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BIOS
Dan Richardson
John Pascarella
Lindy Eakin
Roberta Robinson
Terri Bogina
Mary Lou Peter
Bryan Severns
Andrena Keesee
Renee Hultgren
Teresa M. Woods
Debbie Kirchhoff
Dan Richardson
Chief executive officer
drichar@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
Richardson, who was approached in 2007 to lead K-State's newest campus, brings experience in both academia and industry to his position as CEO of K-State Olathe. He began his career in industry at Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. in 1991 and was most recently its vice president, clinical nutrition, and chief animal welfare veterinarian. He has traveled internationally, teaching and conducting research on how to prevent disease in animals by making them stronger through nutrition. Fifteen years of academia preceded his years in industry.
A graduate of K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, Richardson served as a faculty member at North Carolina State and Purdue universities. He received the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award for clinical and teaching excellence at both universities. An expert in veterinary orthopedics and clinical nutrition, he's also a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, having completed a surgery/medicine internship at Auburn University and a surgical residency at the University of Tennessee.
John Pascarella
Associate dean for academic and research programs
jbpascar@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
Pascarella's role at K-State Olathe is to facilitate the development of academic programs and research partnerships that will bring the knowledge and skills of the faculty at K-State to serve the needs of Johnson County and the Kansas City metropolitan area. While technology will help to overcome the distance between the two campuses and will be an important focus, Pascarella believes that face-to-face interaction is important in learning and teaching, particularly in laboratory settings.
Pascarella grew up in Prairie Village and considers Johnson County his home. After graduating from the University of Kansas with double majors in biology and Latin American studies, he continued his education at the University of Miami in Florida and earned a doctorate in biology, focusing on tropical forest dynamics. Pascarella was a research scientist in Puerto Rico and Florida before joining the biology department at Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Ga. After 11 years at Valdosta State, he spent two years as associate dean of faculty and research programs at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Ga., where he helped develop new graduate programs and supported college research efforts.
Lindy Eakin
Director of fiscal affairs
leakin@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
In his role as director of fiscal affairs, Eakin handles overall financial strategy and planning. A native of Houston, he attended the University of Kansas and earned a bachelor's degree in business and a master of business administration, as well as a master's and doctorate in history as he ascended the ranks in financial management at KU. He went from working as a graduate student to eventually becoming vice provost of administration and finance at KU. Eakin also taught history classes at KU prior to joining the staff of K-State Olathe.
Roberta Robinson
Administrative assistant to the associate dean for academic and research programs
robertar@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
Robinson is a lifelong K-Stater. She grew up in Wamego and earned a degree in early childhood education from K-State. She worked for several years in early childhood education and owned a day care during her years after graduation. Robinson has worked for K-State in various capacities since 1987. In 1999 she and her husband moved to Des Moines, where she worked for the Iowa Communications Network before moving back to Manhattan in 2003. She was hired as the assistant to the associate dean of research and graduate programs at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine. She made the move to Olathe in 2009 to work for the K-State Olathe campus.
Terri Bogina
Administrative assistant to the chief executive officer
tbogina@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
As administrative assistant to the K-State Olathe CEO, Bogina manages the office, accounting, organizes committees and arranges the CEO's schedule. Bogina worked at Sprint for 21 years and then as an administrative assistant at the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, which promotes life sciences in the area. She is a lifelong Johnson County resident and attended Pittsburg State University.
Mary Lou Peter
Communications manager
mlpeter@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220 (office) or 785-564-2774 (cell)
As communications manager, Peter writes news releases, takes inquiries from the media, works with advertisers and is the liaison with K-State's Division of Communications and Marketing.
Peter grew up in Kansas City, Kan. Before joining the staff of K-State Olathe, she spent 11 years as a writer, editor and news coordinator for K-State Research and Extension, first in Manhattan and now in Olathe. Before coming home to Kansas in 1999, she spent nine years with the Reuters news bureau in Chicago as a correspondent and editor. Prior to that, she was director of industry issues for National Meat Association in Oakland, Calif., and also has worked for Vance Publishing Co. and Knight-Ridder Financial News. She earned a bachelor's degree from K-State and is a graduate of the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership Program.
Bryan Severns
Food services and programs manager
brysev@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
A Denver native, Severns has spent the last 30 years in the restaurant and hospitality industry. He has worked as a chef in operations as diverse as hunting camps, restaurants, inns and luxury hotels. Before returning to K-State for a food science degree, he taught 11 years at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., with an emphasis on meats and food safety. Along with his bachelor's degree in food science and industry from K-State in 2010, Severns has a culinary arts degree from Johnson and Wales University. He is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists and the Research Chefs Association.
Andrena Keesee
Facilities manager
andrena@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
Keesee brings years of experience in facility management and team project construction management to her role at K-State Olathe. She grew up in Overland Park but her career took her to several states before bringing her back to Kansas. She spent more than 10 years with the Louisiana State University Libraries in Baton Rouge as facilities manager of the Middleton Library, and four years as facilities and office services manager with Vanstar Corp., a technology services company in Roswell, Ga. She also has worked in the insurance and financial services industry as an agency administrative operations manager. The work took her to positions in Kansas City, Atlanta and New York.
Keesee earned bachelor's and master's degrees in speech and language pathology at K-State, and was a speech pathologist in special education cooperatives and public schools in Kansas and Texas. She is an active member of the International Facility Management Association, serving as the website co-chair and as a board member of the Kansas City chapter.
Renee Hultgren
Events coordinator
reneeh@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
Hultgren's primary responsibilities include marketing, developing and coordinating conferences, workshops, meetings, facility space reservations and special events for K-State Olathe and its clients.
She came to K-State Olathe after serving three years as the community relations and volunteer coordinator for the De Soto (Kan.) School District, and three years as the championships event administrator with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in Kansas City, Mo. She also worked as the marketing and event manager for the Parkinson's Disease Association of San Diego, assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions at the University of San Diego, and in marketing for the Licensing Resource Group Inc., Holland, Mich., and the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Hultgren earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master's degree in education from Wichita State University.
Teresa M. Woods
Coordinator for the Olathe educational partnership
twoods@k-state.edu or 913-541-1220
Woods, a doctoral candidate in curriculum and instruction, is currently a graduate research assistant at the K-State Olathe campus, serving as coordinator for the Olathe educational partnership.
A research biologist with an extensive background in education, her current focus is science curriculum development. She has taught grades 4-12 in both outdoor and traditional classrooms. She also has taught undergraduate biology and graduate teacher training and professional development. She earned a bachelor's in environmental education from Prescott College in Arizona; a Waldorf education teaching certificate from Emerson College in England; and her master's in biology from K-State. Woods has earned scientific research awards from Sigma Xi and the Botanical Society of America.
She also has consulted with organizations to help develop award-winning curricula and programs. She is known for bringing scientists and teachers together to collaborate, and her research interests are in exploring such partnerships.
Debbie Kirchhoff
Director of development
debbiek@found.ksu.edu or 913-541-1220
As director of development, Kirchoff is implementing a comprehensive development program to support K-State Olathe's mission by building individual, corporate and foundation relationships.
Prior to coming to K-State, she served as major gift director for the University of Missouri-Kansas City's College of Arts and Sciences. She also held development director and executive director positions at not-for-profit organizations in the Greater Kansas City area, including the Kansas Children's Service League, Sunshine Center School and Safehome.
Kirchoff earned Certified Fundraising Executive designation from CFRE International. She is active in a number of professional organizations, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, where she is president of the board of directors. She earned her bachelor's in business from K-State and her master of business administration from Mid-America Nazarene University.