For many K-State students, Hale Library is an important part of what makes campus feel like “home.” 

More than just a recognizable landmark in the heart of campus, it’s a cozy spot to curl up with a book and spend some quiet time studying or reflecting. It’s also a place to gather with friends or explore the Great Room, famously known as the “Harry Potter Room” based on its design similarity to the popular wizarding franchise.

K-Staters felt a sense of loss when Hale Library closed for a time following a tragic fire in May 2018. The library has reopened in stages throughout the long renovation project, and now floors 1-4 have officially reopened to the public. More books also are making their way back to the library’s shelves, after a complex restoration and preservation process. So far, more than 25,000 boxes have been returned to Hale Library for reshelving.

Visitors are now welcome to view the restored architecture of Historic Farrell Library or grab a cup of coffee and a snack at Joyce and Joe’s Cornerstone Café.

K-State Libraries worked with Hutton Construction and PGAV Architects for more than 36 months to renovate Hale Library from top to bottom. The first floor was completed and opened to the public in 2019, with the second floor following in summer of 2020 after the pandemic hit.

The entire Hale Library renovation required more than 60 different types of trades, from painting and lighting, to plumbing and wood restoration, and even architecture design and inspection services. It is estimated that an average of 60 crew members worked more than 250,000 hours. All that work also takes a lot of supplies, including six semi-trucks that delivered carpet from Georgia to Kansas, and more than 5,000 gallons of paint.

The construction crew also had some help from former and current K-State students. Six K-State interior design graduates helped work on the Hale Library project: Jennifer Talley '00, Lara Rassette '04, Amy Pile '09, Andrea Brundis '13, Natalie Kemp '06 and Kaitlyn Guerreiro '11. In addition, a K-State intern on the project was hired full-time as a field engineer during the project.

While construction is complete on most of the building, some spaces, including the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab and the fifth floor, are currently closed to the public. The Innovation Lab will open in phases later this spring.

Join K-State Libraries virtually for "The Tale of Hale: A Storytelling and Ribbon Cutting Celebration" on Thursday, April 15, at 6:30 p.m. CST.

RSVP online at ksufoundation.org/rsvp/libraries/ or call 785-775-2040. As a special thank you, you’ll receive a commemorative bookmark following your attendance of the online celebration. Viewing link and details will be sent following your completed registration.    

Learn more about Hale Library

Also stay tuned for our upcoming virtual Wildcat Chat with dean of K-State Libraries, Lori Goetsch. The event is 4 p.m. central time on Tuesday, May 4. Register now

Thank you to the Hale Library Blog for supplying information and photos for this article.

The past year has not been an easy one for K-State faculty. The coronavirus pandemic caused an abrupt shift in the ways teaching and research are conducted on campus. Some learning happens in person; some happens online.

Although much has remained in flux, one thing that’s constant is the passion and dedication K-State faculty members have for their job and the students they mentor.

The K-State Alumni Association is honoring two of these excellent educators with our 2020-21 Iman Awards: Barbara Valent and Kimberly A. Williams ’88.

Each year, the K-State Alumni Association provides two $5,000 awards for K-State faculty to honor outstanding teaching and research. These awards are made possible through the generosity of Ron ’62, ’70, ’73 and Rae Iman.

As a National Institutes of Health post-doctoral fellow at Cornell University, Valent initiated research on the most serious pathogen of rice, the blast fungus. She is internationally recognized for her rice blast research, first as a scientist at the DuPont Company and then as a K-State faculty member since 2001. She has also focused on wheat blast, caused by a newly-emerged fungal variant that now threatens global wheat production.

“Dr. Valent is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar and leader, while at the same time contributing to the educational experience at Kansas State University,” said Ernie Minton, dean of the College of Agriculture. “Barbara has endeavored to facilitate movement of her more basic discoveries into the field to benefit breeders and growers. In this way she has touched all of the mission areas that are core to K-State’s land-grant identity: teaching, research and Extension/outreach.”

Williams has been teaching and advising horticulture students at K-State since 1997. She instructs five undergraduate courses that are known for their extensive experiential, problem-based learning, including greenhouse operations management and herbaceous crop production. Her exceptional teaching has been recognized with several university and national awards throughout her career.

