KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The three largest universities in Kansas will require all employees to be vaccinated to comply with a federal directive from President Joe Biden.
Early Friday afternoon, Kansas State University announced that all of its employees would be required to take the vaccine by Dec. 8. Within hours, the Kansas Board of Regents said that the University of Kansas and Wichita State University would follow suit.
According to the Associated Press, the announcements stem from a determination by regents that the federal vaccine mandate applies to research institutions that administer federal contracts.
Although part of the regents system, Emporia State and Fort Hays State Universities don’t have federal contracts and won’t need to participate.
The Associated Press reports officials at Pittsburg State University are still receiving the requirements.
In a memo to the colleges, Kansas Board of Regents President Blake Flanders said universities had "no choice" but to comply with the federal order because failure to do so would jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars from contracts the institutions have with federal agencies and subcontracts with other government contractors.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
