Jon Wefald

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Jon Wefald (born November 24, 1937, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American educator and the twelfth President of Kansas State University, holding that position since 1986.

Wefald was born in Minneapolis and moved, at age six, with his family to Minot, North Dakota. After high school, he attended Pacific Lutheran University. There, in 1959, he earned a B.A. in History. Wefald earned his M.A. in Political Science from Washington State University in 1961, and Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan in 1965.

In 1965, Wefald returned to Minnesota, taking his first faculty position at Gustavus Adolphus College, where he taught history for six years. In 1970, he was a campaign manager for Hubert Humphrey's successful return to the U.S. Senate for a fourth term.^{[citation needed]} From 1971 to 1976, he served as Minnesota's Commissioner of Agriculture, and guest lectured. In 1976, he became President of Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota. In 1982, he became a Chancellor for the University of Minnesota system.

In July 1986, Wefald began his service as president of Kansas State University. In this position, he has worked to expand the library, add more classroom buildings, and recruit from around the United States. Wefald also donated personal funds to create the Jon Wefald Debate Center for the University's debate team, which opened in Kedzie Hall in January 2007. Wefald has now had the second-longest term of any Kansas State President, trailing only the 25-year tenure of James McCain.

Presidents of Kansas State University
Joseph Denison (1863–1873) • John Alexander Anderson (1873–1879) • George Fairchild (1879–1897) • Thomas Elmer Will (1897–1899) • Ernest R. Nichols (1899–1909) • Henry J. Waters (1909–1917) • William Marion Jardine (1918–1925) • Francis Farrell (1925–1943) • Milton S. Eisenhower (1943–1950) • James McCain (1950–1975) • Duane Acker (1975–1986) • Jon Wefald (1986–)