Kansas State University

Kansas State University, officially named Kansas State University of Agriculture and Applied Science^[5] but commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States. A branch campus, including the College of Technology and Aviation, is located in Salina, Kansas. Kansas State has an official enrollment of 23,520 students for the 2008–2009 school year.^[6]

History

Kansas State University, originally named Kansas State Agricultural College, was founded on February 16, 1863 as a Land Grant institution under the Morrill Act.^[7] The school was the first Land Grant college newly created under the Morrill Act although several other universities claim to be the oldest Land Grant school.^[7] K-State is the fourth-oldest school in the Big 12 Conference and the oldest public university in the state of Kansas.

The institution was initially located on the grounds of the old Bluemont Central College, which was incorporated in Manhattan by the Kansas Territorial legislature in 1858.^[8] The university moved to its present site in 1875.^[7]

The early years of the institution witnessed debate over whether the college should provide a focused agricultural education or a full liberal arts education. During this era, the tenor of the school shifted with the tenure of the Presidents. For example, President John A. Anderson (1873-1879) favored a limited education and President George T. Fairchild (1879-1897) favored a classic liberal education.^[7] Also during this era, in 1882, the study of home economics originated at Kansas State. Currently, the university offers a full range of majors and many graduate programs.

Dickens Hall, from a 1907 postcard

Recent history

The name of the school was changed in 1931 to Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science. In 1959, the name was changed again to Kansas State University to reflect a growing number of graduate programs^[9]. From 1943 to 1950, Milton S. Eisenhower was President of the University, being succeeded by Dr. James McCain, who served from 1950 to 1975. Buildings, including residence halls and a student union, were added to the campus in the 1950s. The 1960s witnessed demonstrations against the Vietnam war, though fewer than at other college campuses. Enrollment was relatively high through most of the 1970s, but the university endured a downward spiral from approximately 1976 to 1986, when enrollment decreased to 17,570 and a number of faculty resigned. In 1986, Dr. Jon Wefald assumed the presidency of Kansas State University. The university community responded well to Wefald's management style, and enrollment and donations increased under his leadership. Wefald also introduced an innovative student recruitment office, which lured students from all over Kansas and the United States, and expanded the international student program. On May 12, 2008, Wefald announced that he would retire at the end of the 2008-2009 academic year.^[10]

Several of the buildings on the campus including Cardwell Hall, Ward Hall, Waters Hall, Weber Hall, Call Hall, the engineering complex, the Wind Erosion Laboratory and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house were heavily damaged by an EF4 tornado on June 11, 2008. Total damage estimates were at $20 million plus. ^[11]

Historic buildings

After the school moved to its present location in 1875, Holtz Hall was the first new building erected, in 1876.^[7] It is now the oldest free-standing building on campus. The signature building at Kansas State University, Anderson Hall, was erected in three stages between 1877 and 1884. The building, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has housed the University's administrative offices for more than a century.

Academic profile

Anderson Hall

Since 1986, Kansas State ranks first nationally among state universities in its total of Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall scholars with 124 recipients.^[12]

Kansas State University has 60 academic departments in nine colleges: Agriculture; Architecture, Planning, and Design; Arts and Sciences; Business Administration; Education; Engineering; Human Ecology; Technology and Aviation; and Veterinary Medicine. The graduate school offers nearly 100 master's degree programs and nearly 50 doctoral programs.

In 1991, the former Kansas Technical Institute in Salina, Kansas was merged with Kansas State University by an act of the Kansas legislature. The College of Technology and Aviation is located at the Salina campus, and is commonly referred to as K-State Salina.

K-State is also known for its distinguished lecture series: Landon Lecture, Lou Douglas Lecture, Huck Boyd Lecture and Dorothy Thompson Civil Rights series.

K-State implemented an academic honor code in 1999.^[13] When students are admitted, it is implied that they will adhere to the Honor Pledge: "On my honor, as a student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic work."

