Kansas State University

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you enjoyed your summer and are excited for the 2025-2026 year! We look forward to working with you and are here to help you succeed. Our monthly newsletters share useful information, resources and updates about our college and the university.

We are planning some informative and social activities that we hope you’ll take part in. Yesterday, we really enjoyed catching up with many of you and meeting our newest faculty members at our collegewide Welcome Back Social!

On Oct. 2, we’ll host the State of the College. We hope you’ll join us at that and then head over to the Union afterward to socialize at the ‘ArtSci Drop-By’ at JP’s. More details are below.

Please also consider attending our monthly faculty meetings. We want your input. This semester, we’ll be working on strategic enrollment, increasing efficiencies, and new IT procedures.

I also want to make sure you understand several new and updated policies and guidelines set forth by the university in the past few months. Please see the Need-to-Know article below for a review of those affecting all university employees.

The Dean’s Office continuously strives to improve our systems and policies, communicate well with everyone, and set the college up for success. If you ever need anything, please contact us at asdeans@k-state.edu.

Respectfully,

Chris Culbertson, Dean
Professor of Chemistry

The university has announced in the past few months several key initiatives, policies and guidelines affecting K-State employees. Please make sure you understand and follow them as the semester gets underway.

Complying with Kansas Senate Bill 125

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

State-sponsored grants or contracts, university positions, mandates, policies, required employee trainings, programs or “university activities” shall not be used to intentionally give preference to individuals or groups, to the exclusion of others, on the basis of race, color, or national origin. “University activities” do not include curriculum, instruction, or research.

Programs focused on interests in particular cultures, heritages, and areas of the world are permitted if they are open to all students regardless of race, color, or national origin. Additionally, educational and cultural observances that celebrate historical events and contributions or promote awareness do not fall under the definition of DEI as long as they are open to all regardless of race, color, or national origin.

Email signature standards

Employees should refrain from using their K-State email signatures for personal (and political) statements (including gender identifying pronouns or gender ideology), as email is a university-provided resource for conducting university business.

Employees may refer to individuals by their preferred pronouns in verbal and written communication outside of signature blocks. Verbal sharing of pronouns during introductions is allowed but should be done with respect and awareness of role and setting and must not be required or institutionalized.

Learn more

Learn more about these policies from Provost Mendez’s July 9 letter, SB125 requires individual action, and the university’s 2025 Government Transition page.

Political Activity Reminder

KBOR Policy on Political Activities Section 13(d) states that personnel are free to express opinions as an individual in their personal capacity and not as a representative of the institution in signed advertisements, pamphlets and related material in support of or opposition to parties and causes. It should be made plain that each person so doing is acting for himself or herself and not on behalf of an institution supported by tax funds. This includes avoiding the use of university stationery and other official university designations. Employees testifying before the Legislature on behalf of outside entities shall notify their institution’s designated representative prior to testimony.

Learn more from the Guidelines and Governance page.

Digital Accessibility: All online content must be ADA-compliant

To comply with the updated Americans with Disabilities Act, all K-State digital/online content, including university websites, mobile apps, and materials housed on third-party platforms, such as Canvas, must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA standard, by April 24, 2026. This includes public-facing content and authenticated content behind log-in, including digital course materials.

Much work will be needed to remediate current content and learn to create content accessibly in the future. The university is investing in auditing and remediation resources and will offer trainings, workshops and more to help address this during the fall semester.

Learn more about K-State’s Digital Accessibility Initiative.

Below are some of the college’s major upcoming activities. More events, meetings and deadlines will be shared in the college academic calendar soon.

Upcoming events

• K-State Kickoff – Arts and Sciences Session
  Fri., Aug. 22 | 9:30-11:30 | Union Ballroom
  All new students are invited to this informative and fun session with special guests, the Pride of Wildcat Land marching band. A representative from every department will meet with their new majors.
• State of Our University
  Fri., Sept. 5 | 2:30 p.m. | McCain Auditorium
• State of the College
  Thu., Oct. 2 | 4-5 p.m. | 106 Kedzie
• ArtSci Drop-By
  Thu., Oct. 2 | 5-6:30 p.m. | Union Station by JP’s

Tell your students

• Health Professions Networking Night
  Sept. 9 | 5:30-7 p.m. | Union Ballroom
  Cosponsored by College of Health and Human Sciences
• Arts and Sciences Discovery Expo
  Wed., Sept. 10 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | Union Courtyard
  Current and prospective students can visit with every department to learn about their academic programs and applied learning opportunities.
• Helping Professions Networking Night
  Sept. 30 | 5:30-7 p.m. | Union Ballroom
  Cosponsored by College of Health and Human Sciences

Faculty meetings

First Thursday of every month | 4-5 p.m. | Location to be determined

All faculty and staff are welcome. Only faculty members eligible to vote in Faculty Senate elections may vote.

