Department of Communications

Strategic Plan 2009-2013

Focus Areas

National Top 10 Rankings for Academic Programs

Agricultural Communications and Journalism and Agricultural Education

Our goal is to have both programs recognized as being in the top 10 (or higher) of all similar programs in the U.S. Advisory councils, faculty and staff retreats, and faculty/student committees will review current status of the programs and determine appropriate measures to strengthen existing curricula and offerings and add opportunities for extension and other areas of education that are compatible with the mission and vision of the department.

Larry Erpelding

Shannon Washburn

Steve Harbstreit

  1. Richard Baker
  2. Linda Sleichter
  3. Lisa Heller
  4. Marcus Ashlock
  5. Chris Lavergne

Collaboration

The department offers a variety of services, some of which complement other services on campus, some of which might be perceived as competitive with others on campus. We also have relationships OFF-campus that can sometimes be either cooperative or competitive in nature. The Collaboration Committee will work to identify those various partners and competitors, attempt to distinguish our role in offering the services we do, and determine how to foster a more cooperative relationship with other service providers.

Larry Jackson

Deb Pryor

  1. Greg LeValley
  2. Kenny McVey
  3. Larry Havenstein
  4. Gary Kepka

Secondary Leadership/Delegation

It is important for the department to develop a plan for secondary leadership and delegation that will also address departmental and unit time management. We will need to find ways to allow younger leaders to develop skills, to do more with fewer staff members, to eliminate wasted time and materials, and to ease out legacy work that isn’t essential to the departmental mission.

Nancy Zimmerli-Cates

Linda Gilmore

  1. Jennifer Alexander
  2. Rob Nixon
  3. JoAnn Ebert
  4. Jane Dunstan
  5. Gamage Dissanayake

Wellness Program

This program will be initiated to provide information on wellness to department faculty/staff, and to support and encourage those who wish to participate in regular physical activity. The activity is at the employee’s discretion. The department aims to provide incentives to be physically active, such as providing a reasonable amount of leave time during the work day for a workout. Additional support and information for employees may be available, depending on recommendations of the wellness committee.

Larry Jackson

Pat Melgares

  1. Deb McClain-Williams
  2. Deb Pryor
  3. Debbie Webb
  4. Kathy Henderson
  5. Chris Lavergne

Department Prioritization

With our diversity, it is important for us to develop a vision for the department and have it lead prioritization our areas of focus. This vision and our mission should guide us regarding which projects should be undertaken and which ones should be declined. It is critical that each professional be able to communicate with his/her unit leader and administration, helping the professional understand whether a project is viable or not and whether it aligns with our mission and vision. Dwindling resources will require that we clearly define project scope and costs, charge appropriate fees, as well as evaluate the project impact on the organization.

Kris Boone

Gina Nixon

  1. Steve Ballou
  2. Eric Atkinson
  3. Nancy Peterson
  4. Steve Harbstreit
  5. Nancy Zimmerli-Cates
  6. David Dunn
  7. Donna Sheffield

Extramural funding & Entrepreneurial

As state and federal budgets dwindle, it is becoming more important for the department to identify ways to increase operating funds. Over the next five years we will become more entrepreneurial in our approach to generating operating dollars, to include increased fee generation. We will also become more aggressive in our pursuit of grants, private contributions from industry and friends, and other extramural funding opportunities.

Gina Nixon

Greg LeValley

  1. Randall Kowalik
  2. Pat Melgares
  3. Mark Stadtlander
  4. Dan Donnert
  5. Lori Buss
  6. Neal Wollenberg
  7. Bob Holcombe

Convergence

We are living in a time when changes in communications, storytelling and information technologies are reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. New technologies allow people to archive, annotate, appropriate, and re-circulate media content.These technologies also have altered the ways that consumers interact with the university.Media convergence can be used to describe the kinds of technological and economic changes made through the flow of media content across multiple delivery technologies. It is an ongoing process, not an end state. For the Department of Communications, convergence won’t just affect the News Media Services unit. It will be reflected throughout the entire organization of K-State Research and Extension.

Elaine Edwards

  1. Dan Donnert
  2. MaryLou Peter-Blecha
  3. Eric Atkinson
  4. Nancy Peterson
  5. Chris Lavergne
  6. Gloria Holcombe
  7. Gerry Snyder
  8. Gamage Dissanayake

Content Management System

The Content Management System (CMS) created by our programmers is now managing more than 200 Web sites throughout campus and the state. In order to maintain the high quality product our Web clients expect, we need to continue the application development, system improvements, training, and promotion of the CMS. In addition, we will continue to pursue the possibility of packaging the software as a commercial product.

Seth Subramanian

Linda Sleichter

  1. Joe Agnew
  2. Neal Wollenberg
  3. Amy Hartman
  4. Deb McClain-Williams
  5. Brian Mulanda
  6. Gerry Snyder

Marketing Plan/Education

The Department of Communications believes in a strategic, integratedapproach to marketing. Utilizing marketing principles, this actionplan will help the department identify its goals; target appropriateaudiences; implement marketing strategy; and evaluate its progress in marketing K-State Research and Extension, the Department of Communication, and the College of Agriculture.

Pat Melgares

Linda Sleichter

  1. Jeff Wichman
  2. Gloria Holcombe
  3. Pat Hackenberg
  4. Russell Feldhaussen

Department Infrastructure

As we look towards the future, we must identify industry trends and develop plans and projects that will keep KSRE and the College of Ag on the leading edge. We must identify and procure resources – physical, technological and human – that will not only ensure the ability to continue providing our current services but also allow us to improve and expand them.

To Be Determined

  1. Gina Nixon
  2. Kevin Block
  3. Nancy Zimmerli-Cates
  4. Larry Havenstein
  5. Vernon Turner
  6. Brian Mulanda