02/26/20
K-State Current - February 26, 2020
K-State Current is a weekly news update for the Kansas Board of Regents to apprise the Regents on a few of the many successes and achievements made by K-State faculty, staff and students.
K-State News
K-State is the name and promoting higher ed is the game: University receives 43 CASE awards
Kansas State University creative teams set a school record and earned 43 awards from District VI of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE.
The awards highlight the best practices in alumni relations, fundraising, public and governmental relations, advancement services, special events and communications among an association of educational institutions. The awards will be presented at the District VI Conference Jan. 13-15. The district includes educational institutions in Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
"We continue to set new records with the number of awards won across the academy," said Jeff Morris, K-State vice president for communications and marketing. "This speaks to the high level of creativity and professionalism of our communications teams. We could not be more proud of our people."
The Division of Communications and Marketing received 16 awards; the K-State Alumni Association received 10 awards; and the KSU Foundation received 17 awards — three of which are platinum district finalist awards.
"The KSU Foundation team members demonstrate daily their ability to work as one to boldly advance Kansas State University," said Greg Willems, president and CEO of the KSU Foundation. "Awards like these exemplify what we can achieve together for K-State family."
The district finalist awards are for the fall 2018 issue of Good for K-State magazine: Your Questions Answered in the Best Practices in Communications and Marketing category; and All in for K-State day of giving in the Best Practices in Digital Communication category and Best Practices in Fundraising category. These three awards, also called platinum awards, are standardized across all districts and will advance to compete globally.
"K-State is continually recognized by its peers for high-quality work that helps alumni, friends, students, faculty and staff stay connected and engaged," said Amy Button Renz, president and CEO of the K-State Alumni Association. "We are honored to collaborate with our campus partners to support and advance higher education and the Wildcat community."
The teams also received 13 gold awards, 15 silver awards and 12 bronze awards:
Gold awards — A Cross-Cultural International Student Block Party in the Alumni Relations: Programming for Special Constituencies category; "The Hot Zone" event series in the Yearlong Special Events category; Experience K-State Polytechnic in the Short Recruitment Videos category; "Inspiring More," K-State TV spot in the PSAs and Commercial Spots Video category; fall 2018 Seek magazine in the Institutional Relations Research Publication category and Special Constituency Magazines category; spring 2019 Seek magazine in the Periodicals Design category; Open House poster in the Posters Design category; Gardens self-tour map in the Single-Page Publications Design category; Video box donor gift in the Specialty Pieces Design category; Advancing #AllInForKState campaign on social media and Kids Tell | Video Series, tied in the Best Uses of Social Media category; and the fall 2018 Good for K-State: Your Questions Answered in the Special Issues Magazines category.
Silver awards — 2019 K-State Alumni Association member calendar in the Calendars Design category; Ernie the Elf Holiday Social Media Campaign in the Best Uses of Social Media category; the KSUnite Issue of the K-Stater magazine in summer 2019 in the Special Magazines Issues category; November 2018 @K-State alumni e-newsletter and the January 2019 @K-State alumni e-newsletter tied in the External Audience Tabloid and Digital Newsletters category; K-Stater magazine collection of articles in the General News Writing category; "Live life Inspired" K-State Hype 2019 video in the Short Recruitment Videos category; fall 2018 Seek magazine in the Periodical News Writing category and Individual In-House Print Publications category; "Schools Girls" theatrical poster in the Posters Design category; summer 2019 issue of Good for K-State in the Editorial Design category; All In for K-State impact stewardship mailer in the Single-Page Publications Design category; fall 2018 issue of Good for K-State: Your Questions Answered in the Individual Fundraising Publications category; All In For K-State video trailer in the Short Fundraising Videos category; and the Passion + Purple Brand Anthem in the PSAs and Commercial Spots category.
