Kansas State University

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you had a great summer and are excited for the 2024-2025 academic year! We want you to have everything you need to thrive. In this and future newsletters, you’ll find useful information, resources and updates about our college and events. We are planning some fun and informative activities for staff and faculty and hope you’ll join us.

Coming up first is our Arts and Sciences Welcome Social at 4 p.m. today, Wed., Aug. 14, in the Alumni Center Tointon Great Room. All staff and faculty members are invited to come catch up with colleagues and meet new faculty members before classes begin. We’ll provide refreshments and the marching band will entertain us as they rehearse in Memorial Stadium!

We also hope you’ll join in at least one of our three ArtSci Drop-By events this semester. All college staff and faculty members are invited to this casual get-together following the Sept. 5, Oct. 3 and Nov. 7 faculty meetings. More details are below.

Watch for our Coffee Collabs, too. They offer an opportunity to learn from university partners and network with colleagues who have similar interests or roles as you.

Lastly, please consider joining in the faculty meetings. We want your input. This semester, we’ll be working on the college strategic plan, developing a workload policy, giving feedback on the new strategic enrollment plan, finding ways to increase efficiencies, and discussing new IT policies.

We continue to work hard to improve our systems and policies, communicate better with everyone in the college, and set the college up for success. If you ever need anything, please contact my office at asdeans@k-state.edu. Your input is valued.

Respectfully,

Chris Culbertson, Dean
Professor of Chemistry

Upcoming events

• New Faculty Welcome
  Wed, Aug. 14 | 3-4 p.m. | Alumni Center Purple Pride Room
  Orientation for new faculty members
• Arts and Sciences Welcome Social
  Wed., Aug. 14 | 4-5 p.m. | Alumni Center Tointon Great Room
  Social for all ArtSci faculty and staff to reconnect with colleagues and meet new faculty members as we kick off the new academic year!
• ArtSci Drop-By
  Thu., Sept. 5 | 5-6:30 p.m. | Union Station by JP’s
  Informal social gathering for all ArtSci faculty and staff

Tell your students! – Week of Welcome Ice Cream Social

Wed., Aug. 21 | noon-1 p.m. | Calvin Hall Lawn
ArtSci students are invited to meet fellow students and college leadership while enjoying Call Hall ice cream!

Faculty Meetings

First Thursday of every month | 4-5 p.m. | 114 Willard Hall (in fall)
All faculty and staff are welcome, but only faculty members who are eligible to vote in elections for Faculty Senate may vote.

• Sept. 5
• Oct. 3
• Nov. 7
• Dec. 5
• Feb. 6
• March 6
• April 3
• May 1  

Important dates

• Fall academic term begins – Mon., Aug. 19 
• Wildcat Pause Day – Fri., Oct. 11 
• Fall break – Nov. 24-30 
• Last day of classes – Fri., Dec. 6 
• Finals week – Dec. 9-13
• Arts and Sciences Commencement – Sat., Dec. 14

Share your department’s events!

We encourage you to tell us about your department’s events and add them to K-State’s event calendar on Localist. Tag the college in your event entry, under Departments, if you want the event to populate to the college’s event calendar and homepage. To share events with us or get help submitting events to Localist, contact Marcia Locke, marcia@ksu.edu.

Faculty and staff resources

Many policies, forms, awards and other resources are accessible on the college’s Faculty and Staff Resources page, located under our ‘About’ tab.

Nominate an ArtSci coworker for the Staff Spotlight Award!

Show off our college’s great staff members by nominating them for the university’s Staff Spotlight Award! This monthly award honors university support and professional staff for their excellent service to the K-State community. Winners are featured in K-State Today and receive $100 from the President’s Office. Anyone can nominate eligible employees. Nominations are due by the first of each month.

Mentor an Arts and Sciences student!

Consider helping our students transition from college to career by serving as a mentor in our ArtSci Mentorship Program! We invite faculty, staff and alums from all professions to participate. There is special interest in biology, chemistry, data science, economics, graphic design, health and law/legal.

