The Kansas State Wildcats are bowl eligible! Be sure to watch the K-State Alumni Association website and social media for the location announcement Dec. 3.

 

If you’d like to travel to cheer on the Wildcats, the K-State Alumni Association is once again offering exclusive travel packages. Details will be updated once the bowl location has been announced. Official travel packages provide an opportunity to enjoy the bowl festivities with fellow K-Staters and make your travel experience as seamless as possible. Tickets are not included with the travel package. Purchase bowl tickets from K-State Athletics.

 

Also be sure to watch for other Alumni Association bowl events. Go ’Cats!

K-Staters may come from different backgrounds and places, but together we form one family.

 

The K-State community came together Nov. 14 to celebrate this unity and to reaffirm K-State’s commitment to safety, inclusion and compassion for all at a special event called KSUnite. Kansas State University administration approved a rare closure of all classes and offices from 1-3 p.m., and in unison students, faculty and staff from across campus walked to Anderson Hall lawn.

 

The program was hosted by Jack Ayres, student body president, and Darrell Reese Jr., president of K-State’s Black Student Union and 2018 Student Ambassador. President Richard Myers ’65 provided a message of unity and outlined steps that all K-Staters can take as the community moves forward.

 

“It’s time for all of us to stand up as a family, as a community, to unite around our values,” Myers said. 

 

The event was a powerful expression of solidarity and the spirit of family that defines K-State.

 

“We are going to uphold what it means to be a family,” Reese addressed K-Staters. “…Once you step foot on this campus or in this community, no matter where you come from, the color of your skin, or your religious background, together we make a family. It should be your duty and your highest aspiration that the person to the left of you, or to the right of you, or the person that does not look like you, feels that they are a part of this family, and that they are safe in this family.”

 

View photos from the event below.

 

 

Also on Nov. 14, K-State announced Adrian Rodriguez as the university’s associate vice president for student life of diversity and multicultural student affairs, effective Dec. 4.

 

Rodriguez will provide strategic leadership for university strategies to increase recruitment, matriculation, support, retention and graduation of multicultural students. He will collaborate with many departments, offices and academic units to develop programs and services to enhance students’ academic, social and emotional success.

 

“It is an absolute honor to be joining the K-State family,” Rodriguez said. “Being a part of a university committed to creating a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for all students is exactly the place my family and I want to be and K-State embodies that very spirit. I am eager to work hand in hand with the great students, faculty and staff of Kansas State University.”

 

Learn more about Rodriguez.

Kansas State University has been named winner of a national award for extraordinary economic engagement efforts.

 

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities named the university the winner of its Innovation Award at its fifth annual Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity’s Innovation and Economic Prosperity University Awards on Nov. 12.

 

Economic engagement efforts include universities working with public and private sector partners in their states and regions to support economic development through a variety of activities, including innovation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer, talent and workforce development, and community development. K-State was recognized for outstanding work in technology transfer, entrepreneurship and business development.

 

Peter Dorhout, vice president for research, and Rebecca Robinson ’09, ’13, director of economic development at the Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization, accepted the award on behalf of the university at the association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

 

“Building the economic prosperity of Kansas has always been a priority at K-State, and we are pioneering efforts to understand what it means to be a 21st-century land-grant university,” said K-State president Richard Myers ’65.

 

According to Myers, advancing prosperity in our complex environment requires building innovative partnerships.

 

“K-State has excelled at embracing the diversification, technology and business-friendly approaches that collaboration and economic development require,” he said.

 

The university's award application highlighted the K-State Knowledge Based Economic Development partnership, the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship and the K-State Institute for Commercialization. Knowledge Based Economic Development has facilitated partnerships with Manhattan and private sector organizations that have resulted in the creation of hundreds of jobs in the area since the organization’s founding in 2008. The Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship provides mentorship, support and funding to entrepreneurs. In the last academic year, the center awarded more than $256,000 in grants to entrepreneurs. Finally, the K-State Institute for Commercialization facilitates technology transfer, strategic partnerships with industry, and research and development collaborations. The institute facilitates an average of 500 unique industry interactions each year. In the past five years, those interactions have led to nearly $15 million in corporate-generated cash royalties, funded research and company equity.

