Kansas State University
'Tis not in forest nor yet in dell;
Ever it holds me with magic spell,
I think of thee, Alma Mater. ~ H.W. Jones
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas.
K-S-U, long, long may thy colors fly.
Loyal to thee, thy children will swell the cry.
Hail, hail, hail, Alma Mater. ~ H.W. Jones
C
[edit]- Manhattan is the home of Kansas State University, with more than 20,000 students from all over the world. Radio commentator Paul Harvey once called the university the "student scholar capital of America." Since 1986, KSU has been number one among the nation's 500 public universities in having students receive nationally prestigious scholarships. Its students have won ninety such scholarships compared with fifty-eight for the second-place public university. KSU's agricultural teaching and research programs are internationally recognized; its student livestock and crop judging teams have won numerous national championships and are consistently among the best in the nation; and in 2002 the university was selected as the site for the Food Safety and Security Research Center to combat bioterrorist threats on our agricultural systems. KSU's speech and debate teams have won several national championships in recent years. The College of Veterinary Science performs more rabies testing than any other lab in the world.
KSU is the home of Colbert Hills Golf Course. Developed by KSU alum and PGA golfer Jim Colbert, it successfully integrates nature conservation with economic development and university education. In 2002 it was one of only six golf courses in the world that met requirements to be designated an Audobon International Silver Signature Sanctuary.- Ted T. Cable & Wayne A. Maley, Driving Across Kansas: A Guide to I-70 (2003), Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, paperback, p. 39-40
J
[edit]- I know a spot that I love full well,
'Tis not in forest nor yet in dell;
Ever it holds me with magic spell,
I think of thee, Alma Mater.- H.W. Jones, "Kansas State University Alma Mater", written in 1888 and selected as the official alma mater of K-State in 1903[1].
- K-S-U, we'll carry thy banner high.
K-S-U, long, long may thy colors fly.
Loyal to thee, thy children will swell the cry.
Hail, hail, hail. Alma Mater.- H.W. Jones, "Kansas State University Alma Mater", written in 1888 and selected as the official alma mater of K-State in 1903[2].
R
[edit]- When I graduated in 1958, K-State was a good university. By most measures, Kansas State was a good university through the 1960s's, the 1970's, and into the 1980's. Then came Jon Wefald, or, as I have said at numerous K-State pep rallies, "And now, the man who has led us from the valley of despair and defeat to unprecedented pride and victory... Jon 'Moses' Wefald."
This book is about the Wefald years at K-State, when a very good university aimed high and became an excellent university. During the Wefald years, Kansans have pointed with pride to the greatest turnaround in the history of Division I football, and K-State becoming a football power among the nation's elite. They know that between 1986 and 2000, student enrollment also reversed a serious decline and increased from 14,000 to 22,000. Alumni and visitors to campus see a new library and a new art museum. And there is much more attributable to Jon Wefald's term as president.- Pat Roberts, KSU Class of 1958, as quoted by Robert J. Shoop, A University Renaissance: Jon Wefald's Presidency at Kansas State (2001), Manhattan: Ag Press Publishing, hardcover, p. xi
- In assessing the "Wefald Years," one is reluctant to single out accomplishments because in truth, there were many, large and small. (Don't ever tell Jon Wefald something can't be done!) In sum, they illustrate what can be accomplished by creativity, team planning, and- most of all- leadership at the top.
K-State has a long and grand history, written by good and respected presidents: Denison, Anderson, Fairchild, Will, Nichols, Waters, Jardine, Eisenhower, McCain, and Acker. Now, we add the Wefald years and the contributions of a man who, during difficult times, literally grabbed a university by the scruff of its academic and athletic neck and gave it a good shake. They are years of progress and striving for excellence in all areas of the university. They are the renaissance years.- Pat Roberts, KSU Class of 1958, as quoted by Robert J. Shoop, A University Renaissance: Jon Wefald's Presidency at Kansas State (2001), Manhattan: Ag Press Publishing, hardcover, p. xii
O
[edit]- Kansas State University has erased further influences of diversity, equity, and inclusion programming after receiving a student whistleblower complaint alleging some lingering policies did not align with state law. This month, a top campus official reported to the State Finance Council it has resolved the complaint and ended mandatory DEI training for the student government and student fee funding allocations to groups that promote DEI, the Kansas Reflector reported. Kansas last year passed Senate Bill 125, which included language prohibiting the funding of DEI programs after August 2025.
