Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Hays, Kansas Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 21,116. It is ...

. It is the fourth-largest of the six state universities governed by the

Kansas Board of Regents The Kansas Board of Regents is a body consisting of nine members that governs six state universities in the U.S. state of Kansas. In addition to these six universities, it also supervises and coordinates nineteen community colleges, five technic ...

, with a total enrollment of approximately 15,100 students.

History

FHSU was founded in 1902 as the Western Branch of Kansas State Normal School, which is now known as

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...

. The institution was originally located on the grounds of

Fort Hays Fort Hays, originally named Fort Fletcher, was a United States Army fort near Hays, Kansas. Active from 1865 to 1889 it was an important frontier post during the American Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Reopened as a historical park in 1 ...

, a frontier military outpost that was closed in 1889. The university served the early settlers' needs for educational facilities in the new region. The first building closer to Hays was completed in 1904, at which time the university moved to its present location. The modern campus is still located on a portion of the former military reservation from the fort. FHSU was first to be founded as an agricultural based school but was then determined to be a normal school. The normal school was supposed to be supported in part by the agricultural experiment station. For years, the University Dairy Unit supplied the school cafeteria with fresh milk. During the Great Flood of 1951, Big Creek, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the Kansas River, flooded nearly all of campus, forcing a midnight evacuation.

Presidents

# William S. Picken (1902–1913) # William A. Lewis (1913–1933) # Clarence E. Rarick (1933–1941) # Lyman D. Wooster (1941–1949) # Morton C. Cunningham (1949–1969) # John W. Gustad (1969–1975) # Gerald W. Tomanek (1975–1987) # Edward H. Hammond (1987–2014) # Mirta M. Martin (2014–2016) ## Mike Barnett (acting) (2016) ## Andy Tompkins (interim) (2016–2017) # Tisa Mason (2017–present)

Attempted merger with Dodge City Community College

In March 2014, it was announced that

Dodge City Community College Dodge City Community College (DC3, DCCC) is a public community college in Dodge City, Kansas, United States. History Campus Founded in 1935, Dodge City Community College was located on the third floor of the Senior High School Building at 1601 ...

might become part of Fort Hays State University under a proposal that would create the first public four-year degree-granting college in southwest Kansas. The college would have been known as Fort Hays State University at Dodge City had the plan been approved by the

. Fort Hays faculty could have taught other four-year programs in Dodge City, while courses typically taken by college freshmen and sophomores would remain the same. The proposal would have also required $10 million to build a technical institute and $5 million per year in state funding. The proposal required approval from the Board of Regents, followed by the

state Legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

and the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. On November 11, 2014, the community college's Board of Trustees voted 3–3 on a proposal that recommended that Fort Hays become an upper division college and technical institute in Dodge City, with the Dodge City college remaining independent. With this vote, the merger collapsed. As of 2019 the university had a total enrollment of approximately 15,100 students with 4,648 attending on-campus programs; 6,882 participating in online programs; and 3,570 in the Chinese program.

The campus

The main campus sits on of the owned by the state and deeded to the university. The campus property includes more than 40

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

-faced buildings. Big Creek, a winding stream that traverses the campus, not only enhances the beauty of the campus, but also serves as a natural laboratory for students in the biological sciences. The campus is located just to the west of the Hays business district, south of Interstate 70. Several businesses in downtown Hays cater specifically to FHSU students.

Buildings

Fort Hays State University Sheridan Hall

The buildings of Fort Hays State University are all dedicated to someone or are an important part of FHSU's history.

Forsyth Library

In addition to supporting the general needs of faculty, staff and students, Forsyth Library has a large collection of fiction and nonfiction material about Kansas and the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, supported in part by the Elmer and Eartha Pugh Trust Fund. Topics include railroads, the cattle industry, cowboys, Native Americans and frontier life. The William D. Pashchal

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History Collection, donated by retired dentist William Paschal, contains books, declassified government documents, maps, photographs, and other materials. The library is also the repository for the books, papers and periodicals of the Fort Hays

Genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

Society.

