The Delta State University professor killed in an on-campus shooting Monday had Kansas ties.
Ethan Schmidt received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Emporia State University and his doctorate from the University of Kansas.
“He was a remarkable student,” Dr. Karen Manners Smith, a professor of history at Emporia State, said in a statement. “He was one of the best students I ever had and I was thrilled he went on to a career in teaching history.”
Schmidt was student body president during his time at Emporia State and a member of several service organizations and honor societies.
Smith described Schmidt, with his expertise in Native American history, as on his way to being “one of the great scholars of American history.”
After earning his doctorate at KU, Schmidt taught for six years at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, receiving an award for distinguished teaching.
“Ethan was an amazing person - gifted as a teacher and historian and a loving father of three children,” KU history professor Paul Kelton said in a statement. “KU has lost a dear family member.”
The gunman who killed Schmidt remains at large. According to university’s Twitter account, the Delta State campus is still on lockdown.
