Two K-State Faculty Members Receive Inaugural Wildcat Pride Award
Two Kansas State University faculty members received the inaugural Wildcat Pride Award
to recognize K-State faculty or staff who have been instrumental in advancing the
mission of the K-State Alumni Association through support of its programs.
Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, professor of agricultural economics, and Dr. Frank Tracz, director
of bands and professor of music, are the 2011-2012 award recipients. They received
their awards recently during the Association’s fall board meeting.
The award honors a K-State faculty or staff member for his/her advocacy of alumni
relations, with a special emphasis on support and participation in alumni programs
that engage members of the Wildcat family.
“What brought these two faculty members to the top of our list was their extreme enthusiasm for K-State and their willingness to attend Alumni Association events throughout the country to connect with alumni, friends, prospective students and others in the Wildcat family,” said Amy Button Renz, president and CEO of the Association. “They are both outstanding representatives of K-State and have impacted the lives of countless students.”
Flinchbaugh joined the K-State faculty in 1971. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1964 in animal science and his master’s degree in 1967 in agricultural economics from Pennsylvania State University. He also earned his doctorate in agricultural economics from Purdue University in 1971.
A native of York, Penn., Flinchbaugh is a longtime adviser on agricultural policy to both political parties. He has served as adviser to numerous governors, U.S. senators, U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture and U.S. House and Senate committees, as well as international organizations.
As a professor of agricultural economics at K-State, Flinchbaugh has received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the College of Agriculture three times. He is the author of more than 100 publications, including an agricultural policy textbook.
Tracz is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and came to K-State in 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music from The Ohio State University, his master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his doctorate in philosophy (music education) from The Ohio State University.