Sternberg Museum of Natural History

The university's Sternberg Museum of Natural History features interactive

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

exhibitions, many traveling and temporary exhibitions, an acclaimed Discovery Room, and a Museum Store. The museum houses over of

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

mosasaur Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on th ...

pterosaur Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and various other prehistoric species that inhabited Kansas over 70–80 million years ago. The Sternberg Museum also includes more than 3.7 million specimens in collections of

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

, history,

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, ethnology,

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octob ...

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

mammalogy In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part o ...

. One will find that all these major exhibits contain at least one creature/plant named after Sternberg. The university's museum was renamed the Sternberg Memorial Museum after the death in 1969 of

George F. Sternberg George Fryer Sternberg (1883–1969) was a paleontologist best known for his discovery in Gove County, Kansas of the "fish-within-a-fish" of ''Xiphactinus audax'' with a recently eaten ''Gillicus arcuatus'' within its stomach. Sternberg was bor ...

, who had developed it. The current museum was formed in 1991 when the university's museum was merged with the Museum of the High Plains. The museum is the home of the famous

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

fossil ''Gillicus in Xiphactinus'', better known as the "fish within a fish," which shows a small fossil fish inside the stomach of a larger fossil fish. In 2010, researchers at the museum showed that plankton-eating fish flourished in the ocean at the same time as the dinosaurs, filling in a 106-million-year gap in the fossil record. One of the authors of the paper was Mike Everhart, a curator of paleontology at the museum.

Academics

FHSU comprises five

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Business and Entrepreneurship; Education; Health and Behavioral Sciences; and Science, Technology and Mathematics) which together have 31 departments and offer more than 60 academic majors for

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

s and 20 for

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

s. Students at FHSU can obtain associate's degrees in office technology and radiologic technology; do their preprofessional study at FHSU then transfer to a medical or law school; obtain bachelor's and master's degrees; and in some areas of the curriculum, can earn specialist's degrees. FHSU also offers

online degrees In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

through its "Online College," a unit that evolved from the Department of Continuing Education and Learning Technology in 1999.

Docking Institute of Public Affairs

The Docking Institute is a public policy research institute whose mission is to enhance effective decision-making among governmental and non-profit leaders. The institute has six focus areas: # Survey research, program evaluation research, public policy research, and community and economic development research # Strategic planning and consulting # Grants facilitation # Economic and community development consulting # Public administration training programs # Public affairs programming (conferences, speakers, forums, media events, scholarly publications, etc.) In addition, the university hosts the ''Sebelius Lecture Series'' each year. The series is named for former United States Representative Keith Sebelius, who graduated from Fort Hays State University in 1941. Each semester, Fort Hays State University invites nationally recognized leaders to the campus to serve as keynote speakers.

Athletics

The Fort Hays State athletic teams are called the Tigers. The university is a member of the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

ranks, primarily competing in the

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...

(MIAA) for most of its sports since the 2006–07 academic year; while its men's soccer team competes in the

Great American Conference The Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvill ...

(GAC). The Tigers previously competed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) from 1989–90 to 2005–06 (which they were a member on a previous stint from 1968–69 to 1971–72); in the

Central States Intercollegiate Conference The Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) was an American intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1976 to 1989. It was known to be one of the toughest NAIA c ...

(CSIC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 1976–77 to 1988–89; in the

Great Plains Athletic Conference The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located ...

(GPAC) from 1972–73 to 1975–76; in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIC) from 1923–24 to 1967–68; and in the

Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United Stat ...

(KCAC) from 1902–03 to 1922–23. Fort Hays State competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Basketball

The Fort Hays State basketball programs hold four national basketball titles; the men's team claimed national championships in 1984 and 1985 ( NAIA), back to back, and in 1996 (

) with a remarkable 34–0 record. The women's team also brought home the national title in 1991 (NAIA).

Cross country

The men's cross country program owns four national championships, all as a member of the NAIA, occurring in 1963, 1965, 1968, and 1969.

Baseball

The

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

program was NCAA Division II national runner-up in 2000.

Shooting sports

The FHSU shooting team won 3rd place in 2009 in the American Trap event at the National ACUI competition.

