ALUMNI NEWS
FHSU’s 101st Homecoming Fort Hays State University’s 101st Homecoming was one to remember! Long-lost classmates from 50 years ago catching up and making note of one another’s contact information on a napkin. Alumni laughing and reminiscing with past instructors and wide-eyed as they toured new buildings throughout campus. Oktoberfest, which brought together longtime FHSU supporters, current students, and families. After the non-traditional celebration of last year, it just felt right to be together once again. In addition to fan favorites such as the annual Homecoming golf tournament and the Tiger bonfire and pep rally, guests enjoyed FHSU’s new and improved Alumni Awards Banquet and a popular new event this year – Breakfast with the President. Those back in town for Homecoming enjoyed campus
walking and bus tours, gatherings for 50- and 60-year alums, and reunions for various groups, including Tiger baseball, the FHSU Tiger Marching Band, the Department of Leadership Studies, and the College of Education. Ideal fall weather set the scene for a memorable ribboncutting ceremony for the university’s stunning new FischliWills Center for Student Success. An epic come-from-behind win at the Homecoming football game against undefeated University of Nebraska-Kearney ended the week in a flourish of Tiger pride and celebration. It was truly a beautiful sight to see the Hays community and FHSU’s campus alive with people and activity again. We cannot wait to host you all again in 2022. Mark your calendars for Thursday, Oct. 6, through Saturday, Oct. 8. We look forward to seeing you at Homecoming 2022.
Dr. Pamela Shaffer ’70 The late Dr. Pamela Shaffer was born in 1948, was a former professor at Fort Hays State University, and a member of the Homecoming reunion class of 1970. She grew up in the nearby Volga-German farm community of Catherine, later excelled in academics at Marian High School, a girls’ Catholic school in Hays, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She went on to earn her master’s and PhD in medieval English and linguistics at the University of Arkansas, where she met and married Warren Shaffer from Philadelphia, Pa. They made the decision to settle in Hays, where she became an instructor and eventual professor at FHSU, teaching linguistics, composition and medieval literature as well as ROAR
serving as the Writing Center director. After 36 years of teaching, she retired in 2013 and began work on a book of letters from her uncle Monsignor Firmin M. Schmidt, to his sister Mary. Her mother had requested that the family preserve the letters, which offer a firsthand account of his experiences as an administrator of a Capuchin mission in Papua New Guinea in the early 1960s. However, Dr. Shaffer wanted to highlight the variety of her uncle’s experiences and make known the notable progress made in the Capuchin mission to a wider audience. She also included three appendices to serve religious, historical, and anthropological interest. Dr. Shaffer accomplished her goal, and her book, titled “Letters to Mary,” was published in 2020, a year prior to her passing. The compilation of letters is available for purchase on Amazon or in local Hays bookstores. | 44 |
FALL/WINTER 2021
