Wichita State’s alumni association turned 100 years old in 2013. And all kinds of party plans are now under way for a celebration of a Century of Shockers! In The Shocker’s spring 2011 issue, we started looking back at some of the alumni association’s best-loved projects, happenings and people. We began our timeline in 2010 and are counting back to our inaugural year of 1913. Here’s our fifth installment.
April 1973
Members of the WSU Alumni Association take the initiative in relocating the three surviving columns from the Morrison Library, which burned in 1964, to the 17th Street entrance to the campus. Kathlien Edmiston ’33, a political science graduate of the University of Wichita is celebrated for single-handedly saving the columns from demolition. Edmiston is on hand for the Morrison Columns dedication ceremonies held during Spring Reunion festivities.
A steel box containing “important mementoes of earlier generations and current materials” is ceremonially buried during the dedication by Bernard Nichols ’61, past alumni association president, and WSU President Clark Ahlberg ’39, who says: “By preserving and relocating the Morrison columns to the Fairmount entrance to the campus, the alumni association has provided a visible symbol of the university’s distinguished inception and our rich heritage. We are pleased to have this symbol to remind us of our obligation to those who founded Fairmount College.”
Spring 1973
The association’s Wichita State News helps get the word out about plans to organize the first WSU Alumni Band. John Boyd, director of bands, says, “We wish to invite all former WSU band members to join together for a band reunion at Homecoming.” Band alumni are invited to join current band members in performing at half-time of the Nov. 3 Homecoming football game. Boyd adds, “We are anticipating a good response since we graduate more music majors than any university in Kansas.”
February 1973
For the first time in its history, reports the Wichita State News, WSU has a Community and State Affairs Committee “to help our Alma Mater in an effort which is important both to its present and its future as a distinguished leader in Kansas Higher education.” Kathlien Edmiston ’33 leads the group. Advisors are President Ahlberg, Laura Cross ’25, Ethel Jane King ’42 and Dick Reidenbaugh, WSU Board of Trustees.
December 1972
The alumni association’s first membership decal makes its appearance. Designed by Bill Jackson, assistant professor of art and Wichita State’s publications designer, the decal features “a proud gold Wheatshock in the center and ‘Wichita, Kansas’ emblazoned in gold.” Decals are mailed to alumni association members with this note: “We are proud that you belong to the WSU Alumni Association. We trust that you feel the same way. For this reason, we hope that you will afix this first-time-ever decal to your car. It is small enough to take little space, yet large enough to show pride in your Alma Mater.”
October 7, 1972
The first Alumni Golf Tournament tees off during Homecoming activities. The entry fee is $10 and includes green fees, a chance for prizes and a buffet. Golf carts are an extra $7.21, though! Ernest Balay ’53, chairman of the tournament committee, is on hand after tournament play to present a prize to Barbara Allen ’64 as the best woman golfer in the tourney. Unfortunately, reports the 1972 winter issue of the Alumni Magazine, “Barbara did not have an opportunity to show her excellent golfing ability to its best advantage since she was the only woman who entered.” Other Homecoming activities are the Night-Shirt Parade, with Delta Delta Delta winning first prize with its float; afternoon college open houses; and a pre-game dinner for alumni and university friends at the Shocker Alumni and Faculty Club. Wichita State beats North Texas State, 26-6, in the Homecoming football game.
April 22, 1972
Joan Balay, wife of WSU Alumni Association President Ernest Balay ’53, and Alene Tibbetts Oneate ’56 entertain alumni with their Starflight Memories program at the spring reunion banquet at the Campus Activities Center. Reunion activities for the day feature a morning get-together, a 50 Year Club luncheon, an afternoon tour of the campus, “happy” parties and the banquet, showcasing entertainment and the presentation of alumni awards. Recognized with Achievement Awards are A. Price Woodard Jr. ’46, who is honored posthumously, and Wayne Coulson ’30. November 1971“Alumni to Sponsor National Merit Scholarship Winners” reads one first-page headline in the November issue of Wichita State News. The article reports that “in its expanding program of assistance to the university, WSU Alumni Association will financially fund two Merit Scholars in the University’s Merit Scholars Today program to be inaugurated in the fall of 1972. WSU has become the first Kansas college or university to be approved as a sponsoring school in the 20 years that the program has been in existence, according to Dr. Russell Wentworth, dean of admissions and records.”
