By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

Before this week, Brian Faust's experience with the state of Kansas probably was not representative of what his life in Hays will be like.

But in his first few days in a new town in a new state, some good ol' fashioned hospitality in rural western Kansas has impressed Faust.

Faust is the new director of residential life at Fort Hays State University, taking over for Carol Hackerott, who resigned last spring after four years in that position.

Faust comes to Hays from Viterbo University, a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in La Crosse, Wis.

A native of Wisconsin, he had visited Overland Park and Lawrence in eastern Kansas.

Faust's only contact with Hays before his interview last month was driving by on Interstate 70 on his way to Denver.

He said he was pleasantly surprised with the treatment he and his wife have received since moving to town last week.

Faust and his wife, Julie, are the parents of a 15-month-old boy, Jacob.

"Everybody I've met has been very nice, very welcoming, very warm," Faust said. "Around town, everyone is so friendly."

That makes the task of learning a new system in a new job seem a little easier.

Faust also was director of residential life at Viterbo, which features between 500 and 600 beds on campus. His wife also has extensive experience in collegiate residential life.

Fort Hays can house up to 1,100 students in numerous buildings -- four residence halls (Agnew, Custer, McMindes and Wiest), as well as two apartment complexes (Wooster Place and Stadium Place).

Faust's experience impressed Fort Hays.

"We're very excited having someone coming in with that kind of experience under his belt." said Shana Meyer, assistant vice president for student affairs at FHSU.

Faust made the final cut of three finalists from 35 applicants.

"We were blessed having some wonderful candidates, but we feel he will best fit our needs," Meyer said. "He'll add a lot of experience and enthusiasm to the position."

Faust said he is looking forward to working more with the budget process at Fort Hays, where he will return to more of a familiar setting -- in a public institution.

"My only private school experience was at Viterbo, so all my background was in public institutions," said Faust, who received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Wisconsin universities, then worked the first 10 years of his career in public-school settings before going to Viterbo three years ago.

He said he is excited about the challenge of convincing students to live on campus.

"That's always a goal, to get and keep retention high," he said. "It's good to have older students be role models for incoming freshmen."

"We were pleased to hear him say he is looking forward to enhancing the student experience in our residence halls," Meyer said. "Certainly, it's a place to live, but it's also a place where freshmen learn a lot, too."

"We have great things to look forward to under his leadership," she added.

While Faust could be dealing with twice as many students in residential life, he will have to adjust to "small" in other ways in Hays.

For his interview, he flew straight into Hays.

"My first impression was the airport, small but nice," he said. "And the plane -- it had been a while since I've been on one with two rows of seats, and only four people in the plane."

He'll also see a few differences between the two cities.

La Crosse is a city of 112,000 on the Mississippi River in southwest Wisconsin.

The warmest month of the year in La Crosse is July, with an average maximum temperature of 85 degrees.

Temperatures in Hays, population 20,000, can vary drastically all year long, something Faust already has experienced.

"We showed up last Friday when it was 100 (degrees), then Saturday it was in the 70s," Faust said.

Temperatures during his first week in Hays were unusually mild, more like those back home of "high 70s, low 80s, just a few days in the 90s."

"It's pleasant up there in the summers," he said. "I brought Wisconsin weather with me."

His co-workers surely have told him otherwise. One-hundred-degree days still could be around the corner.

Faust admitted that living in a land-locked state will be different for him. The largest body of water from Hays is Cedar Bluff Reservoir, about 30 miles from Hays.

"I've lived 11 years on the Mississippi River, so it will take a little getting used to," he said. "But I'm looking forward to it."