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 Fischli- Wills 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 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.

Dr. Stephen Donnelly

When one hears of national research projects, the assumption may be that experts involved all reside in “ivory tower” institutions located in coastal metropolitan areas. However, retired FHSU Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Stephen Donnelly, is a definite exception to this perception. During the summer of 2021, he was contacted by a former employer to join participants from NASA, Harvard, Texas A&M, Purdue University, and others, to work on the NASA Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere project (DCOTSS) in Salina, the heart of the country.

The purpose of the mission was to study the impact of strong spring and summer thunderstorms overshooting, or transferring chemical compounds between the lower two layers of the atmosphere, moving them from the troposphere into the stratosphere at about 40,000 feet at mid-latitudes. Using NASA ER-2 high altitude research aircraft to collect air samples for analysis, results of the study will provide data about climate change and human impact on stratospheric ozone chemistry.

Donnelly, born and raised in Yukon, Okla., taught at Fort Hays State for 16 years until his retirement in 2019.

In retrospect on favorite memories of his time at FHSU, Donnelly stated, “It’s the people: students, faculty, and staff.” He advises students and young alumni to “…find something you are passionate about and dig in. Doing something you really enjoy doing does not feel like work. And be kind to the people around you.”

That is down-to-earth advice, not from an ivory tower, but from one who researches the heavens.

Leonard Bunselmeyer Jr. ’71

Leonard Bunselmeyer Jr. remembers campus visits to Fort Hays State University during high school band trips years ago. As a first-generation college student, he chose to attend FHSU after hearing high regards about the university from his older brother, who was o studying chemistry there.

After years studying general science in Albertson Hall, Bunselmeyer graduated in 1971. Soon after, he chose to pursue a profession in medical laboratory technology (MLT) and completed training at Medical Technology school in Hutchinson. “I chose medical technology because it combined my love of the sciences and my desire to help people in a meaningful way,” Bunselmeyer said.

In 1977, Bunselmeyer began a long career at Barton Community College in Great Bend, where he dedicated his efforts to developing its Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) Program, serving as its program director, and advancing its online program. For years, he served as a liaison between Barton Community College and FHSU’s online program saying, “It was a joy to serve the University that had served me so well.” Bunselmeyer retired in 2011 as Barton’s executive director of Healthcare and Public Safety Education.

While Bunselmeyer was creating a future for MLT students across Kansas, his lifelong learning partnership with FHSU continued as he received his master’s in biology and master’s in education administration.

He and his wife, Linda, are proud to say their family has had four generations attend FHSU, including Linda’s mother, their own children and their grandchildren.

“Our family continues to have strong connections to FHSU,” he remarked.