An Official Employee Publication From the Office of University Relations

By Mary Jane Dunlap

Angela Lumpkin, who arrives in Lawrence from Georgia this month to become dean of education on June 4, is the newest recruit to the 2001 Wheat State Whirlwind faculty bus tour.

The five-year-old, 1,300-mile tour begins Friday, May 18, stops for commencement weekend, and resumes Monday to Friday, May 21 to 25.

For the past four years, the tour, sponsored by the chancellor’s office, has enabled KU faculty, especially those new to Kansas, to meet with Kansans in their communities and learn about the state’s history, culture, economy and landscape.

In addition to Lumpkin, Daofen Chen, assistant professor of physical therapy in the School of Allied Health in Kansas City, Kan., joined the tour late last month, making a total of 43 faculty, staff and commentators on the bus for 2001. They will visit more than 20 communities ranging from major research centers in the Kansas City area to a buffalo ranch in Logan County in northwest Kansas.

Linda Robinson, Wheat State Whirlwind tour director, smiles at the “are-you-serious” reaction she sometimes encounters at the thought of touring Kansas. Even those who sign up often seem hesitant as they step aboard the bus at 6:30 a.m. the Monday after commencement.

Robinson says: “Many of them are tired from the rush to finish the school year and from the commencement weekend. I think they kind of wonder what made them think that they should spend five days on a bus driving around Kansas. But by the end of the trip, they rate this as one of the best experiences they’ve ever had here.”
Although only faculty and staff are eligible to take the tour, spouses and the general public may follow some of the tour day-by-day online this year. “University relations’ staff plans to post photographs on the tour’s Web site as we go,” Robinson said.

“This year we’re focusing on resources in Kansas,” Robinson said. “We’ll be visiting the Wolf Creek Nuclear Plant in Burlington; the Kansas Oil Museum in El Dorado and the Hutchinson Cosmosphere, where we’ll hear more about the recent phenomena of natural gas geysers and leaks from Dennis Clennan, Hutchinson public works director, and Rex Buchanan of KU’s Kansas Geological Survey.”

Several stops that are becoming legendary among the 160 faculty who have made the tour previously include: a high plains ride among the buffalo in Logan County; an overview of the changing economies and demographics of Garden City and Dodge City; a visit to Nicodemus, a national historic site of an African-American pioneer town; a tour of the Dane Hansen Museum and a visit with Dane and Polly Bales in Logan; a ride in a combine at the Steeples farm in Palco; and a tour of the Grassroots Arts Center and Garden of Eden in Lucas.

The complete itinerary for 2001 and the list of participants is on the tour’s Web site at http://www.wheatstate.ku.edu/.