Donald Wayne Otis Sr., born on September 12th, 1930, the son of Walter S. and Mildred J. (Nordling) Otis, in Osage City, KS, had a long career in civil engineering based in Kansas.
While an engineering student at Utah State University, he worked intermittently in grain elevator construction for the engineering and contracting firm of Chalmers and Borton in Hutchinson, KS from 1947-1953. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1953, he served for three years as an Engineering Officer in the U.S. Air Force. In 1955, he returned to Chalmers & Borton as a structural engineer, and became Chief Engineer for the firm (now Borton, Inc.) in 1961. In 1967, he was brought on as Director of Engineering for the Jarvis Construction Company in Salina, KS. He founded his own private consulting engineering company, Otis & Associates, in Salina, KS in 1984, specializing in the inspection of grain terminals, elevators, storage, mills, feed operations, processing plants, and bulk handling facilities, as well as the investigations of fires, explosions, failures, and collapses of the same. He closed his company and retired around 1995. He died on April 7th, 2005 in Wichita, KS at the age of 74. He was preceded in death by his wife, Winona on April 29<emph render='super'>th</emph>, 1995, and survived by his children, Donna Jo (Otis) Wilson and Donnie Wayne Otis, Jr.
He was registered as a professional engineer in eleven states (Kansas, Alabama, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, & Wisconsin), and was a member of a number of professional organizations, incuding the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE, now ASABE), the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), the American Society of Non-Destructive Testing (ASNT), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), the Kansas Engineering Society, the American Concrete Institute (ACI), and the American Society of Metals (ASM).
His professional honors and distinctions included: selection as the Outstanding Young Engineer of 1965 by the Kansas Engineering Society; selection by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) for the “People to People” Agricultural Alternate Energy Source Delegation to Europe, Africa, and Brazil in 1981; and selection by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for the Materials Handling Delegation to China in 1985.
The office of Provost was established by President Acker and was first filled in 1980 by Owen Koeppe.
The provost and senior vice president is Kansas State University's Chief Academic Officer, whose most important duties are to oversee the academic affairs of the university and ensure its academic standards. In cooperation with the president, vice presidents, and the Deans Council, the provost provides leadership in the development, review, and implementation of policies and goals related to teaching and learning, research, and engagement.
The deans of the nine academic colleges, the libraries, Graduate School, and the Division of Continuing Education report to the provost. Other reporting units and programs include the Olathe Innovation Campus; the Centers for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, Entrepreneurship, and Engagement and Community; and the School for Leadership Studies as well as Academic Personnel, Assessment, Diversity and Dual Career Development, Fort Leavenworth graduate degree programming, the Honors and Integrity System, Information Technology Services, International Programs, Planning and Analysis, Summer School, Sustainability, and the University Honors Program.
Recently the Provost has taken on the job of mediating for students. Complaints can be filed by students as to the performance of their professors and the Provost addresses any problems on a university wide scale.
The Office of Student Activities and Services at Kansas State University has existed in its current form since 1980 to complement the academic programs of study at K-State and to enhance the overall educational experience of students through exposure to and participation in social, cultural, recreational, and governance programs. Prior to 1980, the office had various names as its role expanding in campus life. Currently, the office oversees campus organizations and services that include Student Governing Association, Student Legal Services, Consumer and Tenant Affairs, and SafeRide.
Patricia J. O’Brien was born on April 1, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois to John P. O’Brien and Edna M. Massow. She attended Nicholas Senn High School, graduating in 1953, and then worked at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company as a plant engineering clerk from 1953 to 1960. Concurrently, Pat attended Wright Junior College and graduated in 1960 with an associate’s degree in art. She then attended the University of Illinois, graduating with a bachelor’s of art in anthropology in 1962 and a Ph.D. in the same subject in 1969. Her dissertation was, “A Formal Analysis of Cahokia Ceramics: Powell Tract”. O’Brien was an interim anthropology instructor at Florida Atlantic University in 1966-1967, and became an assistant professor of archeology and sociology at Kansas State University (KSU) in September 1967.