• Sept. 4
• Oct. 2 – State of the College address
• Nov. 6
• Dec. 4
• Feb. 5
• March 5
• April 2
• May 7

Important dates

• Fall academic term begins – Mon., Aug. 25
• Wildcat Pause Day – Fri., Oct. 17 
• Fall Break – Nov. 23-30
• Last day of classes – Fri., Dec. 12
• Finals week – Dec. 15-19
• Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Commencement – Sat., Dec. 13

View full university academic calendar

Promoting your department’s events

To promote your event in the college newsletter, email Marcia Locke a short description and simple image (not text-heavy flyer) by the 20th of the month prior to the month you want it to appear. Newsletters go out during the first week of the month; so, if your event is in the first few days of a month, plan to promote it the month before.

Don’t forget to add your events to K-State’s event calendar on Localist. For your event to populate to the college’s event calendar and homepage, tag “Arts and Sciences, College of” in the “Departments” box.

Please watch your inboxes next week for our college HR Newsletter with more updates and details.

Payroll Dates for Nine-Month Employees

Nine-month employees’ first paychecks will be on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. The last paycheck of the academic year will be deposited on Friday, June 5, 2026. Pay periods and pay dates for the academic year will be distributed according to the standard nine-month pay distribution schedule below.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

All contracted employees must complete the annual Conflict of Interest Form. Please complete yours as soon as possible. Login to HRIS → Employee Self Service → Conflict of Interest. We will start sending reminder emails Aug. 30.

New Time and Leave System

Progress is being made with our new time and leave system and we’re excited about how it will enhance user experience! The new streamlined system, which will impact every employee of K-State, will make managing your time and leave easier. You’ll be able to:

• Clock in/out using a time clock, online portal and/or mobile app (only nonexempt, hourly staff who clock in/out).
• Quickly check your hours, request time off and see your leave balances (all employees).
• Easily approve timecards and leave requests (for supervisors).

After many years of many different systems being used around the university, the new universal system will provide a consistent experience for all, ultimately saving time and effort in training.

It is expected to launch Oct. 12, with training and support leading up to that. Stay tuned for details and visit the Time and Leave System page for more information, updates and FAQs.

2025-2026 Paid Holidays

9/1/2025 – Labor Day Holiday
11/11/2025 – Veteran’s Day Holiday*
11/27/2025 – Thanksgiving Holiday
11/28/2025 – Thanksgiving Holiday
12/25/2025 – Christmas
1/1/2026 – New Year’s Day
1/19/2026 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
5/25/2026 – Memorial Day
6/19/2026 – Juneteenth
7/4/2026 – 4th of July

9-Month Pay Dates

New academic advisors

• Toby Bitner, tbitner@k-state.edu – Humanities, music, philosophy, psychology, theatre
• Hannah Hoffman-Colburn, hannahhoff@k-state.edu – Biochemistry, physics, statistics and data science
• Karen Paulus, kpaulus@k-state.edu – Psychology
• Lindsey Thiele, las3443@k-state.edu – Biology, life science, medical laboratory science

Instructional design support

Due to university restructuring, our instructional designer, Deborah Goins, has moved to the Center for Academic Innovation’s instructional design team. She still supports the College of Arts and Sciences, so feel free to contact her at eflat@k-state.edu if you need help with course design and accessibility.

Department leadership change

Dr. Andrew Orr is the new chair of the history department as of June 9.

Hello everyone,

I am pleased to be the new director of information technology for the College of Arts and Sciences. My family and I relocated to Manhattan from Reno, Nev. I have worked in various IT roles at three universities and several private enterprises.

My wife, Lisa, has a background in elementary education. Our daughter is about to start 7th grade at Anthony Middle School and is excited to join the Konza Youth Choir. Our dog, Rainbow, is a 7-year-old Rottweiler mix who prefers tug-of-war over fetch. When not working, I enjoy exploring with Atlas Obscura, learning with Audible, and playing pickleball.

I’d like to clarify the purpose of having a dedicated IT director for our college. Although some departments have been fortunate to hire individuals to manage their IT systems, the college has not had an IT staff dedicated to serving all departments. Many have relied on Service Level Agreements or individuals pulling double-duty on IT and other obligations.