Fall 1971
A year after the tragic Oct. 2, 1970 WSU football plane crash in Colorado that claimed 31 lives, Ernest Balay ’53, president of the alumni association, awards the first honorary membership in the organization to Monty Hall, as Ethel Jane King, the association’s executive director, witnesses the presentation. Hall, the star and producer of the nine-year-old Let’s Make a Deal television show, is recognized for his efforts in organizing the 1970 Night of Stars telecast to benefit those most directly affected by the crash. Balay says, “Students talk about commitment, involvement and relevance. Monty Hall qualifies on all counts. He also chooses to add the all-important ingredient to that mixture to make it complete — action. Though he was in California, he felt the shock and helplessness that each of us felt at the football tragedy that befell WSU in 1970. His initial reaction was to suggest that he would be willing to instigate an entertainment event to provide money for the human needs resulting from the accident. He called on personal friends, giants in the entertainment business, to provide a quality show that was seen over 205 stations across the United States, a remarkable feat.”
November 28, 1970
Night of Stars master of ceremonies Monty Hall, Bill Cosby, Mac Davis, Leif Erickson, Phil Ford, Mimi Hines, George Gobel, Humble Pie, Marilyn Maye, Minnie Pearl, the Young Americans, Lou Rawls and Kate Smith are among the stars preparing to appear in the live benefit show at Henry Levitt Arena. As the telecast was being arranged in the wake of the Oct. 2 WSU plane crash, a second tragedy occurred: Marshall University’s team plane went down on Nov. 4, and now that school will share in the telethon proceeds. Three hours before the show is set to go on air, Wilson Cadman ’51, Kansas Gas & Electric president, is at the Shocker-Louisville football game when a call for him comes over Cessna Stadium’s public address system. “It asked — actually, it ordered — me to go to the box of President Clark Ahlberg,” Cadman recalls. “En route, I met a frantic Dean Jabara, who had been sent to find me. ‘Wilson,’ he said, ‘we’ve just learned there isn’t enough electrical capacity in the university’s system and in Levitt Arena for tonight’s show. There may be no telethon.’” A race against the network deadline begins. With only minutes to spare, Cadman and more than 100 employees from KG&E and the electrical contracting firm of Scott & Landers accomplish the impossible: They upgrade the arena’s electric service. The power flows — and the Night of Stars goes on.
Spring 1970
Mrs. Bill Cohen ’66, general chairwoman of the Alumni Spring Reunion, set for May 2, reports that those who attend will have a delightful time in store for them, headlined by a greatly bolstered slate of public events in celebration of the university’s 75th anniversary, the Diamond Jubilee. In addition to the association’s traditional reunion offerings — alumni award presentations and special class reunion parties, for example — the 1970 Alumni Spring Reunion will be complemented by a host of activities ranging from Hippodrome, recitals, academic meetings and an art fair to the appearance of U.S. House Minority Leader Gerald Ford in the Eisenhower Lecture Series.
November 19, 1969
Carnot Brennan ’17, who served as president of the alumni association from 1931 to 1933, chairs the first formal meeting of the Library Associates of Wichita State University, a non-profit organization associated with WSU and the WSU Alumni Association. Library Associates members promote interest in and support the various programs of the university’s library. Special guest at this premier meeting is John Mayfield, curator of rare books and manuscripts at Syracuse University. He spoke on “Rare Books and Rare People.”
October 11, 1969
Dick Price ’38, vice president of the association, crowns Homecoming Queen Bonnie Kay (Bing) Johnson of Wichita in a Sunflower photo by Paul Chauncey. “Mrs. Johnson, a WSU senior and the first married Queen in many years,” reports the Wichita State News, “is crowned during halftime ceremonies of the Wichita State vs. New Mexico State football game. An education student majoring in physical education and sociology, Johnson has worked as a recreation supervisor and as a model.” Homecoming 1969 is promoted as being a time for “returning alumni and a day for students’ parents to get acquainted with the campus.” Among the festivities are a sloppy-joe feed, college open houses, house decoration viewing and a concert at Henry Levitt Arena.
Fall 1969
In his alumni association volunteer role as general fund and membership campaign chairman, Warren Tomlinson ’43, president of Tomlinson Oil Co. Inc., launches the 1969-1970 Alumni Fund drive with these words: “The essential component in a program designed to attract general private support for WSU is the investment made by our alumni, the keystone for success.” He also notes that alumni have a real opportunity to invest in the future as well as the present, since the Alumni Fund can help determine how good WSU should and can be. Alumni Fund contributions, he explains, can be unrestricted gifts, gifts to specific projects, donations for scholarships and for library acquisitions, to individual colleges or schools or to student loans. From past funds, alumni have contributed $30,000 to student loans, securing $270,000 in matching student loan funds from the Federal government. Tomlinson also sets out the association’s goal of 100 members for every year of the university and promotes the benefits of membership, including subscription to the alumni magazine, reduced green fees at the WSU Golf Course — and membership in the new Shocker Alumni and Faculty Club.
