October 1, 2024
The Power of Partnership: K-State’s Commitment to Elevating Engagement and Extension.
Submitted by Office of Engagement
Kansas State University has both the opportunity and the responsibility to harness its vast resources and expertise in ways that honor the university’s unique structure while also challenging historical norms.
Historically, K-State Research and Extension, which serves as the hub for a statewide network present in all 105 Kansas counties, has focused on educational outreach to positively shape communities. Today, extension is evolving to drive transformative partnerships that engage and uplift local communities.
One example of such collaboration took place last spring, involving the Immunize Kansas Coalition (IKC), K-State Research and Extension and K-State students. This partnership fostered engaged learning experiences, with students working to build vaccine confidence among Kansas families and communities through storytelling and collective action.
Student interns played a pivotal role by engaging with various stakeholders to promote vaccine use on campus and in local communities. Under the guidance of the IKC and KSRE, students identified communication opportunities, built sustainable relationships with stakeholders and created educational outreach that resonated deeply with their peers.
Another powerful example of a transformative partnership emerged during the Jackson County regional community visit. Jackson County's childcare task force, KSRE agent Teresa Hatfield and local partners have been working together to address the community's childcare needs.
The event also spotlighted the findings of a recent childcare needs assessment conducted in partnership with the Jackson County childcare task force and the Applied Research in Child Health and Enhancing Resilience (ARCHER) laboratory in K-State's College of Health and Human Sciences and KSRE. Bradford Wiles, assistant professor and extension specialist in early childhood development, leads the ARCHER lab’s research and programming efforts.
Tonya Barta, president and CEO of The Farmers State Bank in Holton and current K-State Alumni Association board member, emphasized the importance of collaboration with community members and industry partners in addressing the childcare crisis.
"Bringing the right people to the table on this issue is key," Barta said. "That's what gets an issue resolved in a small town."
By enhancing extension and engagement efforts across the institution, K-State is poised to combine the strengths and resources of multiple entities to drive even greater impact. This focus will be central to KSRE’s Annual Conference on October 22-24, where campus partners will be invited to engage with extension professionals.
K-State faculty and staff will have the opportunity to learn alongside extension agents and specialists, exploring new avenues for collaboration. As a next-generation land-grant institution, K-State is re-imagining its engagement strategies while elevating extension and engagement.