 

Dorhout said the organizations featured in the award application are representative of the university’s overall approach to engagement.

 

“We have developed a culture of engagement at K-State that starts with our faculty, staff and students, all of whom are working to ensure that our research makes it to the marketplace to help improve the lives of our citizens,” Dorhout said.

 

Dorhout noted that the university has developed processes that facilitate collaboration.

 

“We have built many partnerships in Manhattan and around the state, and K-State research and education programs add value to the people and the industries in the state,” he said. “We have more than 480 active collaborations with companies, plus groups facilitating the business development that creates jobs in Kansas.”

 

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity, which brings together public university leaders focused on economic engagement issues, designed and implemented the Innovation and Economic Prosperity Awards program. To be eligible for an award, an institution must first earn the Innovation and Economic Prosperity University designation from the association, which K-State received earlier in 2017. To receive that designation, universities conduct a rigorous self-study of their economic engagement efforts that includes input from external stakeholders and results in a growth and improvement plan.

 

The other finalists for the awards were the Georgia Institute of Technology, Iowa State University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland.

Help your favorite Wildcat show off their purple pride all year round! The K-State Alumni Association offers a variety of exclusive gifts that would make great holiday surprises for a K-Stater. Shop through our gallery below, or find more items at the Alumni Association’s Shop Purple page.   

 

As the trees at Kansas State University change throughout the seasons, they add beauty to the campus — blossoming in the spring, offering shade in the summer, and turning colors in the fall. The tree-filled campus is no doubt part of the reason K-State was recently named the “most beautiful college in Kansas” by Travel + Leisure.

 

Alumni and friends are invited to help keep K-State a beautiful, tree-filled campus. The university, the K-State Alumni Association, Kansas State University Foundation, Manhattan Rotary and Manhattan Konza Rotary are partnering on a project to plant trees on the university’s Manhattan campus.

 

K-State will face some tree-related challenges in the next few years due to the anticipated arrival of the emerald ash borer, which may decimate about 225 ash trees on campus, according Mark Taussig ’79, ’90, project manager for campus planning and project management. K-State also loses 25-50 trees per year due to old age and a variety of environmental conditions and pathogens.

 

“Because of these challenges, we would be thrilled to partner with K-State faculty, staff, alumni and friends to plant new trees on campus,” Taussig said.

 

The two local Rotary Clubs initially approached the university as a site to plant trees as part of a Rotary International challenge to plant one tree for each Rotarian. The K-State Alumni Association and KSU Foundation purchased the first two trees to help kickstart the program.

 

“I hope we plant trees where the shade and beauty benefit as many students as possible,” said Rod Harms ’82, president of Manhattan Konza Rotary.

 

The Greater Manhattan Community Foundation is collecting donations for the tree project. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the K-State/Rotary Tree Partnership online. Trees cost between $100-$200 each, and all donation amounts are accepted.

 

K-State has been designated by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA since 2013. For Arbor Day 2017, the university planted six trees, including one in honor of President Richard Myers ’65. Learn more about the Tree Campus USA program.

 

Photo: K-State organizations and local Rotary groups have partnered to plant trees on the Manhattan campus. Pictured left to right are Cathie Lavis ’93, ’05, associate professor and Extension specialist: landscape management; Horticulture students Sarah Diggs, junior, Circleville, Kansas, and Markis Hill, senior, Eudora, Kansas; Manhattan Rotary president Vern Henricks ’78, ’80; Manhattan Rotary Community Service and Giving Committee co-chair and One Rotarian One Tree Project chair Mike Dodson ’79; and Manhattan Konza Rotary president Rod Harms ’82. (Photo: David Mayes ’96)

Allison Nigg’s Wabash CannonBall scholarship will help her continue her family’s legacy at Kansas State University. Adam Krehbiel said his Wabash CannonBall scholarship will take “some of the stress away” from paying for college. For Nathan Jackson, his Wabash CannonBall scholarship will give him “a great start at K-State” and help him get involved with student organizations and achieve his goal of studying abroad.

