Faculty at the Kansas Leadership Center, teaching leadership to thousands of adults in government, business, education, non-profit, and faith sectors This includes facilitating leadership programs for elected legislators. In 2017, Steffensmeier became the founding director of Third Floor Research, a KLC applied research center aimed at improving the way leadership is exercised in communities and organizations. Tim also serves as assistant vice president and director of the Kansas State University Office of Engagement, connecting Kansans and communities beyond the state to the resources and expertise of a land-grant University. As a professor of communication, Tim’s scholarship and practice focus on community engagement, public deliberation, and leadership. His current book, Leading Change in the Public Square, is an analysis of how rural communities embraced cross-sector problem-solving. Tim is a former department head, director of an inter-disciplinary doctoral program, and earned a Ph.D. in Communication Studies at the University of Texas, Austin.