Renata Goossen, senior in horticulture, said Williams is committed to helping her students find success in the classroom and their careers.

“In each of the courses I have taken from Dr. Williams, she demonstrated knowledgeability about the topics covered and commitment to providing the best experience for the students taking the class. I greatly admired her ability to relate the subjects of the class to our applied fields within plant science.”

Get to know our 2020-21 Iman Award winners through the profiles below:

Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Research
Barbara Valent

University Distinguished Professor
Plant Pathology
College of Agriculture

What are your thoughts on receiving this award?

I am thrilled to be receiving the Dr. Ron and Rae Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Research. This prestigious award highlights the importance of research and scholarship here at K-State, and I am proud to be so honored.

What are some of your career highlights?

I study the destructive blast fungus, which has caused devastating disease on rice since ancient times, and a recent variant from Brazil that is equally devastating on wheat. Research highlights for rice blast include understanding how the fungus hijacks living rice cells to cause disease, how genetic resistance can control the fungus, and how fungal variants rapidly overcome that resistance. My research aimed at keeping blast out of U.S. wheat includes understanding genetic variation and disease biology in the field in South America, and finding the first effective blast resistance in wheat. This research has been done in South America and in a Biosafety Level-3 laboratory in the Biosecurity Research Institute on the K-State campus.

What do you enjoy most about working at K-State?

I love working in the best Department of Plant Pathology in the world!  From colleagues, students, post-docs and staff, our department has the expertise, the skill and the passion for creating and disseminating knowledge that improves lives for citizens of our state, the nation and the world. We are a team dedicated to fulfilling the land-grant mission, and it all feels like family!

What are some of the pandemic-related challenges you've had to overcome in the past year relating to your position?

I’ve faced the typical challenges associated with moving interactions with lab members and other colleagues, as well as teaching, to Zoom meetings. We do wet-lab research. Complete lab closings and subsequent lab social distancing have been especially hard for newer lab members who are still learning techniques.

Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Teaching
Kimberly A. Williams

Professor and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar
Horticulture and Natural Resources
College of Agriculture

What are your thoughts on receiving this award?

I am humbled and grateful. There is nothing better than to receive an accolade for doing work that you love.

What are some of your career highlights?

Every time I interact with one of my former students or advisees as they pursue their horticulture profession, it is a career highlight. In terms of recognitions, I am proud of being selected as a Coffman Chair and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar here at K-State, and to have received a USDA Food and Agriculture Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award at the national level.

What do you enjoy most about working at K-State?

The people — students, colleagues, alumni in the horticulture industries. The K-State family has a “we’re in this together” attitude where we all roll up our sleeves and pull together to create the best learning opportunities for our students.

What are some of the pandemic-related challenges you’ve had to overcome in the past year relating to your position?

K-State did a great job of supporting safe teaching and learning during the pandemic. In my field, which is very hands-on, we continued with face-to-face labs in new configurations — smaller numbers of students per section, sanitized surfaces frequently, held activities outside — and we all learned how to communicate from behind masks.

Register for our virtual Iman Awards event at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 15.

Register now

Dr. Claire Stroede ’96, ’98 has had an interest in dentistry for as long as she can remember. When she was in kindergarten, her mom recalls her mentioning that she wanted to be a dentist when she grew up. 

“I must have really liked going to the dentist,” she jokes.

However, Stroede’s initial career path didn’t involve dentistry at all. Her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kansas State University were actually in mechanical engineering. After graduating, she started working as a durability and damage tolerance engineer at Raytheon Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas.

She did not revisit her interest in dentistry until after the events of 9-11, a challenging time for the aircraft industry. Her initial plan was to switch career fields and become a general dentist, working in a small town near her family.

Then, she got braces for the first time as an adult during dental school, and she realized she’d found the perfect career fit.

“I was intrigued by the process, and I felt that orthodontics was a great way to combine engineering and dentistry,” she said.

She is now an orthodontist in private practice in the Kansas City metro area, and has owned and operated Stroede Orthodontics for the past six years.

