HAYS, Kan. – He is a Tiger through and through – with three degrees from Fort Hays State University and a 22-year teaching career in the university’s Department of Advanced Education.
Mike Slattery, now chair of his alma mater’s Alumni Board, always looks forward to Homecoming week and the excitement surrounding the annual celebration when alumni from near and far converge on Hays. After all, he has been attending FHSU Homecomings since 1971.
Slattery thinks this year’s attendance will be bigger and better than ever, alluding to the proverb “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Alumni will have plenty to celebrate in 2021 after most of last year’s Homecoming activities were either canceled or transitioned to online because of the pandemic.
“It’s amazing to me the people who come back year after year after year for Homecoming,” Slattery said, “and judging from attendance at the past couple of home football games, people are ready to get out and celebrate.”
While Homecoming activities began on campus early this week, events involving the entire community begin with an alumni golf tournament on Thursday. The FHSU Tiger Marching Band, the Tiger Debs dance team, and the FHSU cheer squad all make an appearance at that evening’s bonfire and pep rally, where the fall sports teams and their coaches are introduced.
Friday, the action kicks off with a ribbon-cutting at the new Fischli-Wills Center for Student Success on campus and the Volga-German Oktoberfest at Municipal Park in south Hays.
Then later that evening comes one of Slattery’s favorites – the Alumni Awards Banquet.
Slattery served a couple of years as chair of the Alumni Association’s Awards and Recognition Committee before being elected board chair in 2020. He said the selection of the annual alumni award winners gets “tougher every year.”
“It’s amazing the quality of Fort Hays State graduates who go out and do such incredible things,” he said. “Every year, I think it can’t get any better, and then we are blown away again by alumni who have done some super fantastic things.”
Saturday morning’s parade has always been a popular event, and that evening’s annual Homecoming football game should draw a huge crowd as the Tigers take on undefeated University of Nebraska-Kearney at 7.
Slattery and his wife, Ione – who earned a master’s degree in music education from FHSU – decided to remain in Hays in retirement and are fixtures at athletic events and music and theatre productions.
“We’ve been season-ticket holders to everything FHSU since 1989,” Slattery said. “It’s a nice way to support the athletes and participants in music and the arts.”
The couple plans to enjoy a full weekend of Homecoming activities.
“I get to meet a variety of people as an alumni board member,” Slattery said. “I’m really looking forward to the weekend. It’s a great time to be a Tiger.”
A full schedule of Alumni Association Homecoming events can be found at https://fhsuhomecoming.com. For questions or additional information regarding Homecoming activities, contact the FHSU Alumni Association at 785-628-4430 or alumni@fhsu.edu.