News and Events

Emporia Connection reunion this weekend features panel discussion

They have now retired from jobs as educators and health professionals, but six Emporia State University alumni shared a common experience as African American students during the 1950s. Their recollections of the pre-civil rights movement climate on a college campus will form the basis of a panel discussion, “Those Who Have Gone Before Us,” at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 9, in the Roe R. Cross Room of ESU’s Cremer Hall.

The presentation is part of this weekend’s reunion of Emporia Connection, beginning with a reception Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at Sauder Alumni Center, and continuing through Sunday, April 10.

Panelists include:

• Noel Certain (BSE 1963), Greenfield, Mass. During his teaching career, Certain was involved in clubs promoting African-American cultural awareness.
• Robert Matthews (BSE 1952), San Diego, Calif. Matthews taught at San Diego Community College, and is the college’s past president of continuing education.
• Hargest Shumate (BSE 1957, MS 1958), Kansas City, Kan. Shumate served as principal of eleven elementary schools in the Kansas City school district. Post retirement, Shumate teaches at Donnelly College.
• Geraldine (Morris) Strader (BSE 1957, MLS 1967), Kansas City, Kan. Strader is a retired secondary school librarian in the Kansas City (Kan.) school district.
• Henry Thompson (BSE 1955), Hilton Head Island, S.C. Thompson directed the primary health care division for Broward County, Fla.
• Bill Tidwell (BSE 1957), Emporia. After teaching in New York and Ohio, Tidwell completed his career at ESU, where he taught and coached.

The group will hear from keynote speaker Angela Bates at a banquet Saturday evening. Bates is president of the Nicodemus Historical Society. She is a member of the founding family of Nicodemus, Kan., the oldest existing African-American settlement.

Emporia Connection is the official alumni chapter designed to strengthen ties between African-American alumni, current and prospective ESU students and the university. The group is comprised of six decades of alumni who live throughout the U.S.