Whenever Barry Flinchbaugh would stop by the K-State Alumni Center, he would always have a warm greeting and a smile for everyone he encountered. 

The late K-State professor emeritus had office space in the building, but his relationship with the K-State Alumni Association went much deeper than that. He was a loyal friend to the K-State Alumni Association during his many years at the university, ranging from hosting Traveling Wildcats trips to endowing our Flinchbaugh Family Wildcat Pride Award.

Flinchbaugh passed away Nov. 2, and the K-State Alumni Association and the entire university community mourn his loss.

“Barry Flinchbaugh will be deeply missed by many generations of the K-State family,” said K-State President Richard Myers ’65. “His expertise and vast contributions to the university, the state and agricultural economics will have a lasting impact on the world for years to come through those whom he taught and counseled. His experiences have touched the lives of many and his wonderfully feisty, thoughtful, helpful and kind personality will be his legacy forever.”

The charismatic Flinchbaugh was well known as one of the United States’ leading experts on agricultural policy and agricultural economics. For more than four decades, he was a top adviser to politicians of both major political parties, including secretaries of agriculture, chairs of the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture committees, and numerous senators and state governors.

Flinchbaugh was involved to some degree in every U.S. farm bill written since 1968, and served on many national boards, advisory groups and task forces, providing input on domestic food and agricultural policy.

A storied career

Flinchbaugh grew up in York, Pennsylvania, and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Penn State University. He earned a doctoral degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University before joining the K-State faculty in 1971.

At the time of his death, he was professor emeritus in K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics, teaching a 400-level course in agricultural policy each fall. He also served several years as chair of the Landon Lecture Patrons, who support the university’s prestigious Landon Lecture Series.

A dynamic speaker, it was reported that Flinchbaugh would receive as many as 100 speaking invitations per year. He authored more than 100 publications and co-authored a textbook on agricultural policy.

Flinchbaugh’s no-nonsense style was legendary, and K-State honored Flinchbaugh with its prestigious Outstanding Teacher Award three times during his career. It is estimated that he taught agricultural policy to more than 4,000 undergraduate students. He connected the university to hundreds of thousands of people by giving presentations to farmers, agricultural business groups and more through its Extension mission.

“Barry Flinchbaugh was a wonderful member of the K-State family and a friend to not only the K-State Alumni Association but to me and many of our staff,” said Amy Button Renz ’76, ’86, president and CEO of the K-State Alumni Association. “His kindness, wit and infamous personality will truly be missed. We are honored to have an award named in honor of his family at the Association. Barry had unbelievable pride in Kansas State University and understood the important role that faculty and staff hold in strengthening the bond between alumni and their alma mater.”

Read the full article.

Frank Tracz (left) and Barry Flinchbaugh (right) received the Wildcat Pride Award in 2011. Also pictured: Amy Button Renz ’76, ’86 (center).

Being a leader requires more than just being in charge.

In his time as vice president for student life and dean of students at Kansas State University, Pat Bosco ’71, ’73 has learned a lot about what it means to be a good leader. 

Leadership comes with great responsibility, and needs to be fueled by a desire to help others. It requires a certain sense of self-awareness — you have to be honest, and admit the faults you need to work on improving.

“Authentic leadership is rooted in a fundamental commitment to serving others and providing a voice to those who have none or have been silenced,” Bosco writes his new book, Boscology 101: The Art of Authentic Leadership.

The book is filled with Bosco’s advice on leadership, authenticity and empathy gleaned from his years spent working in higher education. Bosco has provided the K-State Alumni Association with an autographed copy of Boscology 101 to give away to an At K-State reader — enter to win now:

Pat Bosco is one of the most recognizable K-Staters, known for his passion for the university and purple pride. Even though Bosco retired in 2019, he continues to champion the university.

During his time at K-State, Bosco was recognized as a national leader in student life, enrollment management and student affairs, and his expertise, knowledge and perspectives were sought by state and national organizations. Many of the innovations he introduced went on to become best practices in higher education.

