Thank you, President Wefald.
As an alumnus of Kansas State University, I am very proud of my alma mater. I attended K-State from 2000-2005, years in which we had successful athletic teams, a growing enrollment, an accomplished fraternity system, and most important of all, great leadership. President Jon Wefald announced his retirement this week, after more than two decades leading K-State to it’s status as one of the top land-grant institutions in the US.
Many people in Wildcat nation recognize President Wefald as being the animated old guy in the suit on the sidelines of basketball games. He was here to help bring K-State back to where we hadn’t been in a long time, the NCAA Tournament. Although you probably never had a chance to see President Wefald cheering from a suite at a football game, he can also be credited for bringing one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, Bill Snyder, to K-State. The University enjoyed some of the most exciting times in history around the development of several great sports teams in his tenure. Thank You President Wefald.
Not only was President Wefald recognized by sports fans and writers around the area, he also shared the stage with former presidents, international dignitaries, political figures, and key journalists. The Landon Lecture series at K-State has boasted such figures to the stage as President George W. Bush, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Mueller, Ted Turner, Brian Williams, Jim Lehrer, Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. Pat Roberts, and Paul Harvey. That’s all in the past 4 years! Incredible. I was privileged to see many of these important public policy figures speak in person, and opportunity that many college students would dream of. Thank You, President Wefald.
During my time at K-State, I admittedly was not the best academic student, but I contributed in other ways. I was elected Student Body Vice President with my good friend Hayley Urkevich serving as President. During my time as VP, I went to many events where President Wefald spoke, and I could predict with great certainty one particular part of just about every one of his speeches. President Wefald is a man that is extemely proud of K-State academic accomplishments, and is not shy to tell everyone the number of national scholars K-State has produced. During his time as President, K-State has had more elite scholarship winners than any of the nation’s 500 public universities. K-State accumulated 124 Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater and Udall scholarships from 1986 to 2008. Penn State ranks second during that period with 89 winners. President Wefald can be accredited to building K-State’s impressive records as an academic institution. Thank You, President Wefald.
Not only has he dedicated himself to K-State, he is also an avid historian, and active writer. Several years ago, he produced an manuscript detailing the history of the Negro Leagues in baseball, which will be made into a film in the near future. When he wasn’t attending official business, he attended countless public events, and could never be considered as a President that no one had heard of. I was extremely impressed by the leadership qualities, and perennial optimism that he presented to the community of K-State. I am confident that I can speak for all wildcat students, fans, alumni, and supporters; Thank You, President Wefald.
