Elevating Our Engagement
Becoming a fully engaged land-grant university
Doing good in Kansas means doing good for the world.
Kansas State University transforms lives in Kansas and around the world. Extending the university into communities has been a priority since our beginning and continues to play a key role as we become a fully engaged university.
Delivering on our land-grant promise means providing more access to K-State through extension services and resources. By elevating engagement and K-State Extension, we’re addressing significant issues and opportunities facing Kansans and communities worldwide. We foster community health and well-being. We enhance global food security. We lead the way in sustainability. We’re a positive force for the Kansas economy.
These are areas where K-State Extension has always supported Kansans. And they are areas where we’re building on our mission of teaching, research and engagement in becoming the next-generation land-grant university.
K-State is delivering on our land-grant promise. Go to the 28:30 time stamp in the video above to watch Marshall Stewart, K-State executive vice president for external engagement and chief of staff, share the university's vision for engagement and extension work across Kansas. This announcement is from the K-State Research and Extension annual conference in October 2024.
Frequently asked questions
On July 1, 2025, we will elevate K-State Extension to coincide with the start of the new fiscal year. K-State Extension and budgetary authority will move from the College of Agriculture to the Office of the Executive Vice President for External Engagement and Chief of Staff. This change is the first step in becoming a fully engaged land-grant university because we can bring together K-State Extension and K-State colleges to address critical issues and opportunities across Kansas. We can’t do this work without K-State Extension. We spent several years listening to Kansans through statewide community visits, focus groups and needs assessments. We learned about the needs of communities and how K-State could help. By elevating engagement and K-State Extension, we can offer more resources and programming through K-State Extension’s 105 county offices and build on long-standing programming in agriculture, natural resources and community-oriented services. Many of the researchers and those who support the research centers across the state will remain with the College of Agriculture and will continue to report to their department head or director, who reports to the dean of the college. K-State Extension teams will continue to report to the assistant vice president and director for extension, who will now report to the executive vice president for external engagement and chief of staff. K-State Extension and budgetary authority will move to the Office of the Executive Vice President for External Engagement and Chief of Staff. Beginning July 1, 2025, K-State Extension will be used for programming and professionals with 100% extension appointments, such as local unit agents. Where extension and other resources work side-by-side, such as regional centers that house both research and extension, the terminology K-State Research and Extension will be used. As the nation’s first operational land-grant university, K-State’s founding is rooted in agriculture and applied arts. These areas will remain a focus of K-State’s teaching, research and engagement because they support Kansas’ largest industry. K-State Extension will continue to support rural and agricultural-based initiatives because these areas are foundational to our land-grant mission.