Regional Community Visits

The university for the people of Kansas

K-State's commitment to integrating engagement across all we do is central to our mission as a next-generation land-grant university. Through the community visit initiative, we are fostering community health and well-being across Kansas. We are building partnerships to tackle the most pressing and imperative challenges facing Kansas communities, because if we do good in Kansas, we can do good for the world.

Spring 2025 community visits

K-State spent April 28-30, 2025, visiting several Kansas counties: Hamilton, Finney and Sumner counties.

Learn more about the visits.

About the initiative

K-State's regional community visits foster relationships and connections across the state, allowing yet another venue for K-State to carry out its land-grant mission for the state of Kansas.

We spent the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years painting the state purple and engaging with Kansans in all 105 counties. View the regional community visit dashboard to learn more about where we've been.

See all the communities we visited during our first two years of visits.

Why these visits are a priority for K-State

We are living our land-grant mission, engaging with Kansans through intentional visits across the state. The regional community visit program is designed to:

Establish a consistent opportunity for engaging with, listening to and learning from Kansans directly within the communities they call home.
Recognize and reaffirm the strong relationships K-State holds with Kansas communities through our K-State Research and Extension network, industry partnerships, community. engagement/volunteerism, and educational partnerships
Strengthen and create new relationships that support Kansas citizens.
Celebrate our alumni who contribute to Kansas communities, as the K-State graduates who power our state's workforce are integral in building a stronger future for Kansas.
Empower K-State students from your region to share their K-State experience and how they will take what they have learned to make the world a better place.
Heighten awareness for and access to the educational and experiential opportunities K-State offers to the next-generation of difference-makers.

News and updates

Read news and communications related to the initiative.

April 9, 2025: K-State engages with multiple Kansas counties on food security, entrepreneurship and educational access

Previous communications:

Core planning team

Gregg Hadley, director, Cooperative Extension, co-team leader.
Tim Steffensmeier, director, Office of Engagement, co-team leader.
Mirna Bonilla Salazar, program manager, Office of Engagement.
Jeff Ebeck, K-State graduate student.
Courtney Hallenbeck, associate director, Office of Recruitment and Admissions.
Jennifer Tidball, communications director for K-State 105, Division of Communications and Marketing.

A recap of two years of community visits

Watch a video that highlights two years of regional community visits and shows engagement across Kansas.