An Ideal Study Environment

From the very beginning, Wichita University served students whose financial and family responsibilities limited their options for higher education.

One favorite University tradition was the bonfire held the evening before the Thanksgiving football game with Friends University. At this event, freshmen could throw their green beanies and hair ribbons-which they were required to wear for the first 3 months of school-into the fire.

Even with the Great Depression and World War II, growth at the University was steady. Schools and colleges were added and the faculty became more diverse. Music was always a central focus on campus and throughout the Wichita community. In 1944, representatives from interested groups gathered in the home of WU alumni Robert and Myrabel Hollowell and organized the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. University faculty, students and alumni comprise the vast majority of the symphony even today.

Dormitories returned to the campus scene, and research emerged as a major part of the mission during the 1950s. In basketball, the Missouri Valley Conference became known as the "Valley of Death," and WU fans enjoyed reaching theNational Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) final four in 1965.

After WWII, the need to provide inexpensive space quickly put an end to a well planned and deliberate planning process. A spate of building emerged which reflected the popular International style of architecture. The sometimes elaborate buildings included the Duerksen Fine Arts Center and the innovative "roundhouse," Levitt Arena. Capping off these four decades of construction was a facility for the College of Education designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.