June 3, 2021
Burkholder to retire from K-State Global Campus
After 11 years at Kansas State University Global Campus, Kathy Burkholder will retire on June 11.
During her tenure, Burkholder served in a variety of roles and capacities at Global Campus, most recently as the director of program development and management. Burkholder was responsible for leading and influencing key strategic and operational aspects of Global Campus, including the creation, direction and management of curriculum projects and a portfolio of learning activities to achieve market-driven learning opportunities poised for enrollment growth.
"I have appreciated Kathy's leadership in many areas for Global Campus including IT and course management and enrollment processes," said Karen Pedersen, dean of Global Campus. "Kathy represented Global Campus on several high-level committees and task forces, developing relationships with campus partners that resulted in enhanced support for distance students along several points in the learner journey."
Strategically and operationally, Burkholder was also in charge of overseeing Global Campus data management, information systems, credit course planning, offerings and management, and registration systems. This included managing data flows and interfaces, admissions, enrollment and retention reporting, and the development of Global Campus metrics and dashboards. Burkholder contributed to important conversations at the university relative to systems, information dissemination, and strategic tracking and management of resources in outputs.
"Being able to work with, mentor and develop such a talented and capable staff who were willing to adapt and look at things in a fresh manner was incredibly gratifying," Burkholder said. "As a former nontraditional learner who is passionate about advocating for this audience, being a part of the development and delivery of substantive learning opportunities for students and learners to fulfill their educational goals and mission was immeasurably rewarding. I especially appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with such fantastic partners across the university on projects and committees while contributing input on critical initiatives to the university."
Burkholder came to K-State from the private sector working in Fortune 500 and small companies. She was recognized for innovative, strategic and creative solutions to organizational and operational problems. Burkholder has extensive experience in operations, finance, process improvement and supply chain management, alongside stints in legal, human resources and sales. Before joining higher education, her last role was managing a U.S. transportation team and all operations for four retail entities, multiple warehouses and 3,600 stores. This included envisioning and implementing a new transportation management system to improve visibility throughout the supply chain and managing the entire U.S. transportation, claims and customer service teams.
Burkholder holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bethany College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Dakota.
Please join us in wishing Kathy well in her retirement by signing an online card or by emailing her directly at keburkh@k-state.edu.