Kansas State University

search

The Loop

Author: Staley School of Leadership

Developing knowledgeable, ethical, caring, inclusive leaders for a diverse and changing world

Build your network through ‘Cats Connect

Posted on by Staley School of Leadership

Looking for a way to meet new people and connect with others? Sign up for a ‘Cats Connect group beginning the week of Sept. 16.

Are you looking for a way to meet and connect with other K-Staters? Do you want to help build our K-State community? If so, sign up for ’Cats Connect – a program at Kansas State University designed to build community through conversation.

As a Health-Promoting University, Kansas State University is dedicated to supporting the holistic health and well-being of each student, faculty, and staff member. One aspect of well-being includes social health, which is the ability to form meaningful relationships that provide support, guidance and encouragement. Over the past two years, ‘Cats Connect has worked to improve mental health and social well-being by connecting more than 950 K-Staters! Building relationships within ‘Cats Connect can help protect against stress, anxiety and depression. Positive relationships also increase student satisfaction and retention, as well as faculty/staff engagement.

Graphic image with pictures of groups of people from 'Cats Connect sessions

‘Cats Connect is a peer-to-peer facilitated program designed to help groups of 4-6 Wildcats meet and develop friendships outside of their regular social circles. Groups meet for one hour for five consecutive weeks. During each meeting, everyone will have the opportunity to respond to a series of fun and thought-provoking questions and engage in a small connection project.

Students, faculty, and staff are all invited to participate. Groups will be built based on shared experiences and availability. Participants can select in-person (on the Manhattan campus) or virtual meetings (via Zoom). There are two fall 2024 sessions to choose from:

  • Session 1 will meet weekly beginning the week of Sep. 16, through the week of Oct. 14.
  • Session 2 will meet weekly beginning the week of Oct. 21, through the week of Nov. 18.

Registrations for Session 1 are due by Tuesday, Sept. 10. Continue reading “Build your network through ‘Cats Connect” →

Building Bridges for the Future of Leadership Education: Leadership scholars present at national conference 

Posted on by Staley School of Leadership

Several Kansas State University faculty and doctoral students presented at the 2024 Association of Leadership Educators conference (ALE), July 14-17, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a professional organization, ALE seeks to strengthen the expertise of leadership educators and developers. The conference theme, “building bridges for the future of leadership education,” embodied the idea that leadership education is dynamic and ever-adapting to prepare leaders for the challenges of a diverse and changing world.

K-State scholars contributed the following presentations to the conference program:

Systems Leadership Education: Bridging Theory and Practice (panel)

Kerry Priest, Ph.D., and Jessica Ramirez, Staley School of Leadership, Leadership communication doctoral program; Jason Headrick, Ph.D., Texas Tech University;  Michael Gleason, Ph.D., Wartburg College; and Haley Traini, Ph.D., Oregon State University

Peer Coaching: A Practice to Enhance Leadership Education and Support Leadership Educators (workshop)

Kerry Priest, Ph.D., Staley School of Leadership and Dan Jenkins, Ph.D., University of Southern Maine

Mentoring International Graduate Students (presentation)

Chibuzor Azubuike, Ph.D., Andrew Wefald, Ph.D., N’Zoret Innocent Assoman, Ph.D., and Trisha Gott, Ph.D., Staley School of Leadership, Leadership communication doctoral program

Classroom Reflections: How Teaching Leadership Exemplifies Leadership-As-Practice (roundtable)

Michaela Sauders, Kansas State University Leadership Communication doctoral candidate and Instructor, Washburn University Leadership and Community Engagement Program

Building Bridges to Move Beyond Organizational Barriers to Collaborate and Create Opportunities in Graduate Leadership Education  (roundtable)

Michael Gleason, Ph.D., Wartburg College; Jennifer Moss Breen Kuzelka, Ph.D., Creighton University; and Kerry Priest, Ph.D., Staley School of Leadership

Leadership Capacity Building Workshop for Nigerian National Youth Service Corps Members (poster)  

Oluyomibo Asunlegan and Ifedayo Olubejide Leadership communication doctoral program; Kerry Priest, Ph.D., Staley School of Leadership

Posed group photo of K-Staters at ALE: : Michaela Saunders, Ifedayo Sunday Olubejide, Oluyomibo Asunlegan, Kerry Priest, Andy Wefald, Innocent Assoman, Jessica Ramirez

Pictured left to right: Michaela Saunders, Ifedayo Sunday Olubejide, Oluyomibo Asunlegan, Kerry Priest, Andy Wefald, Innocent Assoman, Jessica Ramirez

As part of K-State’s land-grant mission, the Staley School of Leadership advances leadership learning and development through research and practice that strengthens our communities, state, and world. Learn more about K-State’s leadership communication doctoral program here.