He shares some of his experiences in the pages of Boscology 101 — here are some of our favorite tidbits of wisdom from the book:

 

1. How to be authentic

Being authentic is more than just being nice and smiling at folks. Authentic leaders establish an environment where the people they serve in their organization or workplace feel empowered and understand the importance of responsiveness.

 

2. Transparency is key 

One of the most important basic characteristics of an authentic leader is transparency. Today, more than ever, we’re looking for leaders who are open, accessible, vulnerable and understand the importance of sharing information to those that they serve.

 

3. Learn to listen

The key to communication is the act of listening and creating an environment where anyone can ask questions, voice concerns and make meaningful suggestions. Being willing to listen is an important part of building trust within a team. Keeping the doors of communication open is crucial.

 

4. Be open to change

It is easy to become set in our ways, but rigidity against change can be detrimental to progress. Change does not mean losing our sense of self or abandoning our values, it is an opportunity to be flexible so we can adapt to circumstances that impact our lives.

 

Copies of Bosco's book are currently available for purchase. You can also catch up with Bosco on his podcast of the same title, "Boscology 101." Proceeds from the book go to the Bosco Family Scholarship. 

Buy a copy of the book

Listen to the podcast

On an average day last year, Cats’ Cupboard — the Kansas State University student food pantry — served one visitor every 12 minutes, for a total of 50 visitors a day. 

Then, everything about the world changed due to COVID-19. 

In less than 36 hours, staff had to rapidly change their entire process of distributing food to students in need. While the university was in limited operations status March through Aug. 16, Cats’ Cupboard switched to online ordering only. They ended up processing 60-90 orders a week, for a total of more than 1,600 orders by the end of the summer. During part of this time, they had to operate without their regular volunteers and student employees.

Despite the challenges, the mission carried on, and the K-State family found a way to ensure that students wouldn’t go hungry.

“It was just amazing,” said Sarah McGreer Hoyt, operations lead for Cats’ Cupboard. “People just really stepped up. We did get so much campus and community support, and from individuals.”

Responding to student needs

Although the campus was not operating as normal in March, that did not mean student need went away.

Hoyt said many of Cats’ Cupboard’s users are nontraditional or international students, some of whom were stuck on campus due to the pandemic and unable to return home.

Cats’ Cupboard staff ended up creating an online order form and developed a process to safely fill orders through an outdoor pickup system. When supply chain disruptions and limits on buying in bulk at stores made it difficult to get the supplies they needed, Hoyt said Cats’ Cupboard staff reached out to their colleagues across campus for donations.

The Kroger Company had previously donated $50,000 to battle food security, as part of the KSU Foundation’s 2019 All In for K-State campaign. Cats’ Cupboard also received support from the Harvesters regional food bank and a $24,000 SPARK grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce for economic relief during COVID-19.

One donor even mailed in food items and an air purifier for the pantry, and also purchased a business membership to Sam’s Club so pantry staff could buy more items in bulk.

“People really saw food insecurity as such an issue during this time,” Hoyt said.

In addition, Cats’ Cupboard, which now reports to the Lafene Health Center, took the shutdown as a chance to reorganize and prepare for the return of in-person access in the fall semester. A team of volunteers from Lafene reconfigured the pantry, which is located in Fairchild Hall. It now has one entrance and one exit to control traffic flow, and staff installed COVID-19 signage and placed a temperature screener at the door that also verifies if visitors are wearing a mask.

The pantry also has a new paint job, more shelving and art on the walls.

“It’s a much brighter, more welcoming space, thanks to our new Lafene colleagues,” Hoyt said.
 

A team effort

Now that Cats’ Cupboard is open to receiving in-person donations again, Hoyt said K-Staters who live in town are welcome to drop off food items. The pantry also accepts donations through the KSU Foundation, Amazon Wish List, or Sam’s Club gift cards.

On campus, the Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO) recently conducted a massive food drive, and sororities, fraternities and other organizations have been hosting their own drives as well.

The Cats’ Cupboard student ambassadors program and other volunteers help raise awareness about the pantry and assist with its operations. So far 200 hours of volunteer time have been given this semester.

“We really have a team keeping the organization strong,” Hoyt said.