May 31, 1969
An old campus street gets a new name: Alumni Drive. In a ceremony during the Alumni Spring Reunion, “Alumni Drive” is declared the new name of the curved road that runs from near 17th and Hillside past the front of Morrison Hall to near 21st and Hillside. The street had been designated Avenue D and Avenue G. The association recommended the new name after university officials asked for suggestions.
November 23, 1968
Motion picture, television and recording star John Davidson headlines the entertainment at the Homecoming Concert, which begins at 8:30 p.m. in the Field House. Tickets are $3.50 and $2.50 and all seats are reserved. With Homecoming festivities starting the night before with a bonfire and pep rally, activities continue Saturday morning with the Homecoming Parade, which begins in downtown Wichita and makes its way home to campus. Headed by the WSU Marching Band, the parade features the Homecoming Queen candidates, floats and many groups from the university. Kick-off time for the Homecoming football game between WSU and North Texas State is 2 p.m. At halftime, Jack Shane ’38 has the pleasure of crowning Homecoming Queen Sue Alter, pictured in top photo. Queen candidates are Betsy Gawthrop, Kathy Graves, Donna Sadler and Bonnie McKinney.
July 1968
Jack Shane ’38 of Wichita is elected alumni association president. Shane, who is senior vice president and trust officer of the Fourth National Bank and Trust Co., is joined on the association’s roster of officers by Herb Lindsley ’35, vice president; Mary (Duerksen) Casado ’65, secretary; and Linwood Sexton ’48, treasurer. This is the last group of alumni officers to work with President Lindquist as president. Earlier in 1968, he announced his resignation as the first president of WSU, to be effective no later than Sept. 1. During his five years of service, Lindquist led the university through massive enrollment gains.
Fall 1967
Engaged in the association’s 1967-68 Alumni Fund telephone campaign is a conscientious group of some 160 volunteer alumni workers, who call on fellow Shockers to contribute to the Alumni Fund. The annual fund drive, which was initiated decades earlier with the purpose of raising monies for the operational running of Fairmount College, solicits contributions from alumni for “the enrichment of the university, its facilities and its students.” This fall the campaign is slated to last four weeks. Among the campaign volunteers are Fred Bell, Jack Douglas, Elwood Tippin, Sally (Sandifer) Bell, Nancy (Glenn) Short and Rosalie (Keating) Tippin.
August 1967
Bentley Barnabas ’29, outgoing association president, hands off the gavel to Eugene Coombs during the August board meeting. Coombs is a member of the law firm of Coombs, Brick, Dye and Reiff in Wichita. Among his many civic involvements is serving as national vice president of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Wichita State News reports, “He and his wife, Mary, reside on a farm on the outskirts of Wichita where their hobby is the breeding and raising of quarter horses and Black Angus cattle.” New members are also introduced: William Crum, San Gabriel, Calif; Bud Weaver, Arlington Heights, Ill.; and Wichitans Sue Amsden, Otto Culbert, Harry Hobson, Linwood Sexton, Kelley Swards, Suzanne Umphrey and Jim Mann.
November 5, 1966
Homecoming events start off with a parade in downtown Wichita. Led by the 120-member WSU Marching Band, the parade includes cheerleaders and marching groups of the Air Force ROTC units Angel Flight, Army Blues and Anchorettes. Many campus groups enter floats of all shapes, sizes and messages. On campus, buildings are open from 9 a.m. to noon for alumni to visit. Before the WSU vs. University of Wyoming football game, Bentley Barnabas emcees an alumni get-together and buffet at the CAC, where head football coach George Karras also addresses the crowd.
