Portal:Kansas/Selected article
 | This page is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. |
 | Note: Article entries are now being transcluded directly on the main portal page. However, this page should be retained for historical reference. |
Selected article
Kansas State University, officially named "Kansas State University of Agriculture and Applied Science" but commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States. A branch campus known as Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus, is located in Salina, Kansas, and is home of the university's College of Technology and Aviation. Kansas State has an official enrollment of 23,332 students for the 2007–2008 school year.
Kansas State University, originally named Kansas State Agricultural College, was founded on February 16, 1863 as a Land Grant institution under the Morrill Act. The school was the first Land Grant college newly created under the Morrill Act although several other universities claim to be the oldest Land Grant school. K-State is the fourth-oldest school in the Big 12 Conference and the oldest public university in the state of Kansas. The institution was initially located on the grounds of the old Bluemont Central College, which was incorporated in Manhattan by the Kansas Territorial legislature in 1858. The early years of the institution witnessed debate over whether the college should provide a focused agricultural education or a full liberal arts education. During this era, the tenor of the school shifted with the tenure of the Presidents. University President John A. Anderson (1873-1879) was in favor of a limited education while on the other hand President George T. Fairchild (1879-1897) favored a classic liberal education. Also during this era, in 1882, the study of home economics originated at Kansas State. Currently, the university offers a full range of majors and many graduate programs.Portal:Kansas/Selected article/2
The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or just Kansas) is an institution of higher learning in Lawrence, Kansas. The main campus resides atop Mount Oread. The University was founded in 1865 by the citizens of Lawrence under a charter from the Kansas Legislature. It also received assistance from former Kansas Governor Charles Robinson and his wife Sara, who donated 40 acres (160,000 m²) of Mount Oread land, and philanthropist Amos Adams Lawrence, who made sizable monetary donations.
The University's Medical Center and Hospital are located in Kansas City, Kansas. The KU Edwards Campus is in Overland Park, Kansas in the Kansas City metro area. There are also educational and research sites in Parsons, Topeka and a branch of the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita.
Enrollment at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses was 27,875 students; an additional 2,769 students were enrolled at the KU Medical Center for a total enrollment of 30,644 students across the three campuses. The Lawrence campus and KU Medical Center combined employ 2,201 faculty members. KU is home to the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics and Kansas Public Radio station KJHK, the campus radio, has roots back to 1952 and is completely run by students. The university is host to several notable museums including the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, the KU Museum of Anthropology, and the Spencer Museum of Art. The University is one of 60 members of the prestigious Association of American Universities.Portal:Kansas/Selected article/3
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas (just north of the city of Leavenworth) in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active U.S. Army post west of the Mississippi River, in operation for over 170 years.
During the country's westward expansion, Fort Leavenworth was a forward destination for thousands of soldiers, surveyors, emigrants, American Indians, preachers and settlers who passed through. The garrison supports the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) by managing and maintaining the home of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC). CAC's mission involves leader development, collective training, Army doctrine, and battle command (current and future).
The fort occupies 5,600 acres (23 km²) and 7,000,000 ft² (650,000 m²) of space in 1,000 buildings and 1,500 quarters. (Read more...)Portal:Kansas/Selected article/4
The Nazareth Convent and Academy in Concordia, Kansas is the official Motherhouse and Home for the 260 Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. It was built in 1903 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The beautiful Lourdes-Park, restored in 1990, offers a place for walking and enjoying nature and the large stained glass window is known as "the beacon light of Concordia" as it looks over the community from the convent.
In 1884, the Rev. Joseph Perrier invited the Sisters of St. Joseph to come to Concordia to open a school in the Catholic Parish. Mother Stanislaus Leary, superior, and five sisters answered the invitation. They came to Concordia and established the Nazareth Motherhouse and Academy in a new building located next to the church. (Read more...)Portal:Kansas/Selected article/5
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. The decision overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. Handed down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court's unanimous (9–0) decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." As a result, de jure racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This victory paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement.
Portal:Kansas/Selected article/6
The Kansas Turnpike is a 236-mile (380-km) freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest-northeast direction from the Oklahoma border, and passes through several major Kansas cities, including Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City. The turnpike is owned and maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA), headquartered in Wichita.