Bronze awards — Spring 2019 issue of K-Stater magazine in the Covers Design category; Full Circle with Dr. King — Freshman to Board Chair in the Innovative Uses of Technology: Alumni Relations category; K-State Kansas City Wabash CannonBall in the Special Single-Day Events category; Influence Tomorrow — Generations of Innovators in the General Information Short Videos category; "The Hot Zone" advance screening in the Special Single-Day Events category; College of Business Administration website and Diversity and Inclusion website tied in the Complete Institutional Website category; Digital Development Officer in the Innovative Uses of Technology: Fundraising category; KSU Foundation Partnership Report for Fiscal Year 2018 in the Annual Reports and Fund Reports category; summer 2019 issue of Good for K-State in the Individual Fundraising Publications category; College of Architecture, Planning & Design — Thank You Donors in the Short Fundraising Videos category; and the 2019 K-State Medal of Excellence in the Long Fundraising Videos category.
K-State ranked most affordable bachelor's in human nutrition and dietetics
Kansas State University has been ranked first among the most affordable bachelor's in human nutrition and dietetics for 2020 by Great Value Colleges. The school's online program also was ranked sixth.
The rankings were published on the organization's website in October.
"K-State has a strong commitment to excellence, which is evident in rankings like these," said Richard Myers, university president. "We continue to be recognized for offering affordable, convenient and quality programs like our bachelor's in nutrition and dietetics. Our outstanding faculty and staff continue to gain national and international acclaim for their teaching, research, scholarly activities and service to students."
The Top 24 schools were selected and ranked based on tuition, student-to-faculty ratio, return on investment, student support network, concentrations/specializations, accreditation, campus diversity support network and "wow" factor. The online programs were ranked in order of net-price tuition.
The College of Health and Human Sciences offers several flexible options for affordable bachelor's degrees in both human nutrition and dietetics. Read more about the programs at hhs.k-state.edu/fndh/undergraduate.
K-State Faculty Highlights
Zebrafish brain research wins $1.35M grant
Thomas Mueller, research assistant professor in the Division of Biology, and three collaborators from Germany, England and Israel, received a $1.35 million grant for the interdisciplinary research project "Navigating the Waters — A Neural Systems Approach to Spatial Cognition in Fish."
The prestigious Human Frontier Science Program grant promotes international collaborations with complementary expertise and multi-perspective approaches. Mueller is working with labs at the University of Bielefeld, Oxford University and Ben-Gurion University.
Mueller, an expert in comparative neuroscience of fishes, will examine how smell and taste contribute to spatial navigation in four fish species with differing navigational strategies: elephantnose fish famous for their ability to generate electric fields for navigation; goldfish and catfish known for their elaborate smell and taste systems; and zebrafish, a genetic model organism that offers mutant and transgenic lines critical for studies of brain function. The comparative approach will elucidate how evolution shaped the structure and function of brain regions in these fascinating fishes to ultimately understand neural and behavioral mechanisms.
The successful grant application was supported by the COBRE Cognitive and Neurobiological Approaches to Plasticity, or CNAP, directed by Kimberly Kirkpatrick from the psychological sciences department.
"This grant is an excellent example of the core mission of CNAP," Kirkpatrick said. "We aim to help junior investigators develop competitive funding applications to enhance interdisciplinary neuroscience research at Kansas State University and provide new research training opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students."
As a current CNAP pilot grantee, Mueller collaborates with Stefan Bossmann, university distinguished professor of chemistry, and Punit Prakash, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, to develop Magnetic Resonance Imaging technologies for zebrafish in functional brain imaging and cancer biology.
The new HFSP-funded research project will generate synergisms and offer new opportunities for K-State's graduate and undergraduate students interested in cross-departmental neuroscience projects.
Greg Newmark recognized as Professor of the Week
Greg Newmark, assistant professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning in the College of Architecture, Planning & Design, was recognized as Professor of the Week at the Feb. 22 men's home basketball game.
Newmark has been a faculty member in the landscape architecture and regional & community planning department since 2015. His research focuses on transportation planning and infrastructure finance. That research has been supported by grants from the Kansas Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency.
His work has built strong collaborations with the K-State departments of civil engineering, computer science and statistics — bringing students together across departments in class and on research projects. He is building an open data repository of transit on-board surveys to support his research and raise K-State's profile as a center of public transportation inquiry. The repository is named CATPAD with a nod to K-State Wildcats. Newmark serves on the Transportation Research Board, providing leadership on Rail Transit and Travel Survey committees and Transit Cooperative Research Panels.
