KWU RECIEVES $1M GIFT
MILLION DOLLAR GIFT GIVES KWU POWER BOOST
This spring, Kansas Wesleyan University received a $1M gift from Sunflower Bank for a comprehensive campus-wide technology infrastructure upgrade. The university awarded the contract to Nex-Tech, a technology company based in Lenora, KS. The gift covers the majority of a $1.2M contract with Nex-Tech that includes installation and maintenance of a one-gigabit fiber network linking residence halls and academic buildings with an advanced, secure, managed IP infrastructure.
“This gift will change the infrastructure of our campus,” said Dr. Thompson. “We are grateful to Sunflower Bank for providing us the opportunity to make critical upgrades that will help us better support our students, faculty and staff. The generous support Nex-Tech is providing for the new Graves Family Sports Complex not only enhances our student experience, it enriches the experience of our visitors and neighbors who utilize the facility.”
The robust high-speed network will accommodate advanced data and voice services across the campus, including a state-of-the-art wireless network accessible to students, faculty and staff. The gift also allows the university to expand its KWU Everywhere initiative, which includes KWU Online and distance education opportunities and opens educational access to students across the state, the country and the world.
Included in the technology upgrade was the installation of a state-of-the-art telephone system. All employees have direct dial numbers beginning with (785) 833 + ext. You may still dial the main university line (785) 827-5541; however you will need to use the new extensions. An updated list of extensions can be found on the online directory at www.kwu.edu.
Mollie Hale Carter, president and CEO of Sunflower Bank, and Jimmy Todd, CEO and general manager of Nex-Tech, joined Dr. Thompson at a press conference on Wednesday, April 8 in KWU’s Hauptli Student Center to share the news. “We are thrilled to sponsor this technology upgrade for KWU,” said Mollie Hale Carter, president and CEO of Sunflower Bank. “This partnership perfectly fits our company mission of bringing out the best in the lives we touch… ‘Creating Possibilities.’ Strengthening our communities through educational access is a possibility that is nearing reality, and together with Kansas Wesleyan we look forward to seeing the difference this will make for students in the communities we serve across Kansas and Colorado.” As part of the agreement, Nex-Tech is making a $150,000 in-kind donation to KWU in support of the Graves Family Sports Complex construction project. Nex-Tech construction and upgrade activities on the campus began in the spring and carried on through the summer, with completion expected in the fourth quarter.
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“This is a perfect collaboration between two institutions that have been integral to the Salina community for more than a century and a regional company with tremendous capabilities to move our campus forward,” said KWU President and CEO Matt Thompson, Ph.D. “This initiative will open new doors to expand our online and distance education opportunities as well as enhance the student experience.”
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