Research and cultural resources

Physics

Hale Library

Among the university's research facilities are the James R. Macdonald Laboratory for research in atomic, molecular and optical physics and the NASA Center for Gravitational Studies in Cellular and Developmental Biology. The excimer laser, which made LASIK eye surgery possible, is among the inventions discovered by Kansas State researchers.^[14]

Other research facilities include:

• Insitute for Environmental Research
• The National Gas Machinery Laboritory
• TRIGA Mark II Nuclear Research Facility
• Semiconductor Materials and Radiological Technologies (S.M.A.R.T.) Laboratory
• Center for Complex Fluid Flows

Agriculture

The university has had a long-standing interest in agriculture, particularly native Great Plains plant and animal life. The Kansas State University Gardens is an on-campus horticulture display garden that serves as an educational resource and learning laboratory for K-State students and the public. The Konza Prairie is a native tallgrass prairie preserve located south of Manhattan, which is co-owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University and operated as a field research station by the Department of Biology. The university also owns an additional 18,000 acres across the state that it operates as Agricultural Experiment Stations in research centers in Hays, Garden City, Colby, and Parsons.

Arts and culture

The university is home to several museums, including the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, the KSU Historic Costume and Textile Museum, and the Chang, Chapman and Kemper Galleries which feature faculty and student artwork. The university also offers an annual cycle of performance art, including concerts, plays and dance, at McCain Auditorium.^[15]

Waters Quad just North of Hale Library

Landon Lecture Series

The Landon Lecture Series is offered by Kansas State University for students, faculty and the community. The Landon Lecture Series is named in honor of former Kansas governor and presidential candidate, Alfred Landon.

Prominent leaders and former leaders, primarily political or heads of government, have given speeches in the series. On January 23, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush delivered the University's 143rd Landon Lecture at Bramlage Coliseum. On March 2, 2007, his predecessor, Bill Clinton, delivered the 149th Landon Lecture.^[16] On September 23, 2008, former Mexican president Vicente Fox gave the 152nd Landon Lecture on that afternoon.^[17] Overall, six U.S. Presidents and three foreign presidents have given Landon Lectures at K-State.^[18] There are approximately four speakers per year.

Intercollegiate athletics

Main article: Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State's sports teams are called the Wildcats. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and the Big 12 Conference. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple, making Kansas State one of very few schools (including also Syracuse and Harvard) that have only one official color; white and silver are commonly used as complementary colors.^[19]

Sports include football, basketball, cross country and track, baseball, golf, tennis, rowing, equestrian and volleyball. The current athletic director is Bob Krause. The head football coach is Bill Snyder, the men's head basketball coach is Frank Martin, and the head woman's basketball coach is Deb Patterson.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Kansas State University people

Beginning with the first graduating class in 1867^[20], a number of Kansas State alumns have gone on to distinguished careers. Presently, both U.S. Senators from Kansas are graduates of Kansas State University. Other graduates currently serve as the Vice-President of Liberia, the Chancellor of the University of Colorado-Boulder, and the Chief Operating Officer of the Cincinnati Reds. Kansas State alums have been enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, and have earned Emmy Awards and Olympic gold medals.

Campus

The main campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan covers 668 acres. Since 1986, Kansas State has added over 2 million square feet (186,000 m²) of buildings to the campus, including a new library, art museum and plant sciences building.

Main campus buildings

Campus Map

Northern Campus in October

• Ackert Hall
• Ahearn Field House
• Anderson Hall
• Beach Museum of Art
• Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium
• Bluemont Hall
• Boyd Hall
• Bramlage Coliseum
• Brandeberry Indoor Complex
• Burt Hall
• Bushnell Hall
• Call Hall
• Calvin Hall
• Campus Creek Complex
• Cardwell Hall
• Chalmers Hall
• Chemistry & Biochemistry Building
• Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex
• Coles Hall
• College Court Building
• Danforth & All Faiths Chapels
• Davenport Building
• Derby Food Center
• Dickens Hall
• Dole Hall
• Durland Hall
• Dykstra Hall
• Edwards Hall
• Eisenhower Hall
• English/Counseling Services
• Environmental Research Lab
• Extension Forestry Facilities
• Fairchild Hall

