Department of Economics:
2026 Spring newsletter
From the department head
Your K-State’s Economic Department is welcoming our Spring semester with open arms. We are using this newsletter to greet and update our friends and supporters about recent activities and news involving our department. These are exciting times at Kansas State as we continue implementing the K-State Next Gen strategic plan announced by President Richard Linton in the Fall of 2023. I became Head in the summer of 2023 and am happy to share that our department’s commitment to excellence remains the same.
Our departmental mission remains centered on delivering high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs, contributing to scholarship at an excellence level, and engaging, particularly through our Advisory Council. This northern guide has propelled the department through continuous work across multiple heads, in many dimensions exceeding initial projections of support while working hand in hand with members of our advisory council. This academic year, the department is continuing its pursuit of excellence with substantial increases in enrollment and the number of majors.
This continued pursuit of ever better service to our students has enabled the department to assist 36 economics majors with scholarship awards this Spring alone. Likewise, we plan to increase our support for incoming graduate students this coming Fall with assistance from multiple endowments raised through close collaboration with our advisory council members and the K-State Foundation. We continue working to further support students, and below we address some of this through our sections on Student Activities and Donor Spotlight.
Central to our efforts is nurturing and recruiting capable faculty members who share our passion for students and scholarship. We have recently expanded our scholarship mission to include scholarly grants, which aligns well with K-State Next Generation’s strategic plan. We discuss some scholarship initiatives and grants in the faculty spotlight section, featuring Dr. Amanda Gaulke and Dr. Rubaiyat Alam. Essential to nurture and attract excellent faculty is faculty support. The donor section refers to recent support provided by Mr. Ron Gaches, a longtime supporter. We are very grateful for incredible supporters like him who enable us to deliver on our promise.
Upcoming events
2026 Joe Tiao Lecture: Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, speaker
April 9, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in Regnier Forum
Department of Economics Advisory Council Annual Meeting and
Annual Department of Economics Banquet
April 24, 2026