’ve got to do on a daily basis in school — because we are studentathletes, not athlete-students — that can set the tone early.” — Dustin Sahlmann men’s volleyball coach
individually with each head coach every two weeks to discuss academics. “It was a lot of work for me, it was a lot for the other coaches, especially when they’re in season,” he said. “Now they know the expectations, they have owned their academic success.” “At the end of the day, we’re producing individuals who can have great impact in a positive way on society,” Paredes said. “I think athletics is part of a life-learning tool to help individuals learn how to deal with adversity. How to deal with it correlates to how you learn in the classroom.” KWU’s Albert Nelson Student Success Center, led by J.D. Koons, assistant vice president for student engagement and success, plays a vital role. “It’s another resource for our student-athletes to be able to take proctored tests, review papers, help study, help with time management — anything
and everything,” Showman said. “To have that extra resource — not just a professor or a coach but someone else they can go to and get help — has been incredible. It’s very much an active part of what we’re doing academically.” Sahlmann agrees. “When I arrived, coach Showman was fantastic with helping me navigate through how we were going to handle and approach things,” he said. “Having the Student Success Center and that support was huge.” Sahlmann’s student-athletes are required to attend 10 hours of study hall each week; the number is reduced if they have a 3.0 GPA. “It’s part of being in my program,” he said. “For me to enforce that, I’ve got to have the support of everybody else, and that’s easily done here.” By Bob Davidson
Fall 2023
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ATHLETES ON THE RIGHT TRACK
The track and field program has come a long way in 4 years
When Kyle Hiser took the job as director of track and field and cross country at KWU in 2019, it was a difficult one. Hiser was a young coach and entered the job with just two years of professional experience, as a graduate assistant at Grand View University (Iowa). He had just 18 student-athletes on a roster that needed depth Kyle Hiser across all its disciplines, but Hiser never doubted himself. “I was just confident,” he said. “At Grandview, myself and another GA were quite literally given the reins of the distance program, Day 1. They gave us the tools for recruiting and we literally started from ground zero.” Four years later, Hiser and his staff have the Coyote programs on the right track. The men placed second in the Kansas Conference indoor meet in February, then placed second in the KCAC outdoor event, scoring the most points ever (137). The men’s cross country program, now led by former KWU runner and alumnus Garrett Young ’17, G’19, placed second in the KCAC Championships each of the past two years, while the women took third at each of those meets. Shortly before press time, the men’s team, on the strength of its No. 21 national ranking, qualified for the NAIA Championships, its first berth since 2016! Three Coyote women — Madisyn Ehrlich, Charlee Lind and Josie Koppes — qualified individually, as well, for the Nov. 17 meet in Vancouver, Wash. Also impressive is that the track and cross country programs have a combined 65 student-athletes competing, compared with those 14 CONTACT
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Last year’s men’s indoor track and field team poses for a victory photo after being the runnerup in the KCAC Conference. Coach Shaquelle Lewis is in the front. initial 18 when Hiser arrived. The program’s athletes also have: • Set 40 school records • 30-plus NAIA Scholar Athletes • 10-plus NAIA All-Academic Teams • Seven NAIA All-Americans • 10 KCAC champions Cross country twice had the KCAC’s best GPA, once for men, once for women “Cross country had history; they had some culture from 2010 to 2019 before I got here,” Hiser said, “so it was obvious that it could be done. Track and field didn’t really have much just because they didn’t have facilities, but we have the facilities now. “You’ve just got to find it and make it your way. Seeing how the administration believes in good support for all the athletic programs, I knew that there was something we could build on and create.” The process started with hiring staff, something Hiser deemed essential, and the KWU
KWU athletes compete at the KWU Distance Carnival in April. administration concurred. His first hire was a throws coach, since Hiser’s expertise was working with runners: “Go throw far,” he’d tell the throwers. Shaquelle Lewis G’21 was the choice and has excelled since his arrival in 2019. “We knew we needed someone who was technical in that area and could teach it well,” Hiser said. “That was coach Lewis. We’ve got
coaches throughout the program who have won. Coach Lewis was a really strong athlete in college, coach Young was a conference champ and national qualifier and had done some really good things at Southwestern. (Assistant track and field) coach (Sierra) Kelley was a multiple-time conference qualifier in her days as an athlete.” Young was a key addition in June
& OUTSTANDING IN THEIR FIELDS
Distance runners Josie Koppes, Madisyn Ehrlich, Savannah Pilsner and Daniela Geona compete in the 1500.
Members of the track team pose for a group shot. The members all compete in different events.
2022. He was assistant track and cross country coach at KWU for two years before spending three seasons as head cross country and assistant track coach at Southwestern. “I don’t want to say that I gave (Hiser) an ultimatum, but I tried to make it pretty clear I needed the autonomy over the program to do what I want to do,” Young said. “He was willing to step back and provide that for me. Knowing that we could work in that regard was very reassuring to me.” “The proof ’s in the pudding with the success his teams have had that he’s the right man for the job and will continue to be the right man because of the connections he has here,” Hiser said. “I’ve been able to really develop the whole track
time,” he said. “We coupled that with bringing in athletes that come from winning cultures. I think that’s really helped us take that big step of going from the bottom half of the conference up to finishing runnerup a few times last year. “We want to be in a spot where Kansas Wesleyan track and field pops up in the high school and junior college landscape, where they know we’re a school that has strong brand recognition and that people who come here get better. They become better people, they become better athletes, they become better students. That’s how you win, that’s how you become successful.”
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team’s culture — it’s hard when you’re trying to put in time with the cross country team and time with the track team. I was able to spend more intentional time with the program as a whole.” Academics has been a major emphasis. “I think the attributes and qualities that make really good students are also going to translate to being good distance runners,” Young said. “You go out for cross country and you just tend to be surrounded by some pretty smart guys and gals.” Hiser has built a culture based on improvement athletically and beyond. “We found coaches who want to win and had been winners in their
Spring Alumni, Family & Community Weekend! APRIL 19-21 15 CONTACT
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By Bob Davidson
Cole Parker ’23 was the 2023 KCAC shot put champion.
