The ESU Alumni Association’s University Service Citation Award recipients will be recognized at the Nov. 9 football game against the University of Central Missouri. According to a press release from Emporia State’s Merit Page News, this accolade “honors both alumni and friends who have made unique and significant contributions to Emporia State, its students, and its staff members.”

This year’s recipients are Diane Beatty, Tyler Curtis, Linda Hurt, and Mike Law. 

Diane Beatty graduated from ESU in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science in Business – Accounting. When she attended ESU, she belonged to the Accounting Club and Phi Beta Lambda. After completing her degree, she began a career with ConocoPhillips, retiring in 2015 as the general manager of their Upstream Financial Services Department.

Beatty’s contributions to ESU have been “profoundly generous” as they have established numerous scholarships and funds. These include the Diane Beatty School of Business Fund, the Thomas Learning Space Capital Outlay Fund, the BizHornet High-Impact Learning Opportunity Fund, and the Thomas Scholarship. Beatty also matched donations during the Together, Forward campaign of those supporting the School of Business and Technology.

Beatty has volunteered in many positions that support ESU. She has held positions on the ESU Foundation Board of Trustees, the School of Business and Technology Dean’s Advisory Council and the Presidential Search Committee. She is a Black & Gold Circle and President’s Club member.

By removing financial barriers and volunteering, Beatty is committed to supporting students of her alma mater. She believes in “paying it forward” so that today’s students have access to the knowledge and assistance she had access to while at ESU.

She said in the press release, “I am deeply honored. I volunteer because Emporia State allowed me to be successful in my career. It set me on a path. My instructors helped me see what my potential was, and so when I was able to give back, I felt like I needed to do that for the next generation.”

Tyler Curtis received his Bachelor of Science in English – English and Social Science in 2001 and a Master of Science – Education Administration in 2004, both from ESU. He was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, Associated Student Government and other service organizations. Curtis served as ESU’s Director of Alumni Relations and the Assistant Vice President for University Advancement. Now, he is an Emporia city commissioner and the Chief Development Officer for the Kansas Methodist Foundation.

Curtis’s involvement as an alumnus includes being a member of the Kellogg Society and serving as a Day of Giving ambassador. In 2023, he received the Outstanding Advocate Award. As a member of the Kellogg Society, he has made a planned estate gift to the University, and he has helped create and maintain several ESU scholarships.

Curtis looks back on his time as an ESU student as transformational. He is honored to serve the university that has led to his success.’

“I’m happy to be a part of the Emporia community,” Curtis said in the press release. “In some ways, I feel like now that I’m not employed by the university, I am better positioned to advocate for the university. I feel like now I have an even stronger voice for the university.”

Linda Hurt, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Business – Accounting, graduated from Emporia State in 1977. She is retired from Burlington North Santa Fe Railway. Today, she manages the Hurt Family Foundation.

Along with her husband, Hurt started the Bill & Linda Hurt Family Fund. In 2017, Hurt was a lead donor to the Dr. John C. Rich Distinguished Accounting Professorship. She has offered her service to organizations such as the President’s Club, Women for ESU and the ESU Foundation Board of Trustees.

Hurt stays active in supporting ESU because of the support she felt from the ESU community when she attended. She is passionate about the university’s efforts to cultivate first-generation students and its academic mission.

“I think of the university as the students at the university because, to me, that’s what the university is all about,” she said in the press release. “There is value added to those students’ lives (at ESU), and maybe one of them can help someone else with their confidence one day.”

Mike Law graduated in 1981 and has a Bachelor of Science in Business – Business Administration from ESU. He found a career as a radio personality and executive and served as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Hornets.

Law volunteers for the University on the ESU Foundation Board of Trustees and on the ESU School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. He is also a member of the President’s Club. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. In 2020, he established a scholarship fund for student-athletes with his wife, Nycki Law.

He strives to honor the University and its faculty and administrators, whom he credits as the foundation of his career and sense of self. He hopes the next generation of students will find similar paths to success.

In the release, he said, “It’s not just ‘ESU.’ That’s the letterhead. It’s more about the people at ESU who helped me along the way. Those people could have been anywhere, but they were at ESU, and they were a huge asset to me and a benefit to my learning.”