A desire to help others led to a premier K-State scholarship that’s a game changer for top students — and K-State
By Marisa Larson ’93, ’16, KSU Foundation staff
On her drive from Manhattan to her field work assignment in Junction City, K-State student Mallory Applegate wondered how she’d pay for college since she couldn’t work as many hours now and faced the added expense of gas for her car. Then she received an email that solved this problem — she was selected as a Robert E. Campbell Scholar, which came with a $6,000 annual scholarship.
“That was a huge weight off my shoulders — it took that financial burden off,” said Applegate, a junior in mathematics education. “I still substitute teach one day a week and tutor, but the stress of needing a job while in college is gone. Now I can focus on my education.”
Making a lasting impact
Bob Campbell, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 95, was a self-made man who took advantage of opportunities others may have missed. Through his K-State education, his natural tenacity and a self-taught start in the oil business, he built a lucrative career.
“Because Bob started from scratch, he cared about others and wanted to help kids,” said Kent Sedlacek, senior director of gift, estate and trust planning at the KSU Foundation. “His gift to K-State was how he could make a difference in students’ lives and in the university. He delighted in both being generous and doing things his own way.”
Campbell was a first-generation student who studied business administration at K-State via the GI Bill after serving in WWII with the United States Army Air Corps, a precursor to the U.S. Air Force. After his 1950 graduation, he sold bonds before eventually researching “how the oil business worked” and in 1963 launching his own company, Robert E. Campbell Oil and Gas Operations, which he operated for 56 years.
At his 2016 induction into the College of Business Administration’s Distinguished Business Leaders Hall of Fame, Campbell said, “Kansas State University is where I grew intellectually and as a person.”
Then he encouraged students to apply themselves and nurture their ideas toward their own goals.
Competitive edge
Campbell’s legacy lives on in the 35 students selected each year for the scholarship bearing his name. It’s awarded to a select group of high-achieving, academically talented students in the University Honors Program — the types of students every university wants on their campus.
“There are students looking at very competitive offers from a number of places, and the financial piece is going to be the thing that brings them here and keeps them here,” said Sara Luly, director of K-State’s University Honors Program. “This scholarship puts us on the map in a way we hadn’t been before.”
The first batch of Campbell scholars were selected in 2024 and included several students who were already at K-State.
“It just came out of the blue. I was one of the lucky ones,” said AJ Grutsch, a junior in personal financial planning. “Getting to tell my parents that I was chosen to be a Campbell scholar; they were ecstatic.”
Building community
About 710 students are in K-State’s honors program, so the cohort of 35 Campbell scholars each year is a very select group. The scholars live together in honors housing their first year to build a sense of community and to position themselves as leaders within the honors program.
Olive Koerner, a freshman in civil engineering, said the program made her transition to college a bit smoother.
“Living with your fellow scholars and going to our honors program events helps me get to know this group of people better,” she said.
Building a community is one of the goals of the program, Luly said. And that has been a success.
“Walking around campus and recognizing people because I’ve eaten with them at the Campbell Scholars’ dinner each semester, or seen them at events, is really nice,” Grutsch said. “It’s exciting because we all share a love of learning, so being an honors student and a Campbell scholar gives me more people to relate to around campus and more connections to make.”
Growing intellectually
Campbell invested in the scholars program to encourage students’ intellectual growth and curiosity, just as he grew as a student at K-State. Through the honors program, Campbell scholars are encouraged to dive deeper into subjects or to explore varied topics outside of their majors.
As an engineering major, Koerner had hoped to enroll in an engineering-focused honors seminar, but the class was full. Instead she took one about film, TV and plays. And that ended up being a nice change of pace.
“The honors program has become my way to escape engineering for a bit,” she said. “It broadens my horizons and makes me more well-rounded. It’s a nice way to explore other interests.”
CAMPBELL SCHOLARS
- Renewable $6,000 scholarship with 3.5+ GPA
- Recipients are members of University Honors Program
- 35 students selected each year from 300+ applicants
- First-year students live together in honors housing
- Open to all students: incoming, transfer and international