The new law caused the university to take steps toward the reduction of DEI, such as eliminating diversity initiatives, removing pronouns from email signatures, and replacing the word “diversity” with the word “all” in its mission statement.- Simon Olech, "Kansas State University eliminates DEI initiatives to comply with state law", The College Fix, 26 January 2026
- Marshall Stewart, executive vice president for external engagement at K-State, told the council campus leaders took the complaint “very seriously” and “there was language in student government where they were providing funds for DEI-related work that would be in conflict with Senate Bill 125.” It led him to inform the student government of the need for changes, as reported by the Journal. Stewart said the KSU Student Government cancelled any funds scheduled toward groups promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and distanced itself from those with mission statements promoting the ideology.
The College Fix sent multiple emails to the Kansas State University Student Government Association, Stewart, as well as Kansas State University media affairs division, and did not receive a response. However, Reagan Dugan, director of higher education initiatives at Defending Education, told The College Fix that “DEI programs inevitably lead to divisive identity-based and ideological groups. While Kansas Senate Bill 125 was clear that these sorts of things have no place in higher education, it is entirely unsurprising that compliance with the bill has taken so long.”- Simon Olech, "Kansas State University eliminates DEI initiatives to comply with state law", The College Fix, 26 January 2026
- The presence of DEI at KSU had inspired Young America’s Foundation, a conservative youth organization present at campuses across America, to also weigh in, issuing its own complaint last year to the Department of Education civil rights office last March. In its 29-page complaint to the Office for Civil Rights, the group warned the department of “significant and ongoing civil rights violations against conservative students” at the university, including the presence of a “Spectrum Center,” diversity-focused policies, and a “Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.” A major focus of Trump’s second administration has been the elimination of DEI and gender politics in higher education. The president issued multiple executive orders within his first couple days in office, while cracking down on colleges promoting the ideology.
State legislators continue their attempts at improving the quality of education in Kansas, raising concerns about the effects of permitting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in higher education. “At Defending Education we’ve found more than two hundred institutions across the country still operating DEI offices, many of which merely changed the office’s name on the website,” Defending Education’s Dugan told The College Fix. “Passing legislation is only the first step in cleaning out the rot. I’m encouraged that the state of Kansas sees the importance of enforcement too.”- Simon Olech, "Kansas State University eliminates DEI initiatives to comply with state law", The College Fix, 26 January 2026
S
[edit]- When Wefald came to K-State, there were many faculty who saw K-State as a stepping stone to greener pastures. Today, Wefald has created a university climate where people stay at K-State because they want to be there. His personal interaction with the faculty continuously reinforces the fact that he respects and values their contributions to the university.
- Robert J. Shoop, A University Renaissance: Jon Wefald's Presidency at Kansas State (2001), Manhattan: Ag Press Publishing, hardcover, p. 181
- In the mid-1980's, K-State seemed to be stuck at the $17 million to $18 million mark in externally funded research. By 2000, K-State faculty had garnered $71.7 million in external research funding. Wefald credits Vice Provost Ron Trewyn and his colleagues fr the assistance they have given faculty in the area of external funding. Although the administration can do many things to facilitate research, Wefald makes it clear that it is the "expertise, the brilliance, the perserverance and hard work of our faculty that makes us competitive for external funding." By the late 1990's K-State was responsible for contributing $2.8 billion a year into the state's economy.
- Robert J. Shoop, A University Renaissance: Jon Wefald's Presidency at Kansas State (2001), Manhattan: Ag Press Publishing, hardcover, p. 182
- It is impossible to talk about faculty and research without talking about the role of the library in the life of any university. K-State's library was neglected during most of the past century- most especially from 1945 to 1986. Shortly after arriving at K-State, adequate library funding became one of Wefald's highest priorities. During his presidency, no part of K-State has received more reallocations, more new funding, a more expensive new building, mor more of his attention than the library. The additional funding that was put into the library from 1986 to 1990 was severely eroded by the rampant inflation in library costs- especially for subscriptions- from about 1990 to 1996. K-State's library, like every university library in the country, was faced with the dilemma of journal subscription prices soaring out of control. However, Wefald knew pouring more money into the library, without changing the concept with how a library serves students and faculty, would be a loser's game. He knew the university could never keep up with the incredible increases in the cost of print journal subscriptions. Under the leadership of Dean of Libraries Brice Hobrock, the university moved the library to a new paradigm. In effect, the K-State Library began moving from the "just in case" model to the "just in time" model of the 21st century.