MAY GRAD GOES RIGHT INTO DREAM JOB Walking across the stage at commencement and straight into a career is the dream of most college students. For Devlin Davis ’23, who earned his bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice in May, that dream is reality. Davis, who originally hails from Spring Hill, Kan., began his 23-week training with the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) in Salina just a few weeks after Commencement. “I was a little anxious because I didn’t have that break,” Davis said. “But it’s a new stage in life, and I’m not stressing about what to do after college.” The KHP academy is a world-class academy. It takes twice as long as some law enforcement agencies to complete. For Davis, his time at the academy will last until December of this year. Afterwards, he’ll enter a probationary period of employment as a state trooper before getting his official assignment. Despite this, he said he looks forward to getting the maximum training possible. “I feel like I’ve been part of a police force for four years already,” he said. “I’m going to this academy, and I’m going in with four-plus years of experience.” Up-to-date experience Some of that experience comes from professors who have worked in law enforcement and emergency management-related fields. “I know a lot of my friends who went for Criminal Justice at other colleges told me that their professors didn’t have any experience in the field,” he said. “[At KWU] they always keep up to date on case files and what is going on." Part of his extensive experience took place outside the classroom. In the summer of 2022, Davis interned with the Prairie Village Police Department, where he handled evidence, took part in investigations, ran background checks and was able to learn from their special investigation unit. “The whole summer, I would text [Dr. John] Burchill and [assistant professor Bernie] Botson about what I was doing,” he said. “And it’s crazy 16 CONTACT
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Courtesy photo
Devlin Davis ’23 started training to be a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper (above) a few weeks after graduating from Kansas Wesleyan. He came to KWU on a football scholarship (right). the stuff that I learned from them doing that.” Following that internship, he spent 80 hours with the Kansas Highway Patrol, which sparked his interest in the agency. There was a time, though, when Davis wasn’t sure where his path would take him after high school. “I always had a passion to serve, and I just didn’t know if I wanted to do it in the military or with the home land,” he said. When Kansas Wesleyan offered him a football scholarship, he took the opportunity, “As I got more into the field of criminal justice, my passion to serve within the state grew,” he said. “There are a lot of issues going on in law enforcement, and I’m very appreciative of the professors I had. They went by the textbook, but it can’t just be the textbook — it has to be quick thinking. They’re also focused on us having a job set up by graduation.” Getting their graduates into careers as soon as they have their degrees is a major goal — and point of pride — for the Criminal Justice and Emergency Management programs at KWU. "Our goal in Criminal Justice and Emergency Management is to
have our graduates gainfully employed within six months of graduation,” Botson said. “And we consistently beat that goal.” Davis’ time in football and Cadet Corps — a group of academically elite Criminal Justice and Emergency Management majors — also played a role in shaping his character during his studies. “The football team had more than 100 players, and it was the first time that I was part of a huge group that was very diverse,” he said. “It’s good to get that experience and talk to people from different cultures and get their different perspectives. A lot of people have questions about law enforcement. With that brotherhood, that bond, it makes it easy to talk to them about it.” Cadet Corps, on the other hand, connected him with his Criminal Justice and Emergency Management peers, all of whom were dedicated to getting the extra hands-on experience the corps provided via facility tours, opportunities to earn certificates, and networking with law enforcement and other agencies across the state. “Devlin exemplifies the type of student we love to see in our department,” Botson said. “He’s driven. He’s focused. But it’s his reliability that ties it all together.”
“A lot of people don't think that a criminal justice degree is needed to become an officer, but you should have that experience and learning. It's a job that not everyone can do.” — Devlin Davis ’23, while training to be a Kansas Highway Patrol officer In a field without a degree requirement, Davis has found great value in his education, especially as he prepared for the academy and, later, a high-stakes career. “A lot of people don’t think that a criminal justice degree is needed to become an officer, but you should have that experience and learning,” he said. “It’s a job that not everyone can do.”
By Skylar Nelson
Save the Date!
A fundraiser to benefit all co-curricular programs.
Feb. 23, 2024 | 5:30 p.m. | Mabee Arena
Jensen recalls 25 years on the job When Michelle Jensen interviewed for a position in Kansas Wesleyan University’s financial aid office in 1998, ties to KWU ran in her blood. Her family tree is comprised of — at last count — 84 alumni, including her uncles Albert Nelson ’50, for whom the Albert Nelson Student Success Center is named; and Harold Nelson ’49; her sister, Pam (Nelson) Unruh; and a multitude of others. Now associate director of financial services, Jensen has formed more personal connections to KWU. “I’ve absolutely loved my job,” she said. “I think part of it is that it’s different every day. The task is the same, but it’s a continual learning curve with regulations and different sets of students and faculty.” Jensen has seen plenty of change in the past 25 years. Her own office was moved four times during one renovation of Pioneer Hall, and it wasn’t until 2013 that the office shared between the financial aid and registrar’ offices officially became the “K-Dub Hub” we know it as today. There was even a time, not so long ago, when she was manually entering FAFSA — financial 17 CONTACT
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aid — information for students, rather than having them submit it to her through the online portal. Despite all the changes throughout the years, the culture of campus has remained largely the same. “Everyone who’s Michelle Jensen here is really focused on students,” she said, “jumping in to help whenever you needed to, even in the lean years.” Jensen joined the university at the tail end of KWU’s financial crisis, which President Marshall Stanton led the university through. “It took everybody to do everything, and if you didn’t have the money to do it, you did it. I remember them saying stories about the football field; if they needed a sprinkler system, they were out digging it,” she said. “That mentality is consistent the whole period. You hire people with servant hearts. You have to be a servant to what
the students need.” Serving in education has been part of Jensen’s life since she moved from Courtland, Kan., to Salina in 1985. She worked briefly in food service at the Salina School District, while her children were young. Then, she spent 10 years in Meadowlark Elementary’s business office and two at Central Kansas Cooperative in Education. She had the opportunity to work closely with KWU students in the past when a mentorship program paired faculty and staff with students. Jensen was paired with Ralita Cheeks ’07. “Even to this point in time, we see each other,” she said. “It’s things like that — you see students that you had just in the workplace in Salina. What’s interesting, too, is that I’m seeing kids of the kids, now. I’m seeing that second generation already.” As for whether Jensen’s own family will continue their long-held ties to the university, it won’t take long to find out. “My granddaughter thinks she might come here,” she said. “I would hope that future family comes.”
