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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Sources: Daniel C. Richardson, 913-541-1220, dcr@kstateoic.ksu.edu; Lisa Freeman, 785-532-2844, freeman@vet.k-state.edu
Web: http://www.kstateoic.ksu.edu
News release prepared by: Cheryl May, 785-532-6415, may@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY MOVING AHEAD WITH K-STATE OLATHE INNOVATION CAMPUS

MANHATTAN -- Voters said "yes" last week to a sales tax supporting the Johnson County Education Research Triangle so Kansas State University is moving swiftly ahead with its Olathe Innovation Campus, one of three initiatives supported by the one-eighth cent tax.

That's the word from Dr. Daniel C. Richardson, the chief executive officer of the new campus.

"Construction of the benefit district -- the infrastructure for the park... roads, utilities, etc. -- is under way and should be completed by September 2009," Richardson said. "We hope to break ground in late 2009 or early 2010 for the first building, which will include approximately 103,000 square feet of educational space."

Richardson credited the voters of Johnson County for their vision in passing the Johnson County Education Research Triangle tax 56 percent to 42 percent.

"This is truly monumental to pass a tax in this economy," he said. The Triangle tax is expected to generate about $15 million a year as base money for the KU-Edwards Campus, for the KU Med School, and for the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus. Each campus will receive $5 million in the base in perpetuity.

"The economic impact of the park has been projected to include $150 million in public and private investment and 3,000 new jobs," said Richardson, who was named to head the Olathe campus a year ago. Since that time he has been involved in planning, setting up connections and collaborations and developing plans for the campus.

"The K-State Olathe Innovation Campus master plan is being finalized for the 38 acres located within the Kansas Bioscience Park," Richardson said. "Our goal is to select the architectural firm for the first building before the end of this year."

K-State President Jon Wefald said, "We anticipate having a new animal health building up and ready to go in the next two to two-and-a-half years. This might be one of the most important events in the history of Kansas State University. We have about 25,000 K-Staters in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. They have been dreaming for a generation now about K-State having a campus in Johnson County. That dream has now become a reality."

K-State will provide training and research in such areas as food safety and other fields deemed important by the dozens of companies in the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor. The Olathe campus will back up the university's long-standing commitment to the safety and security of the nation's food supply with opportunities for research, development and commercialization of new technologies, economic development, and educational partnerships, all happening in Johnson County, Richardson said.

Dr. Lisa Freeman is associate vice president of innovation for the Olathe campus. Freeman is responsible for building public and private partnerships to benefit the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus, and acting as a liaison between the Olathe campus and programs on the Manhattan campus impacted by new relationships.

Freeman is already working with K-State faculty to develop new programs for pre-college outreach, graduate education and professional development focused in the areas of animal health and food safety.

"The K-State Olathe Innovation Campus will enhance existing food science graduate programs through the addition of expert faculty and executive sessions," Freeman said. "In addition, K-State Olathe will develop new offerings in collaboration with the Food Science Institute and the interdisciplinary master of public health program. The K-State Olathe Innovation Campus will also work with veterinary pharmacologists and analytical chemists at the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine, the Midwest Research Institute and at the companies of the Animal Health Corridor to develop integrated training programs that serve industry needs."

Freeman said a faculty advisory board will be appointed to guide the development of additional programs.

The Olathe campus is also dedicated to providing K-12 students with age-appropriate opportunities to view and participate in real-life science and technology discoveries and commercialization. To this end, the K-State Olathe Innovation campus is collaborating with Johnson County School Districts to develop new curricular content focused on food safety and animal health. For example, Olathe high school students in the Biotechnology program are learning about how aspirin-like drugs cause ulcers by performing original research guided by a team of scientific advisers that includes both K-State faculty members and Olathe High School teachers. Students and teachers in the Olathe e-Communications program are collaborating with the international food safety network at K-State to create and evaluate new messages and media focused on promoting food safety.

The initial land grant of 91 acres will be home to the 38-acre K-State Olathe Innovation Campus as well as Kansas Bioscience Authority-sponsored biotechnology incubators and space for start-up and established biotech industries. The city of Olathe will offer tax abatements to incoming bioscience businesses.

The Innovation Campus' location puts it in close proximity to current and future collaboration partners: regional K-12 school districts, Johnson County Community College, MidAmerica Nazarene University and the University of Kansas' Edwards and Medical Center campuses.

Wefald credited support from opinion leaders for their efforts in bringing K-State to Johnson County.

"So many Johnson County leaders shared our vision for a K-State campus in Olathe," Wefald said. "All of us at K-State appreciate Mayor Copeland, a proponent of big-time economic development for his city and for Johnson County," Wefald said. "Olathe also has an outstanding city council and a dynamic and positive Chamber of Commerce."

Wefald also credited attorney Fred Logan; State Sen. Karin Brownlee; Annabeth Surbaugh, chairwoman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners; and Mary Birch, coordinator for the Education and Research Triangle campaign. Birch said the research triangle will have an economic impact of well over $1.4 billion in the next two decades.

A live webcam at http://www.kstateoic.ksu.edu allows viewers to watch the construction progress at the Kansas Bioscience Park, home of the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus. Camera and technical support supplied by Schlagel & Associates and the City of Olathe.