The university is establishing dedicated IT staff in each college to foster direct relationships with faculty and staff and understand each college’s needs and challenges. This initiative involves multiple phases, the first of which was completed with my hiring. The second focuses on evaluating our college’s specific needs. We have formed a task force consisting primarily of faculty members from across the college, and a steering committee that includes staff members serving multiple IT roles for the college and their own departments.

My goal is to equitably meet the needs of all units whether they have customized computer equipment or more standard setups.

As Phase II gets underway, I do not yet have the whole IT staff in place. However, as you open tickets with K-State IT, please feel free to include me as a contact on the service requests so that I am informed about your needs and can ensure issues are promptly resolved.

Thank you, and I look forward to working with all of you.

Sincerely,

Matt Spears

Faculty and staff resources webpage

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

Nominate a 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 Arts and Sciences Mentorship Program! We invite faculty, staff and alumni from all professions to participate. There is great interest in biology, chemistry, data science, economics, graphic design, health and law/legal.

The fall 2025 program begins Sept. 15 and ends in December. Apply by Sept. 7. 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.

If you have questions, email Paige Altwegg, the program coordinator. You might also enjoy this story about some mentors and why they do it. 

Community engagement support

K-State’s Engagement Council brings together faculty, staff and Extension professionals to elevate engagement efforts universitywide. It coordinates events to enhance skills in community engagement and external partnerships, foster open dialogue about K-State’s scholarly engagement culture, and create networking opportunities.

On Sept. 8, the Fundamentals of Community-Engaged Learning workshop will address developing student learning goals, building and sustaining authentic community partnerships, critical reflection approaches and strategies.

Map Monday Workshops

The Geographic Information Systems Spatial Analysis Laboratory will host a series of beginner-friendly, hands-on workshops for K-State faculty, staff and students interested in exploring geographic information systems for research, storytelling and more. The first one, Migrating GIS Projects from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro, will be on Sept. 8.

Linear Mixed Models Workshops

Build or hone your data analysis skills at this workshop series about the fundamentals of linear mixed models for designed experiments, co-sponsored by K-State’s Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics and department of statistics.

The workshops are free for K-State faculty, staff and students and will take place in 164 Justin Hall.

• Sat., Sept. 13 | 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. with lunch break
• Sun., Sept. 14 | 9 a.m.-noon

Staff Spotlight Awards in math and history departments!

The Staff Spotlight Award highlights staff members each month for their service to the K-State community.

Cindy Carlyon received March 2025 Staff Spotlight Award

“As the math department lost three veteran staff members in 2024, Cindy had to step in and take a leading role, cover gaps, and spearhead the recruitment effort by leading two successful searches,” said Carlyon’s nominator. “Cindy brings a positive attitude to the workplace. She has a sunny and easygoing personality and really cares about making the work environment a pleasant experience for everyone.”

Melissa Janulis received April 2025 Staff Spotlight Award

“Melissa Janulis is the quintessential office specialist that consistently goes the extra mile for students and the faculty,” said Janulis’ nominator. “She is expert in all administrative systems on the campus. Her immense knowledge has enabled the department to streamline all administrative transactions when dealing outside of the department, and her cheerful ‘get the job done’ attitude and demeanor have made her a favorite of both students and faculty members.”

Trees planted in honor of Roots of Research Awardees

The Roots of Research Award, presented by the Offices of the President and Vice President for Research and the Division of Facilities, recognizes exceptional research and scholarly work that has inspired students, colleagues and the broader academic community.

In spring 2025, trees were planted on campus in honor of each 2024 awardee, symbolizing the deep roots they have cultivated through their work and the legacy they leave for future generations.

Congratulations to these College of Arts and Sciences awardees! (They are pictured below in this order.)

• Elizabeth Dodd, English
• Carolyn Ferguson, biology
• Wayne Goins, music, theatre and dance
• David Haukos, biology
• Jun Li, chemistry
• Zak Ratajczak, biology

Lots of smiles at the new-faculty welcome and collegewide social!

It was so good to meet our new faculty members and see everyone at our social on Wed., Aug. 20! Click the image below to view more photos on Facebook or go to our Instagram post.

Last-minute add: Proud of our Pride today and always!

Today, Aug. 20, 2025…

Leave it to our beloved, Sudler Award-winning Pride of Wildcat Land Marching Band to entertain not one but two airports full of people as they await their turn to fly to Ireland!

About a quarter of the band is trying to get to Dublin to perform in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic game between K-State and Iowa State, but their flight out of Kansas City was delayed and then they had a long wait at Dallas Fort Worth.

But as always, they livened things up with their unbeatable spirit and talent!

Watch these fun videos and more on the Pride’s Facebook and Instagram!