On Wednesday, April 15, Pittsburg State University President Dr. Thomas Newsom and Pittsburg State University Vice President Doug Ball presented the procedural future for Pittsburg State University at the annual Open House event. Newsom led off with a heartfelt thank you to the staff and students of our university, stating, “Every day you exceed my expectations, just because of who you are, and what we do as a university, so personally, I thank you.”
Newsom went on to discuss the future proposal for the new Heckert Wells and Yates buildings and their importance to Pittsburg State University.
Newsom feels that the work being done in these buildings is already phenomenal, but that the equipment and buildings themselves are archaic and are holding our students and staff back.
“When I look at what our faculty are doing to prepare our students for amazing careers that are specifically related to programs in these two buildings, they are doing amazing work with very poor resources in terms of the facilities, essentially doing the work with their hands tied behind their backs, and they’re still producing amazing future leaders for the world. So, if we can give them as a university a better space to prepare students, then the sky is the limit.”
Alongside the proposed plan for these new buildings, Newsom and Ball also discussed the financing and budgeting systems that are being arranged to make it an actual reality, discussing some difficulties with the finances for the university, but also vindication and hope that it has been well prepared for.
“It’s going to be a tough year, a tough year because of what we see coming out of the Kansas legislature in terms of reductions,” Newsom said. “But this is just another storm we’re going to weather. So don’t take it as bad news, take it as reality and understand that we will have a plan, and we will work through this, and it will be okay!”
Ball discussed the more operational information of the budget, laying out the future challenges being faced as well as the increases in future systems, stating,
“We are losing approximately $1.8 million for next year in terms of funding from the Kansas legislature, as well as losing another $2 million from other sources, but Doctor Newsom and I are confident we will get that back through DEI activities. But there is good news in the area of pay increases to the university faculty, as well as positive trends in future enrollment.”
Newsom went on to further elaborate on the future of freshman enrollment, how we are seeing increases across the board, and how this affects Pittsburg State University as a whole.
“In terms of applications, in terms of students who have been accepted, in terms of students who have entered deposits and whatever they have to do to come to orientation, and new students who have signed up for housing, all of these indicators are showing that our freshman classes are going to be up, significantly.”