April 28, 2014
Celebrating five years of JCERT, three years of Kansas State University Olathe
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
On April 23, Kansas State University Olathe joined the University of Kansas and more than 200 community leaders and legislators to celebrate five years of the Johnson County Education Research Triangle, or JCERT.
JCERT was formed in 2009 after 57 percent of Johnson County voters agreed to a 1/8 cent sales tax to expand higher education initiatives in the area. In April 2011, K-State launched its third campus, in Olathe, to be even more engaged in Johnson County and the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Under the JCERT mandate, the campus's goals are to be responsive to industry, and to engage in research, graduate education and innovation for workforce and economic development related to animal health and food safety and security. With 10 designated laboratories, research capabilities at K-State Olathe range from vaccine development and disease diagnosis to renewable energy and food sciences. Other programs include the Urban Water Institute, the U.S.-China Animal Health Center, the Sensory and Consumer Research Center and the Innovation Accelerator
President Kirk Schulz spoke at the celebration event. He said that K-State Olathe was helping the university reach its goal of becoming a Top 50 public research university by 2025. Combined with NBAF and the university's Global Food Systems initiative, K-State Olathe is helping K-State meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population, Schulz said.
Pictured: Dan Richardson, past CEO of K-State Olathe; Prema Arasu, CEO and vice provost of K-State Olathe; and Kirk Schulz, K-State president.