The Kansas Turnpike was built from 1954 to 1956, predating the Interstate Highway System. While not part of the system's early plans, the turnpike was eventually incorporated into the Interstate system in late 1956, and is designated today as four different Interstate Highway routes: I-35, I-335, I-470, and I-70. The turnpike also carries a piece of U.S. Route 24 and U.S. Route 40 in Kansas City.
Because it predates the Interstate Highway System, the road is not engineered to current Interstate Highway standards, and notably lacks a regulation-width median. To attain the reduced risks of head-on collisions which were designed into Interstate-standard roadways, the Kansas Turnpike now has continuous, permanent Jersey barriers in the median over its entire length. On opening, there was no fixed speed limit on the highway; drivers were merely asked to keep to a "reasonable and proper" limit, although shortly afterward signs were erected in certain stretches indicating a maximum speed of 80 miles per hour.
Around 120,000 drivers use the turnpike daily. The road features numerous services, including a travel radio station and six service areas. One of these service areas is notable for the presence of a memorial to University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, who died near the current highway's route.
The turnpike is self-sustaining, deriving its entire revenue from the tolls collected and requiring no tax money for maintenance or administration. (Read more...)Portal:Kansas/Selected article/7
Fort Scott National Historic Site is a historical area under the control of the United States National Park Service in Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. Named after Mexican–American War General Winfield Scott, during the middle of the 19th century it served as a military base for army action in what was the edge of settlement in 1850. For the next quarter century, it was used as a supply base and to provide security in turbulent areas during the opening of the West to settlement, a period which included Bleeding Kansas and the American Civil War.
The current national historic site protects 20 historic structures, a parade ground, and five acres (20,000 m²) of restored tallgrass prairie, inside the city of Fort Scott. It is open to visitors most days of the year.
Read the full article...Portal:Kansas/Selected article/8
The Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium is a stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. It is used for American football, and is the home field of the Kansas State University Wildcats football team. It is named after head coach Bill Snyder and the family atmosphere he's helped make famous at Kansas State.
Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium opened as KSU Stadium in 1968, with a seating capacity of 35,000. It was the replacement for the on-campus Memorial Stadium, which hosted Kansas State football games since 1922 (and is still standing today). The first game played at the new stadium was on September 21, 1968 – Kansas State shut out Colorado State 21-0.
Before the final game of the 2005 season, Kansas State offered to name the stadium Bill Snyder Stadium in honor of retiring head coach Bill Snyder. In 17 years, Snyder had turned the Wildcats, once the definition of college football futility, into a frequent championship contender in the Big 12 Conference. When he was asked about renaming the stadium, Snyder told school officials, "If you are going to do it, name it after the people that I care about the most."
Starting in the 2009 season, Snyder returned to coach the team again, becoming one of only three coaches in division I FBS history to coach in a stadium that bears his name, joining Bear Bryant at Alabama and Shug Jordan at Auburn.
Read more...Portal:Kansas/Selected article/9
Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (IATA: ICT, ICAO: KICT, FAA LID: ICT) is a commercial airport 7 miles (11 km) west of downtown Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state of Kansas. Located south of US-54 in southwest Wichita, it covers 3,248 acres (1,314 ha) and contains three runways.
The airport is also referred to as Eisenhower National Airport or by its former name Mid-Continent Airport. The airport code, ICT, is also a nickname for the city. It was known as Wichita Mid-Continent Airport from 1973 until 2014, when it was renamed for Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. His boyhood home, museum, and Presidential Library are at the Eisenhower Presidential Center in Abilene, Kansas. The name change was approved by the city of Wichita in May 2014, and made official by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on November 13, 2014. A new terminal opened on Wednesday, June 3, 2015.
The airport is the site of the Cessna headquarters and main manufacturing plant, as well as a Bombardier service center for Learjet and other business jet aircraft. (Full article...)Portal:Kansas/Selected article/10
The Commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College is the highest-ranking official at the United States Army's Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, installation. The position is similar to the West Point Superintendent and is roughly equivalent to the chancellor or president of an American civilian university. Since 1976, the commandant has been a Lieutenant General (three stars) and is also in charge of the United States Army Combined Arms Center which includes other training organizations at Fort Leavenworth.
The General Staff College, which is a graduate school, trains a high number of United States Army field officers, many of whom go on to become general officers. The college is part of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. (Full article...)