By Skylar Nelson
Fall 2023
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MATH CHANGES FOR TODAY’S CAREERS Things weren’t adding up for KWU’s math majors. “What our students have been telling us for a while is they want things like statistics, they want the more applied side of things,” said Dr. Kristin Kraemer, chair of the Mathematics and Physics Department. “We changed the math major to reflect that.” She’s not talking about small changes: “We redid the math curriculum last year, totally changed it.” Now it’s more applied math than theoretical, she said, and students’ options have expanded exponentially. “Application-driven, that’s where the jobs are,” she said. To start, each student majoring in math chooses one of three tracks: applied, financial or data science. Then, within each track, students can follow wherever their interests lie. In applied math, for example, students pick a concentration – could be physics, could be biology, could be chemistry, for example. “In the future we hope to broaden that list to other areas so they get a broad background,” Kraemer said. The financial math track is an interdisciplinary track with business. “This is good for students who are interested in business but who want to do some math elements with it,” she said. Actuarial science would be an example. Then there’s data science. “That’s one we’re really excited about. Data science is everywhere,” she said. “Anything you could possibly study has data in it. You can go 101 directions. It gives students huge versatility.” Anytime you have a big group of numbers, a big set of data, data science will condense it down to something useful. “It partners really well with almost any major on campus,” Kraemer said. “It’s useful if you want to
Math and Physics students, with Dr. Mazen Al Nairat, top left, and Dr. Kristin Kraemer, top right, form the symbol “e,” a mathematical constant. do sports, if you want to do medicine, if you want to do science. It’s useful if you want to do social science. If you’re looking at how diseases spread, how populations spread, that’s data science.” It’s a combination of math and computers, and there’s more programming in data science than in some of the other areas, more machine learning. Banks and industries, if they don’t have it, they’re looking for it. “Data science has been there but the computing power has gotten better,” Kraemer said. “This is our first year doing it, and by and large we’re off to a very good start. Data science is a new major across the country, and we’re on the leading edge.” An article in the Harvard Business Review called it “the sexiest job in the 21st century.” Demand is expected to increase by more than a third in the next 10 years, Kraemer said, with average salaries starting at more than $100,000. She has put together a multitalented team that can handle the demands of both applied math,
physics and computers. Dr. Md Afsar Ali, assistant professor of Mathematics and Computer Studies, joined the faculty in 2022. New this year are Dr. Suman Kundu, assistant professor of Mathematics and Physics, and Dr. Mazen Al Nairat, assistant professor of Mathematics and Physics, both computational physicists. They teach all three, math, physics and computers, and have done a lot of programming, Kraemer said. Kundu’s background is astrophysics, Nairat’s is atomic and optical physics. “It’s all interdisciplinary,” she said. “The boundaries between fields are not there anymore.” There’s good diversity across the department and a lot of potential right now, she said, including the three adjunct instructors, including Dr. David Kraemer, longtime professor and professor emeritus of Computer Studies, who has continued to share his love of teaching in the classroom. Kristin Kraemer, the physicist, describes herself as “the lab rat,” although she is not confined to a laboratory on the fourth floor of Peters Science Hall. “We have all kinds of fun,” she said, “students running around campus with little homemade cameras this semester. We’ve kind of turned the whole campus into our lab.” Most of the changes in Physics are personnel. “The Physics major hasn’t changed much in the past few years,” Kraemer said. Students can still choose between a traditional physics major, interdisciplinary applied physics or the dual engineering program, in which they can earn a liberal arts degree from Kansas Wesleyan and a bachelor’s or master’s engineering degree from the School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. By Jean Kozubowski
Math and Physics Professors
Dr. Kristin Kraemer
Chair of the Mathematics and Physics Department and associate professor of Mathematics and Physics 18 CONTACT
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Dr. Md Afsar Ali
Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Studies
Dr. Suman Kundu
Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Physics
Dr. Mazen al Nairat
Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Physics
Shirk ’17 leaving lasting legacy at KWU Future generations should know that “JMS” stands for Jan Shirk. Shirk ’17 has left her mark on Kansas Wesleyan University in more ways than one can count. For one, if you tore down the Student Activities Center, you would find “JMS” written on some of the framing walls and floorboards. For another, Shirk has been assisting KWU’s president for just short of 26 years. Her last day as executive assistant to the president will be Dec. 15, although her official retirement date is Dec. 31. She started as Dr. Marshall Stanton’s administrative assistant four presidents and two interim presidents ago on Jan. 8, 1998. “I know that because it’s my birthday,” Shirk said. She said she hadn’t been looking for a new job; it “wasn’t on my radar until someone mentioned it.” At the interview, she and Stanton talked what they had in common, mostly athletics and sports interests. “He biked, I did running and biking,” Shirk said. “At the end of the hour, he said, ‘Come take this typing test.’ I said, ‘What, what?’ Then he hired me. I guess I was supposed to be here.” Job duties have changed since 1998. Shirk said the first thing she did was put a cover on the typewriter and tuck it away in a closet. Then she plugged in a monitor and computer. Remembers all the people She developed an online portal for members of the Board of Trustees and Foundation, for which she served as liaison and recording secretary, working with 14 chairs. “I have really enjoyed that part of it, Shirk said, “working with our boards, who are just great people.” She knows all the trustees, all the employees. “I remember them all,” she said. “I don’t know whether it’s a blessing or a curse. I remember people and places because I tune in to people. I can’t remember phone numbers.” Her experiences have led to a deep, deep institutional knowledge that will be much missed. “That’s a lot of years to think about things,” she said. “So much has happened, so, so much.” She did some of just about everything — human resources, policies, events. “Institutional knowledge comes from being here a while,” Shirk said. “A lot of the time I have been the repository for a lot of it, or I created it.” As she was listing her accomplishments, she realize how much she had worked with artists. She found a woodcarver for the wooden plaques of Christian symbols that hang in 19 CONTACT
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Jan Shirk’s legacy at Kansas Wesleyan will be remembered for decades to come, thanks to the Jan Shirk Endowed Scholarship that was announced at Homecoming. The scholarship was fully funded in a matter of weeks, thanks to the generosity of many directly affected by Shirk’s efforts.
