Dean’s Message

College of Human Ecology

Since the College of Human Ecology was founded in 1873, its faculty, students and alumni have created an impressive legacy of contributions to knowledge, contributions to human wellbeing, and contributions to the growth of the college. These assets create the foundation from which current students and faculty work. We are indeed building on the legacy of our predecessors while we leave a legacy of our own.

The college is in a growth phase. Student enrollment has increased by 66 percent since 1998. Total extramural funding in grants and corporate support has increased by more than 200 percent since 1998. The college leads the nation in areas that include distance education, sensory analysis, interior design and personal financial planning. We have a diverse array of outstanding educational and research programs.

If the Kansas State University College of Human Ecology is to fulfill its mission, we must continue to attract and retain talented students and faculty, we must maintain and expand our facilities and we must meet emerging educational imperatives.

Attract and retain talented students

The College of Human Ecology provides students with educational experiences that prepare them to reach the highest levels of their professional fields. We encourage students to gain breadth as well as depth in their educational pursuits. To gain this breadth, students pursue international experiences, leadership opportunities, internships, and they collaborate with faculty on creative scholarship and research.

Attract and retain talented faculty

No university can be great without attracting and retaining talented faculty. When talented faculty teach talented students, magic happens and lives are changed for the better.

Maintain and expand our facilities

Justin Hall is almost 50 years old and it is showing its age. Built to house 1,000 students, the building now serves 1,900 undergraduates and 300 graduate students. We are making strategic investments in Justin Hall to assure that it will continue to support the work of the college far into the future. We are also adding a major expansion to the building to accommodate current needs.

Meet emerging educational imperatives

The world is changing so rapidly that our graduates are entering positions that did not exist when they entered K-State as freshmen. To provide quality educational experiences in such a world, we must continuously reinvent what we teach and how we teach it. To lead this process of continuous reinvention we draw on many resources — faculty, facilities, technology and financial support.