Standing Proudly on the Hill

Standing Proudly on the Hill. . , From its beginning as Fairmount College in 1895, Wichita State University has stood, like these columns, “proudly on the hill” – a phrase from the university’s “Alma Mater” referencing the highest point of land in Sedgwick County. The columns were originally part of Fairmount’s Carnegie Library, designed by Albert R. Ross and opened in 1909. The building later was named in memory of Nathan J. Morrison, Fairmount’s first president, whose legacy included his paramount goal – the creation of a library for the fledgling college., Fire destroyed Morrison Library in 1964, but the portico and its eight Ionic columns remained in place until 1973, when it was razed for construction of McKnight Art Center., Three columns and lintels, plus the cornerstone, dated 1907, and stones dated ’08 and ’09, were moved to this site and dedicated on April 28, 1973, along with a new time capsule containing materials interred at the library’s cornerstone laying on March 10, 1908. The capsule was opened during the university’s centennial in 1995. The Centennial Capsule, to be opened in 2095, was interred on May 3, 1996., The effort to preserve these columns was led by Mrs. Kathleen Robertson Edmiston, BA '33, President of the Alumni Association 1953-54 and long-time member of the University of Wichita Board of Regents, the Wichita State University Board of Trustees, and the Campus Planning Committe. Mrs. Edmiston also served as Mayor of the City of Wichita in 1985. The Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association provided funding for the preservation of the columns., May these three columns commemorating the traditions and values of the university's three historical phases - Fairmount College, The Municipal University of Wichita, and Wichita State University - forever stand proudly on the Hill., May 3, 1996