Forging our engagement future
A letter from President Richard Linton
Wednesday, April 8, 2025
Dear K-State community,
Engagement with one another, our stakeholders and the community members we serve is more important than ever. That is why I am excited about our collective journey toward becoming the nation's next-generation land-grant university through transformative initiatives propelling us into a future where engagement is not merely what we do — it is who we are.
Whether you conduct research in laboratories, provide administrative support, teach in classrooms, study in our libraries or play for our athletics teams (and make it to the Sweet Sixteen — go Women's Basketball!), you are a university ambassador. Engagement manifests differently across roles but creates equal value and impact. Whether through community-based research, service-learning instruction or operational support of outreach programs, your engagement matters profoundly to our mission.
Student-led engagement
You may have recently read the remarkable story of Sawyer Stoskopf, a mechanical engineering technology senior who exemplifies the transformative power of student-led engagement initiatives. What began as Sawyer's passion project has evolved into one of our most successful community engagement programs at K-State Salina.
Sawyer, who first discovered 3D printing in middle school, leveraged his expertise to develop a comprehensive course for community members through the campus's professional education unit. The response has been nothing short of extraordinary. The initial January cohort sold out immediately, prompting a second February session that filled just as quickly. A third cohort is now underway due to continued community demand.
This initiative showcases the multilayered benefits of engagement. Community members from various backgrounds — including local teachers seeking to bring new technology into classrooms — gain valuable skills while Sawyer himself develops instructional experience and curriculum design capabilities. Participants complete the four-week hybrid program and learn to independently assemble, operate and troubleshoot 3D printers while creating their own projects.
Sawyer's story perfectly illustrates our engagement philosophy — everyone benefits when we empower our students, faculty and staff to connect their academic knowledge with community needs. These grassroots innovations demonstrate our university's tangible impact on workforce development and technological literacy throughout our state.
Empowering through engagement
The Faculty Senate recently hosted an Advocacy Training program led by our Government Relations team, who shared how the university engages with legislators and how the campus community can also engage. The first session had more than 120 attendees wishing to amplify their engagement impact, so another training will be held later this month. Members of our community can also connect with the Government Relations team through the weekly Legislative Review Sessions, where the team will provide updates about the current session and answer your questions.
I'm also pleased to announce our continuing community visit series across Kansas, with events scheduled for April 28-30 in Hamilton, Finney and Sumner counties. These visits will focus on critical challenges, including food security, food industry entrepreneurship opportunities and educational access.
The spring community visits will feature several keystone events:
- A community conversation led by K-State Research and Extension highlighting food access in Syracuse in Hamilton County.
- Educational opportunity events at Garden City Community College in Finney County featuring our K-State Transfer Navigator team.
- A food entrepreneurship workshop in Caldwell in Sumner County focusing on food incubators and commercial kitchens in partnership with K-State Research and Extension, Network Kansas and Sumner County Economic Development.
I encourage all local university and community members to participate in these free events. Since launching these community visits in fall 2022, we've gained invaluable insights that continue to shape our approach to serving Kansas.
Engaging through scholarship
Our Office of Engagement team has worked with the Faculty Senate to fully update our University Handbook to integrate engagement into our operational DNA.
The team is creating a new Engaged Scholarship Guide — developed through a collaborative process involving the Office of the Provost and Faculty Affairs Committee — that will provide comprehensive frameworks for developing engaged scholarship and language for incorporating engagement into promotion and tenure. This guide will be published by May 2025 to help academic units revise their promotion and tenure guidelines in ways that advance their strategic goals.
Recognizing engagement as scholarly work, reimagining job roles to embed engagement as a core responsibility and creating student learning outcomes that incorporate engagement competencies will help K-State become a fully engaged university. These changes help create our university identity.
We are creating a vibrant ecosystem where everyone contributes to knowledge, transcending traditional boundaries and creating transformative impact. The future of higher education belongs to institutions that seamlessly integrate teaching, research and service with societal needs.
Together, we are building that future.
As always, Go 'Cats!
Richard Linton
Kansas State University President