Review and updates required of individual email signatures in accordance with state regulations

A letter from Provost Mendez
Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Dear K-State community,

Borrowing from the university's community-based approach during COVID-19, the Office of the Provost in February developed and led a governmental transition task force composed of representatives from the Office of Research, the Division of Communications and Marketing, Human Resources, the Office of General Counsel, Office of Government Relations, the Division of Academic Success and Student Affairs, the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance and the Office of the Provost to address various federal executive orders, grant modifications and shifting state policies that were occurring in real time with immediate impacts on our university operations and community.

One such policy that the Kansas Legislature passed and the governor signed into law was 2025 Senate Bill 125, or SB 125. Section 161 of the bill contains a proviso, found on page 254, that requires the Kansas Department of Administration to certify that state agencies are in compliance with a set of outlined requirements, specifically relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, by Aug. 1, 2025.

To help universities comply with the law, the Kansas Board of Regents, or KBOR, which governs state universities in Kansas — including Kansas State University — issued guidance to all state universities on how to comply with the specific legislative action passed during the 2025 legislative session.

We have taken this guidance and developed a policy infrastructure that will put our university community in compliance with SB 125. Details are available on K-State’s government transition website.

Guidance from the Kansas Board of Regents

For compliance, KBOR defines DEI as “the use of state-sponsored grants or contracts, and university positions, mandates, policies, required employee training, programs or activities (“University Activities”), where such University Activities are intended to intentionally give preference to individuals or groups, to the exclusion of others, on the basis of race, color, or national origin. University Activities shall not include curriculum, instruction, or research” (emphasis added).

Further, KBOR stipulates that “programs focused on interests in particular cultures, heritages, and areas of the world do not in and of themselves violate Title VI, assuming they are open to all students regardless of race, color, or national origin. Additionally, educational and/or cultural observances that celebrate historical events and contributions or promote awareness do not fall under the definition of DEI as long as they are open to all regardless of race, color, or national origin.”

Under these definitions, faculty and staff should continue to approach each contract, position, mandate, policy, training, program or activity by ensuring it is open and available to all, regardless of race, color or national origin. Our faculty and students are also encouraged to continue the practice of robust civil discourse within the framework of academic freedom in the classroom and other educational settings.

Provided we remain diligent by ensuring all university activities, programs and opportunities are open and available to all, we are in compliance with most of the provisions. However, one specific provision requires that employees review and take action, and we ask for your assistance related to email signatures and the use of pronouns.

Individual action required: Email signature review and updates

One explicit component of the proviso requires the removal of “gender identifying pronouns or gender ideology from email signature blocks on state employees' email accounts and any other form of communication.”

As a state university governed by KBOR, K-State provides email accounts for official university business and follows state requirements, as outlined in PPM 3410.

All faculty, staff and university employees — including student employees — are asked to review and update their signature blocks accordingly by Thursday, July 31, 2025.

To make this as easy as possible, the university has created an email signature guidance page that includes signature templates. You can also find step-by-step instructions in the K-State Knowledge Base for updating your signature in both the Outlook app and Outlook for web. An FAQ page is available as well, and it will be updated routinely as we receive additional inquiries.

Our priority is ensuring that all faculty, staff and student employees are aware of the new requirements. For our nine-month and student employees returning in mid-August who may miss this initial message, we will send a follow-up message to get them up to speed and make sure we’re all on the same page. This proactive approach ensures we’re all working together to meet the SB 125 compliance by Aug. 1.

On a closing note, I want to publicly acknowledge that changes like these can feel deeply personal for some members of our community, and we want to acknowledge the emotions and concerns they may raise. As our country’s first operational public land-grant institution, K-State attracts amazing people from all walks of life in our pluralistic and global society. As we continue to head into the fall semester, I look forward to engaging our university community and continuing to ensure that every member of our Wildcat community feels they belong.

Best,
Jesse Perez Mendez
Provost and executive vice president