May 11, 2022
A letter from President Richard Linton
Dear K-State community,
It’s hard to believe that the end of the spring semester is already upon us. As I reflect on my first three months at K-State, I continue to be so honored to be part of this incredible, connected community. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Optimism is core to the Wildcat spirit. When K-Staters see opportunities to be better, stronger, more efficient and more aligned with the needs of those we serve, we can’t help but go after them. Your tenacity inspires me every day, and it makes me so excited to be here with you.
As you know, my primary goal during my first 90 days has been to listen, learn and engage at all levels of the university. I’ve spent time on each of our physical campuses with students, faculty and staff. I’ve engaged with our alumni, donors and longtime supporters. I’ve spent time with local, state and federal leaders and legislators. And I’ve visited with other administrators at universities across the state.
Three months in, I’ve already seen so many great things in motion. One of the strongest state budgets we’ve seen proposed in the past decade is making its way through legislative review. We are pleased with the support for higher education coming from our state leaders. Additionally, we joined state, federal and local leaders last month in welcoming Scorpion Biological Services Inc. to the Manhattan community. This was an achievement that marked the first major milestone toward realizing our economic prosperity plan. The partnership with Scorpion will open so many new doors for our students and faculty to participate in engaged work within the biodefense industry, and I am so excited to see these opportunities come to fruition.
And speaking of our students, graduation season is upon us. Last weekend’s commencement ceremony in Salina and the upcoming ceremonies in Manhattan later this week mark the beginning of the next chapter for our 2022 graduates. Speaking directly to our graduates: I am confident you are going to do amazing things with your life, and you have the backing of the entire K-State family behind you every step of the way. We can’t wait to see your continued accomplishments!
As our graduates take hold of their own futures, we also look forward to the future of Kansas State University. Key activities for this summer include:
- We will soon be officially launching the searches for our three vacant cabinet-level leadership positions at the university. While interviews will not occur until the fall, we will begin cultivating the candidate pools for these essential members of our university leadership team.
- I have convened a team of individuals from the Office of the Provost, Enrollment Management, K-State Research and Extension, Office of Engagement in the Staley School of Leadership Studies, and the Division of Communications and Marketing, with special assistance from the Student Governing Association, to begin planning a series of community visits throughout the next academic year. These visits will give us an opportunity to reaffirm and rebuild our engagement across the state in this new post-pandemic era. You can expect to hear much more about this community engagement initiative as the planning continues.
- We will continue to prioritize our Strategic Enrollment Management efforts in a variety of ways. It is core to our mission to provide educational access and opportunity, and we will continue to work hard toward achieving this goal together.
- Additionally, we will embark on the development of a new university-level strategic plan that will drive our priorities, improve efficiencies and carry us forward, positioning K-State to be a model Next-Generation Land-Grant University.
The future of Kansas State University is bright. I choose to believe that the opportunities that lie ahead of us are far greater than the challenges we face today. At K-State, there’s no limit to what we should expect. Let’s go after our collective dreams together.
Go ‘Cats!
Richard Linton
President