EmporiaStateUniversity is Emporia’s most important asset – doubtful anyone would challenge that statement.
Things are really good at ESU. Enrollment is up, morale has never been better and the school’s Now and Forever campaign is succeeding.
It is a great honor for me to be Champion for Athletics for the Now and Forever campaign. Champion is code for leader and worker. Under Shane Shively’s leadership and the excellent people at the ESU Foundation and the ESU Athletics department we have been very successful on the athletic side of the campaign. Our working goal was reached quickly and a new one has been established.
We’ve raised a lot of new scholarship money, finished off the JohnBaxterHealthCenter, funded summer school for many athletes and last week the new Dennis Shogren Scoreboard for Welsh Stadium was announced.
While athletics has exceeded expectations there is still much to accomplish.
We added almost half a million dollars to last year’s ESU athletic budget and guess what that got us?
We are still 13th out of 14 teams in the MIAA in athletic budget!
While that doesn’t sound like much it was exactly what we needed to do, but “the rest of the story” is we must keep the pace up or we will become number fourteen.
The Now and Forever is having a positive effect everywhere. The Deans of the Schools and Colleges at ESU are energized and working closely with Foundation personnel to find ways to move the institution forward.
President Michael Shonrock’s “can do” attitude is visible everywhere.
Things are really good now at ESU, but the immediate future is scary.
Despite what Governor Brownback says the increasing revenue deficiencies in Topeka undoubtedly mean new cuts in state support for higher education.
This means our university needs our help now more than ever.
Lyon County and EmporiaCity leaders have expressed a desire to help. Now is the time for this to happen. Scholarship or marketing dollars or help with financing new living units it’s time for action.
As individuals we can support the school in many ways. Please do what you can.
Emporia State is Emporia’s most important asset, so let’s treat it as
