Kansas State University has much to be proud of, and working collectively, the university has made dramatic progress on numerous fronts over the past several years, positioning ourselves to be among the top ten land grant institutions in the United States. To continue to make progress toward enhancing our position as a premier land grant university will require us to reinvent ourselves in new and strategic ways as we aspire to remain on the leading edge as a major student-centered research university.
Within the context of reinventing ourselves, as I have outlined on numerous occasions, we face many challenges in a rapidly changing environment at multiple levels – state, national, and global– that present certain barriers to our continued success. Depending on one’s perspective, though, these same barriers can also create opportunities for Kansas State to look anew at its strategies for moving the university forward; thinking creatively and in a more entrepreneurial manner. So, in many ways, we are at an important crossroads—where we can simply attempt to maintain the status quo—which I think will only set us back—or we can turn these challenges into opportunities by capitalizing on the characteristics that are the trademark of Kansas State University – creative thinking, hard work, and innovative collaborations.
The vision that President Wefald and I have is for Kansas State University to become a premier/top 10 land grant university. To advance the university toward fulfilling this vision will require all of us to assess the challenges and opportunities that exist, set appropriate goals and priorities, and work collectively toward improving our units (to be the best that we can be), whether at the program, department, college, or university level. In addition, to become a great land grant institution, we must (1) share a philosophy that values and rewards major scholarly research and other creative activities, (2) create a supportive environment for student and faculty success, particularly valuing national and international recognition, (3) value all of our graduate programs, while realizing the importance of quality doctoral programs in national rankings, (4) facilitate new ways of engagement of students and faculty that build on the best of our traditions while being willing to explore new learning paradigms in our global society, and (5) realize that alternative resources, such as private giving, are essential. These five characteristics are common among public universities that are seen as the most successful and prestigious.
This shared philosophy, the need for setting priorities, and improving the recognition of Kansas State University as a premier land grant are all linked to the University Strategic Themes. Furthermore, these themes are directly related to the broader University Priorities that I have developed, which are based on significant feedback from faculty and university leaders over the past year, the evolving Initial Initiatives related to these priorities, and our university’s Performance Agreement Goals that are in response to the Board of Regents (Figure 1). The targeted excellence program, for example, provides an opportunity to elevate already strong programs at K-State through unique collaborations that will bring greater levels of external funding and national and international recognition of our faculty and programs in areas such as food security. Innovative teaching approaches that enhance learning outcomes also promise to elevate student success and faculty recognition both at K-State and on a national level.
K-State’s greatest resource is its people. It is through the creative talents of these people that K-State has moved forward in extraordinary fashion despite the challenging resource environment. We are faced with the complex condition of trying to advance despite the obstacles created by reduced number of faculty positions and insufficient operating budgets. Yet, we must focus on constructive engagement that advances the university in positive ways while recognizing our constraints. All great universities must have a vision of where they are headed and be strategic in getting there.
Whether small or large, all units contribute in their own way to K-State’s success. This success comes through the recognition that K-State can’t be all things to all people....... that within each of our units we must focus on providing a breadth of educational experiences for our students while capitalizing on the unique strengths of our faculty and the special synergies that come through collaborations across the university and beyond.
Now is the time to identify and recognize our unique strengths and make decisions regarding the investment of our resources. It is my opinion that department level priority setting, which allows units to be recognized for their special contributions to their colleges, Kansas State University, and beyond, is a significant dimension to advancing our university as one of our nation’s premier land grant institutions.
I am enthusiastic about undertaking this priority setting process with our departments and achieving our vision.