ESU SLIM department plants tree in memory of Zubaida Isa after Whippoorwill boating tragedy

Emporia State’s School of Library and Information Management had a special ceremony Monday.

Department staffers planted a tree in front of the William Allen White Library in memory of Dr. Zubaida Isa, one of three university professors killed in the Whippoorwill boating tragedy 40 years ago. SLIM Dean Dr. Wooseob Jeong says there had been no memorial item at the school in Isa’s honor, although scholarships had been developed honoring the other two professors killed on the boat, Drs. Sarah Reed and Muriel Fuller.

The tree and a related plaque were made possible by recent alumni donations.

A small tornado capsized the Whippoorwill as nearly 60 people planned to enjoy a night on Lake Pomona in June 1978. Sixteen people died in the state’s worst boating disaster in recorded history.

Photos courtesy ESU SLIM Department

{gallery}ESU SLIM Tree Planting Oct 1 2018{/gallery}