- Robert J. Shoop, A University Renaissance: Jon Wefald's Presidency at Kansas State (2001), Manhattan: Ag Press Publishing, hardcover, p. 182-183
- When Wefald came to K-State fifteen years ago, he said he wanted to take the university "up a few notches." It seems clear he has done so in virtually every area. Enrollments, student scholarships, 1.6 million square feet of new buildings, and success in athletics demonstrates extraordinary progress since 1986. Keeping in mind that K-State has progressed light years in academic success between 1986 and 2000, the university is now in a position to move up into the elite category of America's land-grant universities.
The business of K-State is knowledge. Under Wefald's leadership, K-State has continued to focus on the creation, archiving, and dissemination of lively knowledge for the benefit of the citizens of the state of Kansas and for humanity as a whole. As a student of history, Wefald understands knowledge is not merely a collection of facts, but is rather a deep understanding that reveals truth, and its ultimate manifestation leads to enlightenment. The heart, soul and mind of K-State as a land-grant university is to create new knowledge through scholarships, transfer existing knowledge to students by a variety of educational tools, and provide knowledge to anyone who needs it to improve his or her productivity.- Robert J. Shoop, A University Renaissance: Jon Wefald's Presidency at Kansas State (2001), Manhattan: Ag Press Publishing, hardcover, p. 209
W
[edit]- For the first forty years of the 20th century, Kansas State College Presidents seldom mentioned words like comprehensive, modern, basic research, and the liberal arts. Kansas State College continued to fall further behind KU and the best land grant universities in America. For the future of Kansas State, there is no question that catching up would be incredibly difficult.
When Kansas State College selected Milton S. Eisenhower as its ninth president in May of 1943, the school experienced major changes. From his first day, Eisenhower knew that his school was far behind the best land grant colleges. Milton's inaugural address was broadcast nationally on September 30, 1943. The new president was crystal clear- Kansas State had to become more modern, more diverse, and more comprehensive and it had to embrace the arts and sciences.
Eisenhower was articulate, intelligent, and knowledgeable. He was the first native Kansan and the first graduate of Kansas State to be its president. While his brother Dwight was leading the Allied Forces in Europe, Milton had spent several years as the assistant director of the Office of War Information in Washington D.C. Milton was an inveterate reader. He had become an expert on world issues. It is doubtful that any president in the history of Kansas State ever understood the people of Kansas better than Milton Eisenhower.- Jon Wefald, The Transformative Years at Kansas State: The Years of President Jon Wefald From 1986 to 2009 (2016), Manhattan: AG Press, hardcover, p. xxix
- The Eisenhower Administration kicked off early in 1944 a planning process that would alter the academic programming of Kansas State College for years to come. Milton decided to chair the general Committee on Post-War Planning because he was determined to accomplish one overriding goal- to liberalize the entire curriculum. According to Stephen Ambrose and Richard H. Immerman in their book on Milton Eisenhower, he always "had the zeal of a reformer." Faculty members in the arts and sciences knew they had the unequivocal support of the college's president."
Since 1863, Kansas State presidents and its regents had many debates about the meaning of the Morrill Land Grant Act. James Carey summed up Milton's world-view: "Eisenhower's philosophy of education for the twentieth century was a rejection of the narrow-minded interpretation of John A. Anderson's ideals. Eisenhower's liberal views were in keeping with the broader interpretation of the Morrill land-grant wording which had provided for an education that was both liberal and practical."
After Eisenhower left Kansas State to become the president of Penn State in 1950, every succeeding president has embraced the centrality of the liberal arts for the college and the need to be comprehensive. Milton Eisenhower was one of Kansas State's greatest presidents.- Jon Wefald, The Transformative Years at Kansas State (2016), Manhattan: AG Press, hardcover, p. xxix-xxx
