May 15, 2023
Operational Excellence restructure update and launch of national searches
Submitted by Office of the Vice President of Administration and Finance
Dear K-State Community,
We are writing to share several announcements as we transition to a new organizational framework to drive operational excellence across the university. The new structure will be effective June 11, 2023.
This week we are launching the national searches for our chief human resources officer, chief technology officer, and chief risk and safety officer. These positions, reporting to the vice president for administration and finance, will provide leadership in human resources, information technology, and risk and safety as we develop the strong operational infrastructure we need to achieve the aspirations of a bold strategic plan taking us into the future.
The chief human resources officer will serve as the university’s senior human resources executive, managing Human Capital Services and providing leadership, vision, strategic planning and direction for human resources functions and services across the university. The chief technology officer will serve as K-State’s senior technology executive, managing the Division of IT and leading the universitywide strategic use of information technology in alignment with the university’s mission and strategic priorities. The chief risk and safety officer will manage the university’s risk profile and lead our enterprise risk management program.
The university has engaged the services of Witt Kiefer, an executive search firm, to support the search committees. You can find the full position descriptions, including required qualifications, and the search committee membership on the vice president for administration and finance website. We thank the chairs and members of these three search committees for their service over the coming months.
Campus interviews are anticipated to occur in late summer, with expected appointments beginning in the early fall. Given this timeline, it is necessary to appoint interim leadership for Human Capital Services and the Division of IT until these roles are filled.
We are pleased to announce that effective June 11, Shanna Legleiter, associate vice president in human capital services, will serve as interim chief human resources officer. Chad Currier, chief security and operations officer in the Division of IT, will serve as interim chief technology officer. We thank Shanna and Chad for agreeing to serve in these interim roles during this critical transition period until permanent leadership is appointed later this fall.
We invite you to visit the Operational Excellence Framework webpage for the most current information and FAQ regarding the new operational structure. It will take all of us working together to achieve operational excellence as a next-generation land-grant university. We invite you to share your questions, suggestions or ideas to nextgen@k-state.edu.
Sincerely,
Chuck Taber
Provost and executive vice president
Marshall Stewart
Senior vice president for executive affairs, university engagement and partnerships, and chief of staff
Ethan Erickson
Vice president for administration and finance