Jan Shirk ’17 poses with KWU President Dr. Matt Thompson and her diploma after commencement. Shirk is retiring this year after almost 26 years as executive assistant to the president. classrooms and offices. She worked with President Phil Kerstetter and the consultant on the master plan that led to landscaping the campus, including the curved paths and the fountain. She coordinated with a local landscape artist for the Devotional Garden by Pioneer Hall. A lot of those duties have since been parsed out to other offices — “which is where it should be,” she said. Even with all the changes Shirk has been instrumental with, “I push back a little when we suggest we do something different. I think generally we’re losing tradition," she said. “History and tradition are so important. But balancing them with new ideas is key to moving forward. At an institute of higher learning, the one constant is change — in peoples, spaces, offerings — but the mission remains.” One new tradition is rubbing the nose of the Bolen Coyote Pride sculpture outside the SAC. “You MUST rub the coyote’s nose when passing!” she said, emphasis hers. Commencement is all about tradition. She led the planning for all Commencement ceremonies during her tenure. “Graduations are always special for me, like watching all my little ducklings go by,” she said. The May 2017 Commencement was extra special because President Matt Thompson handed Shirk her diploma in Human Resources Management. Shirk started her college career at Marymount, but, “Life happens. Life kept trying to put its
foot in there. It took me a while to get there. I knew I could do it, so, by gosh, I was going to do it. I did it for me.” “Jan and I began our time together as colleagues,” said Thompson, who has worked with Shirk for 10 years. “However, I’ve never been around someone who could understand the rhythm, history and processes of a place as well as Jan Shirk. Because of this, she quickly became indispensable to me and, over the years, I’m honored to say we became friends. She will be missed at KWU and I, along with so many others, am thankful for her service.” Never stopping Not giving up is one of Shirk’s hallmarks. When she starts to run, she doesn’t stop for miles. Her first marathon was in 1996, and she didn’t stop for the first 22 miles. Two years later, she and her husband got into ultramarathons. The longest she’s run was almost 65 miles, on a track. “You keep going until you stop,” she said. “Your feet turn into hamburger — four pairs of shoes! 50K’s were fun. My feet were never happy with me for this.” Now she and her husband have “fallen in love” with trail running. They maintain an interest in all kinds of bicycling, as well — race riding, mountain biking, trail biking. “I’m too stubborn to give up,” she said. “I have a dream for what I want to accomplish. I have the passion to go after my dream. This gives me the drive to keep pushing on past the roadblocks.” Her dream for 2024 is “just going to enjoy life, being with my husband at home. It’s been nonstop, going-going-going for a long time.” Perhaps, she said, she’ll volunteer at KWU or with her church, St. Mary Queen of the Universe, which she hasn’t been able to do because of work. But whatever she does, odds are good Shirk will be on the run — maybe on a trail — or on a bicycle. By Jean Kozubowski
Fall 2023
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2023
2023 HOMECOMING
EVENTS INCLUDED: • Veterans Recognition Ceremony • Campus tours • 7x7x7 Lecture Series • All-Alumni Social • Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony • Alumni Association Awards • Radium Girls Theatre Production • KWU Football Game • And much more
Join us at next year ’s homecoming Oct. 18-20, 2024
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Spring Alumni, Family & Community Weekend – April 19-21, 2024 | Fall 2023
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Sky’s the limit for alum after college With no teaching jobs for ed major, Davis joins the Army Diane (McGuire) Davis has not been able to attend events at Kansas Wesleyan University since her graduation in 1973. But after a military career that took her to numerous cities and several countries, she thought it was time to come home. Davis was excited about flying into Salina from her home in North Carolina for her 50th class reunion on Oct. 20-22, although flying is old hat for her. One of the original 100 women to complete the U.S. Army flight program, she spent five years as a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft pilot in the U.S. Army, retiring as a captain after 10 years in the service. It was a far cry from the occupation she had grown up dreaming about. And it wasn’t the life that Davis might have expected to lead when she made her first flight to Salina in 1970. A native of New York with a strong Methodist upbringing, Davis began her college career at Virginia Wesleyan University. After her freshman year, Davis and her family decided to look for a college with the same strong Methodist-based foundation where she could fully concentrate on her education. They found the perfect spot in landlocked Kansas. Wheat fields and tornadoes “The only thing I knew about Kansas was that it was known for wheat fields and tornadoes,” she said. “But I wanted to get a college degree.” Although the wide-open spaces were a stark difference from the popular oceanfront and boardwalks of Virginia Beach, Davis fell in love with the KWU campus culture immediately. Throughout her career at Kansas Wesleyan, she was a cheerleader, served as associate editor of the school newspaper and participated in school government. And, according 22 CONTACT
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Diane Davis
Courtesy photos
Diane (McGuire) Davis, center, was the class leader and only female in her flight class of 37 in the U.S. Army. She flew helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. to the 1973 yearbook, she was, “in general, the campus live wire.” “I tried to encourage other students to get involved with things on campus; that is so much of the entire college experience,” she said. “It was a small school and a nice environment, and the professors were wonderful.” All the while, she worked on her bachelor’s degree in education with the goal of fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a schoolteacher like her father. However, unlike today, that was a time when there were a glut of elementary schoolteachers. “For every elementary school job offered, there were 500 applicants,” she said. In search of a job in another field until she landed that coveted teaching job, Davis checked out her options in the military.
The Army offered her a chance to learn skills as an eyes, ears, nose and throat corpsman, and she went on to work in a hospital for two years. Always in search for more education, she successfully applied for a commission, went to officers training for four months and became a signal corps officer, then a platoon leader. Her zest for learning didn’t stop there. When a friend in a nearby battalion told her they were allowing women in aviation, Davis passed that test and quickly became the class leader as the only woman in her class of 37. “It was the most wonderful experience I ever had in my life,” she said. “I loved flying helicopters.” She flew Guardrail (multi-engine turboprop) aircraft that provided aerial intelligence and surveillance
back to the ground to our troops. One of the airplanes she flew is on static display at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga. Davis always wanted to fly a Cobra, but women weren’t allowed to fly gunships with weapons attached during those days. “A lot has changed since I was there,” she said. She met her husband, Tad, while stationed in Savannah, Ga., and she eventually traded the skies for a classroom. After landing her first teaching job, Davis spent 19 years in the education field, while her husband’s assignments took the family to various sites across the country and abroad. “A teaching background was such a great thing to have,” she said, “because they needed teachers everywhere I’ve been.” Davis and her husband, a retired Army colonel, raised two daughters, who she said benefited greatly from their parents’ military life. “It provided them so many experiences and opportunities,” she said. “They learned to ski in the Alps, attended school in Germany and learned to speak foreign languages.” Now, Davis is looking forward to coming back to where it all began. “I’m a little hesitant,” she admitted before Homecoming. “We all moved away and kind of lost touch with each other. I looked at my yearbook to remind myself of what it was like back then. I think it’ll be a great time.” By Diane Gasper-O’Brien
BRUBAKER ’08 GOES FOR THE GOLD — AND THE PURPLE
Teacher Education prof's love of KWU started in her freshman year, hasn't waned
It’s all about family for Lori Brubaker – her own family and her Kansas Wesleyan University family. Over the years, they have blended into one for Brubaker, an assistant professor for teacher education at the school. However, shortly after arriving on campus her freshman year at KWU in 2004, Brubaker probably wondered what the future held for her. Just two days into the fall semester, she was involved in a serious car accident with some other students. “After I was stable enough to honestly live, I was unable to use both of my hands,” she said. Brubaker suffered a broken index finger on her left hand, which required multiple surgeries, and her right wrist was broken in two places. “I couldn’t write,” Brubaker said. “After I went home for a couple weeks, I was like ‘I’ve got to go back to school.’ ” Brubaker was determined to graduate with her class. After laying out a semester to heal, she returned to school, where the KWU family stepped in. “Throughout the whole process, they were phenomenal at Kansas Wesleyan about facilitating my return to school,” Brubaker said. “On the academic side, my professors were helping me in any capacity whatsoever.” Brubaker graduated with her class, receiving her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2008. She went on to get her master’s degree in Instructional Technology from Fort Hays State University in 2017. Brubaker, who started her third year on the KWU faculty this fall, had spent the previous eight years teaching in the Solomon school district. Coming back 'home' When Brubaker learned of the opening at KWU, she jumped at the chance to come to a place she thinks of as home. She wanted to spend more time with her two young sons. She wanted to put her master’s degree to good use at the collegiate level, passing on what she knew to future teachers. And the 23 CONTACT
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Lori Brubaker, assistant professor of teacher education, helps a student with an assignment in class. KWU family atmosphere was appealing. “I knew it was a very loving and familyoriented place, so when I put all three of those things together, I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Brubaker said. “What’s really awesome is I never thought I would be here this soon.” Dr. Eileen St. John, chair of the Department of Teacher Education, thought Brubaker would be a perfect fit when she hired her. “We believe in having an upbeat, positive department so that our students will be upbeat and positive in the classroom,” St. John said. “She is a very personable, upbeat teacher. That is what you need to have to teach students at this level to be teachers.” Brubaker’s passion for technology in a teaching environment is being passed on to the next generation of educators who graduate from KWU. “Kansas Wesleyan is very cutting-edge,” Brubaker said. “They want to become marketable, set themselves apart.” “We want our students to be utmost current on things,” she added. “We’re trying to create opportunities and partnerships for our students’ professional development before they're actually out in the field.”
