K-State 2025 Spotlights
Closing Letter and Five-Year Report
The fall 2016 semester has provided a great opportunity to reflect upon, and celebrate, the many ways Kansas State University is moving forward as an institution. K-State President Richard Myers and Provost April Mason had the opportunity to visit with each college and unit to hear stories of progress, and more have been shared through the K-State 2025 Spotlights. Though the Spotlights could not highlight each and every achievement, each article does share a unique story about the people who are engaged in work the that advances the university's strategic goals and discusses some key areas of momentum across each of the seven Themes that make up K-State 2025.
Each college and reporting unit also submitted a Five-Year Progress Report that shares their status on the goals of their departmental/major unit strategic action plans. Those reports, as well as the university-wide Five-Year Report (pdf), are linked to from the image below, along with a letter from the President and Provost announcing the release of the report. President Myers and Provost Mason also wish to extend their gratitude to the leaders of each unit and the campus communicators who worked together to support the K-State 2025 Spotlights project and the Five-Year Progress Report.
Letter from the President and the Provost and Senior Vice President Announcing the Five-Year Progress Report
We are pleased to share with you the fifth K-State 2025 progress report. Unlike the previous four annual reports, this report covers the first five years of K-State 2025, highlighting key accomplishments since the K-State 2025 visionary plan was launched under the leadership of President Kirk Schulz in 2011. Throughout our history as the nation’s first operational public land grant institution, students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, donors, partners and friends have made us the institution we are—a public student-centered research university working to build an educated citizenry on behalf of our communities, our state, our nation and the world. Today, they are helping the university embrace a bold future, pursuing excellence in education, research and service as we reach toward our goals defined in K-State 2025.
K-State 2025 is a 15 year vision with key outcomes defined in five year intervals in our visionary plan. Thanks to the many dedicated people who are part of the K-State community, we made significant progress since 2011 advancing K-State 2025 goals and outcomes in all seven themes. Records have been set with all-time highs in research expenditures, overall student enrollment, student body diversity, freshman-to-sophomore retention and six year graduation rates. There have been significant increases in doctorates awarded and our endowment pool. Working with the KSU Foundation, we integrated K-State 2025 with our $1 billion Innovation and Inspiration comprehensive campaign, raising more than $900 million to date to advance our K-State 2025 vision. Kansas State University ranked as a Top 25 public research university in annual giving in the 2015 annual report of Top American Research Universities by the Center for Measuring University Performance.
K-State 2025 has had many positive impacts beyond specific performance measures. It served as a catalyst for change and dialogue across our K-State community, helping to create a culture of inclusion, transparency and shared planning and accountability for aspirational goals that move us forward together. We transformed institutional processes—aligning them with K-State 2025 goals and priorities. We invested in student success and created an exceptional educational experience for our students. We established new degree programs and partnerships, including those on our new K-State Olathe campus. We brought more focus on research and its important ties to teaching, learning, and service. We built scholarship funds, created endowed chairs and professorships, and invested in new academic and athletic facilities, thanks in large part to the philanthropic giving of our alumni and friends. Most importantly, we have strengthened the bonds within the K-State community as we achieve success and address strategic challenges along the way.
We promised at the outset of our K-State 2025 journey that our university strategic plan would not sit on a shelf, but that we would take action together across the K-State community. Moving forward has required shared commitment at all levels and by all members of the K-State community, along with new ideas, plans, resources and ways of doing things. Continued commitment will be needed to further advance on our path for the next 10 years.
Reflecting back over the past five years, the progress forward has been remarkable. We invite your continued participation and support as we proceed on our path to become a Top 50 public research university by 2025. We have much to celebrate and many successes yet to come. You can follow our progress in reports, updates, and other information available on the K-State 2025 website or contribute a story of your own through the use of #KState2025 on Twitter.