The fall 2024 program begins Sept. 9 and ends in December. Apply by Sept. 2. Create a WildcatLink account and request membership in the ArtSci Mentorship Program. Once approved, you’ll receive emails via the WildcatLink platform regarding orientation and next steps.

To learn more, contact the program’s coordinator, Zac Malcolm, at malcoz@ksu.edu, and read this story about some mentors and why they do it. 

9-Month Employees

Your first paycheck will deposit 9/13/2024. The last paycheck of the academic year will deposit 6/6/2025. Pay periods and pay dates for the academic year can be found below.

Conflict of Interest

All full-time faculty and unclassified staff and other employees who have potential or possible conflicts of interest or time commitment must disclose relevant significant financial interest. Please complete your Conflict of Interest form as soon as possible. Log into HRIS -> Employee Self Service -> Personal Information -> Conflict of Interest. We will begin sending reminder emails to all who have not completed theirs August 30.

HealthQuest Reminder

To receive your premium discount for 2025 health insurance, you are required to earn 40 credits before 12/31/2024.

• Once you’ve earned 40 credits, print the page from your HealthQuest portal, accessible on the State of Kansas HealthQuest page.
• You’ll need to set up a new account if you haven’t done so yet in 2024.
• Enter your employee ID.

More information is on K-State’s HealthQuest page.

Hiring a Student Employee (Shared Services departments only)

It is important that student employees complete hiring paperwork before they begin working. Complete the Student Hire form, have your department head sign and date it, and then send it to ashumanresources@ksu.edu. We will work as quickly as we can to get your student hired.

Email Addresses to know if your department uses Shared Services

Accounting-related inquiries (purchase orders, travel, BPC, reimbursements, etc.): sscas@ksu.edu

HR-related inquires (how to view paycheck, change tax allowances and update retirement; health insurance info; etc.): ashumanresources@ksu.edu

Time and leave reporting or help: astime@ksu.edu

2024–2025 Paid Holidays

9/2/2024          Labor Day Holiday

11/11/2024      Veterans Day Holiday*

11/28/2024      Thanksgiving Holiday

11/29/2024      Thanksgiving Holiday

Continue reading “TIMELY REMINDERS FROM HUMAN RESOURCES” →

Many personnel changes have occurred in the Dean’s Office and among our department heads since late spring. Congratulations to all who were hired, appointed and promoted!

Dean’s Office core leadership changes

• Mary Cain, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
• Christie Launius, Associate Dean for Student Success, Engagement and Undergraduate Studies, replacing Melinda Cro
• Ben Stark, Assistant Dean for Infrastructure and Faculty Support

Dean’s Office support staff new positions

• Zac Malcolm, Director of Recruitment
• Paige Altwegg, Recruitment Coordinator

Dean’s Office support staff promotions

• Elli Archer, Academic Advising Practices Administrator
• Sonya Baker, Curriculum Integrity Manager
• Jami Harrison, Degree Analyst
• Lori LaVezzi, Assistant Director of Student Services
• Becky O’Donnell, Manager of Curriculum Development
• Kaela Urquhart, Assistant Director of Interdisciplinary Programs

(announcement of all)

Department head changes

• Val Padilla Carroll, Interim Head, Social Transformation Studies
• Pietro Poggi-Corradini, Head, Mathematics
• Heather Woods, Director, A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication
• Jeffrey Zamostny, Head, Modern Languages

Congratulations to Arts and Sciences advisors Molly Berstein (left) and Emily Mann on receiving Charlie Awards from the K-State Advisor Forum! The peer nominated award recognizes outstanding academic advisors for their hard work and dedication. It celebrates those who creatively engage in their work, have a positive impact on students, and demonstrate leadership.

Bernstein, the academic advisor for the art department, received the May award.

“Molly is patient and informative when working with her own students, and very helpful and responsive when working with other advisors who have students considering art minors.” Read more

Mann, an academic advisor for the college, received the August award.

“Emily’s advisees are lucky to have such an amazing advocate in their corner helping them to succeed.” Read more