Dean of Library Services, Ginger Williams, and Alumni Director, Carolyn Tatro, talk about the upcoming Forsyth Library renovation on the Hays Post podcast
Category: Uncategorized
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PGAV selected as architects
PGAV has been selected to work with Fort Hays State University on the $25.1M Forsyth Library renovation project. They are based out of Westwood, KS and recently worked with K-State on Hale Library’s renovation and restoration and have worked extensively with UMKC and many other academic libraries. They’ve also done multiple buildings on the FHSU campus. Work will begin with PGAV starting in November 2022. Learn more about PGAV Architects.
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FHSU receives $17 million library renovation grant
HAYS, Kan. – U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran announced on Friday, June 10, the award of a $17 million federal grant for the renovation of Fort Hays State University’s Forsyth Library.
Moran shared his memories of growing up in Plainville, frequently visiting the old Forsyth Library and Sternberg Museum of Natural History, and being the first non-high school graduate to attend summer school at FHSU. Moran also spoke about the importance of the role FHSU plays in Western Kansas. He shared his belief that Western Kansas’s prosperity greatly depends upon whoever is the president of FHSU.
FHSU President Tisa Mason welcomed and thanked Sen. Moran, noting his critical role over the past year in securing several federal grants. Two grants received in the fall of 2021 and totaling $2.75 mil helped the university expand the reach of the Regional De-escalation Training Center’s law enforcement training programs to a multi-state area in the central United States. Moran was on campus in April of this year to announce $1.2 mil in funding for a new teacher licensing program designed to expand the number of Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) teachers working in rural Kansas.
Ginger Williams, dean of library services, shared an overview of the renovation project and details on the initial work of the Library Renovation Committee she chairs. Over the past several months, the committee sought input from students, faculty, and staff to learn more about their needs. The feedback received at these in-person town hall events and an online form sent to the entire campus helped shape the committee’s vision for a dynamic hub for student engagement and academic exploration.
The Forsyth Library opened in 1967, and its three floors have been remodeled over the years to accommodate new departments and services. It currently houses the Writing Center, the Learning Commons, the Center for Ethnic Studies, the Honors College, the Tiger Food Exchange, Makerspace, and the various library departments.
By FHSU University Communications
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Campus listening sessions
This Spring, Forsyth Library will host a series of campus listening sessions to gather input from students, faculty and staff about what is important to them when considering the upcoming library renovation.
Input sessions are being held for the campus community on:
- Thursday, April 21 @ 3-4pm in McMindes Hall 2R
- Monday, May 2 @ 12:30-1:30pm in Rarick Hall 201
Input sessions are being held for the library student employees on:
- Tuesday, April 26 @ 6-7pm in Forsyth Library 217
A campus survey will also be sent out via Tiger Daily to gather input from those unable to attend the sessions.
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Gift for the Larry and Lyn Fenwick Reading Room
Larry and Lyn Fenwick started out as high school sweethearts who married their freshman year at Fort Hays State University. The couple was back on campus this week, more than 50 years later, to partake in FHSU’s Homecoming festivities and to be recognized for their most recent contribution to Fort Hays State.
Through their generous gift, the couple is making possible the Larry and Lyn Fenwick Reading Room in FHSU’s Forsyth Library. Due to their generosity, Forsyth Library will be able to construct a new reading room during scheduled renovations.
The Fenwicks were honored for their recent contribution Friday afternoon at FHSU’s Revisit the Past, Unleash the Future: A Library Showcase held at Forsyth Library.
“The Larry and Lyn Fenwick Reading Room is an important element of the renovation of Forsyth Library,” said Deborah Ludwig, Forsyth dean. The reading room is scheduled for completion in 2023.
“The future reading room will house, exhibit, and provide critical preservation of distinctive collections connected to Kansas and to our university, while also making these unique materials available to researchers for study in a secure setting,” said Ludwig. “On behalf of Forsyth Library and Fort Hays State University, we are deeply grateful to Larry and Lyn for their generous gift. With their help, we will keep important history alive and inspire future generations of researchers.”
Jason Williby, president and CEO of the FHSU Foundation, said, “Our university’s continued success is in large part thanks to alumni and donors like Larry and Lyn Fenwick, who remain engaged with the university and our programs. They believe in our mission and want to make a positive impact in advancing education.”
“The Larry and Lyn Fenwick Reading Room will foster an environment for hard work and learning,” he said. “Housing collections of unique artifacts along with individual and group study spaces, the new space will be a great resource for students at Fort Hays State.”
The Fenwicks graduated from FHSU in 1966 and, after years of being away from Kansas, they made their way back home to Lyn’s ancestral farm in Stafford County.
Larry graduated from FHSU with a B.S. in business administration and immediately joined the U.S. Air Force, serving as an officer with the Strategic Air Command stationed at bases in New England and on the island of Guam.
In 1971, he began a 32-year career in investments and management while living in Dallas, Texas, Atlanta, Ga., and Charlotte, N.C.
Lyn began as an art major at Fort Hays State, but earned her degree in elementary education. During Larry’s service in the Air Force, Lyn taught secondary English for four years in New York state and Massachusetts. She earned her doctorate in law from the Baylor University School of Law and practiced in Texas before shifting her focus to writing and publishing two books.
Currently, she has a weekly blog and is finalizing a manuscript about a Kansas homesteader and the Populist Movement.
When discussing her path through Fort Hays State, Lyn said, “Dream big! Dreams are terrific, but so is the hard work that it takes.”
With their recent gift, the couple hopes to encourage students at Fort Hays State to study hard, accomplish their goals, and dream big.
To learn how you can join the Fenwicks in supporting Forsyth Library, please contact the FHSU Foundation at 785-628-5620 or foundation@fhsu.edu. For additional information, please visit https://foundation.fhsu.edu.