“My daily routine as an orthodontist is much different from when I was an engineer,” she said. “I typically see 50-60 patients per day, so I rarely sit still. My engineering training definitely helps me solve problems on the fly and navigate the wide variety of situations that can present themselves as both an orthodontist and a business owner.”

Problem-solving on the job

Even though Stroede’s training at K-State didn’t technically involve dentistry, her education prepared her to be a success throughout her career journey.

During her time at K-State, she remembers helping with displays for Engineering Open House; representing K-State in the Goldwater Scholarship competition; publishing a paper that is still being cited by sport science researchers more than 20 years later; and receiving a National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship. 

She said the best part of her job now is seeing a patient smile for the first time after getting their braces off.

“It is often a two-year journey from start to finish with braces, and it is always a memorable day to finally get those braces off,” she said. “I especially love planning complex cases. Some cases really test my problem-solving skills and make me very glad to be an engineer.”

Adapting to a pandemic

As many people around the world experienced, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic changed everything for Stroede and her practice.

“I will always remember receiving the ominous, but not unexpected e-mail from the Kansas Dental Board recommending that all dental offices in Kansas close their doors,” she said. “I read that e-mail at noon on March 17, 2020, and we closed our doors at 5 p.m. that day.”

During the shutdown, the practice was allowed to keep very limited office hours to help patients who had significant problems with their orthodontic appliances. It was difficult to find personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves, and even basic cleaning supplies, such as hand soap.

Before they re-opened on May 4, 2020, Stroede’s practice had socially-distanced staff training sessions to review their new procedures. They spread out clinic chairs, staggered appointments, and limited the number of people in the office at one time. They unplugged the coffee machines and removed the magazines from the waiting areas. Every patient completed a health screening and received a temperature check before starting their appointment.

“Our clinical staff was accustomed to wearing surgical masks all day, but we now use higher filtration masks,” Stroede said. “I have personally worn two masks every day since we re-opened. Our administrative staff has of course had to start wearing masks all day. Some of our supply costs have risen significantly. The price we pay for gloves has more than tripled during the pandemic.” 

While challenges remain for the practice due to COVID-19, Stroede is committed to providing the safest and best possible care for her patients.

“The biggest lesson I have learned is that you never know where life will take you,” she said. “The best you can do is to be as prepared as possible, and a K-State education was the best possible preparation for where life has taken me.”

While earning her master’s degree at K-State, Opal Stone ’14 has fond memories from the time she spent in the community of Manhattan: countless hours writing her graduate report in Bluestem Bistro to Sunday morning donuts at Varsity to admiring ACME gifts and dreaming of one day owning her own shop. 

Even after her time at K-State, those Manhattan-inspired dreams didn’t go away. While working full-time as a college admissions recruiter, Stone found herself searching for a creative outlet outside her job. She taught herself hand lettering and learned how to add her designs to cards and prints.

What started as a print and greeting card shop on Etsy turned into a gift, clothing and design boutique called Wild & Precious with its own website and traditional brick and mortar store.

“I remember being so curious as to whether or not I would enjoy creating and ultimately owning my own small business, and, well, I never stopped enjoying it,” Stone said. “Every year it has grown a little bit more, and I’m so thankful for what it has become.”

A bigger purpose

Wild & Precious offers a variety of hand-lettered design products such as mugs, tote bags, T-shirts, stickers, cards and prints. Stone also offers design services such as wedding stationery, party goods and logo development. Additionally, the store’s selection includes clothing, baby goods, home goods and gifts from other small businesses.

Stone said one of the best parts of owning her own business is that it allows her to be a stay-at-home mom to her two children.

“I love that I get to stay at home with them all while I was creating this business, and that I continue to have the flexibility to spend quality time with them while living out my dream,” she said. “It’s a privilege that I will never take for granted.”

She also sees Wild & Precious as more than just a business — it’s a way to connect with other customers on a heartfelt level. Stone is open about the personal struggles and tragedies she has experienced in life, and her journey to develop Wild & Precious has been about finding joy and light even in the darkness.