How Kansans beat the virus: Third Floor Research reveals the impact of civic leadership in addressing public health challenges

Posted on by Staley School of Leadership

This article is the third entry of a blog series showcasing Third Floor Research’s findings on the impact of leadership development programs and civic engagement efforts. In this entry, we showcase findings from a Third Floor Research study on the Kansas Beats the Virus campaign.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges, prompting Kansas communities to innovate. In response, the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC), in partnership with state and local communities, launched the Kansas Beats the Virus (KBTV) in 2020 and 2021. These efforts mobilized citizens across the state to address public health issues. The projects highlight the significance of large-scale community engagement and underscore the transformative potential of collective action.

How Kansas united to drive change: What we learned from our Mass Civic Action Campaign

The global pandemic disrupted daily life and demanded new ways of working and interacting with others, especially in Kansas during the fall of 2020. A strong community spirit emerged, amidst lockdowns, school closures, and economic challenges. Recognizing the need for collective action, the state of Kansas partnered with the KLC to launch KBTV, a citizen-led initiative to slow the virus’s spread. The KLC organized 1,000 community meetings over five weeks, demonstrating how empowering local communities to create their own solutions can exercise leadership and lead to impactful action projects. Continue reading “How Kansans beat the virus: Third Floor Research reveals the impact of civic leadership in addressing public health challenges” →

All are welcome: Mandela Washington Fellows Graduation Ceremony

Posted on by Staley School of Leadership

The Staley School of Leadership at Kansas State University invites the public to the Mandela Washington Fellowship Graduation Ceremony. Join us 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at the Leadership Studies building (1300 Mid-Campus Drive N. Manhattan, KS, 66506). Please RSVP here.

A posed group photo of the 2024 cohort of Fellows from the Opening Ceremony.

Guests will enjoy brief reflections of each Fellow’s work and their experiences during their six weeks at K-State and in Kansas. After the program, cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served in the lobby, with time to mingle and connect one last time before they return home.

We encourage the community to attend to gain understanding of the impact of this program on both the Fellows and our surrounding communities. The relationships and partnerships formed by the Fellows will continue to foster positive global impacts. Learn more about the 2024 K-State cohort here.

K-State and the Staley School have hosted 25 Mandela Washington Fellows for a Civic Leadership Institute. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the U.S. Department of State’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Fellows come from more than 20 different Sub-Saharan African nations and were selected for the program because of their civic leadership work.

See who’s going on Facebook.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX.  For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit mandelawashingtonfellowship.org and join the conversation at #YALI2024.

Third Floor Research unveils the impact of leadership programs on individuals

Posted on by Staley School of Leadership

“Is it worth attending leadership training?” This article is the second entry of a blog series showcasing Third Floor Research’s findings on the impact of leadership development programs and civic engagement efforts. In this entry, we explore recent insights into how these programs enhance individual competencies.

There was a time when the term “leader” was associated with genetic, innate, and inborn capabilities that not everyone possesses. This definition confines leadership to specific times and places where a leader emerges. Although this belief remains widely accepted, a new paradigm has replaced “leader” with “leadership,” defining it as an activity that can be learned and practiced by anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Third Floor Research, an applied research partnership between the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) and the Staley School of Leadership, has recently provided empirical evidence supporting this idea.

Recently, Third Floor Research, in collaboration with the LeAD Labs at Claremont Graduate University, conducted a study assessing the impact of KLC’s Your Leadership Edge (YLE). YLE is a monthly leadership development program aiming to shift people’s understanding of leadership from a “leader-centric” to a “leadership as activity” perspective in response to their tough organizational and community challenges. The assessment was conducted on YLE online, which included more than 2,000 participants and took place February 2021 to February 2022, during the pandemic. Continue reading “Third Floor Research unveils the impact of leadership programs on individuals” →

Mobile food distribution July 18

Posted on by Staley School of Leadership

HandsOn Kansas State, in conjunction with Harvesters Community Food Network of Topeka, will host a mobile food distribution Thursday, July 18.

The event starts at 4 p.m. in parking lot C-1 of the Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex. The C-1 lot will open at 3:30 p.m.

The mobile food distributions are open to all members of the K-State and Manhattan community with food offered at no cost, while supplies last.

Individuals who plan to walk up are encouraged to bring reusable bags to make it easier to carry food.

Participants driving should plan to help open vehicle doors as needed.

Volunteers place boxed food into a vehicle trunk

HandsOn Kansas State is a program housed within the Staley School of Leadership that promotes civic learning and leadership through meaningful volunteer and service opportunities between campus and community. HandsOn strives to develop socially-responsible citizens, knowledgeably equipped for active participation. For more information or questions about mobile food distributions, contact HandsOn Kansas State at handson@k-state.edu.