Newmark offers four classes annually in the College of Architecture, Planning & Design. He also offers Introduction to City Planning and Travel Demand Modeling online during the summer to make planning education more accessible to K-State students and make K-State classes more accessible to students across the globe. Newmark is a dedicated adviser, guiding student research and mentoring successful applications for five Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Graduate Fellowship offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Newmark is committed to incorporating students into research and helping to prepare the next generation of urban thinkers and doers.
The Professor of the Week recognition is coordinated by Faculty Senate, the president's office, K-State Athletics and the Division of Communications and Marketing. Recipients are faculty members selected by Faculty Senate caucuses. Those selected are provided tickets to a men's home basketball game of their choosing and are recognized during halftime. This is just a small token of appreciation for those who teach at K-State.
K-State Student News
Students bring K-State top honors in 2020 NEXT Competition
Chloe Cudney, a fourth-year master's student in interior architecture & industrial design in the College of Architecture, Planning & Design was named winner of the seventh annual NEXT Competition sponsored by Steelcase.
Cudney, Marysville; Reid Thornburg, also a fourth-year graduate student in interior architecture & industrial design from Lenexa; and three other semifinalists traveled to Steelcase in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to meet with a panel of judges and compete in the competition.
All five students presented their projects to the judges, defended their concepts and communicated their design decisions with a Q&A that followed. Each student far exceeded the panel's expectations and it was a very tough decision for the judges; however, it was ultimately Cudney who prevailed.
Coming into the final presentations, each semifinalist was on equal footing. The next stage of the decision-making process was based on the ability of each student to clearly articulate how their solution fulfills the client's business objectives as well as how it supports the needs of the NEXT occupants to determine the overall winner.
"Just like in the real world of design professionals, those that most often win new client projects are those who can best demonstrate their understanding of the client's needs and how their proposed solutions solve for them," said Jerry Holmes, principal, Steelcase. "All five of the semifinalists did an excellent job of this and it was a very tough and narrow decision; however, is was Chloe who was ultimately selected by the judges."
Though one overall winner was announced, Steelcase recognized all the semifinalists and honorable mentions as they rose to the top of more than 1,000 students who participated.
Cudney and her program will each receive $2,500. Thornburg and the other semifinalists and their programs will all receive $1,250 each. In addition to the prize money awarded, each semifinalist student will receive his or her own custom-designed Steelcase SILQ or Think chair.
Michelle Wempe, also from Marysville, and professor of practice in interior architecture & industrial design, led the studio and marked the second consecutive year that a student in her class achieved top honors. K-State's Kanoa San Miguel won in 2019.
"Steelcase puts together a tremendous teaching tool with the program for the NEXT competition — it challenges students with real-world problems and complex programs in real environments," Wempe said. "Chloe and Reid are both focused students who understand how to research and question the problems they are presented and use that work to create insightful solutions. I am tremendously proud of both Chloe and Reid, along with their classmates, for jobs truly well done. As an alumna who has returned to her roots, it is truly inspiring to see our program and students continue the top-notch work that has been our calling card since the beginning."
Steelcase challenged the students to design a multifloor 11,600-square-foot learning space to support changing behaviors and expectations in a learning environment. The students' project, the "NEXT Hub," is a place that allows members of the community in Washington, D.C., the freedom and resources to come and learn new things, challenge themselves, network with others, and achieve their goals. View Cudney's design and Thornburg's design.
"Two wonderfully talented and involved students, I am not surprised Chloe and Reid were neck and neck in recognition for the top prize," said Tim de Noble, fellow of the American Insititute of Architects and dean of APDesign. "In reading through the email exchange between the faculty and the students, I was reminded not only of how capable both of these students are in their discipline, but how wonderfully supportive they are of each other in their shared academic trajectory, a poignant testament of their ethics and to the mentoring of their faculty."
Steelcase offers a wide range of architecture, furniture and technology products and services designed to help people reach their full potential. Their comprehensive portfolio is anchored by three core brands: Steelcase, Coalesse and Turnstone. Together with their partners, they design spaces to help people work, learn and heal.