"Over the years, I have shared very personal things about my experience as a mom, wife and small business owner,” she said. "Expanding our family from one child to two was very difficult. After experiencing three pregnancy losses over the course of three years, I couldn’t help but feel empowered to use the pain I experienced for good, and to honor my angel babies.

"Being vulnerable has never been easy, but I found once I started putting more passion and meaning behind the products I created, my purpose became more clear. This business isn’t simply about making sales; there was always a bigger purpose, and I have found that to be: bring hope and joy to my customers, who I prefer to call my friends. We all have a story, we all have struggles, and life becomes easier when we can be proud of how far we’ve come and have hope for all that is yet to come.”

Life lessons

For inspiring entrepreneurs, opening your own business is not an easy path. But it can be a fulfilling one, and Stone shares some of the lessons and successes she’s experienced along the way.

⚖️ Balance your work life and personal life.

“Some of my darkest days in life were during the pivotal times of this business,” Stone says. “Remembering to prioritize my own health and family was difficult at times.”

Owning a business can become so intertwined with your personal life that it consumes you. Don’t forget to take time for yourself and your family/friends.  

🤝 Recognize when it’s time to surrender a little control.

“Hiring for my business was a hurdle that was long overdue,” Stone confesses. “Learning to give up control and trust in the skills and loyalty of others was difficult for me. I now have a team of five amazing ladies and I can’t imagine continuing to grow the business without them. Hiring for my business has allowed me to focus on the things that I need to focus on so that this business can spread as much joy and happiness as possible.”

🎓 Use your education in creative ways.

Although Stone actually studied counseling and student development at K-State — rather than business — the skills and knowledge she gained still apply to her career today.

“Although I technically only used my graduate degree from K-State for a few years, much of what I learned in all six of my years in higher education gave me the confidence and motivation to follow my dreams and turn my passion into a business,” she said.

💜 Don’t give up, even when challenges come your way.

Stone opened her first brick and mortar shop in Wisconsin in the middle of the 2020 pandemic. It was a scary step, but she knew it was the right one.

“I have dreams of this space becoming a positive escape for anyone who may need it, with an emphasis on connection and comfort over profit,” she said. “Where those struggling with loss or infertility can connect, friends can gather, children can play, people can feel hope and love fill their hearts when they enter. I know it sounds lofty, but that is my goal, always.”

Learn more

Even a pandemic can't stop a Wildcat from excelling in the job market. 

The latest post-graduation report from Kansas State University for graduates in the 2019-2020 school year finds 95% are employed or furthering their education. 

Although down from the 97% reported for the 2018-2019 school year, Kerri Keller '12, director of the K-State Career Center, says the percentage is impressive considering the economic havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for those graduating in 2020.

"It's been a time like no other for new college graduates," Keller said. "I am proud of the persistence and resilience of K-State graduates. I am also grateful for the many alumni who advocate recruiting K-State talent for their companies and organizations. It makes a world of difference for the next generations making their way from college to career."

The report, based on surveys conducted six months following a student's graduation from K-State, is good news for the state in retaining new college graduates, with 52% of K-State graduates accepting jobs in Kansas. When states surrounding Kansas — Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma — are added, that amount jumps to 69%. Of the remainder of employed graduates, 29% were employed elsewhere in the U.S. and 2% were employed internationally.

Starting salaries for the new graduates held steady, with the median salary at $50,000 — the same as the previous year.

The response rate to the surveys was 81%.

Leading employers of new K-State graduates include Cerner Corp., Kiewit, Textron, Geary County USD 475 and Manhattan-Ogden USD 383. More than 1,360 different organizations hired at least one K-State bachelor's graduate from the class of 2019-2020.

Of those graduates reporting placement, nearly a quarter of them were furthering their education through almost 190 different graduate or professional programs that range from accounting to veterinary medicine.

The K-State Career Center offers recruiting events that connect students with more than 800 employers. The Career Center provides support to current students and is available to new graduates throughout the calendar year as they pursue their next steps. Services are available to students in person at the Berney Family Welcome Center as well as online through the Career Center website and a variety of virtual resources.