Driving forward our mission of creating engaged global citizen-leaders, and a cause for celebration, was the official accreditation approval this summer from the Council on Social Work Education for our online bachelor’s degree. Social work is one of the fastest-growing careers in the country, and Fort Hays State University continues to find ways to reach students studying for both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Fort Hays State is one of only a handful of universities in the United States – and the only one in Kansas – to offer the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) online. FHSU also is the only university in the state to offer the MSW online.

Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., this spring, our Criminal Justice chair, Dr. Tamara Lynn, wanted to make a difference by creating a culture that emphasizes de- escalation to benefit students pursuing careers in corrections, probation and parole, juvenile services, and other positions where situations may escalate quickly. Toward that end, we recently signed a preliminary agreement for our Criminal Justice and University Police departments to explore the opportunity to establish a regional training center for the National De-escalation Training Center (NDTC) on the FHSU campus. The NDTC is located at Wayne State University in Detroit and facilitates innovation, research, and development of best practices in law enforcement de-escalation training.

These two powerful examples are some of the many ways we have been relentlessly pursuing our mission. We have also been focused on taking care of our place.

Have you been on campus lately? It is beautiful! Our grounds crew in particular has been nurturing and caring for our physical campus in Hays, America. I often walk the campus with my dog, Gracie, and bask in the beauty of the many flowers, plants, trees, and well-cared-for grounds. I hold deep admiration and gratitude for the many colleagues who work hard during the hot, muggy, and often windy, summer months to create such a beautiful environment for all us to enjoy.

While our grounds colleagues toil over the land, our facilities planning team has been equally busy “keeping our house in order.” In addition to the building of the new Fishli Wills Center for Student Success, progress this summer includes renovation to the Black and Gold Room in the Memorial Union, and a roof replacement, HVAC upgrades, and new carpeting for Martin Allen Hall.

Sheridan Hall got a bath, so to speak, with masonry cleaning and sealing. I love how well our team takes care of our beautiful campus limestone. Meanwhile, our team completed Phase 6 of our exterior lighting project: replacing street, pedestrian, and building lighting with LED fixtures. Gustad Bridge also got a “facelift” with repairs to concrete columns and the redesigning of metal guard rail attachments. Albertson Hall also received updates to its roof.