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Inaugural Environmental Law Symposium will discuss issues and intersections of environmental law
LAWRENCE — A new Environmental Law Symposium at the University of Kansas will gather scholars from across the country to discuss how the nation’s historically place- and resource-based laws intersect and might ideally evolve. The March 6 event is open to the public, but registration is required.
KU Natural History Museum announces spring programming
LAWRENCE — The KU Natural History Museum has a full lineup of science-themed public events this spring for both youth and adults. These include Darwin Day: Valentine’s Edition on Feb. 14 as well as the Science on Tap series, family programming days such as Pollinator Palooza and special events for Pi Day and the Celebration of Women in Science.
KU disability research center nationally recognized for community partnership
LAWRENCE — The Kansas University Center on Disabilities is among five national recipients of the 2026 Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnerships Award, a distinction from Campus Compact that honors higher education programs and initiatives. The center was recognized for its community partnership with the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Casey Bacot, School of Law, [email protected]
Inaugural Environmental Law Symposium will discuss issues and intersections of environmental law
LAWRENCE — From the 1960s through the 1980s, Congress and the states established environmental, natural resources and energy laws largely on a medium-by-medium, resource-by-resource, sovereign-by-sovereign and/or place-by-place basis. A new scholarly event at the University of Kansas School of Law will cover ways that the United States might better address how these environmental laws and issues intersect.
Legal scholars and environmental advocates will gather March 6 in Lawrence to discuss these issues at the first biennial Environmental Law Symposium. The creation of this event was spearheaded by Robin Kundis Craig, the Robert A. Schroeder Distinguished Professor of Law at KU.
“The Nexus Symposium: Crosscutting Environmental Issues and Intersections” will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Green Hall. Check-in and breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Lunch will be provided.
“Specialty symposia are a great way to call attention to the law school’s environmental law program, both by having scholars from all over the country come to our law school and by getting some great publications for our law review,” Craig said. “For this particular symposium, I hope that attendees get to hear about some intersections in the law that we don’t usually talk about — the “nexus” issues that either need some work or where we’re making progress.”
Register and preview the complete symposium schedule.
Event speakers:
Cynthia Barnett, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications
Robin Kundis Craig, KU School of Law
Holly Doremus, University of California-Berkeley School of Law
Robert Glicksman, George Washington University Law School
Burke Griggs, Washburn University School of Law
Lisa Heinzerling, Georgetown University Law Center
James May, Washburn University School of Law
Sharmila Murthy, Northeastern University School of Law
Uma Outka, KU School of Law
J.B. Ruhl, Vanderbilt University Law School.
This symposium brings together prominent environmental, natural resources and energy law scholars from across the United States to discuss their favorite legal intersections and cross-cutting issues. Topics range from the food system to public lands to multiple water nexuses to climate change tipping points.
“We are proud to offer students exceptional opportunities to study in this area of law and thrilled to be able to host nationally renowned environmental law scholars at KU Law in March,” said Uma Outka, William R. Scott Law Professor. “KU Law has a long tradition of excellence in environmental, energy and natural resources law. The launch of this symposium is the latest demonstration of this excellence and the law school’s commitment to continuing to build this program.”
Scholarship associated with the symposium will be published in a special issue of the Kansas Law Review.
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Contact: Natalie Vondrak, Natural History Museum/Biodiversity Research Institute, [email protected]
KU Natural History Museum announces spring programming
LAWRENCE — The KU Natural History Museum has a full lineup of science-themed public events this spring for both youth and adults. Programs will cover a range of topics, including STEM activities related to legendary scientists and their discoveries, as well as public presentations on digitizing natural history collections and paleontology fieldwork in Turkey.
In honor of Charles Darwin’s birthday and Valentine’s Day, the museum will host Darwin Day: Valentine’s Edition on Feb. 14. The drop-in event will feature activities and learning stations throughout the galleries from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Visitors can learn about Darwin’s life and explore the wild world of animal courtship, mating and reproduction.
