Nov. 5, 2026

Five years ago, Kansas State University began an important strategic journey - to grow, to become better, and to position K-State as a “next-generation land-grant university.” We challenged ourselves to think differently about our future, identify what mattered most and make the investments needed to move our university forward. Through nine strategic working groups and a high-level advisory group, we established the goals, metrics, initiatives, and investments that would guide this journey. 

Two priorities emerged as especially important. For our undergraduate students, our highest priority was to create an exceptional “applied learning experience” that connects classroom knowledge with customized real-world opportunities. For our faculty, staff, and graduate students, a longstanding and fundamental challenge emerged: “fair and competitive compensation.” 

These priorities are not simply items on a strategic plan. They are commitments to our people and to the future of this university. We are making progress on both, but much more work remains. 

For many years, insufficient state support and ongoing financial constraints have made it difficult for K-State to provide competitive compensation. Too many of our employees are paid below market or are not being compensated in ways that adequately reflect their experience, contributions, and performance. Our recent analysis indicates that 28% of our faculty and 23% of our staff are below market compensation levels. 

These numbers matter. They affect morale, our ability to recruit exceptional talent, and our ability to retain the talented people who make this university special. Our objective is straightforward - we must fix this. 

We also need to be honest about what it will take. Achieving fair compensation will require difficult decisions, thoughtful financial strategies, and, in some cases, sacrifices in other areas of the university. We may need to become smaller in certain areas so that we can become stronger and more focused in areas where we can achieve distinctiveness and excellence. 

There is no easy path. But there is a necessary path, and it requires us to work together, make decisions collectively, and put the long-term interests of K-State ahead of individual interests. We must operate as one university and move forward as one team. 

After approximately a year and a half of planning and analysis, we are now moving through the first implementation phase of a compensation plan designed to support our people better. Change of this magnitude naturally brings questions, concerns, and different perspectives. Over the past several weeks, we have heard concerns about the methodology, timeline and implementation of the plan. These concerns have been raised by our deans, through a memorandum, and by faculty and other stakeholders. We take these concerns seriously. We also recognize that we have an obligation to communicate clearly, provide direction, and move forward. 

Budget Transformation is the process we are using to identify and redirect the financial resources necessary to support our compensation commitments and address other critical university priorities. 

About one and half years ago, we presented two approaches to university leadership. 

Choice A: Implement an across-the-board 4.2% budget reduction each year for the next three years. 

Choice B: Implement an across-the-board 1.1% budget reduction in each of the next three years, while using additional financial strategies and budgetary levers to identify the remaining resources needed. 

Neither option was easy, and neither came without consequences. After extensive discussion, our administration and the Deans unanimously chose Choice B. 

Budget Transformation is not simply about reducing budgets. It is about making strategic choices, aligning our resources with our priorities, and creating the financial capacity to invest in the future of K-State. We must stay focused on the process that we committed to. We must continue to identify solutions, challenge longstanding practices and make difficult decisions together. Our ability to deliver on our commitment to fair compensation depends on it. 

Faculty Compensation 

We have heard significant concerns from our Deans, Department Heads, Faculty Senate, University Distinguished Professors, faculty members and others regarding the faculty compensation methodology and proposed implementation timeline. 

We take these concerns seriously. Our goal is not simply to implement a compensation plan; it is to implement the right plan — one that is fair, thoughtful, transparent, and aligned with our university's needs and priorities. For that reason, we have decided to temporarily pause the timeline for faculty compensation adjustments and pay structure implementation. This decision reflects our commitment to getting this right and ensuring that we have the necessary alignment before moving forward. 

Beginning next week, our administration will engage directly with Deans, Department Heads and Faculty Senate in a focused, solution-oriented process. We want to ensure concerns are heard, differences are addressed, and we develop a path forward with broad understanding and support. Our target is to reach an agreed-upon approach by March 1, 2027, or before. 

Staff Compensation 

The staff compensation process is at a different stage of readiness. We have received substantially fewer concerns regarding the proposed staff pay adjustments, and we have a well-established staff classification structure and a consistent performance evaluation process to guide implementation.  Given this foundation and the broad alignment around the proposed approach, the staff compensation implementation plan will continue as originally planned and communicated. 

Our staff are essential to the success of K-State, and we have made a commitment to address longstanding compensation challenges. We intend to honor that commitment and move forward without unnecessary delay. 

Beginning tomorrow, we will continue with the Compensation Study implementation for staff. We will send more information in a K-State Today email this Friday, with links to the staff structure and more. 

Graduate Student Compensation 

Our work on graduate student compensation has reinforced the complexity of this important issue. Graduate stipends and tuition assistance vary considerably across our peer institutions, and developing an appropriate model requires us to carefully consider these differences, our competitive position, and the unique role graduate students play in our university.  We previously communicated that additional work was necessary to develop the right approach. That work is continuing, and our timeline remains unchanged. 

Why are faculty and staff compensation following different timelines?

This is an important and reasonable question. The answer comes down to alignment and readiness. For staff compensation, we have a well-established structure, a consistent evaluation process, and broad agreement with the proposed methodology and adjustments. We are ready to move forward, and there is no compelling reason to delay implementation. For faculty compensation, concerns have been raised, and our university community is not yet sufficiently aligned on the methodology and approach. We believe those concerns deserve meaningful discussion and resolution before implementation. 

Importantly, once we reach a resolution on faculty compensation, eligible faculty pay adjustments will be made retroactively to the same effective date as the staff compensation adjustments. 

We also want to clarify the overall three-phase structure of our compensation plan because there appears to be some confusion about its objectives and implementation. 

One concern raised repeatedly by our deans is that high-performing employees are not being adequately recognized and rewarded. This is an important concern, and we share it. 

Our three-phase compensation strategy is designed to accomplish two fundamental objectives: 

• Bring our employees into competitive market compensation ranges. 

• Refine compensation to recognize individual contributions and compensable factors, including but not limited to characteristics such as experience, education, and performance. 

These objectives are complementary and are planned to be done over the next three years. We must address market inequities while also recognizing our people's excellence, experience, and contributions. The plan is structured as follows:

Phase 1: Addressing market inequities and recognizing excellence 

Phase 2: Recognizing excellence and collecting compensable factors  

Phase 3: Continuing to reward contribution and strengthen competitiveness 

We hope this message provides greater clarity about where we are, what we are trying to accomplish, and how we intend to move forward. We also want this message to be something more than an update on a compensation plan. It is a call to action. 

We broadly agree on one fundamental point: We must do better for our people. Ensuring our employees are paid at market is long overdue. It is one of the most meaningful investments we can make in our faculty, staff, and graduate students. It is essential to our ability to recruit, retain, and develop the talent necessary to achieve our ambitions. 

The question is not whether we should do this. The question is how we do it, how we work together, and how we lead through the challenges that inevitably come with meaningful change. 

And this is where we all have work to do. We have not always been aligned in how we approach these challenges. We have not always communicated effectively with each other, and we have not always operated with the sense of shared purpose that a university of our stature requires. And we need to change that. 

Leadership means more than advocating for our individual colleges, departments or programs. It means looking beyond our own organizational boundaries and making decisions in the best interests of the entire university. It means engaging in difficult conversations, listening to different perspectives, finding common ground and being willing to make tough decisions together when necessary. 

We need to be on the same leadership team, rowing in the same direction, with a shared commitment to the future of K-State.  That opportunity requires all of us. The future of
K-State is worth the work. 

Richard Linton, president

Jesse Perez Mendez, provost and executive vice president