2021 Gift Guide

K-State’s commitment to diversity, inclusion earns national honor for eighth year in a row

K-State earned national recognition as one of the top universities for diversity and inclusion with the 2021 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity, or HEED Award, from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. It is the eighth year in a row K-State has achieved this honor from the magazine, which is the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the award, presented to U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion, K-State will be featured, along with 100 other recipients, in the November issue of the magazine.

“The HEED Award symbolizes that Kansas State University remains true to its land-grant university mission to encourage diversity and learning opportunities created through societal di erences,” said Richard Myers ’65, K-State president. “We’re honored by this award, but we know we must always strive to be better. Our Action Plan for a More Inclusive K-State demonstrates our commitment to addressing racial and social injustices and ensuring this great university is and always will be a welcoming place for all.”

Be Stoney, K-State’s interim chief diversity and inclusion o cer, said e orts must continue to maintain and sustain an action-oriented campus environment that promotes diversity and inclusion in everything it does, including teaching, research and outreach.

“Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are not a check-the-box conversation,” Stoney said. “When we appreciate our di erences, we reshape ourselves through a better understanding of issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”

K-State continues to invest in many programs that encourage the recruitment, retention and graduation of multicultural and rst-generation students, including First Scholars, Project IMPACT, Multicultural Academic Success and the Kansas Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. For the fth consecutive year, K-State has been recognized by

The tradition continues: The K-State Alumni Association’s Legacy Scholars were present on the field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the opening kickoff against Iowa State University. Children and grandchildren of K-State alumni are invited to apply for a $1,000 K-State Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship. To apply, visit k-state.com/scholarships.

Campus Pride as among the best universities in the nation for LGBTQ inclusion in programs, policies and practices. K-State’s more than 40 multicultural student organizations also have a reputation for excellence, including the Black Student Union, which as of 2020, had been named best Black student council in the Big 12 Conference 12 times in the last 16 years.

University e orts to build a diverse workforce and culture also are meeting with success. For the second year in a row, K-State was named a top employer by DiversityJobs.com. It also was the second year in a row that K-State was the only higher education institution in Kansas to achieve the distinction.

Other important steps in improving the university’s diversity and inclusiveness are the addition of the Morris Family Multicultural Student Center, which opened last fall and has become a hub for intercultural learning and multicultural enrichment at K-State, and the appointment of the university’s rst student ombudsman, Kimathi Choma ’07, ’13, on April 1.

Stoney encourages everyone in the K-State community to participate in the many events the university o ers to highlight diversity and inclusion. K-State also honors the work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Week in January.

“Working side by side, we must all continue to promote and commit to making diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging a priority for students, faculty sta and community members who visit the campus,” Stoney said.

2021 Gift Guide

ese gi s from the K-State Alumni Association make great surprises under the tree or in a stocking for your favorite Wildcat!

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2021 Purple Truck Ornament $25 Stone Coasters $29.95

Aerospace and Technology Campus enhancing its training aircraft eet

K-State Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus is taking another step forward in becoming a global aerospace leader by providing career-ready pilots.

The campus has added 17 new aircraft to enhance its eet and provide students with a high-quality ight training program.

These new planes were purchased from two wellknown airplane manufacturers.

“This is a major step toward our vision to meet industry demands by providing students experience from a primary trainer all the way to a business-class airplane,” said Alysia Starkey ’10, CEO and dean of K-State Salina.

The addition of the new aircraft allows for diverse training options with high-performance, complex, lowwing and high-wing planes, said Clinton Strong, head of the aviation department on the Aerospace and Technology Campus.

“Our entire K-State eet will now have Garmin avionics, providing the latest technology and giving student pilots improved situational awareness while ying,” Strong said. “This change supports the campus’s goal to provide a highquality, comprehensive and a ordable ying experience.”

K-State Salina has purchased 10 new Cessna 172 Skyhawks with Garmin G1000 avionics from Textron Aviation that will be delivered during the rst quarter of 2022. These planes will provide students with training in a top aircraft and bring the number of this model in the K-State eet to 20. The increase helps accommodate the campus’s growing aviation enrollment.

“Textron Aviation remains committed to supporting the training and development of the next generation of pilots, and our continued strong relationship with Kansas State is a critical element to these e orts,” said Chris Crow, vice president of piston sales at Textron Aviation. “K-State Salina has been training future pilots in Cessna Skyhawks since its program’s inception, further demonstrating the strength and capability of the platform and its leadership in pilot training.”

Through its strategic partnership with Cirrus Aircraft, K-State Salina has purchased ve new Cirrus SR20s featuring innovative systems, including electronic stability and protection and the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System, or CAPS, as an added protective layer for pilot and passengers. The campus will receive its rst aircraft in the fourth quarter of this year and the remaining four aircraft in the second quarter of 2022. The addition of the high-performance Cirrus Aircraft will provide students with the advanced-aviation training needed to become safe, professional pilots.

