The Kansas Board of Regents has voted for a new K-State president Tuesday, and that president happened to already be on campus.
In a meeting held inside Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union, the Kansas Board of Regents announced that retired Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers will become the 14th president in the history of Kansas State University.
“It is with great pleasure that we are here today to make this announcement,” stated Zoe Newton, Chair of the Kansas Board of Regents. “General Myers is perfectly positioned to bring K-State into the future, but understands as an alumnus the importance of honoring the traditions and history of this great university.”
Myers was named the interim president of K-State in April after previous president Kirk Schulz was named the new president of Washington State University in March.
“You just really have to appreciate what K-State can do for students — students like me,” Myers said to an enthusiastic crowd inside Forum Hall. “And who knows? There might be some ROTC student sitting over there in Gen. Richard B. Myers Hall that’s going to be the next Chairman or the next Chief of Staff for the Air Force or Chief of Staff for the Army. That’s pretty cool stuff, right?
“People we have here will change the world.”
Over 80 people applied for the position and three finalists were submitted to the board for consideration. In the end, Myers — a 1965 K-State graduate — wound up as the regents’ choice.
Myers served as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2001 to 2005. As the nation’s highest ranking military officer, Myers served as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, Myers served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
After the announcement, Myers was asked by reporters about the state’s budget crisis and the concealed carry of firearms on campus.
“I’m not sure there is anyway not to be affected,” he said, concerning legislative researcher projections of a $1.1 billion budget shortfall for the state by June 2019. “There are some tools. There are some things that can perhaps be used. I’m a little new in the nuances of some of this, but there are some ways and suggestions, perhaps, that the state could look at certain things that might make less of an impact on higher education, and we have some new legislators that are going to Topeka, and maybe their views on the value of higher education will be very positive and help us move this a little bit.”
In July 2017, state law goes into effect that will allow the concealed carry of firearms on campus and Myers reaffirmed his disagreement with it.
“I’m on record as believing that concealed carry on a university campus is not in the best interest of folks on campus, so that’s my stance and I think that’s been well articulated,” he said. “It will be up to legislators if they want to revisit that.”
Myers added that he recognizes not all students and faculty agree with that stance, but reiterated his concern with campus safety.
“I still think it’s not a good idea for campus,” he said. “I’d be a lot better with it if they said you had to have some sort of training, because in the military we give people weapons, but we train them on how to use those weapons.”
Myers has commanded at all levels and served in significant staff positions throughout the Air Force. His largest commands included U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan; Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
“The decision was a hard choice because of the quality of candidates that applied,” stated Regent Dennis Mullin, Chair of the K-State Presidential Search Committee, in a press release. “General Myers surfaced to the top because of his strong leadership and vision. When the board looked at the needs of K-State today, they believed that his skill set was aligned closely to those goals. His effectiveness as Interim President and his love for K-State were also great attributes. I have really enjoyed this process and feel like it has allowed us to hire the best person as the 14th President of Kansas State University.”
Born and raised in Merriam, Kan., Gen. Myers is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1965. He also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration at Auburn University in 1977. He is also a 1977 graduate of the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks in 1981 and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he completed a program for Senior Executives in National and International Security in 1991.
Gen. Myers joined the Air Force in 1965 through the ROTC program at KSU, after which he entered pilot training at Vance Air Force Base. A command pilot, he has more than 4,100 flying hours, primarily in the F-4, F-15 and F-16, including 600 combat hours in the F-4. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Nov. 9, 2005.
KSU officials said Myers salary will be available to the media by next week.