O’Brien worked at KSU for 31 years, retiring as a professor emerita in 1998. She has published seven books and over forty articles, and has presented regularly while at KSU. She has been involved professionally, including in the American Anthropological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi. In 1989-1990, O’Brien was an Honor Lecturer at the Mid-American State Universities Association, and the following year she received the Conoco Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award and Sigma Xi deemed her a Distinguished Research Lecturer. She was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in 1994-1995 at Würzburg, Germany, and was a guest professor in 1996 at Munich, Germany. In 2009, the Plains Anthropological Society recognized her lifetime achievement of Plains-related research, teaching, scholarship, and service by awarding O'Brien with the Distinguished Service Award.
The North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference is now headed by the Natioanl Alfalfa & Forage Alliance. Formed in 2006, the alliance is dedicated to education, research, promotion and advocacy.
Alice C. Nichols was a K-State graduate, journalist, and writer. Nichols graduated from K-State in 1927 after which she moved to New York and worked for Farm and Fireside. In 1934, she became the assistant editor of Country Home, later becoming Country Home’s farm programs editor in 1937. In 1940, Nichols became the editor of Men’s Wear, working there until 1953. Nichols’ most famous work, Bleeding Kansas, was released in 1954. Nichols died in 1969.
1969 The National Consumer Law Center is founded at the Boston College School of Law 1969-Present Advocated for fairness in the Uniform Consumer Credit code 1969-Present Advocated on behalf of the Truth-in-Lending Act and subsequent revisions as applied to the poor and middle-income families in several states
1972 Participated in the trial of Fuentes v Shevin, asserting unconstitutionality of the Uniform Commercial Code 1972 Participated in the trial of Swarb v Lennox, arguing that Philadelphia business actions violated the right to "due process"1974 Shaped the implementation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act
1974 Lobbied for the creation of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
1976 Lobbied the Federal Trade Commission to retract a statement on Enforcement Policy, which opened consumers to lender exploitation
1978 Aided in the passage of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 1980s Advised on the application of the Unfair and Deceptive Practices Acts (UDPA), including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (1978, 1986) 1984 March Robert Erwin Offered testimony before the United States Congress Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee on Bill S.2181
1987 Actively opposed the "Depository Institution Deregulation and Monetary Control Act"
1989 Queried the Federal Home Loan Bank Board on regulations concerning time shares
1990 Lobbied for the creation of the Low Income Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)
1990 NCLC presented the Vern Countryman Consumer Law Award to Henry J. Sommers for "leadership in promoting the field of consumer law." The annual award was given to a legal service or public interest attorney who provided a special contribution to the practice of consumer law on behalf of the rights of low-income Americans.
1994 Advised the Federal Trade Commission on the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act 1996-Present Participated in the enforcement of Federal Reserve System Regulation Z of the Truth-in-Lending Act
1996 Shaped the implementation of an electronic payment of funds system by employers
1996 Argued on behalf of Dorothy McFarland in McFarland v. Southern Division Credit Union, regarding alleged improper loan/debt disclosure.
1997 Offered testimony before the United States Congress on behalf of the Regulatory Relief and Economic Efficiency Act
1999 Began Sustainable Homeownership Group Projects to combat high rate lending abuses
2000 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Broomfield, CO
2000 Organized an ongoing initiative focusing on the providing of affordable low-income access to private energy and public utilities services
2001 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Baltimore, MD
2002 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
2003 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference Oakland, CA
2004 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference Boston, MA
2005 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference Minneapolis, MN
2006 Organized the Consumer rights and Litigation Conference Miami
2007 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Washington, D.C
2008 After raising $5.5 million over a three year Building for Marketplace Justice Campaign NCLC moves into an 1870s apartment building on the corner of Summer Street and Otis Street in Boston's financial district
2009 Organized the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference and Consumer Class Action Symposium 2009 Organized the Fair Debt Collection Training Conference in San Diego, CA