11/16/23

By FHSU University Communications

HAYS, Kan. – Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14, FHSU President Mason traveled more than 1,500 miles on a tour that ranged from Kansas City in the east, to Goodland in the west, to Phillipsburg in the north, and Garden City in the south. In a tradition that dates back to 1987, the annual president’s media tour is one way Fort Hays State University presidents stay connected with the people, businesses, and communities across FHSU’s vast service area. This year’s tour was Mason’s third. 

During Mason’s first two tours, in 2021 and 2022, all but one tour stop involved meetings with news outlets. This year, the schedule was expanded to include issue-focused events, alumni gatherings, and one-on-one meetings with Kansas Legislators. The schedule for this year’s tour demonstrated Mason’s commitment to using the annual to create more opportunities to connect with more Kansans.

“This is more of a listening tour for me than anything else,” Mason said. “Every day, I learn something new from the people I meet that inspires me and reminds me of the vital and evolving role FHSU plays across our state.”

Mason’s 21 total stops on the 2023 tour included 13 meetings with print, radio, digital, and broadcast journalists. Included in every discussion was FHSU’s Strategic Affiliation Initiative with North Central Kansas Technical College (NCK Tech) and Northwest Technical College Northwest Tech). The three institutions have joined forces to address severe economic and demographic threats to the future of rural Kansas communities.

Between 2010 and 2020, the population of the First Congressional District declined by 1.6%, while the state’s overall population increased by 6%. This decline is particularly acute in the number of young people passing through Kansas schools. The proposed affiliation will provide stronger, forward-looking educational programs and services to rural central and western Kansas people, businesses, and communities. 

Tour stops in Beloit and Goodland offered Mason, NCK Tech President Eric Burks, and Northwest Tech President Ben Schears the opportunity to update more than 250 local education, business, and civic leaders on the progress the three institutions have made on implementing the affiliation plan.

The 2022 tour tour featured one special event, a lunch meeting with a reporter from the Dodge City Globe on FHSU’s efforts to train social work professionals using a cohort model that allows students to continue to live and work in their hometowns as they complete their program of study.

This year’s tour included two special events in Southwest Kansas. The first was a public forum hosted on the campus of Garden City Community College. The event, co-sponsored by the Garden City Chamber of Commerce,  focused on the critical shortage of nurses in Southwest Kansas. FHSU Department of Nursing Chair Dr. Jenny Manry led a panel discussion attended by more than 30 local healthcare professionals and education and business leaders.

The second special event on this year’s tour schedule was a group discussion with the editor of the Dodge City Globe on the challenge of training and recruiting K12 teachers for service in rural Kansas. Mason was joined by FHSU College of Education Dean Dr. Paul Adams, Graduate Programs Coordinator Dr. Valerie Zelenka, and 12 teachers and administrators from Dodge City’s USD 443.

The 2023 tour also included two alumni events attended by more than 140 FHSU graduates in Wichita and Kansas City and four meetings with Kansas State Legislators in Salina, Wichita, Goodland, and Garden City.