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Wheat Scoop: USW Analysis Shows Russian Intervention Has Fueled Every Wheat Price Spike Since 2007

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Guest Columnist
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Kansas Wheat

Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]

For audio version, visit kswheat.com.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally authored by USW President Vince Peterson and published by USW on March 9, 2023. This article has been shortened and adapted for the Kansas Wheat Scoop. Find the full version at uswheat.org.

Headlines from the Black Sea region continue to move markets more than a year after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Recent analysis from U.S. Wheat Associates, the industry’s export market development organization, shows the impact of Russian interventions in the market extends far beyond the current conflict and has been an underlying source of dramatic global wheat price volatility.

Over the years, Kansas wheat farmers answered the call to supply additional wheat to the world when the Russian government banned or restricted exports of wheat. However, with historically tight hard red winter (HRW) wheat supplies and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, price volatility reached record levels last year, said Mike Spier, Vice President of Overseas Operations with U.S. Wheat Associates.

“Russia’s government meddling clearly adds uncertainty and volatility in the market and that does make it more difficult for Kansas farmers to market their wheat,” Spier added.

Every Spike Reveals Russian Intervention

In six documented situations since 2007, when the global wheat market showed any sign of stress, the government of Russia stepped in to impose an export ban, export tax or export quota to isolate their home market. These actions intentionally limited world wheat importers’ access to Russian wheat supplies. This Russian intervention further magnified any supply shortage and accelerated the rise in wheat prices.

Twice in this time frame, Russian military aggression against Ukraine directly caused world wheat prices to spike sharply. The world is reeling viscerally and economically from the shock of that situation right now.

Consistent Protectionism

“…We are closely monitoring prices for the most essential social goods such as food, including bread,” said Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in early March about its domestic wheat supply. “Russian grain is in good demand from abroad, and its price is increasing. That said, it is necessary to provide the necessary raw materials, first of all, to the domestic baking industry.”

The Prime Minister made this comment with specific reference to the hyper reaction of global wheat prices to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the immediate impacts of the widespread economic sanctions levied on Russia in response. Yet it spotlights the core tenants of Russia’s protectionist and heavy-handed wheat supply and price control policies. Russian intervention has been front and center since the country first entered the global wheat export trade.

“Defending Russian domestic supplies and keeping domestic prices low by withholding supplies from the world will always be their primary wheat policy weapon,” wrote USW President Vince Peterson. “And they deploy it without regard for the harm and expense it creates for anyone.”

Underscoring this point, the Russian Ministry of Economy confirmed on Mar. 11, 2022, that they are banning wheat exports through Aug. 31, 2022, to their fellow Eurasian Economic Union member states, including its Ukraine invasion staging partner Belarus, along with Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Rampant Uncertainty

Russia’s war on Ukraine has blocked nearly 30% of the expected wheat export supply from governments and people that depend on it the most. Uncertainty runs rampant. And it is almost impossible to know how this war will be prosecuted. How long it will persist? What will the physical and economic situation of Ukraine and Russia be at the end?

Market analysts everywhere are trying to assess the many implications of this latest Russian intervention. Who will be most severely impacted? What will be the magnitude of the shortage created in the global wheat supply chain? And how will the world’s remaining supplies be apportioned, priced and relocated to the most severely affected countries?

Such high prices and volatility create challenges for the world’s wheat buyers and farmers and grain traders, who must also use the futures market to manage price risk.

Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics is actively tracking the agricultural ramifications of the Ukraine-Russia conflict through regular webinar updates. A main resource for these updates is Antonina Broyaka, who moved to the United States from Ukraine following the Russian invasion and is serving as an extension associate on the issue of economic impact of Russian military aggression on Ukrainian agriculture and global food security.

Keep up to date with the latest analysis on the agricultural ramifications of the Ukraine-Russia conflict at agmanager.info and broader analysis of world wheat markets at uswheat.org.

 

This chart shows correlation between HRW futures price spikes and Russian intervention. Russian intervention is associated with the upward spike in hard red winter wheat futures prices. Factors include export restrictions, taxes and two invasions of its sovereign nation neighbor Ukraine. Source: U.S. Wheat Associates.

