Editing Jon Wefald

{{Short description|American academic (1937–2022)}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2010}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image name          = Jon Wefald.jpg
| caption             = Wefald in 1999
| title               = 12th President of {{nowrap|[[Kansas State University]]}}
| term_start          = July 1986
| term_end            = June 14, 2009
| predecessor         = [[Duane Acker]]
| successor           = [[Kirk Schulz]]
| birth_name          = Jon Michael Wefald
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1937|11|24}}
| birth_place         = [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2022|04|16|1937|11|24}}
| death_place         = [[St. Cloud, Minnesota]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://themercury.com/news/jon-wefald-k-state-turnaround-leader-dies-of-heart-attack/article_c91d694a-d1e8-52c7-a076-9df60dee727d.html|title=Jon Wefald, K-State turnaround leader, dies of heart attack|first=Ned|last=Seaton|website=The Mercury|date=April 16, 2022 }}</ref>
| education           = [[Pacific Lutheran University]] (BA)<br />[[Washington State University]] (MA)<br />[[University of Michigan]] (PhD)
| spouse              = Ruth Ann Joynt
| children            = "Skipp" and Andy
| website             = [https://www.lib.k-state.edu/depts/sc_rev/flyers/wefald.php Jon Wefald: 12th K-State President]
| profession          = Academic administrator
}}

'''Jon Michael Wefald''' (November 24, 1937 – April 16, 2022)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wibw.com/2022/04/16/former-k-state-president-jon-wefald-passes-away-due-heart-attack/|title=Former K-State president Jon Wefald passes away due to heart attack|first=Sarah|last=Motter|website=www.wibw.com|date=April 16, 2022 }}</ref> was an American educator and served as the twelfth [[University President|president]] of [[Kansas State University]].

==Biography==
Wefald was born in Minneapolis and moved, at age six, with his family to [[Minot, North Dakota]]. After high school, he attended [[Pacific Lutheran University]] where he  earned a B.A. in [[history]] in 1959.  Wefald then earned his M.A. in history and [[political science]] from [[Washington State University]] in 1961, and Ph.D. in history from the [[University of Michigan]] in 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rosholt.org/des-jt.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329131430/http://www.rosholt.org/des-jt.html|url-status=dead|title=''Jon Michael Wefald'' (Descendants of Jacob Tollefson Rosholt)|archivedate=March 29, 2008}}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:President George W. Bush receives a Kansas State Football jersey from University President Jon Wefald.jpg|thumb|right|[[President of the United States|President]] [[George W. Bush]] receiving a Kansas State football jersey from Jon Wefald]]

===Early career===
In 1965, Wefald returned to [[Minnesota]], taking his first faculty position at [[Gustavus Adolphus College]], where he taught history for five years.  From 1971 to 1977, he served as Minnesota's Commissioner of Agriculture, and guest lectured.  In 1977, he became President of [[Southwest Minnesota State University|Southwest State University]] in [[Marshall, Minnesota]].  In 1982, he became a Chancellor of the six state university system of Minnesota.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/may08/wefald51208.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623003122/http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/may08/wefald51208.html|url-status=dead|title=Wefald announces retirement plans|archivedate=June 23, 2010}}</ref>

===Kansas State University===
In July 1986, Wefald began his service as president of Kansas State University.  Wefald held the second-longest term of any Kansas State president, trailing only the 25-year tenure of James McCain.  During his tenure at K-State, over {{convert|2000000|sqft|m2}} of new buildings were built, private giving increased from $6 million a year to nearly $100 million a year, research funding increased from $18 million to $110 million a year, enrollment increased from 17,000 to 23,000, and, finally, K-State students won 125 Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall Scholarships from 1986 to 2008<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.k-state.edu/media/achievements/scholarstop10of5pub.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516053152/http://www.k-state.edu/media/achievements/scholarstop10of5pub.pdf|url-status=dead|title=''Kansas State University Media Relations''|archivedate=May 16, 2008}}</ref>—more than any other public university in America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ksu.ksu.edu/media/k-statement/vol31/32609k-statement.pdf|title=''The Wefald Years'' (K-Statement. March 9, 2009)|accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref>

