Selected through a competitive nomination, application and interview process, these fellows will serve as ambassadors advancing K-State's mission of engagement and helping to elevate our role as the next-generation land-grant university.
Over the next three years, the Presidential Engagement Fellows will represent K-State during school and community visits across Kansas, help lead engagement initiatives and contribute to strategies that strengthen our university's statewide impact.
Meet the 2025-2028 Cohort
Stephen Higgs
Biosecurity Research Institute director, associate vice president for research, Peine Professor of Biosecurity and University Distinguished Professor in diagnostic medicine and pathobiology
Stephen Higgs joined K-State in 2011 as an associate vice president for research and director of the Biosecurity Research Institute, or BRI. Higgs is an elected Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Royal Entomological Society. He is also an internationally recognized expert on infectious diseases, specifically zoonotic viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, with over 220 publications plus 25 book chapters. With institutional, state, federal and industry funding, Higgs oversees the BRI’s multidisciplinary research, education and training programs that increase both our knowledge and understanding of human, livestock, plant and food-borne pathogens, and grows the expert workforce to prepare and protect the United States from biological threats to agriculture.
Cassandra Jones
Department of Animal Sciences and Industry professor and teaching coordinator, College of Agriculture
Cassie Jones is a professor and teaching coordinator in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry at K-State. Jones coordinates the animal science undergraduate teaching program, which is the largest major on campus with more than 1,000 undergraduate students. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in animal nutrition and is an internationally recognized researcher focused on preventing pathogens in animal feed. Cassie and her husband, Spencer, have three children, Ty, Hayden and Hadley, own a livestock market and raise Angus and Balancer cattle in Wabaunsee County.
Theresa Merrick Cassidy
Department of English Writing Center assistant director and senior instructor, College of Arts and Sciences
Theresa Merrick Cassidy is the assistant director of the Writing Center at K-State and teaches technical and professional writing in the Department of English. She is part of a team researching and developing resources for teaching in the age of AI, with a special focus on best practices for writing and AI. Each year, she delivers more than 70 campus, state and national workshops that help writers communicate effectively in their research, workplaces and industries.
Brandon Savage
Department of Management instructor, College of Business Administration
After twenty years working in industry, Brandon Savage now teaches operations, logistics, supply chain and project management at K-State’s College of Business Administration. He’s known for making classes practical and engaging, and he’s especially passionate about giving students hands-on experiences that tackle real challenges. Savage serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity of the Northern Flint Hills and helps support efforts to expand affordable housing for local workers. He also draws on his background in business and AI consulting to help connect students, businesses and community groups in meaningful, service-driven ways.
Darrin Smith
K-State Olathe associate dean of faculty, research and administration, and associate professor
Darrin Smith is associate dean for faculty, research and administration at K-State Olathe and a member of the leadership team advancing initiatives in curriculum development, research and strategic partnerships. He also holds an associate professor appointment in the School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Studies, with expertise in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry. Prior to joining K-State, he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Avila University, worked in industry as a senior field service engineer with Waters Corporation, and held faculty and leadership roles at Eastern Kentucky University. A champion of collaboration, innovation and lifelong learning, Smith brings a distinctive blend of scientific knowledge, administrative leadership and creative drive to advancing science and higher education across Kansas.
Yue Teng Vaughan
Department of Hospitality Management assistant professor, College of Health and Human Sciences
Yue Teng Vaughan is an assistant professor of hospitality management at Kansas State University. Her research focuses on the intersection of strategic sustainability, corporate governance and innovation within hospitality and consumer sciences. She leads funded projects on environmental, social and governance education, AI integration and agritourism development, advancing public scholarship and interdisciplinary collaboration. Committed to applied learning and community impact, Vaughan empowers students and stakeholders to create socially responsible, future-ready solutions.
Linda Yarrow
Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health teaching assistant professor, College of Health and Human Sciences
Linda Yarrow is a teaching assistant professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Kansas State University, where she teaches medical nutrition therapy to undergraduate and graduate students. She is the founder and co-director of the Guatemala Service-Learning Program in the College of Health and Human Sciences, a program that blends academic learning with immersive global experiences. Yarrow has received numerous honors for her teaching, including the K-State Presidential Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Excellence in College and University Teaching Award. Outside of academia, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and finds inspiration in the quote by William Butler Yeats, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”