 

 

That’s Their Personal Chair

By
Frank Buchman
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“A person’s favorite chair sometimes seems the most important thing there is.”
Of course, that’s not completely true, but certainly many people become attached to their personal chair.
Often when a person is moving out of their home, the only thing they care about keeping is “my chair.” Wherever new residence is taken, the chair provides consolation and peacefulness of that at home feeling.
Whichever family member’s chair it is soon becomes common knowledge of the home that nobody else sits in it.
When a guest comes into a home, extreme caution is taken that they aren’t seated in a specific person’s chair. It becomes an awkward situation asking them to get out of somebody else’s personal chair.
Even more unsettling is when a person comes into the room, and somebody has taken their chair. Several times the offender has been told “That’s my chair,” and they grudgingly move to another chair.
Favorite chairs don’t come in specific description because everybody has their personal preference. But once it’s a person’s chair nobody else can have it or even use it especially if the chair owner is in the room. If somebody uses a person’s chair when they aren’t around, the owner knows it when they sit in their chair.
Plush rocking chair recliners with variations of fabric, leather, or color are common favorites for many nowadays. Soft fabric rocking chairs used to often be people’s favorites.
However, wooden rocking chairs sometimes with a cushion more often without became favorites too. Straight backed wooden chairs were common decades ago and became comfortable regular places for seating.
Once a chair becomes a person’s favorite, it’s irreplaceable to them. With every day regular use, chairs wear out, rockers won’t work, springs are broken, fabric is full of holes. But the owner never has any desire and will not readily get a new or different chair.
While it was very heavily worn, Dad’s favorite chair was passed down to his son and became the favorite too. Used daily for another two decades, finally the chair became completely unusable. A sad occasion finally giving in to send that chair to the dump.
A nice leather rocking chair recliner became the replacement and is now the favorite chair.
Reminded of Mark 12:39: “They love their chairs as a place of distinction.”
+++ALLELUIA+++
XVII–13–3-26-2023

KU News: Research on broadband in Kansas recommends statewide strategy to improve infrastructure

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Guest Columnist
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From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

Research on broadband in Kansas recommends statewide strategy to improve infrastructure
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas researchers have completed a two-year study of broadband access in Kansas. Their newly published report documents extensive challenges within the current broadband landscape in the state — including low levels of satisfaction across Kansas with current internet access and cost — and recommends a comprehensive strategy to address these challenges.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams founder to kick off inaugural KU School of Business entrepreneurship event
LAWRENCE — Jeni Britton, founder and chief creative officer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, will speak as part of an inaugural University of Kansas School of Business event celebrating entrepreneurship at 6 p.m. April 25. The conversation, which will be held in the Dicus Family Auditorium, 1111 Capitol Federal Hall, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Carrie Caine, Institute for Policy & Social Research, 785-864-9102, [email protected]
Research on broadband in Kansas recommends statewide strategy to improve infrastructure