Mascot

The

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

has been the mascot of FHSU since 1914. Its origin is unclear, but it may have been the brainchild of W.A. Lewis, the president of the Western Branch Normal School (FHSU). Many tigers have represented FHSU over the years, but on April 3, 2000, the current mascot was unveiled. It is now the only accepted image of the FHSU Tiger. At the annual TailGreat on September 9, 2000, the mascot was officially named Victor E. Tiger. The costumed tiger character, Victor E. Tiger, appears at sporting and university events and is currently worn by Dawna Evers, a senior at the university.

Oktoberfest and homecoming weekend

Each year, Fort Hays State holds a celebration called Oktoberfest. It is a celebration of the

Volga German The Volga Germans (german: Wolgadeutsche, ), russian: поволжские немцы, povolzhskiye nemtsy) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov a ...

heritage of Ellis County. It is held at Frontier Park in downtown Hays on the Friday before FHSU's homecoming. For entertainment, there is polka music and various booths that serve a variety of German food and beer. The first keg is tapped around 11:00 a.m. which officially begins Oktoberfest. There is also a homecoming parade on Saturday morning where student organizations decorate floats or walk in the parade for FHSU spirit. The homecoming football game begins Saturday afternoon.

Student media

Student Media at Fort Hays is housed under the banner Tiger Media Network, which includes radio and TV, stemming from their website at tigermedianet.com.

Notable alumni

Vashone Adams Vashone LaRay Adams (born September 12, 1973) is a former American football safety in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player * Greg Anderson, personal trainer linked to the

BALCO steroids scandal The BALCO scandal was a scandal involving the use of banned, performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) was a San Francisco Bay Area business which supplied anabolic steroids to profess ...

* Sheila Frahm, Former Lieutenant Governor of Kansas and Former United States Senator *

Eric Ian Spoutz Eric Ian Hornak-Spoutz (born August 3, 1983) is an American art dealer,Tom Watts, "Harrison Township art dealer is quick study," Macomb Daily, Feb. 15, 2012Jameson Cook, "Dual depictions presented of a prominent art dealer gone bad," Macomb Daily ...

, art dealer; historian; museum curator *

Kris Kuksi Kris Kuksi is an American artist. In 2006 he was among approximately fifty finalists in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition organised at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Education Kuksi received his Master of Fine Arts from ...

, visual artist *

Lynn Lashbrook Lynn Lashbrook (born October 11, 1948) is an Americans, American sports agent and educator. He is currently an NFL certified contract advisor who has represented over 150 NFL football players throughout his career – including Kansas City Chiefs ...

, President and Founder of SMWW *

M. T. Liggett Myron Thomas Liggett (December 28, 1930 – August 17, 2017) was an American Folk art, folk sculptor. Liggett was born in Mullinville, Kansas and grew up on his family farm. He graduated from Mullinville High School. Liggett went to Dodge ...

, folk sculptor * Kathryn McCarthy,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Kansas * Mike McCarthy, NFL Head Coach *

Tim McCarty Tim McCarty is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Western Heights High School (Oklahoma), Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City. McCarty served two stints as the head football coach at East Central ...

, East Central University football coach * Milton McGriggs, American football player * Les Miller, NFL player *

Frankie Neal Frankie Leon Neal (born October 1, 1965) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for a single season in 1987. Neal played college football for the University ...

, NFL player *

Nola Ochs Nola Ochs (née Hill) (November 22, 1911 – December 9, 2016) was an American woman, from Jetmore, Kansas, who in 2007, at age 95, graduated from college and was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest person in the world to become a co ...

, world's oldest college graduate (95 in 2007) * Pillar, band which formed at the university in 1998 * Nathan Shepherd, NFL player * Jim Smallwood, Colorado State Senator * Mickey Spillane, Detective novelist (freshman year only)

References

External links

*
Fort Hays State Athletics website
{{authority control Public universities and colleges in Kansas Educational institutions established in 1902 Education in Ellis County, Kansas Buildings and structures in Ellis County, Kansas Tourist attractions in Ellis County, Kansas 1902 establishments in Kansas