When not in the classroom, one can find Brubaker and her family at a sporting event at the school. Brubaker graduated in 2004 from Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays, where she played basketball for the Monarchs. She planned to play basketball at KWU, but the car accident derailed that plan. Wanting to still be involved with the sport, she coached junior high and high school basketball at Solomon. Brubaker met her future husband, Bobby, also a 2008 KWU graduate, her junior year in college after he arrived on campus as a junior college transfer to play football. You can still find the Brubaker family — Mom, Dad, 11-year-old Mason and 9-year-old Max — at home games. After all, they are part of the Kansas Wesleyan family, so much so that Mason wanted to be a KWU football player for Halloween last year. Right on time, a coach and two players handdelivered Mason a Coyote uniform for trick-ortreating. “We’re full-fledged purple and gold,” Brubaker said. By Randy Gonzales
Fall 2023
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FOUR JOIN KWU'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES Four new individuals have been elected to the Kansas Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. Roy Lawrence ’91 (Salina, Kan.), Dr. Stefanie Milam ’02 (Annapolis, Md.), Byron Norris ’72 (Salina) and Jon Starks (Salina) join a group of 23 distinguished church, civic and business leaders who set the future of the university. “We are so fortunate to have this impressive and diverse group of five individuals join our KWU board. They have each demonstrated leadership in their respective areas and a dedication to our mission. They will enhance the work of our Board of Trustees,” said Dr. Matt Thompson, KWU president. The board’s newest officers are led by chair Marilyn Foster Kirk ’68 (Evanston, Ill.), while Barry Weis ’10 (Salina) is the immediate past chair. Ken Ebert, Alumni by Choice ’17, (Salina) is the vice chair and Charles Spencer (Kansas City, Mo.) serves as treasurer, while John Redding ’91 (Salina) is secretary. Roy Lawrence is part-owner of the Salina Liberty indoor football team and the former director of development for St. John’s Military School in Salina. He graduated from Kansas Wesleyan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Dr. Stefanie Milam is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) deputy project scientist for
Roy Lawrence ’91
Dr. Stefanie Milam ’02
planetary science at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Milam was one of the lead scientists on 2022’s launch of the JWST and discussed the launch on multiple national platforms, including 60 Minutes and PBS. A 2002 graduate of KWU with a B.S. degree in Chemistry, she earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Arizona in 2007. She was recognized with the KWU Young Alumni Award in 2008. Byron Norris is the retired vice president for human resources/risk management at McShares, Inc., based in Salina. He graduated from KWU with a B.S. degree in Biology in 1972 and holds a Master of Science degree from Wichita State University. He previously served on the Board of Trustees from 2013-22. Jon Starks is the retired president and CEO of
Byron Norris ’72
Jon Starks
UMB Bank, Salina and Abilene. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kansas, the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware, the American Bankers Association National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma and the Bank Marketing Association School of Bank Marketing at the University of Colorado. Starks previously served on the KWU Board of Trustees 2012-21, including a term as treasurer. Two board members were elected as Trustee Emeriti, with terms expiring in 2028: Emily-May Richards (Peoria, Ariz.) for her first term as Trustee Emerita and Randy St. Clair ’65 (Parkville, Mo.) for his second term as Trustee Emeritus. Richards is a past recipient of the university’s Alumni by Choice honor.
KWU WELCOMES NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PHOTOGRAPHER “Curiosity can go quiet and hibernate when you’re done being kids,” said Matthew Cicanese, photographer, videographer, and inspirational speaker on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). “I just know I’m witnessing wonder, hoping to translate that to other people, reigniting that childhood wonder.” His exhibit of photographs and videos, “Symphonies in Scale,” was on display from Sept. 25-Oct. 27 at The Gallery in Sams Hall of Fine Arts. Cicanese, on the KWU campus in late September, focuses his career on fostering that sense of creativity, learning and experimenting. He is an award-winning wildlife photographer and National Geographic Explorer who recently moved to Colorado from Florida. His specialty is macrophotography — larger than life — portraits of lichens, mosses, ferns, fungi, animals and plants, which has been featured by Canon, National Geographic, World Wildlife Fund, 24 CONTACT
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Matthew Cicanese speaks at the reception for his exhibit, “Symphonies in Scale” at The Gallery in Sams Hall of Fine Arts. Smithsonian Magazine and BBC Earth. In 2021, he was named a Forbes “30 Under 30” for Art and Style. For this exhibit he made prints and had videos on a loop. “I don’t print that often, so I like to print really big and bring people into those really tiny worlds that fit into the palm of your hand,” he said. The paper prints at The Gallery are
large, 3 feet by 2 feet, not mounted or framed. “We can let them really feel that, if we let them bleed it out to the edge,” he said. “We can use the full budget and just dissolve the frame.” During the week he was on campus, he met with photography classes and individual students. He also gave public lectures and workshops on
neurodiversity. Cicanese found photography “focused it all in” when he was 14. Because of having meningitis when he was an infant, he is blind in his left eye, deaf in his right ear. He is also neurodiverse. “The world always kind of feels like it’s spinning all the time,” he said, of living with ADHD. “FAIL” is his favorite acronym, he said: First Attempt In Learning, something he’s been thinking about for 10 years or more. As the student speaker at his graduation from Florida Southern College, “I spoke on failure, deaf, blind and disabilities,” he said, “navigating this world of science and storytelling through this lens of failure.” He earned a B.S. degree in Environmental Science, with minors in Graphic Design and Communication. Cicanese also has an MFA from Duke University’s Experimental and Documentary Arts program.