“Cirrus Aircraft is dedicated to delivering safe and innovative ight training solutions for leading aviation training organizations,” said David Moser, vice president of Cirrus eet and special mission sales. “Our TRAC Series aircraft provide K-State Salina with an advanced platform that is ideal for training aspiring professional aviators.”

The campus also has added two more Beechcraft Baron G58s for complex, multi-engine training.

“The Baron will continue to be a pinnacle for K-State Salina’s ight training program,” Strong said. “This plane prepares graduates for professional careers with their experiences in this powerful and sophisticated twin-engine aircraft.”

Strong said the diversi cation of the K-State Salina eet allows students to begin training in the Cessna 172, a dependable training aircraft, and then move into the high-performance Cirrus SR20 with its advanced avionics and higher speeds. Finally, they can complete their multiengine rating in the capable Beechcraft Baron, where they learn a more advanced system.

“I don’t know of any other ight school that uses this unique combination of the 172, Cirrus and Baron for training,” Strong said.

Legendary: K-State football greats Jonathan Beasley ’01, ’12 and Bill Snyder were inducted into the Cotton Bowl’s Hall of Fame in October. Beasley was K-State’s quarterback in the 2001 Cotton Bowl Classic. Snyder served as head coach for the Wildcats in three Cotton Bowl Classic games.

Photos courtesy of K-State Athletics

K-State Diploma Frames Starting at $134

K-State Alumni Wine Club Starting at $59 with promo code MEMBER5

Bill Snyder Book $21 with promo code KSTATEALUM30

A long time coming: For more than 60 years the K-State Black community advocated and provided the steadfast momentum for K-State to build and operationalize a space dedicated for multicultural students and individuals actively seeking to develop and strengthen their cultural understanding. In October, during the K-State Alumni Association’s Black Alumni Reunion, the Black community had the opportunity to celebrate with a ribbon cutting at the Morris Family Multicultural Student Center.

Bachelor’s program in nance earns Chartered Financial Analyst university a liation

K-State is now part of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute University A liation Program. This designation indicates K-State’s bachelor’s program in nance emphasizes the high ethics and standards set by the institute and is well-suited to prepare students to sit for the chartered nancial analyst exam.

“The CFA Institute recognizing Kansas State University and its nance department’s curriculum as keeping with these high standards is a great compliment and an incredible honor,” said Hardy Johnson, associate professor of nance and interim head of the department. “CFA a liation means that our students who choose to pursue a degree in this program will acquire the tools necessary to not only compete for these highly sought-after jobs but obtain and excel at them.”

The K-State nance program provides a high-quality educational experience for students and allows them to pursue careers in a wide selection of industries, including nancial management, controllership, nancial services, consulting, asset management and more, said Sabuhi Sardarli, associate professor of nance and director of the Gates Capital Management Center for Financial Analysis in the College of Business.

USDA grant supports new K-State hotline for diagnosing toxic animal emergencies

Rapid response to animal health emergencies has prompted the creation of a new veterinary toxicology training program at K-State. A $248,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant will enhance the ability of researchers in the College of Veterinary Medicine to answer calls for help.

The goal of the program, developed by Dr. Steve Ensley ’79, ’81, clinical veterinary toxicologist, and Dr. Bob Larson ’85, ’87, ’92, professor of production medicine, is to create impactful and innovative outreach tools. This will better enable livestock veterinarians to recognize and address toxicology problems in food animal species, especially cattle, small ruminants and pigs.

The project will utilize veterinary telemedicine and other distance-based education resources, including a toxicology call-in hotline for practicing veterinarians called CONSULT — Collaborative, Online, Novel, Science-based, User-friendly, Learning Tool — for common livestock toxicology problems, and YouTube training videos. The nationwide call-in service to address common food animal toxicological emergencies was identi ed as a priority by the researchers.

“The toxicology section at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and I receive multiple calls each day dealing with questions about food animal veterinary toxicology from across the U.S.,” Ensley said. “Many questions are about current cases that veterinarians are dealing with and they want assistance in answering speci c questions. Because of the infrequent nature of most toxicological case presentations, many practicing veterinarians nd it di cult to maintain the current knowledge necessary to quickly address speci c toxicological emergencies.”

The outreach portals created with the grant provide new and valuable resources to practitioners.

“This program will greatly enhance currently available toxicology resources for teaching veterinary nurses and veterinary students during the last two years of their professional education,” Larson said.

Some of the resources can be modi ed to be contentappropriate to introduce important animal health concepts to high school students in grades 11 and 12, he said.

Outreach portals for the training materials will include the websites for the Beef Cattle Institute, Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, K-State Veterinary Medical Continuing Education and the Colby Community College Veterinary Nursing Program.