Right now, Cats’ Cupboard serves about 30 visitors a day. While the level of need remains stable, Hoyt said COVID-19 has made it more challenging to meet that need. The pandemic has reduced the number of students on campus and Hoyt fears some financially-stressed, marginalized students might not have been able to continue their education this semester.

“The need is there, it’s just access,” Hoyt said. “People’s lives have been so disrupted, and their support systems have been disrupted too.”

One of Cats’ Cupboard’s long-term goals is to increase access to perishable food items like meat, produce and dairy. Right now the pantry is limited to giving away non-perishable and hygiene items.

Hoyt said she’s excited that the pantry has now acquired the equipment needed to accept bulk donated dry goods and safely repackage them into smaller sizes to give away to students.

“We’ve been really resilient and creative in meeting the challenges,” Hoyt said. “Now the challenge will be to sustain this model, with any unexpected things that get thrown at us.”

Cats’ Cupboard is organized under Lafene Health Center. Learn more about how you can support the pantry:

Cats' Cupboard

If you're a K-State Athletics fan, you likely have a number of questions about bowl season and upcoming winter sports. 

As the situation continues to evolve due to COVID-19, the best place to go for information is kstatesports.com. 

You'll be able to find the most up-to-date information on whether the K-State football team will be playing in a bowl game this year, as well as updated regulations and audience capacity limits for basketball games this winter. (Note: Bowl selections will be made Sunday, Dec. 20, following the completion of all conference championship games.)

Even though the pandemic has brought a number of unforeseen challenges and changes for K-State Athletics this fall, we look forward to the time when we can all gather together again safely and cheer on the 'Cats!

Find athletics updates

 

K-State to honor graduates virtually

Due to a rapid, uncontrolled increase in positive COVID-19 cases in campus communities and throughout the state, K-State made the difficult decision to cancel commencement activities scheduled for Nov. 20-22. The university will hold a virtual recognition in December, and details will be published on the commencement website.

Although we're disappointed that we can't gather in person this year, we are still excited to welcome 2020 graduates to the K-State alumni family. The Alumni Association was still able to host a drive-thru Grad Breakfast in November (pictured here), and we also continued our tradition of partnering with the colleges to present graduates with a free one-year membership to the K-State Alumni Association.

Learn more about membership

 

Ribbon-cutting for Morris Family Multicultural Student Center

The increase in positive COVID-19 cases within campus communities and throughout the state of Kansas also led K-State to scale back the Morris Family Multicultural Student Center ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In lieu of in-person tours, a student-led Instagram takeover virtual tour took place Nov. 20. Also, be sure to watch the upcoming January issue of At K-State for a full-length article about the opening of the new center!

Watch the Instagram takeover 

We’re never quite sure what sort of mischief Ernie the Elf will get into each holiday season. 

Named for Wildcat basketball star Ernie Barrett ’51, ’56, Ernie the Elf is the K-State Alumni Association’s version of the popular “Elf on the Shelf.” Although we try to keep an eye on him, Ernie’s antics over the past few years have taken him all across campus, including sneaking into McCain Auditorium to play some music and trying to “help” the K-State Bakery Science Club make cookies (although we suspect he may have had an ulterior motive: sampling some sweet treats).

Throughout the month of December, you can follow Ernie’s adventures on our Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram. Here are some of our favorite memories with Ernie from the past several years:

Follow us on Facebook! 

Nestled in the southwest corner of campus, the K-State Alumni Center is a special part of Kansas State University — the spot Wildcats love full well. 

The Alumni Center overlooks World War I Memorial Stadium, and you can see the spire of Anderson Hall rising in the distance. It’s a place for honoring tradition and also looking to the future, as we welcome new generations of alumni into the K-State family.

If you’re reading this newsletter, then you’re probably already aware of some of the work the K-State Alumni Association does. We love getting to interact with K-Staters across the globe through our monthly At K-State e-newsletter, quarterly K-Stater member magazine, emails, social media and so much more.

However, we also have a number of partnerships across campus, helping various university departments and organizations. Here’s some of the ways we partner with the campus and community to help spread purple pride!