July 24, 2025
Dear Hornet Nation,
I have never been more proud of Emporia State University or more optimistic about our future. On November 17, 2021, then-Kansas Board of Regents Chair Cheryl Harrison-Lee shared her vision for a reformed higher education. She tasked Emporia State with looking “under-the-hood” of Higher Education and experiment with how the model could be changed to enable long-term sustainability.
When I was hired, she said, “We have to re-engineer higher education. If there’s anything we’ve learned from Covid, it’s that we are not able to do business like we’ve always done.” She challenged Emporia State to be student-centered with unwavering support for access and affordability, to take the best practices of the business world and bring them to the education world, and to seize opportunities for collaboration.
In the beginning, we set up our ONE ESU leadership team, analyzed historical and current / future trend data, established a strategic direction, began the work of assessing our total university enterprise and took action to change our trajectory. Our top priority is STUDENTS – STUDENTS – STUDENTS and to be in service to: (1) ESU + our community, (2) the KBOR System, and (3) Kansas Taxpayers.
We knew that for Emporia State to have a thriving future we had to be proactive. Thus, we responded to the reality, trends and challenges that higher education, ESU included, has been facing for well over a decade. Realities including declining enrollment, increased demand for online courses, out-of-whack supply / demand; meaning there is an oversupply of higher education versus the student demand. All of which created outdated organizations, inefficiencies and waste which caused deficits and financial instability for institutions across the nation.
While we did face a few detractors and concerns that our mission was unattainable early on, we persevered. We achieved the goals I was tasked with nearly four years ago. The results speak for themselves and demonstrate what is possible.
During the most transformative era in ESU’s history, Emporia State has addressed our operations and our finances. The university has turned the corner and is on a positive path forward. We have achieved a $30M financial correction that eliminated a $19M budget deficit. At the same time, we invested millions in people and programs. As a result, we are fiscally clean, operationally efficient and organizationally sound.
Millions in savings and efficiencies captured by the university have been immediately passed on to students, families and taxpayers. We are pleased to be leading the state as the only institution that did not raise tuition over the past two years, at the same time we removed parking and application fees, increased on-campus student jobs, raised student minimum wage and awarded more scholarships than ever — all of which reduced our students’ cost to attend ESU.
Operationally, we will achieve a 20% deferred maintenance reduction by 2026 and a 15% improvement in campus space optimization. We have had record fundraising, invested millions in additional employee compensation, upgraded our Moody’s rating and have reaffirmed accreditation from our major accreditors with accolades and praise for action taken the last few years. After rebuilding and reinvesting in our recruiting and enrollment departments, we are seeing positive results in terms of new incoming student enrollment which increased last year by 16%. We expect to see continued increases this year. All of this helps assure that ESU will not be a burden to the state of Kansas and its taxpayers.
We established a unique mentality and have completely changed our culture from the top down and from the bottom up. Our leadership team has been re-educated and now operates from a lens of data, analysis, financial responsibility and accountability.
We think these achievements are really something to celebrate. Hence, ESU’s Year of Celebration!
As we move into our next chapter it is time for me to pass the torch. Emporia State is now moving in a fantastic position, as a result I am officially announcing my retirement as president of our great institution. It has been an honor to serve my alma mater, my hometown and my native state of Kansas. I am confident that the team, which was constructed based on unique skillsets and attributes, will continue to carry the university forward in the best interests of students and taxpayers.
For more than a decade, higher education has faced significant challenges and pressure to change – this will not only continue but will increase in the future. There will be winners and losers. Those who are able to adjust will survive; those who don’t won’t… without additional funding. My last day on campus will be December 17, but rest assured, I am not going away.
I plan to stay involved as an active alumnus, fundraiser and however I can help continue this momentum we’ve created at Emporia State. I immensely respect higher education and love our wonderful state and will also continue to work tirelessly to advance the ongoing evolution of higher education for Kansas. It is important to ensure students and their families have better economical choices that make sense.
As one of my first actions in my next phase, I would like to ask for your support and commitment to continue our distinctive work that we have begun at ESU, not just for our university, but also for the state of Kansas.
Thank YOU for being part of this extraordinary journey. To students, alums, faculty, staff, supporters and trusted advisors — I truly appreciate all that you have done and will continue to do in support of Emporia State University. Thank you to the Kansas Board of Regents for giving me this opportunity, specifically past Kansas Board of Regents Chair Cheryl Harrison-Lee and past Regents Cindy Lane, Mark Hutton and Wint Winter who were side-by-side with us throughout the initial analysis and action phase, and to our own ESU Foundation for their renewed and unprecedented dedication to increase support for students and the university which has reduced costs for students. I would also like to give a special thanks to the ESU Leadership team who had the courage to make bold changes at the risk of their personal academic careers.
Emporia State will never look back. We will continue to always be proactive and continue to move boldly forward.
Go Hornets!
Ken Hush
Emporia State University
CEO and ESU Alum