A Wichita State history professor is using his local knowledge to guide students and community members on a tour of the university’s history on Sept. 27.

Professor Jay Price is leading the campus tour along with students from the Society of Public Historians and his introduction to local history students.

The tour will cost $55, which includes a lunch from Social Tap. 

Price leads similar tours around the city, sharing Wichita’s history with others. 

“For fall, we’re going to be tying it to campus area, because it’s a student group on campus (leading),” Price said. “Spring tends to be a little bit more flexible in where we are.” 

This walk boasts a different side of campus, with promises of historical discussion about the surrounding area and what used to be there, focused on the 21st and Oliver area.

Along the way, the students will give a brief history of the area and answer questions that attendees may have. Price said this event also serves as a training exercise for history students to teach them how to teach and handle a crowd. 

“Part of the exercise with the students is to learn that it’s about facilitating conversations with the people on the tour and that they might have their own specific memories to chime in,” Price said. “It’s not just a matter of ‘In 1925, XYZ happened’ … it’s a little more of an engagement in that regard.”

After the walk, the group heads to lunch. While eating, the students will split into smaller groups to continue the discussions that started on the tour. 

“So you presented on this topic, this area, this building, now people can say, ‘Now what did you mean by that?’ and you can have a conversation with that,” Price said. 

Price said that he hopes that people will leave the walk thinking about local history and how it has changed over the years, and that they will continue to share that knowledge with their companions when they travel the area later.