For nearly a third of K-State’s 155 year history, Pat Bosco has been associated with K-State in one way or another. While he will continue to work with K-State, Bosco will retire from his position as vice president for student life and dean of students at the end of the academic school year, President Richard Myers said in a K-State Today announcement Monday.
During his tenure, Bosco has met with thousands of prospective students, becoming well-known for his personal attention to each student and family.
“Pat Bosco is known to many as the face of the university,” Myers said in the announcement. “He has encyclopedic knowledge of Kansas high schools and an amazing recall when it comes to current and former students. He is a shining example of how a life dedicated to service to others can transform thousands of lives.”
Bosco— a New York native— first arrived to K-State in 1969 after seeing Walter Cronkite talk about a Landon Lecture from Kansas Sen. Mike Mansfield on television. He wrote a letter to the Office of Admission at K-State and was impressed that he received a personal reply from the assistant director.
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Q&A: Bosco discusses being dean of students, falling in love with K-State
Bosco would become the university’s student body president, and immediately after graduating in 1971 with a degree in elementary education, he took over as the university’s director of student activities. Under the tenure of five K-State presidents, Bosco would hold several positions, including associate vice president for institutional advancement and dean of students; assistant vice president for educational and student services; and currently assistant dean of students and director of student activities.
For his dedication to K-State students, Bosco has been the recipient of several awards and honors. The Pat J. Bosco Outstanding Graduating Senior Award, granted by the Staley School of Leadership Studies, is given to an outstanding K-State senior. The K-State women’s basketball team also grants the Pat J. Bosco Outstanding Student Athlete Award. And in 2004, Student Governing Association voted to rename the plaza outside the K-State Student Union in Bosco’s honor — the only time in K-State history that a person currently employed at the university had received the distinction.
The university is planning several recognition events for Bosco in the spring semester, Myers said.
“It is difficult to fully express what Dr. Bosco has meant to our university and we look forward to celebrating his remarkable career,” Myers said. “In the coming semester, please take the opportunity to express thanks to Pat for his lifelong dedication and service to Kansas State University.”