Bennington State Bank tends to its roots To Darren Gragg, president and CEO of Bennington State Bank, taking care of the home folks just makes good financial sense. “North-central Kansas has been good to us over the years, and we try to be just as good or better a partner over the years,” Gragg said. The bank is a sponsor or participant in many of the good causes and events happening in north-central Kansas. Kansas Wesleyan students have reason to be especially grateful for the strong relationship with the bank. “The roots have always been around the students,” Gragg said, “doing what we can to hire Kansas Wesleyan students while they’re still in school. Graduates are probably the roots of the relationship.” Bennington State Bank has hired Kansas Wesleyan interns, bachelors degree graduates and MBA graduates over the past years, with about 13 currently employed there. There are at least two reasons for this, Gragg said. “They’re definitely well-educated,” he said. “They come prepared. They’re here to learn, they want to be involved.” Any major welcome Students need not have a degree in banking or business to work at BSB. “If I had my way, we wouldn’t have job descriptions,” Gragg said. “I want to start every job description with ‘other duties as assigned.’ Your degree is an indication of how quickly you can get started, but we have people who are extremely accomplished with a biology degree. You have to be someone who wants to help people, you have to want to figure things out.” That said, both Gragg and Carolyn Sichley, BSB’s marketing officer, have been especially impressed with interns and graduates from KWU’s marketing majors and the DECA team. “It’s their ability to be problem-solvers, see the problem and look into it,” Sichley said. “One of the things the marketing department, other departments do very well is teach kids how to take real-life problems and solve that problem as part of their classwork. DECA members are taught to take all real world problems and solve them — very useful,” DECA is an organized business competition that provides students with problems and requires them to present solutions. Some require a written report, while others involve an exam taken beforehand the competition. All involve presentations with varying amounts of time to prepare, sometimes as little as 30 minutes. The second thing Gragg likes about Kansas Wesleyan students is that so many of them have roots around here. 25 CONTACT Fall 2023
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Courtesy photo
Darren Gragg (back row, left), president and CEO of Bennington State Bank, poses with some of the Kansas Wesleyan students and alumni on staff. “That’s something that’s a big deal for us,” he said. “We believe that Salina needs good people, north-central Kansas needs good people. There’s a lot of character traits that come out of kids from north-central Kansas, and we need to retain as many of them as we can. You’re only going to do that if you can challenge them, if you can give them the opportunities. Re-investment in the region “You have to continually re-invest in areas like Salina or everyone’s just going to move to Kansas City or Wichita. Having that continual re-investment, all the dollars that go through the bank stay right here.” That’s one reason for the bank’s involvement in so many organizations. “We try to be an extremely strong community partner in a variety of ways, whether that’s buying animals at the 4-H sale or sponsoring a baseball team or getting into the bigger projects, the car museum or whatever it might be, we feel like we have to be involved,” Gragg said. For Kansas Wesleyan, “We’re very active in many of the events, the job fair, Meet the Merchants, Night With the Yotes, Women in Leadership and the Scholarship Gala in April,” Sichley said. “Bennington State Bank is a great friend of KWU,” said Ken Oliver, KWU’s executive vice president of advancement and university
operations. “Whether it’s hiring graduates, generous financial support or serving as one of the money managers for our endowment, BSB does great things for our university and we are truly appreciative.” Bennington State Bank was first formed as a private bank in Bennington in 1883. In 1887, it became one of the first chartered banks in Kansas. The Berkley family bought it in 1945, and it remains a family-owned community bank, with branches in Wichita, Bennington, Minneapolis, Wamego, Lucas, Sylvan Grove and Abilene, as well as two branches and an office in Salina. From the start, agricultural loans have been a focus of the business, but the bank has expanded its expertise. Wealth management has grown tremendously in the past four or five years, Gragg said. But it is important to him that the bank maintain its small-town atmosphere. “If you can come in and have a relationship with an employee, that person can pretty much answer whatever the question is,” he said. “We want that one person to take care of you. As we’ve grown, our focus is to maintain that.” A special announcement regarding Bennington State Bank’s support of KWU will be made at April’s Scholarship Gala. By Jean Kozubowski
Fall 2023
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MARSHALL MOTORS INCREASES SUPPORT OF KWU Marshall Motors, one of the leading automotive dealerships in the region, has supported Kansas Wesleyan for decades, and now vehicles from its fleet will help students, faculty and staff spread the university’s mission across the Midwest. Financial support from Marshall enabled the university to add six 15-passenger vans to its fleet this fall. While the vans will be used primarily for athletic teams, they will be available to all faculty and staff groups on official university business. All six will be outfitted with KWU branding and logos. “This gift will enable those Coyotes traveling for official university business to do so using some truly great vehicles,” said Ken Oliver, executive vice president of advancement and university operations. “It’s our honor to help KWU
Larry Marshall, left, speaks at the presentation of six 15-passenger vans to Kansas Wesleyan in September. Listening are Ken Oliver, center, executive vice president of advancement and university operations, and Dustin Sahlmann, KWU men’s volleyball coach. acquire these vans,” said Larry Marshall, owner of Marshall Motors. “We hope it betters the
student experience by making travel easier for countless Coyotes in the upcoming years.”
The gift is in addition to the three vehicles given by Marshall to KWU during the summer. The three vehicles — two Nissan Sentras and a Chrysler Pacifica — were wrapped by Gleason & Son Signs, a local company, and given to KWU. They display KWU logos and other university branding on the vehicles’ exteriors. “My family and I have supported KWU for decades, and we’re extremely proud of that relationship,” said Larry Marshall, owner of Marshall Motors. “I, along with the rest of our company’s leadership team, have been very impressed with the university’s recent momentum, so it seemed like an appropriate time to deepen our relationship with KWU by making these gifts.” Marshall Motors will also increase existing gifts for scholarships and other academic support.
