Spirit of Leadership

Spirit of Leadership is an annual event at the Staley School of Leadership where alumni, friends, students and faculty/staff come together to reconnect, reunite, and re-energize around leadership.

Additionally, the award for the Michael C. Holen Leader-In-Residence is presented and celebrated during Spirit of Leadership at the Friday evening celebration and through classroom visits, presentations and more.

Questions? Email us at leadership@ksu.edu.

Upcoming event

6-9 p.m. Friday, March 27

Join us for our first-ever spring Spirit of Leadership. Reconnect with alumni and friends and help us celebrate the growth and transformation of the Staley School.

 

Get excited for these highlights

• Come as early as 5 p.m. to take a mini-tour of two new Staley School of Leadership locations: See Boyd Hall renovations, the new home for K-State University Honors Program students, and visit Hale Library to see the new home of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research. We will depart for these locations from the Leadership Studies Building lobby.
• We will recognize Beth Ward ’93 as the 2026 Staley School Leader-In-Residence.
• Artist and former K-Stater Armando Minjarez will unveil and discuss his mural in the Leadership Studies Building.
  • See a sneak preview of his work on our Instagram post.
  • Read more about the project and Armando in this special K-State Alumni Association feature.
• New photography will be on display throughout the building. Learn more about the project here.
• Retiring photos, displayed since 2017, will be available at a live silent auction.

Accommodations

Unlike previous years, this event does not fall on a K-State football weekend, so we anticipate availability at many local hotels. Additionally, we have reserved a block of rooms at the Bluemont Hotel for Spirit of Leadership guests. Book your room at this link or call 785-473-7091 to request one of the Staley School of Leadership's reserved rooms.

Parking on campus lots is free. Uber and Lyft are also available locally.

Add Spirit of Leadership to your calendar:

• Staley School of Leadership Facebook event
• K-State web calendar

Make it a weekend in Manhattan

We're rounding up local events for you to consider while you're here.

• MAC and Cheese Festival | March 28-29, hosted by Manhattan Arts Center | Learn more here
• Visit the Manhattan events calendar at this link - events are added frequently

Our agenda (tentative and subject to change)

• 5 p.m. Tour Boyd Hall and Hale Library, homes to the new Honors housing and SDUR
• 6 p.m. Check-in: Get your name tag, a drink, and find a seat in Town Hall.
• 6:30 p.m. Formal program
• 7:30-9 p.m. Reception
  • Cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres
  • Photography silent auction
  • Tour the building to see new photography
  • Chat with Armando about the mural
  • Meet friends at the photobooth

Past events

View photo albums from Spirit events on Facebook by selecting a year:

• 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017