Alumni Association partners with K-State Libraries to digitize K-Stater magazine
For nearly 75 years, K-Stater magazine has informed and connected the Kansas State University community. Now thanks to a partnership between the K-State Alumni Association and K-State Libraries, nearly 70 years’ worth of the back issue catalog has been digitized and is available for public access.
The back issues are available on the K-State Libraries website at digital.lib.k-state.edu/item/k-stater-magazine.
More recent issues of the magazine are available exclusively for Alumni Association members in the membership portal: k-state.com/kstater.
“The digitized K-Stater magazine collection is a meaningful tribute to the generations of Wildcats who helped shape Kansas State University,” said Ryan Leimkuehler, associate professor and university archivist in the Richard L. D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Archives and Special Collections. “For alumni, it offers a chance to reconnect with the people, stories and traditions that defined their time on campus. These publications are more than just a magazine; they’re historical records that capture the evolving identity of K-State and its community and has significant research value to our community. Preserving and sharing them online ensures that the legacy of the K-State family remains accessible, celebrated, and remembered for generations to come.”
The award-winning K-Stater magazine was first published in 1951 as a supplement to the university’s newspaper The Industrialist. It is published by K-State Alumni Association for its members and is full of news about campus happenings, research, athletics, students, nostalgia and alumni. The K-Stater is mailed exclusively to members of the K-State Alumni Association four times per year.
“K-Stater magazine has been a trusted source of university news and views for decades and we’re excited to share the back issue catalog with the K-State community,” said Tim Schrag ’12, editor of K-Stater magazine. “Our members have often told us back issues have a long life on their coffee tables; we are thrilled to extend another way to access the magazine. This partnership with K-State Libraries helps the Alumni Association reach, connect and serve our campus, alumni and friends.”
Efforts to digitize the magazine began in 2021 and concluded earlier this year. Archivists in the Libraries’ Morse Department of Archives and Special Collections worked with the Alumni Association to secure copies of the K-Stater and digitize them for online access.
“The Alumni Association and the Morse Department of Archives and Special Collections have a decades-long relationship that has benefitted both organizations and the broader K-State community,” said Cliff Hight, professor and head of the Morse Department of Archives and Special Collections. “This project is another successful manifestation of our work together. I appreciate the leadership of Tim and others at the Alumni Association, and am thankful for the many people in our department and K-State Libraries who worked to digitize the magazine and make it available online.”