University Service Citation Award Recipients Diane Beatty

In ways both subtle and unmistakable, Diane Beatty (BSB 78-Accounting) embodies Hornet alumni who are dedicated to lifelong service to Emporia State University. Since earning her degree, she has provided support to the university and its students in numerous and multi-faceted ways.

During her time as an accounting student at Emporia State, Beatty was a member of the Accounting Club and Phi Beta Lambda. With the knowledge she acquired at ESU, she built a 36-year career with ConocoPhillips, working her way to general manager of their Upstream Financial Services Department, the role she retired from in 2015.

All who know Beatty, know she is profoundly generous. Her gifts have established a number of scholarships and funds — the Diane Beatty School of Business Fund, which supports business faculty; the Thomas Learning Space Capital Outlay Fund, which provides the business school with a technology-based learning environment; the BizHornet High-Impact Learning Opportunity Fund, which supports the BizHornet Center; and the Thomas Scholarship, which promotes educational opportunities to all students. During the Together, Forward campaign, she gifted matching dollars to other donors establishing new funds to support high-impact learning within the School of Business and Technology.

Beatty wants to help as many students as possible have access to the knowledge and opportunities for success that ESU gave her. She believes removing financial barriers is an important way one can give back, but she doesn’t think it is the only way alumni can make a significant impact.

“Money is important. But what I also see as important is the mentoring of the students who are coming in,” she said. “People's involvement is just as critical as their dollars.”

To that end, Beatty’s volunteerism and participation touch most corners of campus. She’s served in multiple roles on the ESU Foundation’s Board of Trustees, including as chair of the board. She also serves on the School of Business and Technology Dean’s Advisory Council, the Presidential Search Committee and is a member of the Black & Gold Circle and the President’s Club.

At the heart of her commitment to her alma mater is her desire to pay it forward by assisting today’s students just as she was assisted during her undergraduate days.

“I'm deeply honored,” said Beatty, whose family includes four generations of ESU graduates dating back to the university’s days as Kansas State Teachers College. “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.”