Other family-friendly events include searching for natural examples of Pi (π) throughout the exhibits using a special gallery guide from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 14 in celebration of Pi Day. Later in the month, the public is invited to the museum for the fifth annual Celebration of Women in Science from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 28. Visitors can meet scientists from KU and beyond, learn about scientific techniques, view specimens and try hands-on experiments at exploration stations throughout the museum.
Science on Tap, a long-running public program in partnership with Free State Brewing Co., returns Feb. 25 with “Generating Digital Collections to Explore Neotropical Beetles,” presented by Samanta Orellana, postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Entomology at the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum. The program series features an informal research presentation in the brewery’s beer hall, followed by a question-and-answer session.
Late spring presenters for Science on Tap include Trevor Rivers, associate teaching professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, who will present “Fireflies of the Sea: Complex Bioluminescence in the Caribbean” on March 25. On April 15, Chris Beard, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Biodiversity Institute and Foundation Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at KU, will present “Paradise Lost: Fossil Mammals from the Former Island Continent of Balkanatolia.” All Science on Tap events take place at Free State Brewing Co., 636 Massachusetts St., and begin at 7:30 p.m.
Another program series by the Kansas Postdoctoral Outreach Project, a group of KU postdoctoral researchers, brings science to life through hands-on experiments and interactive activities. The series consists of STEM Inspiration Day on March 15, Pollinator Palooza on April 19 and Biodiversity Day on May 24. All events take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the museum in Dyche Hall.
Throughout the year, the museum also offers educational programs and resources for K-12 schools, Scout programs and collection tours for KU and other higher education institutions.
A variety of year-round adult programs are also available Tuesday-Friday. These paid experiences are ideal for team building, unique group outings and more.
The KU Natural History Museum is part of the KU Biodiversity Institute, a KU-designated research center studying the biological diversity of life on Earth. The museum is located in historic Dyche Hall, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd., and is open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Suggested donations are $7 for adults and $4 for children. Members and KU students are free. Learn more at KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.
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Contact: Jen Humphrey, Life Span Institute, 785-864-6621, [email protected]
KU disability research center nationally recognized for community partnership
LAWRENCE — The Kansas University Center on Disabilities (KUCD) is among five national recipients of the 2026 Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnerships Award.
The distinction from Campus Compact honors higher education programs and initiatives that make a meaningful impact by partnering with communities to address complex social issues. KUCD, based at the KU Life Span Institute, is the only honoree in the Midwest region of the United States.
Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities developed to promote civic and community engagement, recognized KUCD for its work partnering with the disability community as active members of inclusive research and dissemination teams.
Karrie Shogren, KUCD director and Ross and Marianna Beach Distinguished Professor of Special Education, highlighted the center’s innovation and impact through its community partnership with the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas (SACK), which has supported training and technical assistance, information dissemination and community engagement at KUCD.
“Partnering with the community is foundational to our work at KUCD,” Shogren said. “We are immensely grateful for our partnership with SACK and the opportunity to co-create new directions for research and practice to advance outcomes for people with disabilities.”
Members of SACK co-signed a letter supporting the nomination for the award. The letter describes how most research centers on intellectual and developmental disabilities don’t fully engage members of their community in research.
“(Other centers) decide what’s important, do their studies and then just tell people with disabilities the results — without asking us what matters or how we want information shared. KUCD is different,” the statement read. “KUCD partners with us in ways that make a bigger impact than either of us could make alone. We are excited for what’s next and know that KUCD will continue to support, elevate and work alongside us to advance equity and justice for the disability community.”
Other university-community partnerships to be honored with the Community-Engaged Partnership Award are based at Chemeketa Community College (Salem, Oregon), Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon), University of Rochester (Rochester, New York) and at Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, Connecticut). Winners will be recognized at Campus Compact’s annual conference March 16-18 in Chicago.
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