On the recordApril 26, 2022
I rise today to memorialize and honor one of my great friends and mentor, our former Kansas State University President Dr. Jon Wefald who passed away on April 16 after a long and illustrious life serving higher education and the State of Kansas. His work at K-State brought the university to great heights, and his realized dreams will live on forever in K-State lore. My wife and I first met Dr. Wefald at a student recruitment dinner in Great Bend we were cohosting, where his energy was contagious and palpable. He was a young university president with a vision and a purpose we all wanted to be part of. He made every student in the room know they were each important, and K-State would help them realize their dreams. We remained friends up until the time of his passing with regular communications and advice. I will miss him. Dr. Wefald served as K-State's 12th president from 1986 to 2009 and is credited with growing the university into a top 10 land-grant university. During his 23 years of leadership, the university added 2.2 million square feet of new buildings. He also helped philanthropy increase from $6 million a year to nearly $100 million annually. Under his leadership, K-State quickly became one of the Nation's distinguished research and doctoral universities.…
