History of Higher Education in Kansas

Narrative of Time Chart

Derrick Sherman
Georgia Southern University
EDLD 7432
July 13, 2015

History of Higher Education in Kansas

It was shortly after the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and Kansas was
well on its way to becoming recognized as a state in the United States of
America. It was almost immediately when the people began discussing ways
to make colleges and seminaries in their area. It was only a thought for a
short period of time before religious leaders in Nebraska and Kansas were
meeting to discuss sites for the universities they wanted. The Methodist
Episcopal Church is credited for the first meeting in 1856. It was very shortly
after when the Education Convention of the Methodist Episcopal Church
began electing officials for their colleges that would be founded. The group
moved fast to get these universities ready for operation and by 1858 Baker
University was open, the first to do so in Kansas territory. Oddly enough, the
oldest university in the state happens to be nearly three years older than the
state itself.
This was the case mainly in part of the Kansas Territorial Legislature
which gave permission for ten higher education institutions around the
territory. With the help of preachers around the area, the word was spread
and they were able to acquire money from the people throughout the
territory, often times donating money themselves. Therefore, almost all of
the early institutions in the state of Kansas (or territory) had some sort of
religious affiliations. Although, at this point in time, there were other
professions and aspects of life that Kansans wanted to learn and teach. More
importantly, it was highly encouraged to graduate from a university and go

back to the common school and teach younger children. Early institutions
offered admission to men and women and tuition was usually around twenty
five dollars per year in its early years.
One of the largest problems during this time period was acquiring the
land in which the university would reside. Previously, the religious leaders
found ways to acquire land. Often, this land was donated meaning that the
universities there were private institutions. Public institutions were on their
way after the Act of Admission was approved in 1861, shortly after Kansas
became a state. This act, among other things, called for 72 sections of land
to be set aside for support of a state university. The gifted land was
subsequently either used or sold to gain money to build the institution. Very
shortly after, generous donations seemed to come from all over, including a
$15,000 endowment from Amos Lawrence of Lawrence, Kansas. His donation
made way for the University of Kansas in 1963. Surprisingly, the University of
Kansas was not the first public institution in Kansas. The Kansas State
Normal School, located in Emporia, Kansas, was the first public institution.
Eventually, the Kansas State Normal School turned into what we now know
as Emporia State University (one of the six universities under the Kansas
Board of Regents).
Institutions began being put into the works about mid-nineteenth
century. For decades, school after school were being built. All of them had
their struggles and many of them endured fatal blows as those institutions
closed. Others relied on the special donors and legislature that helped

establish the institution in the first place. Baker University, after almost two
decades into their existence, came along some troubling times. With
enrollment and endowments down, Baker University was threatened with
removal as an institution. The Kansas Conference met and determined it was
against the charter to remove the institution and, on top of that, a group of
preachers took care of all of their debts in order to give Baker a fresh start.
Baker University is still open today.
Toward the turn of the century, the state government of Kansas
seemed to be getting comfortable with higher education and began using it
to their advantage. During this time period, we saw a lot of agricultural
colleges opening up, and not by coincidence. In 1987, the federal
government gave the state grants for agricultural research known as the
Hatch Bill. In turn, the state gave funding to institutions to do
experimenting. By 1890, the program was working as they thought it would
and the government came along with the College Aid Bill which essentially
gave land to the institutions across the state who had programs in
agricultural and mechanical arts. Subsequently, higher education was
growing more than ever before and many changes were being made from
name changes to private to public changes, even institutions breaking off
and building more campuses elsewhere throughout the state.
With higher education being more affluent than its ever been around
this time, it was time to begin closely monitoring these institutions. In 1911,
the governor appointed a staff consisting of 3 members to study the state

institutions. A few modifications were made to this committee along with the
governor himself joining to help the other members as they were now in
charge of all higher education, special schools, and even correctional
facilities. This group, which was referred to as the Board of Administration,
served over a decade before the legislature released control of higher
education and placed it upon the Board of Regents in 1925.
After this point in time, it was less of the institution making moves like
it was prior and more of the Board of regents stepping in and making the
moves for higher education throughout the state. And obviously, the Board is
ultimately controlled by the legislature. Since its inception, there have been
many schools that join the Board of Regents, one being Wichita State
University which joined in the Board of Regents jurisdiction in 1964. The
Board of Regents are in charge of only the public institutions across the
state, although all others seem to follow suit.
This governance structure, nearly a decade away from being in place
for an entire century, seems as if its going to be a permanent fixture in the
state of Kansas when it comes to higher education. As the course comes to
an end, its been great to witness a centralized governance structure that
seems to be successful. Previously, I have researched the governance
structure in Ohio and their version of the Board of Regents has been stripped
of all authority other than conducting studies and evaluations on the
chancellor of the state. While each institution essentially governs themselves
with their own Board of Trustees. After studying about both forms of

governance structure its enlightening to see both put to work for successful
higher education in their respective states.

References
A Brief History of the Kansas Board of Regents System. (2015). Retrieved July
1, 2015.
Blackmar, F. (1900). Higher Education in Kansas (Vol. 27). Washington, DC:
Government
Printing Office. Retrieved June 30, 2015,
https://books.google.com/books?
id=JrygAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=histor
y+of+higher+education+in+kansas&source=bl&ots=up2Fl71Bdg&sig=YLJcI
0EAqvqi
Pka0_G0Et4VPBlI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p0KQVbvcO5e3ogS96SAAw&ved=0CB0Q6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=history%20of
%20higher%20educa tion%20in%20kansas&f=false
Martin, S., & Snider, L. (2001). History of Kansas Education. Planning and
Research: Kansas
State Department of Education. Retrieved June 30,
2015, from www.ksde.org/Portals/0/Research and
Evaluation/historyofeducationfinal.pdf