Kansas State University

HOW CAN ALUMNI GET INVOLVED AND SUPPORT K-STATE GEOGRAPHY?

We have been working hard to implement recommendations of the KSU Geography Alumni Board to increase the variety of ways that our alumni can interact with and support the Department of Geography.

1.  To keep-up with events and news in the department, take a look at the department’s web site (www.ksu.edu/geography) and click on “K-State Geography in the News” for links to multiple news releases. Also, the weekly K-State Globe and annual Geography Alumni Newsletter are posted at our departmental website.
2.  In recent years, we have hosted a reception for K-State Geography alumni, students and faculty at the AAG Annual Meeting. We did this once again at the 2014 AAG Meeting in the city of Tampa on April 10.
3.  Make a donation to support K-State Geography students and/or other department needs. You can do this by sending a check to the K-State Foundation, payable to them, but remember to add a note in the memo line of your check that the funds are to be deposited in account F26200, the Geography Foundation Account. You can mail your check to us and we will make sure it is passed along to the Foundation. Or, mail it directly to the K-State Foundation at 2323 Anderson Drive, Manhattan, KS 66502-2911. You can specify how your donation is to be used, or designate it as discretionary funds to be used where most needed. Our three biggest needs are:
   1. Student scholarships: one of the existing named scholarships (see the list elsewhere in this newsletter), or make a donation to be applied to scholarships where most needed.
   2. Student development: funds to travel to professional meetings where students present their research, or funds to support student participation in professional development workshops. For example, the Geography Faculty Development Workshop held at the University of Connecticut is one workshop each summer that would be of great benefit to our doctoral students, but carries a $1200 registration fee.
   3. Funds for teaching equipment in our classrooms and labs.
4. Consider a major gift for a new specific purpose that is important to you. For instance, a $30,000 donation will support an annual $1500 student scholarship or award. A $100,000 endowment will support a $5000 annual award for outstanding faculty. A $250,000 endowment would establish a lecture series with $12,500 per year in expendable funds to pay for honoraria, publicity and expenses of guest lecturers in geography. If you would like to make an impact on the Department of Geography you can contact Sheila Walker, Director of Development for the College of Arts and Sciences at the KSU Foundation, about opportunities and information at 785-532-7511 or 800-432-1578 (e-mail: sheilaw@found.ksu.edu).
5. Join us at our annual Spring GTU/Geography Awards Banquet, which will be held on or close to the campus in late-April 2015.
6. Every February since 2008, the Geography Alumni Board has organized a Geography Career Day. Several government agencies and private firms interview a large number of students. Alumni give short presentations to all interested students on resume preparation and interview skills. Consider participating if you are in a position to hire geographers.
7. Visit the department and offer to give a department colloquium or Brown Bag Lunch seminar about your professional or travel experiences. We would love to hear about it.