Campaign Updates

YORK COLLEGE To Honor and To Serve Campaign

York College launched To Honor and To Serve, a $15.9 million fundraising campaign in September 2021. Campaign priorities are directly tied to the transition to York University, representing a first, critical step in this major move forward.

Campaign progress is visible everywhere on campus as work continues on Hulitt Hall, Levitt Library (newly re-christened the Academic Resource Center at Levitt), and Thomas Hall. Work is just beginning for the Lemons Athletic Training Room along with other major renovations in the Freeman Center. Progress of another sort is apparent with creation of several new endowments, adding $2.5 million to the college’s permanent funds. These recent gifts are in addition to endowed funds already in place that had more than tripled during the last decade.

After a recent campaign review, vice president for advancement, Jared Stark, informed the board that the college is within easy striking distance of the original $15.9 million monetary goal. Stark emphasized, “this campaign is not about hitting a dollar amount. We are working to truly expand our reach, renew the campus, and build new programs – all to better serve our students. There are a few vital priorities remaining before we can call the campaign a success. We will focus our energies on those goals until June 30, next year.” Remaining campaign priorities include funding the newly acquired Twelfth Street Suites. The suites will provide much needed, new housing for students. The other high profile initiative is the York University Scholarship Fund. As the name changes, the fund will continue to underwrite financial aid awards for hundreds of students every year. n

(above) Extensive campus renovations will near completion as the fall semester gets underway.

“We are working to truly expand our reach, renew the campus, and build new programs — all to better serve our students.”

Hulitt Hall September 10, 1956

Byars to be Honored in Hulitt Hall

The executive board room in newly renovated Hulitt Hall will be named in honor of the late Glen and Mary Byars. The couple was deeply involved in efforts to reopen York College, and Glen served as a trustee of the college from 1954 until 1982, with many of those years under his leadership as either chair or vice-chair. The Byars were longtime members of the Kearney Church of Christ. Glen, along with 17 others, stepped forward to create a board for the “new” school in the mid-1950s. “It is hard to conceive the obstacles faced by the men and women involved in reopening the college,” observed Dr. Steve Eckman, YC chancellor and Hulitt Hall renovation project manager. “Glen and his peers were risk-takers to whom we owe a real debt. It was anything but certain that the plan to reopen would succeed. The faith and determination of this small group changed a lot of lives, including mine.”

To remember their service, the oldest original structure on campus will now include a space honoring Byars and his wife, Mary. The Glen and Mary Byars Executive Board Room will encompass the entire third floor of Hulitt Hall. Originally divided into 10 dormitory rooms, the newly opened space will provide a great meeting room for gatherings of every kind.

The Byars' children, Bill and Trudy, were among the students at York during the early years. Bill moved into Hulitt Hall when the school reopened for the fall 1956 semester. His third-floor room will now be part of the newly configured meeting room named for his parents. Hulitt Hall will be rededicated during this year’s Homecoming, October 21-23.

(top) On the day York College reopened, September 10, 1956, its first board of trustees affiliated with the Churches of Christ met in Hulitt Hall. The 11 men present in this photograph include, from left to right, (1st row) Harvey Childress, Lt. Col. Robert M Silvey, Gene Hancock, Glen Byars, and Glenn Bettenhasuen; (2nd row) L.O. McKinzie, Hershel Dyer, Barney Bedford, Joe A. McPherson, K.C. Thomas, and A. Link Knight.