Former Kansas State President Jon Wefald, 84, Passes Away In Minnesota

By Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

April 18, 2022

MANHATTAN — Jon Wefald, who served as president of Kansas State University for 23 years, died in Minnesota at age 84, officials said Monday.

Wefald, the land-grant university’s 12th president, passed away Saturday. He led K-State from July 1986 to June 2009.

“Dr. Wefald’s legacy is one of transformation, growth and a true passion for our great university,” said Richard Linton, the current president of Kansas State. “I am honored and challenged by the opportunity to share the experience of serving as K-State’s president and will strive to honor the example he set through his service.”

While Wefald served at Kansas State the university added 2.2 million square feet of new buildings, including the addition to Hale Library, the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the K-State Alumni Center. Philanthropy at Kansas State increased from $6 million a year to nearly $100 million annually, while research funding grew from $18 million annually to nearly $134 million.

In 1999, Wefald and colleagues wrote “Homeland Defense Food Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness Program” — also known as “The Big Purple Book.” The book outlined the university’s infectious disease research programs and established K-State as a biodefense leader. This reputation was critical in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2009 decision to name Manhattan as site of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF.

Wefald’s efforts for construction of the Biosecurity Research Institute on the Manhattan campus played a part in landing NBAF.

During his tenure, Wefald oversaw an increase in enrollment from around 16,000 students to more than 23,000. Also, during this time, K-State produced 125 Rhodes, Truman, Goldwater and Udall scholars — more than any other public university in the nation.

Outside of academics, K-State Athletics, especially football, performed well after hiring of Bill Snyder as coach in 1989. Snyder won conference championships before retiring.

“Jon was not only a very special leader of Kansas State University but also a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend,” Snyder said. “Jon was a major part of the reason we came to Manhattan. He was always so very determined to assist our program and all other programs — athletic and academic — to become the very best they could be.”

Funeral services are pending and information will be available at a later date.

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