September 13, 2011
Letter to campus from President Schulz and Provost Mason
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
Dear Faculty and Staff:
Students have returned to campus, and the university community is alive and bustling again. This serves as an ideal time to remind you of the university's Principles of Community.
The Principles of Community represent the shared values of the university community. Updates were made during a campuswide dialogue that reaffirmed our commitment to fair treatment, civil discourse and a culture of inclusiveness. All updates were endorsed by the university's five governing bodies: K-State Faculty Senate, K-State Classified Senate, K-State Graduate Council, Student Governing Association and the Graduate Student Council.
The Principles of Community statement reads:
Kansas State University is a land-grant, public research university, committed to teaching and learning, research, and service to the people of Kansas, the nation and the world. Our collective mission is best accomplished when every member of the university community acknowledges and practices the following principles:
* We affirm the inherent dignity and value of every person and strive to maintain an atmosphere of justice based on respect for each other.
* We affirm the value of human diversity for community.
* We affirm the right of each person to freely express thoughts and opinions in a spirit of civility and decency. We believe that diversity of views enriches our learning environment, and we promote open expression within a climate of courtesy, sensitivity and mutual respect.
* We affirm the value of honesty and integrity. We will operate with honesty in all professional endeavors and expect the same from our colleagues.
* We acknowledge that we are a part of multiple communities, and we have an obligation to be engaged in a positive way with our civic partners.
* We recognize our individual obligations to the university community and to the principles that sustain it. We will each strive to contribute to a positive spirit that affirms learning and growth for all members of the community.
You can find our Principles of Community online at http://www.k-state.edu/welcome/community.html or on posters in classrooms and administrative offices throughout our campuses. A limited number of the free, 18-by-24 inch posters may be obtained by emailing vpcm@k-state.edu or by calling the Division of Communications and Marketing at 532-2535.
As the academic year progresses we hope you will remember and use the shared values to keep K-State a wonderful and welcoming place to learn, work and create as we strive to become a top 50 public research university by 2025.
Go Cats!
Kirk Schulz
April Mason