K-STATE'S ANNUAL SECURITY REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
Each year, a fall issue of the faculty/staff newsletter is addressed to every person employed by K-State. This is to remind employees that the annual security report is now available.
In compliance with the Higher Education Amendments of 1965, as amended, K-State prepares and distributes an annual security report that contains important information concerning crime on campus, crime prevention and other policy statements as required by law. A copy of the annual security report is available at http://k-state.edu/studentlife/publications.html or by contacting the office of student life at 785-532-6237.
K-STATE'S NEW CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER OFFICIALLY BREAKS GROUND
With a little special help, K-State officially broke ground for a new Child Development Center.
The $5 million project will allow for the on-campus care of around 70 more children than is presently possible. The new center will be 32,000 square feet -- more than double the current facility size of 15,500 square feet -- and is slated for completion in summer 2010. It is being built on the east end of Jardine Drive. The K-State Child Development Center began as parent cooperative for child care 24 years ago.
Debra Ring, director of the K-State Child Development Center, said that the new facility will not only address the center's long waiting list, but that it will ensure children receive the high quality education they need in their early years.
"When I was hired as the director five years ago, the No. 1 goal was a new facility," Ring said. "The new building's exemplary design will support the growth and development of children, will give teachers a wonderful work environment and will feature the highest level of safety and security."
The new building, designed by Gould Evans Architects, Lawrence, also will have some special features, including a wall of windows to allow natural light into the classrooms and a view of a nature-based outdoor classroom area. In addition, the parking area and landscaping will be done in such a way to promote sustainability and smart water usage, and to reduce erosion.
During the ceremony, children who will be patrons of the center helped shovel dirt to mark the occasion.
FORMER U.S. POET LAUREATE TO GIVE INAUGURAL LECTURE IN 2009-2010 VISITING WRITERS LECTURE SERIES
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins will kick off the department of English's 2009-2010 Visiting Writers Lecture Series.
Collins will read from his body of work at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the ballroom of the K-State Alumni Center. The lecture is free and open; a book signing will follow.
Collins, a professor of English at Lehman College, a senior college of the City University of New York, has won numerous awards for his work, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and from the Guggenheim Foundation. He was the U.S. poet laureate from 2001-2003.
Karin Westman, head of K-State's department of English, said that Collins' ability and desire to bring poetry to the many rather than the few is what makes him such an appropriate speaker for K-State.
His books include "Ballistics: Poems,"; "The Trouble with Poetry"; "Nine Horses: Poems"; "Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems"; "Picnic, Lightning"; "The Art of Drowning"; and "Questions About Angels." A selection of Collins' works will be available for purchase directly before and following the reading.
The next installment in the Visiting Writers Series will be a public reading by fiction writer Ann Pancake at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 5, 2010, in Room 212 of the K-State Student Union.
Additional information on the series is available at: http://www.k-state.edu/English/visit.html
CONOCOPHILLIPS COMMITS $3 MILLION TO K-STATE SCHOLARSHIPS AND PROGRAMS
ConocoPhillips, Houston, recently made a five-year philanthropic commitment to support four areas at K-State and a 2009 gift designated for scholarships and initiatives in the colleges of Business Administration and Engineering, as well as the ConocoPhillips SPIRIT Scholars program.
The five-year commitment will benefit the Center for Sustainable Energy faculty and student awards, the Excellence in Business Ethics program in the College of Business Administration, the Project Impact Summer Bridge Program for incoming College of Engineering and College of Business Administration freshmen, and technology and equipment in the new welcome center planned for K-State. The commitment totals $2.5 million.
In addition, a 2009 gift of $500,000 will be used for ongoing support in the colleges of Business Administration and Engineering for deans' excellence funds, general department support, scholarships and fellowships, and funds for special programs and initiatives. ConocoPhillips' annual gift to K-State also includes support for K-State's career and employment services, the president's office and Quest, the freshman honorary.
The gift also provides funding for the ConocoPhillips SPIRIT Scholars program, now in its third year at K-State. ConocoPhillips selected K-State as a member of its SPIRIT Scholars Program in 2007 and is one of only eight universities in the country to receive this distinction.
"We are deeply grateful to ConocoPhillips for their generous support for students, faculty and programs at K-State," said K-State President Kirk Schulz. "It has been a pleasure to get acquainted with the ConocoPhillips executives and appreciate the true passion they have for supporting K-State as one of our most dedicated corporate partners. The people of ConocoPhillips bring a lot of heart to their commitment to K-State."
Philanthropic contributions to K-State are coordinated by the Kansas State University Foundation. The foundation manages fundraising efforts with alumni, friends, corporations and foundations to secure private support for the university.
ENGAGEMENT INCENTIVE GRANTS AVAILABLE, DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS NOV. 2
K-State's Center for Engagement and Community Development is soliciting proposals from tenured and tenure-track faculty, full-time instructors, and K-State Research and Extension faculty for projects that will lead to enhanced engagement in teaching, research and/or outreach. These grants are intended to provide seed money to faculty who would like to incorporate engagement into their instructional, research and/or outreach programs.
Activities supported by this program should lead to a larger project concept and the submission of a proposal for external funding. While preference will be given to sustainable projects that have potential long-term impact (i.e. 5-10 years), proposed projects should also be able to show tangible results in the short-term (i.e. 2 years). Proposals should clearly outline both the short-term and the potential long-term outcomes. These grants are not intended to provide support for established areas of teaching, research or outreach or previously funded projects.
Detailed information and instructions regarding this grant are available at: http://www.k-state.edu/cecd/funding/grants.htm