Mahaska to be title sponsor of April’s scholarship gala
THOMAS JOINS ADMISSIONS STAFF
Momentum continues to grow around Kansas Wesleyan’s corporate partnerships, as longtime friend Mahaska has expanded its partnership with the university. The organization will become the title sponsor of KWU’s Scholarship Gala in both 2024 and 2026. “Mahaska is honored to continue our longtime partnership with such a great organization that has done so much to change the lives of so many,” said Alan Michaud, chief of operations for Mahaska (Kansas). “With such a great staff and so many great supporters, we look forward to being a part of what KWU has in store for its future.” In addition to its Gala sponsorship, Mahaska will make a significant contribution toward scholarships for the next five years. It will also continue to sponsor KWU’s Exemplary Teacher Award, an honor given to a selected instructor at the end of each academic year. “Mahaska is dedicated to supporting academic opportunities for our students,” said Ken Oliver, executive vice president of advancement and university
Kansas Wesleyan has hired Levi Thomas as the university’s first Director of Graduate Admissions and Corporate Relations. Thomas will work in tandem with university leadership to lead recruitment for the university’s MBA program. He began his duties in midOctober. Thomas comes to KWU from fellow Levi Thomas KICA school Southwestern, where he served as the director of admissions and financial aid. He trained new admissions employees in recruitment strategies, worked with departments across campus
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operations. “Its investment into scholarships, as well as the Scholarship Gala, will help improve KWU’s academic experience as few other businesses have. We are truly grateful for the support!” Tickets are on sale now for the biennial Scholarship Gala. The formal event will be held Saturday, April 20, and all funds raised go to support student scholarships. This will be the university’s second Scholarship Gala. The 2022 raised more than $440,000. Those efforts have helped KWU’s endowed scholarships increase by nearly 25 percent since 2019. “Endowed scholarships are a critical element of student support,” said Oliver. “Being able to provide this additional financial aid is an important part of how we ensure the accessibility of a Kansas Wesleyan education. The Scholarship Gala is our primary vehicle for doing this. It’s one of the most important events of the year!” Mahaska has served as the official beverage provider of Kansas Wesleyan University since September 2021.
to foster communication that positively influenced enrollment, and managed marketing and event planning to maximize recruitment opportunities. “The sincere passion and pride expressed by students, faculty and staff here at KWU is infectious,” said Thomas. “I am excited to make new connections and continue strengthening existing relationships to benefit the growth of our MBA program.” Thomas also previously served as an admission representative at Central Methodist University. He is a 2015 graduate of Central Methodist, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management and was named the department’s outstanding senior. He earned his MBA from Southwestern last year.
SAVE THE DATE
Presented by Mahaska, the Gala's Title Sponsor
Saturday, April 20, 2024 Featured speaker: Dr. Rebecca Chopp ’74 Kansas Wesleyan University’s Student Activities Center Premier Sponsors: Advantage Trust Company Bennington State Bank BE Wealth Sunflower Bank UMB Bank Hosted by Kansas Wesleyan University and the KWU Foundation 27 CONTACT
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www.kwu.edu/gala2024
A family heritage of
PERSEVERANCE If Della Schwindt’s family has a motto, it should be “Perseverance.” That applies to whether it’s achieving the goals of a young woman or clearing an ancestor’s name. Schwindt, now 86, dropped out of high school at age 16 because she loved her job as a nurse’s aide at Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City. “I loved working in the hospital. I loved working with people,” she said. “I always had it in the back of my mind that I would really love to be a nurse.” She dropped out the second semester of her junior year and rented an apartment in downtown Kansas City. “It sounds horrendous now, when I think about it,” she said. To complete high school, she enrolled in American School, a correspondence school out of Chicago. It’s done online now, but then it was all by mail. An assignment came in the mail, she finished it and sent it back. When she was 17, going on 18, she married Fred Schwindt. With six daughters to raise after that, she was too busy to get her nursing degree. Fred was a carpenter, working on new houses, and they moved around a bit, settling in Salina in 1962. A few years later, in 1966, Schilling Air Force Base closed. “When the base closed, builders went broke wholesale,” she said. With little work in Salina, Fred took jobs in the area, from Manhattan to Bartlesville, Okla. When he fell from the second-story of a house onto cement and was injured in Bartlesville, the Schwindts weren’t sure he’d be able to work again. They decided it was time for Della to get her LPN. The nearest classes were in McPherson, so she enrolled, with some fear, when she was almost 28 CONTACT
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Della Schwindt ’84 persevered in earning her R.N. degree from KWU in her 50s. She has an interest in family history, including about her great-grandfather, William Jackson Marion, who was hanged for a murder he didn’t commit. On the table is the newspaper feature about her father finding Marion’s grave and a book about her mother’s family, They Went West. 45. Going to school with 18-year-olds who had just finished high school and were accustomed to studying was daunting, she said. “I found out there were a number of nontraditional students in this class, so that was not near so scary,” Schwindt said. She also found out she loved school. “I finished my LPN training, and I didn’t want to just drop it at that point,” she said. “I investigated and found I could go to Kansas Wesleyan and get the prerequisites for the Asbury School of Nursing.” Schwindt worked the 3-11 shift at Kenwood View Nursing Home and went to class from 7-3 at Kansas Wesleyan for her prerequisites. At the time, Asbury had a
“bridge” program: if you had a year of experience, you could complete your junior year over the summer, then enter in the fall as a senior. And that’s what Schwindt did. She graduated with her R.N. degree in 1984, the same year her youngest daughter graduated from high school. She took a job as director of nursing at College Park Village Health Care Center. “In the meantime, I wanted to finish my bachelor’s degree, so I went back to Kansas Wesleyan part-time and took classes,” she said, graduating in 1989 at the age of 52. “I loved going to school. I wouldn’t mind going back to school now — kind of foolish,” she said wistfully. When she left College Park, she
went to Kansas Care Home Health until she turned 65. “Then I taught at Salina Tech for 12 years,” she said. “I still have dreams about teaching sometimes.” She’s done with school, for right now; she let her nursing license lapse when she turned 78. “Sometimes we look at things and we think those were the poorest decisions to be made,” she said. “Yet when it really boils down to the nitty-gritty, those were good decisions, and it’s because God was directing.” Her father, Ebert Marion, may have set her an example of perseverance. Marion searched for and found his grandfather’s unmarked grave, placing a tombstone on it 100 years after he was hanged for murder in
Left: The Beatrice, Neb., Daily Sun, ran a feature on William Jackson Marion, wrongly convicted of murder in 1886, finally getting a headstone 100 years later. Above: At one point, a copy of Jackson’s pardon was placed with the headstone.
