2023  ANNUAL MEETING & SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Our Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, April 15 at 9:00 AM at Maceli's (1301 New Hampshire St.).  Please come join fellow Watkins and Miller alumni and current residents! Please register to participate here, the cost is $25.00 and includes registration for the Annual Meeting and Brunch.

9:00 AM - Short business meeting with featured speaker Diana Carlin-Pierron. 

11:00 AM - Brunch and scholarship awards to introduce our EMWM Scholars.  

2:00 - 4:00 PM - Elizabeth's Biography is finally here! Come to the unveiling of the book at the Watkins Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts Street.  Authors Mary Burchill and Norma Hoagland will give a few remarks and The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Miller Watkins will be available for purchase.  Refreshments will be served. 

2023 ANNUAL HALL ALUMNI TEA

Complete your weekend by meeting the residents of your former hall for tea Sunday, April 16 from 3:00-5:00 at both Watkins and Miller Halls.  No registration necessary, just come on by!

KITCHEN 8 BECOMES AN AFFILIATE OF THE WATKINS MUSEUM OF HISTORY

There has long been a wonderful relationship between K8 and the Watkins Museum of History.  It’s “all in the family!”  Recently, the Museum approached K8 with the idea of becoming an Affiliate of the Museum.  For many years, the Museum has held the Kitchen 8 Archives for no fee, as a gesture of their joined interest in Elizabeth and Jabez’ history. 

Your board voted to accept the offer to become an Affiliate.  At the beginning of 2022, we will begin to have our mail delivered to the Museum, saving K8 the cost of a Post Office box.  The added prestige of being a Watkins Museum Affiliate cannot be overlooked, plus we will support the Museum’s costs in holding and preserving our K8 Archives, for a very reasonable annual fee of $200. 

An article announcing our joining the Museum as an Affiliate was in their Fall 2021 Newsletter (here).  We are grateful and proud of this new partnership! 

As of January 1, 2022, our mailing address will be:

               Kitchen 8

               c/o Watkins Museum of History

               1047 Massachusetts Street

               Lawrence, KS  66044

About Kitchen 8

Elizabeth Miller Watkins had a "dream to aid self-supporting girls to get an education".  Through her generosity, creativity, and foresight, she created Watkins and Miller Scholarship Halls at the University of Kansas.  Kitchen 8 (K8) is the continuation of that legacy, established and run by women who have benefited from living and prospering in either Watkins or Miller Halls.  The unique communcal living experience shared on Lilac Lane cannot be compared at the University of Kansas or elsewhere.   

As all Miller and Watkins residents know, part of the self sustaining theme within the Halls are the existence of 7 small kitchens where residents prepare and share meals. Although the use of the 7 kitchens has evolved over time, they remain an integral part of life and camaraderie within the halls. Kitchen 8 aims to be be a similiar link between Watkins and Miller women, past and present, to help further the legacy of Elizabeth Miller Watkins and advance her vision. 

Our Mission

"....to help the girls who must travel uphill." 

Kitchen 8 is an organization of Watkins and Miller Scholarship Hall alumnae and residents, EMW Memorial Scholars, and other supporters of Elizabeth Miller Watkins' dream "to help the girls who must travel uphill."

Kitchen 8 is dedicated to preserving and carrying forward the legacy of Mrs. Watkins to help exceptional but financially needy women to get an education. K8 seeks to provide a community of support to stakeholders by:

• maintaining communication,
• providing mentorship,
• awarding scholarships,
• staying informed and advocating for conditions at the Halls,
• preserving the Halls as scholarship opportunities for women who have exceptional achievement and financial need, and
• following Mrs. Watkins' example of generosity and compassion.

Support 

If you wish to support Kitchen 8 or the Elizabeth Miller Watkins Scholarship Fund, please visit our Donation Center.  We are grateful for any assistance!