How LeAnn Brosius ’02, ’11 found her home at K-State
By Ashley Pauls
K-State Alumni Association
LeAnn Brosius ’02, ’11 is an embodiment of what it means to come home to K-State.
Starting with her parents, and culminating in a long-tenured staff position, her journey
has been colored with plenty of purple pride.
Brosius loves to tell the story of how her parents met — and how the family’s K-State
legacy began.
Brosius said her dad was originally from Washington, D.C. He received a scholarship
to play football and track at K-State.
“When he came to visit, he just fell in love with the town,” Brosius said.
Her mom grew up in small town Glasco, Kansas, and came to K-State to pursue a degree
in education. She also worked in the athletic dorm as a switchboard operator.
Brosius says that one day, her dad was trying to go on a date and was having trouble
with the phone lines.
“He went down to find out why it wasn't working, and, of course, he met my mom, and
he said, ‘Well, I want to go on a date with her instead,’” Brosius chuckles. “That
was just kind of fun, you know, a big city guy meeting the small town Kansas girl.
They got married, they finished their degrees in ’73, and both went on to teach in
Kansas.
“Growing up in Kansas, I heard all the wonderful stories of K-State, so it felt natural
for me to come to K-State, especially since I was also interested in becoming a teacher.
I think it says a lot about K-State. It’s a great legacy for the university to have
such an impact on its alums.”
Two K-State degrees later, Brosius now serves as interim executive director of the
university’s Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation, and she’s thrilled that she still gets to call her alma mater home.
“It feels welcoming, it feels like home, it feels safe,” she said of K-State. “I could
come back and get my masters, and was able to come back and build a career. K-State
provided those opportunities for me. We have three full-time staff who started as
student workers and then transitioned into full-time roles. I think that's a very
unique experience and opportunity that K-State offers. People want to come back.”
‘A wonderful community’
During Brosius’ first year as an undergrad, one of her highlights was performing with
the K-State Marching Band under legendary band director Frank Tracz.
“It was just a great experience to be a part of that side of the university — so much
energy, so much excitement,” Brosius said. “It really forced me to have a good work
ethic, and it required a lot of dedication, and I really had to manage my time well.”
She also added, “I was involved in a lot of the Christian campus groups, and that was where I really
found my home and my connection. I left college feeling confident in what I was getting
ready to go do. I felt like I was going to be successful. It was just a wonderful
community that prepared me, and I felt ready to go out into the world.”
After earning her undergraduate degree in elementary education, she continued to follow
in her parents’ footsteps and taught in Kansas.
Although teaching was a wonderful experience, Brosius said she found herself becoming
more and more curious about studying behind-the-scenes aspects of education, such
as how children’s interactions with video games and TV were impacting their learning.
“That's when I decided I really wanted to go back and get my master's degree in communication
and just understand this side of what I was observing in my classrooms a little bit
better,” she said.
Once again, she felt the pull towards K-State.
“This was the right place to come back to get my master's degree, because it was home
and I just didn't feel like any other place would be where I needed to go to do that,”
she recalls.
Empowering data-driven decisions
Brosius started as a program assistant at the university’s Office of Educational Innovation
and Evaluation, and she stayed because she fell in love with research as a career.
Most of the work conducted by the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation
is with federally-funded grants for research projects. The grant recipients need an
external evaluator to help guide their decisions, collect their data, show the impact
of their research, and target areas where they can improve — and that’s where the
Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation comes in.
“The best way to describe what we do is helping people make data-driven decisions,”
Brosius said. “We come alongside them to map out their goals, and identify which metrics
will help guide their decisions. We use surveys, interviews, focus groups and other
analyses to understand the how and why.”
Since it was established in 2000, the office has conducted evaluation services for
over 450 projects, totaling more than $900 million. Clients’ funding sources have
included the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department
of Defense and more.
“I love it because, people want to know what their impact is,” Brosius said. “They
want to see that they’re making progress towards their goals, but a lot of times it's
really hard to get there. For instance, a client might document research accomplishments
through publications. Our role is to help tell ‘why’ those publications matter. It's
so much more fulfilling and meaningful when you can say, we have increased awareness,
and now people are changing their behavior, which has influenced this policy.”
She’s excited for how the office will continue to grow into the future, providing
an example of K-State’s Next-Gen Strategic Plan outreach to transform lives in Kansas and around the world.
“The office was built on word of mouth and reputation; it's been built on those relationships
and partnerships, and our quality of work,” Brosius said. “We had one client last
year, who was super excited to be working with us. She heard about us, and her program
officer commented, ‘You're smart for using OEIE.’ I think that's just a reflection
of K-State, too. We couldn't be doing what we're doing without K-State.”
As a two-time alumna and more than a decade into her career at OEIE, Brosius’ Wildcat
pride runs deep. What began as her parents’ story became her own, and K-State has
shaped each chapter of her life. For her, it has always been more than a university
— it’s home.