October 3, 1966
Ethel Jane (Myers) King ’42 becomes the first executive director of the alumni association. “The board is very pleased to announce Mrs. King’s appointment,” says Bentley Barnabas, association president. “We are unanimous in our thinking that she is eminently qualified to meet the growing needs of the alumni association.” Until the present time, Barnabas goes on to explain, the work of the association has been carried on jointly with the Teacher Placement Bureau. Both these programs now need full-time staff and service. Beulah Mullen, who has been executive secretary of the association since 1948, will head the Teacher Placement Bureau. “Miss Mullen’s services have been without equal,” Barnabas says. “Many alumni will never know the excellent service she has performed for the association in these many years, particularly, in recent years during our great growth.” Mullen’s successor at the association is a well known Wichitan. King had been women’s news editor at KAKE Radio and Television, joining the station in 1954. After her graduation with a bachelor’s degree in English, she joined KFH Radio in Wichita, where she was women’s news editor for 10 years. A charter member and president of the six-state Heart of America Chapter of the American Women in Radio and Television, King also has experience working with CBS radio.
June 2, 1966
A one-day educational conference, “Opportunities for Women — 1966,” is offered through the WSU Division of Continuing Education and sponsored by the WSU Alumni Association and the Dean of Women’s office. Quincalee Brown, a WSU graduate and a faculty member of the university’s speech department is presiding chairman at the conference. Program planning representatives from the alumni association are Beulah Barrett Ausherman, Ethel Jane King, Diane Copeland Lewis, Alice Jane Brown Small and Beulah Mullen.
1965
The names of 1,896 contributors to the association’s annual Alumni Fund are listed in the Wichita State News, which reports that “the gifts of these alumni and friends of the University totaled $18,848.50. In addition, the Alumni Association received $8,245 in payment of alumni dues. The dues program was adopted by action of the Association in June 1964 and is not part of the Alumni Fund solicitation.”
Fall 1964
Nine thousand three hundred students enroll at WSU the first year, compared to WU’s closing enrollment of 6,000. It had taken a series of strategic, hard-fought battles to bring WU into the state system. Many alumni played major roles in assisting the University of Wichita’s last president, Harry Corbin ’40, and WSU’s first, Emory Lindquist, in winning the political war to establish the new state university. Among the alumni warriors were Kathlien Edmiston ’33 and Carnot Brennan ’17, both past presidents of the alumni association. In an open letter to alumni published in the April 1963 issue of the Alumni Magazine, Brennan, then a member of the WU Board of Regents, begins his address: “On May 14, many of you will have the opportunity to vote on the proposition of whether or not Wichita University should be taken into the state system as Wichita State University. A vote in favor of this proposition will help ensure a greatly enhanced educational opportunity for the young people of the area. I know that as an alumnus you will want to support this important step in the development of the university. Failure of this proposition to win approval could mean a restricted university on a narrow and limited tax basis. Our university cannot continue to adequately serve the needs of young people on the limited local tax levy. Its role would be diminished by necessity at a time when the need is for greater service to the area.” After providing details about the proposition, Brennan closes with these words: “My 45 years of close association with Fairmount College and the University of Wichita has been very satisfying to me, and I share your pleasure and pride in its growth and development. I believe this is the next step we must take to ensure its role in higher education in Kansas. I cannot urge you too strongly to support this proposition with your affirmative vote on May 14.”
In 1964, after WU had become WSU, the alumni association was incorporated as a nonprofit organization “to promote the welfare of Wichita State University as an educational agency and to encourage and stimulate interest of students, former students and all others in order to promote more effectively the progress of the university.”
January 1964
Harold Malone ’23, general chair of the 1963 Alumni Fund campaign, stresses that continued and increased alumni support will be essential now that WU is to become part of the state system of higher education. “Alumni support will make the difference between an average and an excellent institution in the years ahead,” he says. He and other campaign leaders announce that proceeds from the drive total $20,660.50 with gifts received from 2,832 donors. Gifts to the university from the fund will be allocated by the Alumni Fund Committee at its February meeting. The Alumni Fund has a long history; a 1916 Sunflower report, for example, lists the fund total through April as $448.50.
June 8, 1963
Members vote to approve an amendment to the Constitution of the University of Wichita Alumni Association that will assure out-of-Wichita representation on the governing board. The constitution, first adopted at the board’s annual meeting in June 1961, originally provided for a governing board of 22 members. With few exceptions, members of the board have resided in Wichita. But current board members, including William Bonwell ’49 and Harry Hobson ’51, who both serve on the board’s constitution committee, feel an increasing need for representation of alumni residing outside the immediate Wichita area. After the vote, the association’s constitution provides for a board consisting of 29 members, seven of whom shall reside outside of Sedgwick County.
April 1963
The April issue of the Alumni Magazine runs a series of photographs taken of Shockers from Southern California who get together for an alumni meeting at LaPalma Park in Anaheim.
