Jon Wefald was president of K-State for 23 years. His last day in office was June 15. Though retired, he will always remain a part of K-State. During his last week in office, the Collegian had the opportunity to sit down with President Wefald and reflect on his upcoming retirement.
Q: Why did you decide to retire early?
A: "Our esteemed vice president of administration and finance, Bruce Schubert, reminded me that the end of the fiscal year was June 13, this Saturday, and so I thought, well, it isn't like I've been here 5 years or 10 years - 23 years. The other guy is the vice president at Mississippi State. He's not the president, so he doesn't have to be there until the last minute, and so I thought, let's move it up a few weeks. Kirk [Schulz] thought that was a good idea, and so we thought it was a consensus and a very modest change, and so here we are."
Q: What are you looking forward to most about retirement?
A: "Well, that's a really good question, and I would say no schedule to interrupt, and I'm not talking about things like this [interview] because this is most enjoyable. But on a job like this, you have 23,000 students, 1,500 faculty, 150,000 alums, the state legislature, the governor, the regents, my other colleagues, the other systems, the congressional delegation, all of whom we work with, and so I guess the big thing is just time to read. So [in retirement] you read in the morning, and then have lunch, and then if you want to [you can] go for a walk or ride the bike and then start reading again, and I would say refurbish your mind and rejuvenate your body - get a life. I enjoy reading, and it will be a variety of things: political history, political biographies, military history, leadership ... I can read anything. I love ancient history, but I love American history. I certainly enjoy reading about American politics."
Q: Is Ruth Ann Looking forward to anything the two of you might be doing starting after your retirement?
A: "Now she is a volunteer and I'd have to say that she is the quintessential volunteer. Just think of this: 23 years she has never been paid. You look around today and most all spouses are teaching in the university; they have professorships; they get paid for a variety of duties. Ruth Ann has been volunteering for the art museum, the dance studio, the international program area and a variety of other things [like] things downtown, let alone the university - a variety of community service for the university and for the community. But I've heard her say this: that in retirement it is going to be nice to go from June to July, and [she won't] have a lot of appointments scheduled. She's looking forward to doing the same kinds of things, reading, just kind of enjoying things."
Q: Do you think you'll stay involved in K-State athletics?
A: "In all the years I've been here, we've had just two big goals: academic excellence is first, then on the athletic side ... in the Big 12, you want to be competitive. I'm happy to say we're leaving behind competitive teams in every area. Look at how far baseball went this year, to the sub-regional, and Brad Hill is a heck of a coach. So yeah, I do like sports, but there is nothing like the news on [the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility] or when that tax passed on Nov. 4 of 2008, knowing that we would have a campus in Olathe. So academics is first, second, third, fourth and fifth, but on the athletics, we want to stay competitive. So yeah, I'll go to games; you know Bill Snyder will get things going in football; and Frank Martin will have a - who knows - maybe even a top 20 ranked team; and in volleyball, Suzie Fritz is always good; and Debbie Patterson has won two Big 12 championships. Brad Hill looks like he's really building baseball, and Cliff Rovelto in track and field, so I think we've got a good diversity."
Q: Are you going to stay involved in the leadership studies?
A: "Yeah, I'll give lectures in Leadership Studies, History and Political Science, on a variety of subjects, and I've got a lot of work to do in the next year and then advise students - I haven't done that before. Well, I'm going to be available to these leadership students to give them a little advice."
Q: Do you have any big goals that you want to accomplish in your retirement?
A: "Yeah, I want to be king of the world - no, I really don't. I want to help out K-State, you know I've been here 23 years, Ruth Ann and I love K-State and we always will. Our boys both graduated from here; they both married K-Staters; we have four grandchildren - we're prepping them for K-State. And [we want] to have time to spend with the grandchildren. I know I'll stay busy."
Wefald era ends after 23 years
Published: Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, June 17, 2009
 "Photo: Lisle Alderton")
Lisle Alderton
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