For the second time this week, Emporia State University has announced the elevation of an administrator to vice president status. It has also announced a second promotion as part fo an ongoing effort to align with Kansas Board of Regents priorities on infrastructure.
On Wednesday, Cory Falldine was promoted to Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Infrastructure. Falldine is a two-time graduate of ESU. He joined the university’s Information Technology Department as a technical support consultant in 2004, worked up the ladder and was named Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President for Information Technology in 2014.
With ESU considering information technology and facilities as the “bedrock” of its infrastructure, Facilities Director Bill McKernan has been promoted to Executive Director of University Facilities. McKernan joined the department in 2017 after a noted career in the US Army, where he served 24 years and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. While at Emporia State, he was named assistant director in 2018, interim director in 2019 and director in 2020.
Interim President Ken Hush says these moves come with the Kansas Board of Regents asking all universities “to optimize the use of their campus spaces,” including data-based decisions about possible physical improvements on campus.
Wednesday’s announcements follow the promotion of Shelly Gehrke to Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success. Hush joins KVOE’s ESU Buzz at 8:20 am Thursday.
