Jan. 23, 2026
Administration
Emporia State University is honoring the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger on the 40th anniversary of the explosion that claimed the lives of all aboard. A week of activities beginning Monday, Jan. 26 is led by the McNair Scholars Program in collaboration with the Peterson Planetarium and other ESU departments. The McNair Scholars Program, a federal initiative created in 1989 by Congress to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies, is named after Challenger mission specialist Dr. Ronald McNair. Christa McAuliffe, a teacher, was also an astronaut aboard the ill-fated shuttle.