Fortress Hays

Fall Semester classes begin today at Fort Hays State University. I shot this GigaPan of Picken Hall last spring just days before graduation. Where has the summer gone?

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Click on the image and use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out. You can also move around by simply clicking and dragging on the image. Probably best enjoyed in the full screen version.

Just one more week until classes begin at FHSU. Time to buy some books!

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Click on the image and use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out. You can also move around by simply clicking and dragging on the image. Probably best enjoyed in the full screen version.

Martin Allen Hall is located between Picken and Rarick Halls on the campus of Fort Hays State University. According to the FHSU website:

Martin Allen Hall is named after Martin Allen who settled in Hays City in 1873 and attempted to make improvements to the city by planting and cultivating in the surrounding areas. Allen was the man most responsible for Old Fort Hays becoming a College. Martin Allen Hall is the home of the Psychology Department.

This image was shot in mid-July 2008. If you look closely you can see evidence of some of the construction that was just getting going on campus at that time. You might also spot my GigaPanning assistants Edi and Berti if you look closely.

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Click on the image and use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out. You can also move around by simply clicking and dragging on the image. Probably best enjoyed in the full screen version.

I’ve recently had the good fortune to acquire a GigaPan robotic camera mount, which allows one to make highly detailed panoramas. My first attempt with the device resulted in the wide panorama of town from the southwest as seen below. Click on the image to go to the Gigapan site where you can zoom in and pick out details of the town. There is some vignetting in the stitch because I didn’t use enough overlap and I was using the maximum zoom setting on the camera.

Hays, Kansas

My second local attempt turned out somewhat better:

Picken Hall, Fort Hays State University

Any suggestions for other sites around town that would make a good Gigapan?

Ever since Fort Hays State University’s Structural Review Committee released its recommendation that the university should strongly consider renaming itself - possibly as the University of Western Kansas - quite a brouhaha has erupted, with many students fiercely defending the status quo. A Facebook group titled “We are Fort Hays State University! Not the University of Western Kansas!” has 1780 members at the time I’m writing this post. The primary line of reasoning I can see in the resistance movement is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Hard to argue with that.

I have to admit a certain ambivalence on the topic. On the one hand I tend to agree that there’s nothing wrong with Fort Hays State University, and I can certainly sympathize with those who want to hold onto tradition. Obviously, this blog’s name is a nod toward that tradition, so I’ve got my own reasons for appreciating the status quo. It’s certainly true that the university has undergone name changes in the past to reflect the changing nature of our mission - we were originally the Western Branch of the Kansas Normal School - suggesting that the University of Western Kansas would actually reflect our historical heritage, too. One strike against the University of Western Kansas would be that it makes us just another compass point university - I tend to agree that this is not the best way to differentiate ourselves. Others have suggested a name change to “Eisenhower University” to honor Ike (a Kansan and respected general and president), thus freeing us of a geographic limitation in an era that we’re increasingly trying to reach out to an international student population.

However, the alternative name that has struck a chord with me is one suggested by Dr. Elmer Finck of the Biology Department: “University of the Great Plains”. It seems to me that the Great Plains are central to the American experience, encompassing a rich cultural heritage and a unique geographic setting. “Great Plains” accurately describes our university’s location in a way that is far more evocative, and at the same time less geographically limiting, than either Fort Hays or Western Kansas. It would also lend itself nicely to slogans that invoke the “frontier” spirit and appeal to a sense of discovery and growth - I know many students are quite eager to get rid of “Affordable Success” (though I think it’s hard to argue against the success of that slogan in marketing the university).

So to sum up, even though I’m ambivalent about the need to change the university’s name, if it’s going to happen I’d really like to see us go with “Great Plains”, either as “University of the Great Plains” or simply “Great Plains University”. Either one is a name I could be proud of.

What do you think? Is there another alternative that would be even better?

This past week Richard MacManus at Read/Write Web put together e-learning 2.0: All You Need To Know, a comprehensive overview of web 2.0 technologies that have been applied to e-learning. Read/Write Web contributor Josh Catone followed up with Web 2.0 Backpack: Web Apps for Students, a thorough rundown of web-based apps - many free or low-cost - that provide a significant proportion of the functionality that students and faculty regularly pay more for from traditional software vendors like Microsoft and Adobe. Web 2.0 apps don’t just mimic the traditional apps, though; they often add innovative capabilities such as real-time collaboration that aren’t available in traditional software packages. For the student (and faculty member) looking to make FHSU’s Mobile Learning environment mesh with our “Affordable Success” slogan these Web 2.0 apps are worth serious consideration.

This morning when I arrived at work I was greeted by the sounds of a woodpecker busily searching for its breakfast. As luck would have it, I had my voice recorder handy, so I was able to capture about two and a half minutes of the tree’s agony. A truck goes by in the middle of it and an assortment of other birds chime in, too. As I was converting the audio to MP3 format I noticed a curious thing - the decibel levels of the pecking show some distinct groupings. I wonder if an ornithologist could offer any insight?

As the semester winds down things are getting plenty busy. I had hoped to post a couple pictures of the art students chalking the FHSU sidewalks, but I never got over to the quad to photograph them yesterday. Seems to be the story of my life these days.

So instead I’ll post a panorama I shot over by the Sternberg Museum over Spring Break. It’s not much of a “Where in Hays?” for the locals, so we’ll dedicate this one to the travellers passing on I-70. Who knows… maybe you’ll even recognize your car whizzing by.

More springiness! A couple of views from around the Fort Hays State University campus on April Fools Day, 2007. You can see the whole set here.

Picken Hall from the Quad	On Jellison Bridge Looking North
Green Wall and Fireplug	Tulips on the Quad
The President’s House	Picnic Tables at Custer Hall
Blossoms on the Quad	Branch in the Grass