History of Fort Hays State University

Fort Hays State University was founded in 1902 as the Western Branch of the Kansas Normal School of Emporia. The original name reflected the university's location on the site of the former frontier military post, Fort Hays. Through the years, Fort Hays State University has developed academic research and community partnerships with the people of our region and the State of Kansas. With the emergence of a world of constant change, future-thinking faculty and administrators worked together to create new programming and initiatives to accommodate the information economy and social transformation.

Visionaries on the faculty and in the administration, like the visionaries who founded the school, are looking ahead to identify and address the knowledge, skills, and competencies that will be needed by the citizens of Kansas in a global society. United by a technological network of communication devices that facilitate the flow of information and ideas, Fort Hays State University looks forward to years of service and excellence in a knowledge-driven world order.