January 25, 2024
Letter from President Linton
Dear K-State Community,
I write to you today with one very simple yet important goal: I want you to know how incredibly thankful and proud I am for the resilience, patience, service-minded spirit and thoughtful leadership displayed by our students, faculty and staff over these past couple of weeks as we have navigated the current IT disruptions together.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: K-Staters do not shy away from challenges. We face them head on, and we come out stronger on the other side. Time and time again, we find solutions, and we don't miss a single beat along the way.
I want you to be proud of these simple truths today:
- We continue to teach and foster learning.
- We continue to conduct groundbreaking research.
- And we continue to serve our state, our nation and our world.
No matter what challenges come our way, we continue to deliver on our mission. Period.
To our students: Thank you, as always, for your optimistic spirit and energy. You lift us up every day and remind us exactly why we are here. And thank you for your patience. You may have experienced an inconvenience or two over the past couple of weeks, but you have continued to hit the ground running this semester. Your grace and resilience are appreciated.
To our faculty: Thank you for your fast work and quick pivots to ensure your students continue to learn and your research continues to thrive. We know that there have been some heavy lifts, and in some cases, there remains much work left to be done, but you make it look effortless to your students, and that shows incredible character and leadership.
To our staff: Thank you for your hard work, dedication and patience. In some cases, you are learning new ways of doing your work and are building new processes to support our mission, and we wouldn't be where we are today without your efforts.
To our IT professionals and partners: A special note of thanks to you. I cannot begin to thank you for your leadership and the countless hours you are giving. Your efforts are nothing short of extraordinary, and this community couldn't be more appreciative for all you have done, and continue to do, to maintain safe and secure systems.
This work will take time, but I know that with the continued support of our community, Kansas State University will come out of this stronger than ever.
Go 'Cats!
Richard Linton,
President