Bluemont Bell and Dickens Hall

• Feed Technology
• Fiedler Hall
• Ford Hall
• Gen. Richard B. Myers Hall
• Goodnow Hall
• Greenhouse D - Conservatory
• Hale Library
• Haymaker Hall
• Hoeflin Stone House
• Holton Hall
• Holtz Hall
• International Student Center
• Jardine Terrace Apartments
• Justin Hall
• Kansas Artificial Breeding Service Unit
• K-State Student Union
• Kedzie Hall
• King Hall
• Kramer Food Center
• Leasure Hall
• Margaret Ahlborn/Ula Dow Cottage
• Marlatt Hall
• McCain Auditorium
• Memorial Stadium
• Moore Hall
• Mosier Hall
• Nichols Hall
• Pittman Building
• Power Plant
• Putnam Hall
• Rathbone Hall
• Seaton Hall
• Shellenberger Hall
• Straube House, UFM Community Learning Center
• Thompson Hall
• Throckmorton Hall
• Trotter Hall
• Umberger Hall
• Van Zile Hall
• Ward Hall
• Waters Hall
• Weber Hall
• West Hall
• Willard Hall
• Wind Erosion Laboratory

Student life

Residential life

Kansas State has 10 residence halls on campus: Boyd Hall, Ford Hall, Goodnow Hall, Haymaker Hall, Marlatt Hall, Moore Hall, West Hall, Putnam Hall, Van Zile Hall, and Smurthwaite as well as the KSU Jardine Apartments. Ford and Boyd Halls are all female and Marlatt Hall is all male. The residence halls are divided into three complexes: Derby, Kramer, and Strong. ^[21]

Student organizations

Kansas State has more than 400 student organizations.^[22]

The Student Governing Association is the largest organization of student leaders composed of elected and appointed officials. The Student Governing Association is modeled after the U.S. government, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

The Executive Branch of SGA is composed of a Student Body President and Student Body Vice President (elected at large by the student body) and their appointed cabinet members, who must be approved by the Student Senate.

The Legislative Branch of SGA is composed of a Student Senate; Senators are elected by the students who are part of his or her respective college in which they run to represent, and serve one-year terms. It is also composed of five standing committees, which are the Student Council Allocations Committee, Governmental Relations Committee, Senate Operations Committee, Privilege Fee Committee, and the University Relations Committee.

The Judicial Branch of SGA is composed of five main judicial boards - Student Tribunal, Student Review Board, Parking Citations Appeals Board, Judicial Council, and Housing & Dining Services Judicial Boards - and other judges appointed through a needed Ad Hoc judicial board when deemed necessary by the student Attorney General and judicial branch advisor. Judicial board members are nominated by the SGA Attorney General and the Student Body President, in consultation with the Student Senate Chair and must be approved by the Student Senate. Judicial board members serve one-year terms.^[23]

The highest ranking of these judicial boards is the Student Tribunal, where its members, the Chancellor and Associate Justices, interpret the Constitution of SGA, tries bills of impeachment, and acts as the final appellate court of the judiciary before appeals go to the University President.

All SGA judicial boards are headed by the student Attorney General; he or she is nominated by the Attorney General Nominee Interview Committee, which is composed of six student senators appointed by the Student Senate Chair, and three judicial members appointed by the current Attorney General or Chancellor of the Student Tribunal, where they recommend the selected student to the Student Body President for appointment.

GSA is the Graduate Student Association, members include KSU Master of Business students.

Student media

Radio Station: Wildcat 91.9 Student Radio
Newspaper: Kansas State Collegian
Yearbook: Royal Purple Yearbook
Television: Purple Power Hour & Manhattan Matters

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Athletics website