Advancing our vision for the university's engagement enterprise

Dear K-State community,

Last spring, I shared our transition plan for the Office of External Engagement — a plan designed to ensure our continued momentum across the university's engagement enterprise while we evaluated our greatest needs and planned for a more permanent structure.

During this time, Dr. Ernie Minton has been serving as our interim associate vice president for extension and engagement, providing oversight to engaged scholarship, economic development, K-State Extension, Military and Veterans Affairs, the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, McCain Auditorium and the K-State Gardens. Additionally, Dr. Thomas Lane was named interim chief of staff in late June, serving in a 50% role to continue advancing critical institutional and presidential priorities while maintaining his roles as vice president for academic success and student affairs and dean of students. They both continue to do an incredible job fostering continuity during this time of transition, and I am ever grateful for their leadership as we drive forward together toward our future state.

To that end, I am excited to announce that we have launched national searches for two permanent positions: vice president for engagement and extension and chief of staff to the president.

Vice president for engagement and extension

The vice president for engagement and extension will:

• Champion and steer K-State's engagement and extension mission, driving the connection of the university's intellectual and operational resources with communities and citizens across Kansas and beyond.
• Provide leadership for K-State's governmental affairs team, directing the university's comprehensive legislative and regulatory advocacy strategy.
• Lead the university's strategic economic development agenda, working in close partnership with the vice president for research to position K-State as a driver of business attraction, innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development and community prosperity throughout Kansas and the region.

To drive these critical functions across the institution, the vice president will provide executive leadership and oversight for the Office of External Engagement, Office of Government Relations, Office of Economic Development and K-State Extension, working closely with the leaders of these units to advance our engagement vision.

The vice president will also maintain a strong relationship with the dean of the College of Agriculture, ensuring that critical connections among the college, K-State Extension and the university's overall engagement enterprise remain strong.

Chief of staff to the president

The chief of staff to the president will:

• Serve as a senior advisor, championing institutional priorities and alignment.
• Lead special projects and institutional initiatives, bringing structure, accountability and momentum to efforts that span multiple units and stakeholders.
• Strengthen relationships with faculty, staff, students, governing boards, community partners and public officials by serving as a key connector between the president and broader university and external communities.
• Advance a culture of collaboration, clarity and results.

The chief of staff will provide direct supervision to the deputy chief of staff and executive director of military and veterans affairs, as well as the leaders of three university cultural assets: McCain Auditorium, the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the K-State Gardens.

The position profile and search committee for each position are available on the Office of the President's administrative searches web page.

Additionally, to ensure clarity across the totality of our transition plan, the following functions will remain where they were placed last spring:

• Interdisciplinary Program Development and the Office of Corporate Engagement will continue to report to the Office of the Vice President for Research.
• The Division of Communications and Marketing will continue to report to the Office of the President.
• Civil Rights and Title IX will continue to report to Human Resources, with chief human resources officer Shanna Legleiter reporting directly to the Office of the President on matters related to civil rights and Title IX.

I recognize that any transition in leadership and/or structure can raise questions and uncertainty, but such transitions also provide an incredible opportunity to create new pathways for collaboration and ideation. The recently announced partnership to strengthen industry collaboration is just one example of the type of innovation that has emerged during this transition period — one that shows the power of getting the right functions in the right spaces.

I want to thank all of our faculty and staff across the university's engagement enterprise for their continued dedication, resilience and adaptivity through transition and change. I look forward to continuing to work alongside you as a champion of our land-grant mission — and together, we will continue to advance our institutional imperative of engagement.

Go 'Cats!

Richard Linton
President