Beatrice, Neb. Then 25 years later, he petitioned the Nebraska governor for a pardon, which was granted. The trial of William Jackson “Jack” Marion, accused of murdering his friend and business partner, was a sensation in 1886 and is still talked of today. The principle witness against him was his first mother-in-law, who identified the clothes on a decomposing skeleton found in a ditch in 1872 as belonging to John Cameron. All the evidence was circumstantial, at best, yet a jury found Marion guilty, and he was to be hanged until “dead, dead, dead.” Indeed he was, on March 25, 1887, after persevering in protesting his innocence. “Frontier justice wasn’t always justice,” Schwindt said. “The whole town turned out to watch the hanging.” Four years later, a friend tracked down Cameron, alive and well, in Kansas. Cameron had traded his clothes to an Indian for a saddle horse, since he had sold the team to Marion when they 29 CONTACT
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parted. Neither the identity of the man in the ditch with three bullet holes in his head nor his murder has been solved. After Cameron and Marion split up, Marion went to Missouri, leaving his young wife, who refused to go, in Nebraska. He married again and started a family, not knowing there was a warrant out for his arrest for murder. Marion may have been a rogue. There are family whispers of him being something of a gambler and womanizer. He was arrested in 1872 for thievery in Sedan, Kan., where the sheriff recognized him from the warrant poster and informed the authorities in Nebraska, who came and got him. The family in Missouri knew nothing of what happened to him at the time, just that he didn’t come home. Shortly after the hanging, Marion’s Missouri wife died, and the children, including Schwindt’s grandfather, were passed around among various
relatives. It was not a happy time for the boy, Schwindt said, and perhaps as a result, he never talked much about it, or really anything, she said. Elbert Marion wanted to clear his grandfather’s name for his father and started researching the case when he was about 70. Also, “he wanted to know if his grandfather had come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ,” Schwindt said. As a pastor himself, that was important to him. “The night before Marion’s hanging, he requested a minister come to his cell, and they had a long talk,” she said. “The minister verified that William Jackson was ready to meet his maker.” He had, indeed been a model prisoner for those three or four years, eating meals with the jailer’s family and playing checkers with the grandchildren, she said. He went calmly to his execution. “It has definitely had an impact on me, when it comes to considering capital punishment,” Schwindt said. “So many times, people have been killed because of capital punishment and it has been found out they are innocent of the crimes they have been accused of.” She and other members of her family have become vocal in their opposition to capital punishment. One final note: Schwindt’s grandfather on her mother’s side also attended KWU. He was sent to the business college, supposedly, to “keep him away from that Hickle girl.” He persevered and married that Hickle girl in 1904. By Jean Kozubowski
Fall 2023
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4 2 0 2 Come home October 18-20, 2024
Make plans now for Homecoming 2024, when KWU will unveil the newly renovated Sams Chapel! It’s the start of a new era on campus, and we hope each of you will be a part of it. Have questions? Email Michelle@kwu.edu.
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Class Notes 1970s
Arega Ali ’77, Los Angeles, Calif., retired after 33 years with the Los Angeles Unified School District. She taught music for 28 of those 33 years.
2000s
Dr. Suzann Bouray ’01, ’08, G’09 is the new superintendent of USD 351 (Macksville, Kan.) Brandon Cheeks ’05, KWU student support advisor, is a 2023-25 UCEA Barbara L. Jackson Scholar. The Jackson Scholars network is an opportunity for graduate students of color to engage in formal networking, mentoring and development opportunities, with the goal of enhancing the pathway to the professoriate in educational leadership. Cheeks is working on a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Kansas State University.
2010s
Andrew Gabel ’12, Yukon, Okla., has been accepted to present at the National Defense Industrial Association 26th Annual Systems & Mission Engineering Conference. The title of the accepted abstracts are “Future Consideration of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Systems Engineering Design” and “Unleashing the Power of MBSE Model Library Deployments with Cutting-Edge Methods and Strategic Considerations.” Gable earned his Master of Engineering Management degree from the University of Nebraska — Lincoln.
Happy Birthday,
Harold Nelson! KWU wishes Harold Nelson ’49 a happy 100th birthday! Harold was honored at the McPherson Opera House this summer. Harold has more than 80 family members who attended KWU, including his wife, daughters and brothers, including Albert Nelson ’50.
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Sean Grove ’14, is the deputy executive director for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Rebecca (Lyne) Grove ’14. Tremayne Jackson ’15, G’17, Palmdale, Ca., is the new senior executive of operations/chief operating officer at Advocates for Youth. Traves Liles ’15, Houston, Texas, graduated with an MBA from the University of Houston’s Bauer School of Business. He earned certificates in investment analysis, investment banking and private equity. Enrique Guyton ’17, Great Bend, Kan., is a software engineer with Oracle. Mauro Hipolito ’18, Dodge City, Kan., is an integrated technology architect with Oracle. Nissa Inzunza ’19, G’21, Kissimmee, Fla., works as a marketing analyst at Kinley-Horn in Orlando, Fla.
2020s
Orphee Matafadi ’20, Wichita, Kan., is the new utility concierge sales agent for the super utilities division of Super Concierge, Inc. Scott Hesper ’20, Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, accepted the position of key account manager at Bisco Industries. Malik Young ’22, Salina, is the IT support specialist at Bennington State Bank.
If you have updates for class notes, please contact the Advancement Office at 785-833-4392 or alumni@kwu.edu. Sydney Mitchell ’26 was chosen the new president for the college chapters at the Kansas NAACP State Conference in October.
In Memoriam Clifford W. Trow ’51, Corvallis, Ore., passed away Oct. 31, 2023. Trow was a long-time Oregon state senator who served in that office for nearly 30 years, including his party’s leader in that body from 1995-1998. Danny L. Smith ’55, Westminster, Calif., passed away July 10, 2023. Rev. Loren Eugene Marler ’56, Salina, passed away June 10, 2023. Dr. Jerry S. Weis ’58, Manhattan, Kan., passed away Aug. 6, 2023. Dr. Steven Blair ’64, Columbia, S.C., passed away Oct. 6, 2023. Blair was a professor at the University of South Carolina. A 2005 New York Times article described him as one of the nation’s leading experts on the health benefits of exercise. William E. Pratt ’73, Salina, passed away Aug. 10, 2023. Bambi Rowson ’94, Salina, passed away March, 22, 2023. Alexander Wyatt ’94, Hollywood, Calif., passed away June 22, 2023. Nicolette Unruh-Uhl G’11, near Manhattan, passed away Nov. 3, 2023. She was an operating partner of Nico’s Little Italy in Manhattan.
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Looking for a way to give back? Consider referring a student! If you refer a student who attends KWU for four years, it’s as if you made a $60,000 donation to the university! To refer a student, contact admissions@kwu.edu or visit www.kwu.edu/referastudent. Please note that referrals should be given only with permission from the student and parent or guardian.
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