Friends University

More than 200 staff, faculty and students from Friends University took a break from regular schedules on Monday. They came together to organize gifts for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree and Star of Hope programs. The gifts will be distributed to more than three thousand area families, including nearly 10-thousand kids. The school's Campus Visit Coordinator, Deb Bolen tells us, "The best part about today is everybody gets together and you get to see everybody you maybe havn't seen for a while and we're like a family.

Friday mornings Friends University students often find breakfast provided for them in random places.  Bananas hang from trees, line sidewalks and sit on benches.  Each banana is placed by the campus Banana Bandits. Click Here for Banana Photos Yes, a group of students have named themselves the Banana Bandits.  They spend their Thursday nights placing bananas around campus. The group doesn't remember where the idea came from, but they're having a ton of fun providing a little bit of joy for students.

It already shared the neighborhood, now Friends University is expanding in Wichita's Delano District.  The Friends purchased a historic building at 930 W. Douglas and a warehouse at 122 N. Walnut.  The buildings will be used for the university's new art building. "With the addition of these two buildings, we will significantly expand our art department just one mile from the main Friends University Campus," said President Dr. T.J. Arant. The project will cost $3.5 million.  Dr. Arant says it will increase its art space by 65%. Construction will begin at the end of this year.  The building is expected to be ready for classes at the start of the 2013 fall semester.

Friends University has named four finalists in its search to replace long-time president, Dr. Biff Green, who will retire June 30, 2011. Since fall 2010, members of the Presidential Search Committee have been working to identify Friends' next president. The candidates were selected from an original pool of more than 70 applicants. The finalists are as follows: Dr. Deneese Jones, dean, College of Education and Human Services, Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia Dr. Tom Keon, dean, College of Business Administration, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida Dr. TJ Arant, executive vice president/provost, Mount Olive College, Mount Olive, North Carolina Dr. William Berry, executive vice president/provost, University of Dallas, Irving, Texas The Board of Trustees will make their final selection this spring, and the new leader of Friends University will start July 1. The individual who is chosen as Friends' next president will succeed Dr. Green who retires in June 2011 after a 20-year tenure.

by Michael Schwanke One month after large hail slammed into downtown Wichita, some of the damage totals are in. One of the worst is Friends University where the bill is in the millions. More than 30 rooftops were hit by tennis ball sized hail. The most extensive damage was at this historic administration building. The roof is covered in slate tile that weighs about 20 tons. The university is looking at a different material, but it could cost more than two million dollars to replace.

Friends University says it’s stepping up security. It's the latest development in a story we brought you earlier this week.That's when dozens of students woke up to find their tires slashed. Sophomore Jakoe Barnes is getting her car towed. Each of her four tires was slashed. "It's frustrating...if I can't find a ride I'm just stuck," Barnes said. She says it will cost her around $500 to get her car fixed. It's the same with junior Matthew McKenzie.

Hail damaged the tower first, now vandals damage the clock. It's the story of the clock tower at Friends University in Wichita. This latest theft will cost the school more than just money to fix. "It's the reason i came to campus. I love history and I love this building," said student Denisse Mayen. It's right off Kellogg and no matter if you're far away or up close, the building speaks for itself. "It makes you feel like you’re at an Ivy League school or something it's so pretty and old," Mayen said.

It takes a lot of digging and searching to match hundreds of presents, but students and faculty at Friends University don't give up.  For the last 19 years, they've spent the day before finals giving back to their community. Hundreds of Falcons moved presents into pile that are spread across 65,000 square feet.  “We bring all the gifts over here to the tapers and then we bring them over here in a pile for the little kids,” says Jacqueline Dean, student at Friends University.

Campus security at Friends University is looking for the person who slashed the tires on more than 40 vehicles early Monday morning. Students at the Smith Apartments woke up to the damage, some of them with up to three flat tires. A university spokesperson says investigators think they caught eye of the person who left all this damage.  A security officer saw someone in the parking lot about a half hour after midnight.  When security tried to talk to the person, he ran. Investigators are still looking for him. He's described as a white teen, 5'7" or 5'8", 150 pounds.

"We tend to think of 19th century Kansas through the lens of a pioneer, the lens of a cowboy, the lens of the outlaw," says Wichita State University Public History Program Director Jay Price. "You've gotta to forget all of that. You have to look as it as a realtor. " The College Hill neighborhood in Wichita was first conceived by four Civil War veterans in the 1870's who wanted to buy cheap land from the government and sell it to recent immigrants who had settled on the East Coast but were hoping for a better life out west.