===Post-retirement===
Wefald announced on May 12, 2008, that he would retire at the end of the 2008–2009 academic year.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Subsequently, a routine audit performed by the [[Kansas Board of Regents]] determined that during Wefald's tenure a total of 13 undocumented payments had been made to former head football Coach Bill Snyder, former athletic director Tim Weiser and [[Bob Krause (athletic director)|Bob Krause]], a former vice president and athletic director at the university.  Combined, these payments amounted to $845,000.  Additionally, a plan was uncovered during the audit to "funnel more than $3 million in deferred compensation to former football coach [[Ron Prince]]." On May 20, 2009, Kansas State University and its athletic corporation filed suit to have a secret agreement between Prince and Krause declared invalid. Prince filed a lawsuit against the university which included the claim that Wefald and other high-ranking university officials had "actual or constructive knowledge" of the transaction.<ref>{{cite news|last=Meek|first=Austin|title=Prince seeking $3 million|url=http://cjonline.com/sports/football/2009-08-10/prince_seeking_3_million|accessdate=30 July 2010|newspaper=The Topeka Capital-Journal|date=10 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231329/http://cjonline.com/sports/football/2009-08-10/prince_seeking_3_million|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In May 2011, the lawsuit was settled and Prince received $1.65 million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kansas.com/2011/05/06/1838922/prince-lawyer-kansas-state-to.html |title=The Wichita Eagle |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-date=September 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907152026/http://www.kansas.com/2011/05/06/1838922/prince-lawyer-kansas-state-to.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Wefald denied any knowledge of this secret transaction, attributed the discrepancies to Krause, and immediately called for Krause to resign as director of economic development for the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus, which he did effective on May 20, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kstatecollegian.com/2009/06/24/retracing-their-steps/|title=Retracing their steps|first=The|last=Collegian|date=June 24, 2009}}</ref>

In June 2014, the Kansas Board of Regents approved Kansas State University's request <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/jun14/wefaldhall61914.html|title = University names new residence hall for former president Jon Wefald &#124; Kansas State University &#124; News and Communications Services}}</ref> to name its new residence hall in Wefald's honor. Construction of Wefald Hall started in the fall of 2014 and was completed in the fall of 2016. In approving the university's request, Regents Chair Fred Logan said, "I think if you look at higher education in Kansas, he (Wefald) was, it's fair to say, a historic figure. He was a historic president."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://themercury.com/articles/regents-approve-naming-planned-residence-hall-for-former-president |title=Regents approve naming planned residence hall for former president {{!}} TheMercury.com |website=themercury.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602143925/http://themercury.com/articles/regents-approve-naming-planned-residence-hall-for-former-president |archive-date=2016-06-02}}</ref>

==Honors==
*In 2002, Jon Wefald was honored by inclusion in the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame at the [[Norsk Høstfest]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hostfest.com/halloffame/view.asp?ID=67|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008094920/http://hostfest.com/halloffame/view.asp?ID=67|url-status=dead|title=''Dr. Jon Wefald. 10/15/2002'' (Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame)|archivedate=October 8, 2010}}</ref>
*In 2002, Jon Wefald was honored as Distinguished Kansan by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2001/jan/16/coach_to_share/|title=''Coach to share honors with other Kansans'' (The Lawrence Journal-World. January 16, 2001)|accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref>
*In 2009, Jon Wefald was named Kansan of the Year by the Kansas Society of [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.news.ku.edu/2009/april/24/chancellor.shtml|title=''Kansan of the Year'' (University of Kansas. April 24, 2009)|accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref>
*In 2009, officials at [[Fort Leavenworth]] honored Jon Wefald with the Department of the Army's Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.k-state.edu/media/k-statement/vol31/52109k-statement.html|title=K-Statement -- May 21, 2009/Vol. 31, No. 21|website=www.k-state.edu}}</ref>
*On April 17, 2015, Jon Wefald was initiated into the [[Alpha Tau Omega]] fraternity by an Initiation Team of the National Board of Directors and undergraduates from Delta Theta chapter at Kansas State University at the National Board Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{start box}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=R. E. Hansen}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Minnesota State Auditor]]|years=1970}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Robert W. Mattson Jr.]]}}
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== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}

{{Kansas State University presidents}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wefald, Jon}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:Educators from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:People from Minot, North Dakota]]
[[Category:Presidents of Kansas State University]]
[[Category:Pacific Lutheran University alumni]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:Academics from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Academics from North Dakota]]