Adults laugh only 15 times a day. Preschoolers laugh 450 times a day. There is so much a teacher can still learn. Workshops can give teachers the opportunity to refresh, re-certify or learn a new skill, even if that new skill is how to put more laughter, joy and humor in their life.

Friends University will once again close its doors Dec. 14 for the 17th year. Approximately 250 staff, faculty and students will help the Salvation Army prepare for its holiday distribution to needy children and families in the Wichita area. The group will eat together before leaving for the distribution facility at the former Honeywell building. The group will assemble bikes, sort and bag toys and stocking stuffers, decorate the distribution facility, and much more.

Friends University currently has 23 international students representing 15 foreign countries among its Wichita, Lenexa and Topeka sites including Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and the United Kingdom.

The annual Tree Lighting Ceremony programmed by the Friends University Falcon Activities and Campus Events (FACE) Special Events Committee will take place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2. Refreshments will be provided.

Friends University will host an open house event from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, on the second floor of the Davis Administration Building on the Wichita campus. Attendees can learn more about all of the Friends University programs, from traditional undergraduate to the Graduate School, in addition to the Cisco Networking Academy.

Inclement weather occasionally affects Friends University classes and campus events. Information about weather-related closings can be found in the following ways:

Dr. Evelyn Hume has been hired as dean of the Graduate School on the Wichita campus.

Dr. Hume is originally from Tennessee and relocated to Kansas from Virginia, where she was previously dean of the business school at Longwood University in Farmville. She has a Ph.D. in accounting from Louisiana State University, and a master’s in information systems and a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of West Florida.

Children can trick or treat and interact with college students at Friends University Thursday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Friends University Residence Life Office.

“Trick or Treat Off the Street” is designed for children 12 years and younger to collect candy throughout the campus residence halls, apartments and houses. “Knock here for candy” signs will be posted on doors of participating student apartments. 

Keeping pace with a changing global employment environment and local employer needs, Friends University has added three new programs to its undergraduate majors: finance, forensic science and international business.

The finance program, which encompasses both global and domestic finance, will prepare students for a variety of fields, including investment, banking and financial management. Students will learn through case studies, trips to financial centers and simulations.

Hundreds of high-school art students will flock to Friends University Oct. 9 as part of a portfolio workshop.

The University’s annual Show Me the Money event offers portfolio critiques and advice to help prepare students for scholarships in studio art, graphic design, computer graphics, art education, media, journalism and public relations.

Show Me the Money is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 9 on the Friends University campus in Wichita. Admission is free, and lunch will be served to participants. Registration is required by 5 p.m. Oct. 2.