 

The goal of the K-State Alumni Association’s Wabash CannonBall program is to help make dreams like these come true for future K-Staters. You can be a part of the tradition in 2018 through one of our upcoming Wabash CannonBall events.

 

The Wabash CannonBalls are black-tie galas that provide an opportunity for K-State alumni and friends to dine, dance and raise scholarship funds for students from their area. The first Wabash CannonBall took place in Kansas City in 2007, and has since expanded to Colorado, Houston and North Texas.

 

The program draws its name from the well-loved song Wabash Cannonball, and this year’s events will commemorate the 50th anniversary of a significant event in Wabash Cannonball history. When Nichols Gym burned in December 1968, the fire destroyed most of the K-State band’s instruments and sheet music. However, former band director Phil Hewett ’70 had sheet music at his home, which included the Wabash Cannonball, now a favorite K-State tradition.

 

The Wabash CannonBall program now helps introduce new students to these beloved K-State traditions. Through the years, the galas have raised more than $3.25 million combined and distributed more than 475 scholarships.

 

“The Wildcat family has already shown me an overwhelming amount of support, and this scholarship is no exception,” Nigg said. “I am truly honored to be selected. Go ’Cats!”

 

“I’m really thankful for the scholarship! It means a ton to me,” Krehbiel added. 

 

Be sure to mark your calendar for these upcoming Wabash CannonBall events:

 

• KANSAS CITY: Feb. 23, 2018

• NORTH TEXAS: June 15, 2018

• COLORADO: Aug. 3, 2018

• HOUSTON: Jan. 18, 2019 (Note: Due to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and the surrounding areas, the K-State Alumni Association and the Wabash CannonBall Houston committee have cancelled the 2018 event. Due to the generosity of K-State alumni and friends, we are able to award four $5,000 Wabash CannonBall Houston scholarships in 2018.)

 

To learn more about how you can attend a Wabash CannonBall or become a sponsor, email ANDREA BRYANT GLADIN ’02 for Kansas City, or MICHELLE ELKINS ’87 for Houston, North Texas or Colorado.

Christina’s Cookie Co., a Louisburg, Kansas-based cookie startup, is adding Kansas State University’s Olathe campus to its list of ingredients. 

 

The cookie company is using kitchen space and industry-grade cooking appliances and equipment at K-State Olathe to grow their business. Recently, they used the venue for a week to bake and package 4,000 cookies for Ciderfest, an annual fall event in Louisburg that draws around 25,000 visitors — presenting the company with its largest sales opportunity to date.

 

Christina’s Cookie Co. was started in June by Christina Lewis, a fourth-grade teacher at Broadmoor Elementary School in Louisburg. Lewis operates the business in her spare time with her daughter, Hannah. 

 

Currently, the company sells cookies through its online storefront, every other weekend at the Olathe Farmer's Market and at charity events. Lewis hopes to scale up the business enough that she can eventually open a bakery and turn it over to Hannah.

 

“Right now, our baking can be done at home in my oven with a little planning,” Lewis said. “However, we want to start getting our name out there more by selling at larger events. My single kitchen oven just can’t handle baking hundreds or thousands of cookies in a short time to support this next step.”  

 

Knowing thousands of cookies would need to be made for Ciderfest, Lewis contacted Bryan Severns ’10, ’14, food programs and services manager at K-State Olathe. Severns oversees the campus’ Food Innovation Accelerator, which supports food-based businesses by helping them test and refine recipes, scale up operations and more. Thanks to K-State, Christina’s Cookie Co. now had the space and equipment it needed.

 

To prepare for Ciderfest, Lewis enlisted the help of her husband, Joe; daughters, Hannah and Maddie; and her mother, Beth. 

