To commemorate 10 years of the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College, faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends gathered for the Honors Eras Celebration at Wichita State University Aug. 24.

As part of the festivities, Clark Shultz, the mayor of Lindsborg, Kansas — hometown of Emory Lindquist, former president of Wichita State — presented a proclamation from the city of Lindsborg celebrating Wichita State University, the Honors Program that was named after Lindquist, and the Cohen Honors College.

The day of celebration began with a Connection Brunch — where honors alumni could network and mingle with other honors college members — and campus highlight tours, ending in the Honors Eras Celebration. The celebration included a student research showcase, an interactive journey through each Honors era and remarks from Kimberly Engber, dean of the Cohen Honors College; President Rick Muma; Shirley Lefever, executive vice president and provost; and Mayor Shultz.

The honors program began at Wichita State in 1957, making it one of the earliest established in the country, and was named after Lindquist in 1978. The program officially became an Honors College and established the Honors Baccalaureate degree in 2014 and was later named after Dorothy and Bill Cohen.

"Our university has the rich sense of belonging to the past, and the exciting feeling that the future is heavy with the promise of better things,” said Lindquist in his 1963, The Idea of a University, speech. “It is a place where the present is sometimes a difficult reality but it harbors great dreams about the future.”

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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