The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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October 10, 2009

PSU opens its doors during annual session

By Andra Bryan Stefanoni

news@joplinglobe.com

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Some 60 years after Fort Scott resident Tex Crutcher attended Pittsburg State University, he was back on campus Saturday morning attending classes again.

But this time, he wasn’t getting credit for it.

He was one of 75 who attended “Leadership Saturday,” an annual conference at PSU that gives university constituents, city leaders, staff and volunteers a chance to learn more about what’s happening on campus these days.

PSU President Steve Scott kicked off the event with an introductory session on what a typical week for him is like, from media interviews to a County Commission meeting to problem-solving with supporters to a major recruitment event.

This week, he’ll meet with the Kansas Board of Regents and the new CEOs of Kansas State University and the University of Kansas.

Rotating through breakout sessions presented by PSU administrators and one by Blake Benson, Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce president, attendees then learned more about campus construction and master planning, the College of Technology, PSU athletics, student demographics, recruitment efforts, student health care, and the university’s economic impact and financial outlook.

Randy Roberts, university archivist, presented a detailed history of PSU names and faces, relating how buildings on campus came to be named after historical figures.

The event was the brainchild of Brad Hodson, vice president for university advancement, who brought the idea with him from Baker University in Baldwin, Kan.

“We wanted to engage community members to help us be advocates, and present a forum in which they can come together to get the most current and up-to-date information about the university,” Hodson said.

Longtime faculty members Stephen Meats and Chuck Blatchley took great interest in the presentation on the history of PSU by Roberts, as well as the sessions on university construction and finance.

Meats, who served for 19 years as the chairman of the English department, said the event helped give him a broad perspective as he makes the adjustment to his new position of interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

PSU alum Wayne Gilmore, of Parsons, said that although he follows PSU through athletics, he “had no idea about these various areas and all that is going on,” and enjoyed getting an inside look at programs and initiatives.

“The stadium is visible, but there’s a lot that goes on in the classrooms that we don’t see,” he said. “This place is changing so much.”

Assistant superintendent for Pittsburg schools Cory Gibson, who attended a session about current and future PSU students, said it’s important for him to find out how his district can build a stronger partnership with PSU.

“I wanted to see how I can support PSU and also provide our students the resources they need so they make the best possible transition,” Gibson said.

After attending a session on the College of Technology presented by Dean Bruce Dallman, Crutcher said he “continues to be surprised at the Technology Center.”

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s getting bigger and more involved. They said when they built it that it was the best in the country, and it’s still the best.”



PSU names, faces

Read accounts from a session, presented by Randy Roberts, university archivist, on PSU’s historical names and faces in Andra Stefanoni’s column in Monday’s edition.

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