Leading K-State faculty named University Outstanding Scholars

MANHATTAN — Four Kansas State University professors have been named University Outstanding Scholars, recognizing their exemplary contributions to K-State, their disciplines and the university's land-grant mission.

Created in 2024 as part of the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan, the University Outstanding Scholar distinction celebrates faculty advancing high-level research, teaching and engagement while contributing to the university's ongoing commitment to a culture of appreciation.

Honorees must be mid-career tenured faculty who have made a clear and sustained impact in their field while demonstrating outstanding scholarly standing, professional leadership and service. Recipients must also show strong potential for continued academic distinction. The honor is a permanent, distinguished title awarded alongside a $10,000 increase to base salary.

Vorrapan Chandee

Vorrapan Chandee is an associate professor of mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences and an internationally recognized expert in analytic number theory, with a research focus on L-functions and random matrix theory. Her work has had a major impact in the field, including resolving a long-standing problem about moments of L-functions that had remained unsolved for more than 50 years.

Chandee's research has received national and international recognition and support. She has served as sole principal investigator on two National Science Foundation grants, totaling $325,000, and was one of only 50 North American mathematicians selected as a 2025 Simons Fellow in Mathematics. She has also been invited to speak at leading institutions, including the Institute for Advanced Study and the Clay Mathematics Institute.

At K-State, Chandee maintains an active leadership presence through seminars and curriculum organization, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and teaching both advanced and foundational mathematics courses. She also contributes through outreach efforts such as Math Circles and Sonia Kovalevsky Day, as well as through departmental committee service and participation on NSF review panels. Her international reputation has also helped strengthen graduate student recruitment and visibility for K-State’s number theory program.

Jordan Gebhardt

Jordan Gebhardt is an associate professor of swine production in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology and a member of K‑State's Applied Swine Nutrition Group. Since joining the university in 2020, he has established himself as an internationally recognized expert in swine nutrition, health and feed biosafety, with research focused on improving swine health, production efficiency and disease prevention.

Gebhardt has led or co-led numerous grant-funded research projects, securing more than $9.4 million in funding and authoring more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and more than 220 scientific abstracts and proceedings. His work has had a significant industry impact, particularly in biosecurity and disease mitigation efforts related to high-profile diseases threatening producers and animal health.

His research has informed national biosecurity strategies and contributed to his appointment as lead for feed biosafety efforts within the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan.

In addition to his research accomplishments, Gebhardt is a highly engaged teacher, mentor and outreach leader. He has delivered lectures across multiple departments, mentored more than 30 graduate students and developed strong industry partnerships to support student fellowships and applied research opportunities. He also plays a leading role in organizing major outreach events, including K-State Swine Day and the K-State Swine Profitability Conference, while maintaining a strong national presence through extension publications, interviews and industry engagement.

Travis Linnemann

Travis Linnemann is an associate professor and graduate program director in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work and an internationally recognized criminologist whose work focuses on the war on drugs, policing, media and crime. Since joining K-State in 2019, he has built a substantial body of scholarship that includes five books, 24 peer-reviewed articles, 16 book chapters and numerous commentaries and reviews published by leading academic presses and journals.

Linnemann has demonstrated significant academic leadership through editorial and professional service roles. He has recently completed a five-year term as co-editor of "Crime, Media and Culture," a leading journal in the field, served on multiple editorial boards, including for "Theoretical Criminology," and co-edited a book series with Emerald Publishing.

His scholarly influence is also reflected through invited talks and keynote presentations across the U.S., the United Kingdom and Canada. In 2024, he served as an International Visiting Researcher at the University of Plymouth, where a conference was organized in his honor and he delivered the keynote address.

His work has earned major recognition within criminology, including being named Critical Criminologist of the Year by the American Society of Criminology's Division of Critical Criminology and Social Justice. His book "The Horror of Police" received the Jock Young Criminological Imagination Award in 2022, and his co-authored article "Ghost Criminology: a framework for the discipline's spectral turn" received the Radzinowicz Prize in 2025. He is also a former University Presidential Fellow at Eastern Kentucky University, reflecting a sustained record of excellence in research, teaching and professional leadership.

Alyssa Morris

Alyssa Morris, associate professor of oboe and music theory, is an internationally recognized oboist and composer whose work has earned national and international recognition through performances, compositions, recordings and artistic leadership. Her music has been performed by leading musicians and ensembles throughout the world and featured at major conferences, including the International Double Reed Society, International ClarinetFest and the National Flute Association. As a performer, she has appeared in solo, chamber and concerto performances across the U.S. and internationally.

Morris' creative accomplishments include serving as composer-in-residence for the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and recording multiple professional albums featuring her compositions on internationally distributed labels.

She has also been invited to headline major international events, including the International Double Reed Society Conference, where she performed her concerto "Imperfect" with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and an upcoming recital at Carnegie Hall featuring her compositions.

In addition to her artistic work, Morris is a recognized leader within her profession. She serves as vice president of conference planning for the MidSouth chapter of the International Double Reed Society and founded the Emerging Artists Composition Competition to support young composers. Her work has received numerous honors, including three International Barlow Composition Commission Awards, multiple K-State research and faculty development awards and inclusion of her compositions on the Royal Schools of Music examination list used in 93 countries. Her composition "Where the Colors Fall" was also featured on the Grammy-nominated album "Moxie."