Next week is big for Emporia State University.
The annual Founders Day celebration is coming Feb. 15, starting just after midnight with the third-annual Day of Giving. Financial gifts can go to any of the over 800 different funds in place, but the university is highlighting three funds as priorities this year: the Mental Health Enhancement Fund, Alumni Board Continuing Education Scholarship and Alumni Fund in Support of Excellence.
The official Founders Day gathering is at 11:30 am at the Memorial Union Webb Hall. It will include a city of Emporia proclamation and a range of other recognitions, as well as a performance by the ESU choir, cake cutting and the winners of the 1863 scholarship contest. On KVOE’s ESU Buzz on Thursday, Director of Alumni Relations Tiffany Wilson said Founders Day is a way to both look back to the university’s history and focus on the future.
The registration deadline is noon Friday through hornetnation.emporia.edu/foundersday2024.
Activities this week also include the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Corky’s Cupboard location inside the Memorial Union. That’s set for 3 pm Feb. 16. The announcement of the Together, Forward fundraising campaign’s final total will be 6 pm Feb. 17 at the Memorial Union.
The first day of classes at Emporia State, then known as Kansas State Normal School, was Feb. 15, 1865.
