Emporia State University is working to bolster enrollment and determine future facility needs.
Both ventures are goals recently emphasized by the Kansas Board of Regents, and ESU has made no secret of its plans to align its processes with those of the Kansas Board of Regents in these regards. On KVOE’s ESU Buzz this week, Interim President Ken Hush said the alignment work has to do with processes instead of policies, and the Board of Regents has been asking how it can help ESU with its work. He says he appreciates the use of data to reach decisions later this year.
Increased enrollment, especially for on-campus students, is a goal because of the economic impact for the city of Emporia and the region at large, and last month ESU announced goals of a multifaceted initiative to build on-campus enrollment through scholarships to high school students who don’t take the ACT test but still have high grade point averages, separate scholarships to attract community college or technical college students and the development of new majors. Facilities are another emphasis for the Board of Regents, who have asked lawmakers for an additional $200 million to clear deferred maintenance or other needs for higher education across the state.
To help facilitate these goals, Emporia State made three position announcements this week, elevating Shelly Gehrke to Shelly Gehrke to Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success on Monday, followed by the promotion of Cory Falldine to Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Infrastructure and Bill McKernan to Executive Director of University Facilities.
Speaking of Emporia State and the Board of Regents, the board is having its regular monthly meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Topeka. One of the agenda points for Wednesday is the appointment of a presidential search committee chair. The search process began shortly after former president Allison Garrett announced her resignation in September to become chancellor and CEO of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.