More than 200 staff, faculty and students from Friends University took a break from regular schedules on Monday. They came together to organize gifts for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree and Star of Hope programs. The gifts will be distributed to more than three thousand area families, including nearly 10-thousand kids. The school's Campus Visit Coordinator, Deb Bolen tells us, "The best part about today is everybody gets together and you get to see everybody you maybe havn't seen for a while and we're like a family.

Friday mornings Friends University students often find breakfast provided for them in random places.  Bananas hang from trees, line sidewalks and sit on benches.  Each banana is placed by the campus Banana Bandits. Click Here for Banana Photos Yes, a group of students have named themselves the Banana Bandits.  They spend their Thursday nights placing bananas around campus. The group doesn't remember where the idea came from, but they're having a ton of fun providing a little bit of joy for students.

Police have noticed that thieves are targeting a certain type of car: Hondas.  For the fourth year in a row, it's the number one stolen car in America. In the last month, about 40 Hondas have been stolen from around Wichita and those numbers are increasing.    Barry Peter, manager at Don Schmid Auto Salvage says he has a pretty good idea about why Hondas are being targeted around Wichita and it all comes down to parts. "There have been, if you'll kind of look back at the history, there have been some honest, chop shops around Wichita over the years," says Peter.

Human trafficking is the second leading crime in the world, and numbers show it's becoming more common in Kansas. "We think this happens on the East Coast, the West Coast, Las Vegas, we don't think it happens here," said ICT SOS head Jennifer White. "We don't talk to our kids about it, so they are more vulnerable to it. " White was on hand to hear a former victim tell her story at Friends University Thursday night. Wichita victims have been featured in national documentaries, and police are finding new victims all the time.

"We tend to think of 19th century Kansas through the lens of a pioneer, the lens of a cowboy, the lens of the outlaw," says Wichita State University Public History Program Director Jay Price. "You've gotta to forget all of that. You have to look as it as a realtor. " The College Hill neighborhood in Wichita was first conceived by four Civil War veterans in the 1870's who wanted to buy cheap land from the government and sell it to recent immigrants who had settled on the East Coast but were hoping for a better life out west.

Wichita's Delano district will be featured on The Travel Channel Friday and we decided to take a closer look at the historic neighborhood that had a reputation for hosting some of Wichtia's wilder establishments. Delano was an independent township when it first developed in 1872. Cowboys from the Chisholm Trail drove cattle to the railroads in Wichita and business sprung up to cater to the young cowboys. Click here to see photos of historical and modern Delano. “This was out on the plains, you didn't have as much laws and order,” says Jay Price, the Director of the Public History Program at Wichita State University.

It already shared the neighborhood, now Friends University is expanding in Wichita's Delano District.  The Friends purchased a historic building at 930 W. Douglas and a warehouse at 122 N. Walnut.  The buildings will be used for the university's new art building. "With the addition of these two buildings, we will significantly expand our art department just one mile from the main Friends University Campus," said President Dr. T.J. Arant. The project will cost $3.5 million.  Dr. Arant says it will increase its art space by 65%. Construction will begin at the end of this year.  The building is expected to be ready for classes at the start of the 2013 fall semester.

Dr. T.J. Arant was inaugurated as Friends University 13th president Friday.  Arant was unanimously selected by the Friends University Board of Trustees and took office July 2011.  He previously served as executive vice president and provost at Mount Olive College in North Carolina.  Arant earned a doctorate in English from Duke University, a master's in English from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a...

It takes a lot of digging and searching to match hundreds of presents, but students and faculty at Friends University don't give up.  For the last 19 years, they've spent the day before finals giving back to their community. Hundreds of Falcons moved presents into pile that are spread across 65,000 square feet.  “We bring all the gifts over here to the tapers and then we bring them over here in a pile for the little kids,” says Jacqueline Dean, student at Friends University.

The Wichita Workforce Center is where you'll find Antonio Pinchback on a lot of days, looking for work and trying to stay positive. "You go on interviews and you really don't have the gas money or a babysitter," Pinchback says.  "That takes a toll on you, but you still have to be upbeat because in the end, you are looking for employment. " Trained in the culinary arts, Pinchback uprooted his family six months ago expecting Kansas to be the land of opportunity.  But now he heads into the holiday season just trying to put food on the table.