 

In the week before Ciderfest, the family spent 3-4 hours every weeknight after work and school preparing cookies for the event. Ingredients were mixed; cookies were baked — nearly 900 every evening; baked cookies were packaged and then boxed; and the boxed, ready-to-be-sold cookies were loaded into a walk-in freezer for the weekend festival.

 

Most of the recipes are family ones that have been passed from one generation to the next. 

 

“I come from a line of bakers and baking has always been something I’ve loved to do,” Lewis said. “As a little girl, I used to bake cookies and cakes with my Easy-Bake Oven. So, doing this on a bigger scale has always been a dream of mine. I’m really excited for more people to start tasting the cookie recipes I grew up enjoying and the same ones I’ve made for my family.”

 

Learn more about Christina’s Cookie Co., or discover more about how K-State Olathe’s Food Innovation Accelerator helps businesses grow and succeed.

Thank you to everyone who downloaded our K-State Alumni Link for Life app and entered to win a purple K-State Alumni Association tumbler, and congratulations to our 24 winners!

 

• Casandra (Robinson) Peters ’11

• Mindi Adler ’03

• Carolyn Aeschliman ’91

• Taylor Anderson

• Tracy Appleba

• Craig Augustine ’01

• Jill Aurand ’90, ’91

• Ray Bartholomew ’77

• Julie Benson ’97, ’99

• Miranda Boatwright

• Mary Burgett ’86

• Becky Carney ’86

• Ashley Garrett ’99

• Greg Graff ’73

• Stephanie Heger ’92

• Collin Huerter ’14

• Scott LaMunyon ’17

• Penny Mellies ’85

• Julia Oetting ’11

• Mike Sanderson ’81

• Kimberly Shirley ’97

• Robert Simmons ’85

• Emily Stoltz ’09

• Emily Vogel ’10

 

“This made my day,” said tumbler winner Mary Burgett. “I am thrilled and KSU proud. I teach family and consumer sciences at Santa Fe Trail High School and will use this proudly, giving it everyday exposure to our staff and students.”

 

If you don’t have the K-State Alumni Link for Life app yet, be sure to download it today so you can stay up-to-date on K-State Alumni Association news and announcements. Also be sure to watch for other giveaway opportunities in the future!

 

Mary Vanier ’89, Manhattan, Kansas, has given a gift of $1 million to Kansas State University to create at least 30 matching gift scholarships as part of the K-State Family Scholarship Program. This program is an initiative of the KSU Foundation to increase scholarship dollars to help K-State attract and retain students and to inspire new donors to invest in student success.

 

The Mary L. Vanier K-State Family Scholarship will be used to match at least 30 new gifts for scholarships. New gifts of $30,000 will be matched with $30,000 from Vanier’s gift, and $10,000 will go into an expendable scholarship fund, making $2,000 scholarships immediately available to students. The remaining $50,000 will go into the endowment, ensuring future generations of Wildcats will receive scholarships as well. This program widens the philanthropic support base for K-State by inspiring new donors to give while creating scholarships necessary to help students attend K-State today and in the future.

 

“I hope this inspires those who have thought about setting up a scholarship but haven’t because they couldn’t meet the minimum endowment requirement,” Vanier said. “It’s going to take all of us to support K-State, and this program offers a wonderful way to get involved. With this match program, our newest donors can make a significant impact on students right away.”

 

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Land-grant legacy: How K-State fulfills this important mission with the help of philanthropy

Every Kansan is touched in some way by the work of Kansas State University. As the state’s land-grant university, K-State’s mission is to make education accessible, disseminate information to the wider population and engage in community life. There are hundreds of programs at K-State that benefit Kansas communities and give students hands-on experience working on real issues.

 

In this issue of Good for K-State, you will learn about just a few of the various programs at K-State that fulfill the land-grant mission. Private gifts from K-Staters like you, stewarded by the KSU Foundation, are instrumental in keeping this work going.

 

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