LAWRENCE — University of Kansas researchers have completed a two-year study of broadband access in Kansas. Their newly published report, “Broadband in Kansas: The Challenges of Digital Access and Affordability,” documents extensive challenges within the current broadband landscape in the state and recommends a comprehensive strategy to address these challenges.
The research showed low levels of satisfaction across Kansas with current internet access and cost. The research team identified areas throughout the state where the only available internet is poor or there is no available internet connection. In addition, people living in areas with inadequate or inconsistent internet service often pay high financial and time costs for this service.
These gaps in broadband coverage limit the economic growth of the state, and they reflect a failure of the existing market to provide an essential service, according to the researchers.
Further, many Kansans live in regions with only a single service provider. This lack of competition is associated with higher prices, lower speeds and lower satisfaction, according to the report.
The KU-led research team also described a divide in the digital literacy skills and tech support of Kansans based on field observations of people who use publicly available computers and internet at libraries. As society becomes more reliant on web-based information, forms and resources, it is increasingly critical that people have ways to access and utilize those resources. In addition to computer and internet access in public spaces, researchers noted the importance of support for digital literacy in these spaces.
In light of the market failure to provide high-quality broadband access across Kansas and to ensure people have the skills and resources they need in an increasingly digital world, the research team strongly recommended a comprehensive strategy for the state.
“The goal of our report was to understand where there were shortcomings in service in order to guide future investments in broadband. Our speed tests and survey have provided some useful information to the Office of Broadband Development as it uses federal resources to address state broadband needs,” said Donna Ginther, principal investigator of the study, Roy A. Roberts and Regents Distinguished Professor of Economics, and director of KU’s Institute for Policy & Social Research.
Study participants compared broadband access in Kansas to the electrification of the state, which required significant investments from the federal government. “Flipping the switch” on electricity led to drastic improvements in quality of life and economic growth. Study participants repeatedly told the team that affordable, high-speed internet access across Kansas would lead to similar improvements in quality of life and economic opportunity.
The state of Kansas recently established an Office of Broadband Development. That office — if funded adequately — could become a clearinghouse for information about broadband needs, funding that can help meet these needs and initiatives to foster partnerships and improve connectivity and technology skills, according to the researchers. The office also could lead the development and implementation of a strategy to improve access across Kansas and identify ways to ameliorate digital divides.
“In addition to challenges, we also found pockets of opportunity for Kansas to be particularly innovative in providing more universal access and digital equity across the state,” said co-investigator Germaine Halegoua, John D. Evans Development Professor & Associate Professor of Communication and Media at the University of Michigan. “Right now, there are several different private and public entities working on providing internet access in unserved and underserved areas, receiving state and federal funds, collecting data on Kansas broadband, and that have ideas and resources to share – but they don’t always know about each other or work together. A well-supported broadband office to continually collect, coordinate, curate and foster these efforts is a valuable foundation.”
The study included a speed test, surveys, interviews, focus groups and field observations. The team collected data from Kansas residents, including people from urban, rural and urban-adjacent communities, with a range of income, technology skills and internet needs. The research team also worked with internet service providers in Kansas, state and local government representatives, and industry organizations invested in seeing significant improvements in the Kansas broadband infrastructure.
The research team includes Ginther, Halegoua, Xan Wedel, Thomas Becker and Genna Hurd of the Institute for Policy & Social Research as well as Walter Goettlich of the KU Department of Sociology. The study was funded by a University Center CARES Act grant from the Economic Development Administration.
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Contact: Lauren Cunningham, School of Business, 785-864-9540, [email protected], @KUbschool
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams founder to kick off inaugural KU School of Business entrepreneurship event
LAWRENCE — Jeni Britton, founder and chief creative officer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, will speak as part of an inaugural University of Kansas School of Business event celebrating entrepreneurship at 6 p.m. April 25.
The conversation, which will be held in the Dicus Family Auditorium, 1111 Capitol Federal Hall, is free and open to the public, but registration is required. The event will help kick off Startup Jayhawk, a celebration from April 25-27 of the KU student entrepreneurial ecosystem and the communities KU serves.
Britton launched her career as an ice cream maker and entrepreneur with a modern, ingredient-driven style of ice cream making. She opened her first ice cream shop, Scream, in 1996 and founded Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002, both in Columbus, Ohio. Britton has written two cookbooks: “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home,” a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller that also earned a 2012 James Beard Award, and “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts,” published in 2014.
In her leadership role, Britton oversees the creative output at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. She is a 2017 Henry Crown Fellow and has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the most creative people in business today. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is a Certified B Corporation and has more than 65 shops nationwide, an online shop that ships to all 50 states and distribution in select U.S. grocery stores.
Britton will be joined in conversation on April 25 with two School of Business student entrepreneurs, Sae-Vheon Alcorn and Tae-Vheon Alcorn, and will discuss her journey of building her business. Ice cream samples will be available following Britton’s talk.
Other planned Startup Jayhawk activities include a startup and small business networking mixer, a panel discussion about growing ventures from an interest or hobby, a mixer highlighting business resource providers in the region, a reverse pitch competition and a closing lunch to celebrate students who have participated over the spring 2023 semester in The Catalyst, Jayhawk Consulting and RedTire (Redefine your Retirement), which are the school’s entrepreneurship experiential learning programs. The School of Business anticipates hosting Startup Jayhawk events annually to highlight its role as the hub for student entrepreneurs at KU.
More information about KU School of Business entrepreneurship curricular and co-curricular programs, as well as Startup Jayhawk events that are open to KU students and the public, can be found at business.ku.edu/entrepreneurship.

