6/15/21

Fort Hays State University’s Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Hall is currently recruiting community builders with entrepreneurial mindsets to join the cohort of students that reside in the hall.

Hansen Scholarship Hall is among the newer residence halls on campus, built in 2016, and provides living space to a select group of undergraduate and graduate students at FHSU. The residence hall includes 33 private rooms (11 on each floor) and offers student access to multi-purpose study rooms, a fully equipped commercial-grade kitchen, and in-house laundry facilities.

Beyond the appealing living space and amenities, the main focus of living in the scholarship hall is about the students themselves.

“We are creating an environment that supports students with the entrepreneurial spirit,” said Dr. Jane Talkington, assistant professor of management and advisor for the scholarship hall. “All of the students have one thing in common – they want to create, market, and a make a living with these skills.”

Having extensively studied community behavior, writing a dissertation titled “Fostering Innovation in Communities of Innovators, Talkington understands the skillset required to live in a communal setting with a common goal. “We are teaching a mindset - how to identify a problem, generate possible solutions, evaluate those solutions to find the most feasible, and implement that solution,” she said.

The scholarship hall provides a living environment for students who are interested in developing a variety of skills while striving for educational, communal, and personal success.

“What is unique about Hansen Hall is the spirit of generosity,” Talkington stated. “Everyone has individual skills to contribute to the whole instead of focusing solely on individual development at the university. We are providing a different perspective and developing a practice of generosity and helping others.”

The opportunity for engagement and growth is plentiful, including live cooking demonstrations alongside international students, participation in the local art walks to display student work, faculty dinners, and a student governance system that includes the mayor, deputy mayor, and six city commissioners.

There will be an open house at Hansen Hall following FHSU Summer Orientation on multiple dates. For specific dates and times, view our Summer Orientation Schedule.

Those interested in applying for residence must be registered full-time at FHSU, maintaining a cumulative GPA requirement of 2.50 for undergraduates and 3.0 for graduate students. Students in any program of study are eligible to apply.

The Center for Entrepreneurship offers scholarships to assist in living costs. There are currently eight scholarships available to resident candidates. With assistance of the scholarship, cost of living in Hansen Hall per semester is $1,488.

For more information regarding eligibility requirements and to apply for residency and scholarships, visit Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Hall. The priority deadline for applications is July 15.