One K-State Fund grants awarded to student success, faculty development, and regional workforce innovation proposals
Kansas State University has awarded four grants totaling $320,500 from the One K-State Fund, the university's strategic investment vehicle, to advance the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan. The spring 2026 Open Call cohort spans the full breadth of K-State’s land-grant mission — supporting military-affiliated students, equipping faculty to build belonging in large classrooms, expanding access to preventive well-being resources and building applied workforce infrastructure in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The One K-State Fund empowers faculty and staff to bring innovative solutions to institutional challenges and advance K-State's strategic priorities. Open Call proposals are evaluated for alignment with Next-Gen K-State imperatives, cross-unit collaboration and measurable institutional impact. The next funding proposal opportunity will be announced this summer.
2026 Open Call award recipients
Veteran Affairs Work Study program enhancement
The K-State Manhattan Military Affiliated Resource Center, or MARC, and K-State Salina MARC, in partnership with the Office of Veteran Affairs, will lead a two-year initiative to address a significant equity gap among participants in the Department of Veterans Affairs Work Study Program.
The $40,000 award will subsidize wages through a tiered system up to $18 an hour, fund graduate assistant coordination and support program administration for over 15 work-study students in Manhattan and Salina, and establish formal competency-based training and student learning outcomes.
With K-State's military-affiliated student population growing 39 percent over the past five years, the initiative also begins the groundwork for long-term sustainability through the KSU Foundation.
Principal investigators for the initiative are Amanda Etter, director of the Manhattan MARC; Trish Runion, assistant director of veterans benefits in the Office of Enrollment Management; Laurie Valverde, financial aid specialist for veterans affairs in the Office of Student Financial Assistance; and John Decker, military-connected student coordinator for the Salina MARC.
Faculty-student connections for retention and well-being
The College of Arts and Sciences and Division of Academic Success and Student Affairs, or DASSA, will train a cohort of College of Arts and Sciences faculty in a four-day summer institute, equipping them with research-based, scalable practices that embed belonging and well-being into large-enrollment introductory courses.
Faculty will implement new course strategies in fall 2026, with student well-being and sense of belonging measured at the start, midpoint and end of the semester. With seven of K-State's 10 highest-freshman-enrollment courses housed in the college, it is currently the highest-leverage site for institutionwide retention impact. The Teaching and Learning Center will also partner to scale the model beyond the initial cohort.
Principal investigators for the institute are Natalie Barlett, teaching assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences; Kimathi Choma, assistant dean for student success, college health initiatives and retention in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Shana Bender, director of retention and persistence for DASSA's Academic Achievement Center.
The WellCAT well-being challenge
With a $17,500 award, DASSA will pilot a structured, incentive-based well-being challenge that guides students through preventive health activities within a 30-day window. Options for the challenge are a PERMAH well-being survey; a Technogym fitness assessment; participation in K-State Recreational Services; an outdoor adventure experience; a Lafene Health Center physical exam; or a mental health module through either Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS, or TimelyCare.
The award will help remove financial barriers for the program's pilot participants. The initiative will be integrated into K-State's existing Navigate platform through its Journeys feature, connecting well-being engagement directly to the student success infrastructure students already use.
Partners from the Morrison Family Center for Student Well-Being, Recreational Services, Lafene Health Center and CAPS will contribute staff time in-kind. The principal investigator for the pilot program is Lindsey Barragar, project administrator for the Health Promoting University initiative.
Fermentation Innovation Hub at K-State Olathe
K-State Olathe will establish a pilot-scale Fermentation Innovation Hub, a shared applied infrastructure platform, for industry-facing research and development collaboration, workforce training and applied learning.
The $175,000 One K-State award is matched dollar-for-dollar by the Johnson County Education Research Triangle, bringing the total project budget to $350,000.
The Hub will provide fermentation and processing capabilities for regional breweries, food producers and biotech entrepreneurs, enabling process validation, product development and troubleshooting without disrupting commercial operations. An 11-credit microcredential pathway and year-round workforce-intensive program will train learners in fermentation operations, quality control and process documentation, aligning with the fast-growing regional labor market demand.
The principal investigator is Darrin Smith, associate dean of the College of Applied and Professional Studies at K-State Olathe. The initiative will be coordinated in partnership with Lisa Wilken, associate professor and director of the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Initiative, the Department of Grain Science and Industry, and Applied Learning Experiences, with a priority on cross-campus integration.
— Submitted by Ian Jacobs