October 12, 2015
Kansas Board of Regents October meeting agenda items
President Schulz continues to emphasize the importance of communication to keep the K-State community informed. I thought there may be interest to know the Kansas Board of Regents agenda items submitted by K-State in advance of the KBOR monthly meeting. Each month, I plan to share K-State agenda items the board will consider beginning with the agenda items for consideration at its Oct. 14 meeting on the Pittsburg State University campus. Communications and Marketing will continue to follow up after the meeting with an article in K-State Today regarding actions the board took on agenda items.
This month, we are requesting approval from the board to enter into two lease-purchase agreements with the KSU Foundation. The first lease-purchase agreement is for a 24-acre tract of vacant land adjacent to the university’s horse unit that is referred to as Roger’s Land. The Department of Animal Sciences and Industry asked the KSU Foundation to purchase the land to benefit the department’s horse unit. The purchase price of the property is $325,000 and to be repaid over three years beginning in FY 2016 from balances within the Animal Sciences and Industry Restricted Fees Fund.
The second lease-purchase agreement is for the current KSU Foundation Tower at 2323 Anderson Ave. The building was formerly owned by the Kansas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. Inc. In January 1991, Kansas Farm Bureau deeded the property to the KSU Foundation. The following July, the KSU Foundation transferred the property to the university, excluding floors two through six of the tower addition, which were retained for office use by the KSU Foundation. With the construction of its new building, KSU Foundation staff intends to vacate the tower by the end of November. If the board approves, the university intends to purchase the tower portion of the building, which totals 46,170 square feet of office space for $2.5 million through a five-year lease-purchase agreement. The university would pay $500,000 each year, plus interest fees and property insurance costs from one-time university funds that will be determined each year.
You may recall this space was included in the 2015 Space Migration Project. Based on the outcomes of that project, Engineering Extension, Information Technology Services and sections of Financial Services will be relocated to the tower facility. We plan to complete some minor renovations to the space before the departments move in sometime late spring 2016.
The Department of Agronomy brought to our attention a discrepancy between the legal description and the fence lines of property known as Ashland Bottoms. Westar Energy discovered the discrepancy while working to lay electrical line on the property in conjunction with an easement provided by the university. A land exchange has been worked out with the adjacent property owners to resolve the problem. The university — state of Kansas — will sell Tract No. 1 valued at $232 with 1,660 square feet and then purchase Tract No. 2 with 13,732 square feet valued at $1,375. If the board approves, this land transaction will be presented to the Kansas Legislature during the 2016 session to obtain legislative approval.
The College of Human Ecology requests approval for a Doctor of Philosophy in Personal Financial Planning. Currently, Personal Financial Planning is a sub-plan within the College of Human Ecology doctoral degree. The proposal is for a stand-alone Doctor of Philosophy in Personal Financial Planning to meet the professional demands of solidifying Personal Financial Planning as an independent and growing program. Employers consistently report the need for graduates to have a degree clearly titled as Personal Financial Planning to help meet accreditation needs of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. No additional funding or reallocation from other units will be necessary to finance the degree program. The new degree request was reviewed by the Council of Chief Academic Officers and the Council of Presidents at the September meetings and both councils approved the recommendation to place it on the Board’s agenda.
Kansas State University Salina seeks to change its name from Kansas State University Salina to Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus. Polytechnic institutions focus on teaching theory through hands-on, interdisciplinary and applied learning. A polytechnic identity not only provides a much-need niche for the institution within the immediate region, but also aligns the institution name with how we teach and who we are. It further proposes to retain the College of Technology and Aviation, while merging the academic departments of aviation, engineering technology, and arts, sciences and business in order to create the School of Integrated Studies. The creation of a school will leverage the synergy of a diverse student and faculty population and better manage resources.
Staff and faculty at Kansas State University Salina have worked for the past 18 months to develop a proposal for an academic realignment of the campus. The final proposal reflects the work of the College Committee on Planning for the College of Technology and Aviation and the College Advisory and Planning Committee. These committees led a series of campuswide discussions during the 2013-14 academic year culminating in the presentation of the draft proposal to faculty and staff in January 2015. The name change request was reviewed by the Council of Chief Academic Officers and the Council of Presidents at the September meetings and both councils approved the recommendation to be placed on the board’s agenda.
And finally, Kansas State University requests approval to award an honorary doctorate degree during the December 2015 Graduate School commencement ceremony. Honorary degrees are awarded to individuals who have attained distinction as a scholar and/or for service to society. President Schulz will announce the individual we would like to confer the honorary doctorate degree to during the meeting.
I hope you find this information of value and if you have additional questions please feel free to contact me at cab@k-state.edu or 2-6226. You may follow KBOR meetings at this link: https://www.ksbor.org/boardstream/. Or for live updates on all Kansas Board of Regents meetings follow @ksregents on Twitter. Agendas and complete meeting minutes also are available online.
Sincerely,
Cindy Bontrager
Vice president for administration and finance