Grace Wilkie Hall at Wichita State University will be rededicated on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The ceremony will begin at 2:30 p.m. and feature a guest speaker and ribbon cutting. An open house will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. to give attendees the opportunity to see the services available in Grace Wilkie.
These services include the Counseling and Testing Center, Disability Services, Student Conduct and Community Standards, Student Support Services, Military and Veteran Student Center and Shocker Support Locker.
Grace Wilkie was named head of the home economics department for Fairmount College in 1912. Wichita State used to be called Fairmount College. Wilkie accepted a position as dean of women in 1921 and continued in that capacity through the college’s transition to the Municipal University of Wichita. She retired in 1953.
Upon her retirement, the college opened Grace Wilkie Hall as a women’s dormitory. After the university purchased the Fairmount Towers residence hall in 1977, Grace Wilkie Hall was remodeled to offices for the Division of Student Affairs, which took up residence in 1980.
The rededication of Grace Wilkie Hall is an opportunity for WSU students, faculty and staff to help honor Wilkie’s work and spirit as a woman dedicated to helping students.
The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master’s and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State’s Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university’s vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.