Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Z6 t t student life by iWf'f1'.S.SKl M. T aylor Among the board university, he said. I consider myself meetings, speaking engagements and incessant travel, Kirk Schulz, 13th university president, maintained the balance between the presidency and his personal life. He enjoyed reading science fiction by Isaac Asimov with the family cat, Amber, curled up by his side. He liked a bowl of Purple Pride Call Hall ice cream and listened to ABBA on his iPod. He was a die-hard sports fan who reveled in the roar ofthe crowd before each kick off or tip off and tweeted his way through the first year of his presidency. From being the frontline image of the university to a husband and father of two, Schulz said the man he was did not change. HI am amazed at how impressed people are to meet the president of the They reached their dream earlrer than expected and on Sept. 211, lnauguratlon Day, Schulz and hrs vvrfe, Noel, frrst lady and Paslay professor rn electrlcal and cornputer engineerrng, embraced thelr roles together The Schulzes celebrated with friends and fannlly throughout the day. We feel blessed to be here as the presldent, and vye feel blessed that the Board of Regents has conferred upon us thrs opportunrtyf' Schulz sand We look forward to belng here a long tlrne, leadlng thls lnstltutton and haylng a great tlrne doing lt. Matt Castro the same guy I was 220 years ago, and it's surprising how people make a big deal about meeting the president. I just don't consider myself anyone special. Schulz fulfilled his career dream February 2009 when the university officially announced him as the next president. Some of his primary objectives for the first few months, besides familiarizing himself with campus and the community, were to get more purple in his wardrobe and to make himself available for comments and suggestions about the university. He Wrote monthly Letters to Campus, blogged, hosted radio chats and maintained a Facebook profile to stay in touch with the university's community. 'LI need to learn as mitch as possible about Kansas State, he said in his first Letters to Campus. I want to use these opportunities on campus to visit with faculty, staff and students and to get a feeling forthe 'pulse' of K-State. He took office two weeks earlier than expected in June and jumped into the yearly audit, trudging through budget investigations for three months straight. Outside the office, Schulz continued to spend time on campus, familiarized himself with the people of the university and said he enjoyed dining locally at places like della Voce and So Long Saloon. The day before Schulzls inauguration, Sept. 23, the Schulz family hosted a university-wide ice cream social, serxdng 3,000 containers of Call Hall ice cream to connect with students in an informal setting and involve them more in the inauguration process. The next morning, with family, friends and colleagues gathered at the Presidents I Residence, Schulz said he still did not l

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l-lis parents, Carl and Judy Schulz: 0 Great partnership f Loving couple ' Good parents Her Parents, Butch and Joan Nunnally: v Visionary ' Energetic 0 Caring lin all facets of lifel Andrew, youngest son, 15: ' Leader ' Forward-thinking: ln Meet the Flobinsonsf' la linel says, lf you keep moving forward, embracing On Tuesday mornings at 9 am., when Schulz was not traveling, he and his 10 cabinet members gathered to discuss university happenings. They reviewed lists compiled by departments on notable events for a project that would list achievements of the university for marketing purposes, The cabinet discussed budget situations, future plans for university buildings and goals they wanted to achieve. l'm still amazed at how passionate people are about KfState, he said. and how important a place it is to the state. Che-lsy Lueth know what to expect from the day. I enjoyed it more than I thought I might, he said. I don't tend to necessarily enjoy when I am the focal point so much, but I enjoyed the day a lot. It was nice seeing the family and spending time with people I've known throughout my career. It was a lot of fun, a busy day and the kind of thing I will certainly look back upon as one of the highlights of my career. Several colleagues advised Schulz to use the first part of his presidency observing what the university stood for, staying open to what students, 28 student life Kirk in three words: new ideas and new kinds of things, you'll have success. My dad just keeps moving forward and grows in strength and leadership. ' Follower: l-le leads so many people, but he follows all of their ideas, he's willing to work as a team using their best ideas, combining people's strengths to make the best possible outcome. Tim, oldest son, 19: ' Overachiever 0 Smart fwmttt. faculty and staff wanted and waiting to implement the goals he had in mind until later in his presidency. His goals included moving the university toward a greater national prominence in teaching, scholarship and engagement, and the initiative K-State 2025, which focused on the long-term future of the university. Were going to get students, alumni, faculty and staff, folks outside the state and inside the state and say, 'What is it that you think is part of the K-State experience, and what would you like to see K-State look like in the next 15 ' Humorous: He's always serious about getting down to work, but he is fun to hang out with. years'? ' Schulz said. We're going to take all this information, and we're going to put it together and put it out in a plan that everyone is going to be able to look at, and this is what we're going to use as sort of our road map to describe where we're going to be, and what We're going to do and how we're going to grow in the next 15 years. While he continued to observe the l'pulse of campus, his regular trips to the Kansas Board of Regents meetings in Topeka continued, his flights across the country increased and his overall mission to represent the university outside