Former K-State VP, athletic director Bob Krause dies at 70
By The Mercury
December 16, 2015
Bob Krause, a top official who helped lead Kansas State University through a dramatic turnaround but whose tenure ended with a cloud, died Wednesday in Manhattan after a battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
Krause served as K-State President Jon Wefald’s right-hand man, the guy behind the scenes who helped build the university, its enrollment, its fundraising, its research arm and its athletic program into a multi-million-dollar force.
He was vice president for institutional advancement from 1986 to 2009 and served as acting athletic director from 2008 to 2009.
He had a reputation as sharp and capable — someone who made things happen.
Wefald, who was emotional as he spoke to The Mercury on Wednesday, called Krause a dear friend.
“He was an incredible problem-solver and strategist,” Wefald. “He could see things that others did not.”
He said Krause had a pivotal role in the success at K-State in the areas of enrollment, athletics, facilities, Regents relations, legislative relations, student relations and research.
But it was Krause’s role in a secret deal with then-football coach Ron Prince that brought him into the spotlight.
Following two so-so seasons in 2006 and 2007, Krause and Prince in 2008 signed a secret “memorandum of understanding” that would add $3.2 million to the $1.2 million contract buyout Prince got when he was fired.
K-State filed a lawsuit in May of 2009 to toss out the $3.2 million agreement.
The university in 2011 settled with Prince, paying a lump sum of $1.65 million.
Krause resigned as athletic director in January 2009 and became director of development of the university’s Olathe campus. He was fired from that position in June of the same year when the secret memorandum was discovered.
Despite the controversy, Wefald spoke highly of Krause and what he did for K-State over the decades they worked together.
He said he met Krause on July 1, 1977, at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota.
“He had been there a few months, so I inherited him, you could say.”
When Wefald was hired at K-State in 1986, he decided to create a new position: vice president for institutional advancement.
“There were some good candidates there, but I knew (Krause) would be a perfect fit at Kansas State,” he said.
Wefald said he respected Krause’s sense of urgency.
“He didn’t say, ‘Well, let’s set up a committee and deal with it in a month or so,’” Wefald said. “He was so passionate about tackling a problem. He also had a terrific sense of humor, and could imitate people so well. When things got boring, I would throw him some red meat, so to speak.”
Krause was born Sept. 12, 1945.
He received a bachelor’s degree in art education and art from Western Illinois University in 1967 and a master’s degree in college student personnel work from Michigan State University in 1968.
From 1975 to 1983, Kruse was vice president of student affairs at Southwest State University in Minnesota. He then became director of student affairs in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System from 1983 to 1986.
After 23 years as vice president for institutional advancement at K-State, he stepped in as co-athletic director with Jim Epps to replace Tim Weiser, who left to become deputy director of the Big 12 Conference.
He served as chair of the Board of Directors of NutriJoy Inc., the Board of Directors of the Soaring with Eagles Foundation and the Mercy Community Health Foundation. He also served on the advisory board of the Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows at the K-State Staley School of Leadership Studies.
Krause is married to Marty Vanier, director of operations for Kansas State University’s National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. He and Vanier recently donated $750,000 to the Flint Hills Discovery Center for its theater.
He has three daughters from a previous marriage.
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