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KU News Service
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Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

Pay and pensions

By
John Marshall
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john marshal

Kansas legislators have been busy hacking hundred-million dollar chunks from Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget for state services while creating ways to carve out a pay increase for themselves.
For openers, Republicans ruling the Senate (29-11) want to eliminate money for expanding Medicaid, stop a pay increase for state employees and quash a $500 million transfer to the state’s savings fund. They also would cut $50 million for matching federal grants and $30 million more for nursing homes that have Medicaid clients.
Senate Bill 10, quietly hidden away, would more than triple legislative pay from $88 a day to $320.
But in the House, members voted 96-29 to bypass direct involvement with pay and create a special commission to propose new and higher salaries for Kansas legislators.
Lawmakers worried that proposing their own pay increase while cutting funds for social programs and state employees might send an awkward message; they want a nine-member commission to do it. Members would be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders of both parties. (Panel members cannot be current legislators, lobbyists or legislative staff.)
The commission is to convene in August and draft a new salary schedule in time for the legislature’s opening business in January 2024.
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Base pay for Kansas legislators is $88.66 per day plus $157 daily for living expenses during a 90-day session. From April through December when not in session, they receive $354 every two weeks for “constituent services”. They also get a 56-cents per mile travel allowance. Base total, roughly $22,000 a year. Committee chairmen and legislative leaders are paid more, depending on rank. State-financed health insurance is provided.
Kansas House members and Senators are paid less than counterparts in some other states. The National Conference of State Legislatures keeps, among its many files, a record of pay for states’ legislators.
Our neighbors’:
According to the NCSL, Colorado legislators receive a base pay of $40,242 annually. Those living within50 miles of the capital get $45daily living expenses; those more than 50 miles, $234 daily. Mileage allowance, 56 cents per mile.
Nebraska legislators are paid $12,000 annually, get 58 cents per mile and a $155 daily living allowance while in session if from beyond 50 miles. Within 50 miles, the allowance is $59 daily.
At Oklahoma City, legislators are paid $47,500 annually, get 56-cents a mile and a $165 daily living allowance while in session.
Missouri legislators are paid $36,813 annually, receive a $124 daily living allowance (in session) and get 49 cents a mile for travel.
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It may appear that Kansas legislators are on the short end, at least compared with their neighbors. But beneath the veneer of paltry wages lies a one-of-a-kind, gold-plated retirement plan sealed with a taxpayer guarantee.
No other state offers such a package. The Kansas legislative pension is unique because it “annualizes” legislators’ part-time wages to create a full-time pension, one based on a year that has 372 days. Legislators’ salaries and living expenses for the 90-day session are calculated as if paid 31 days a month for 12 months. Thus, at a combined daily and per diem of $245, Kansas legislative pensions are based on annual salaries of more than $91,000.
More than160 retired legislators today draw from $1,000 to more than $60,000 annually, depending on years of service. They can increase their payout by contributing extra so that in time, service in the military, the Peace Corps, even local councils or commissions counts toward their total pension. When legislators claim for time on local elected boards or other public service, taxpayers roughly double the lawmakers’ contribution to the pension.
No other participants in Kansas’ public employees retirement system have that choice. It’s for legislators only. (Per diem living expenses are not taxed and have increased 28 percent in ten years.)
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Kansas legislators hold bipartisan anxiety about their pay and what seems a vow of silence about their exclusive and generous pension. Led by Republicans, they are anxious to launder a pay upgrade through their new commission. And while legislators, led by Republicans, hack away at the state budget, their pensions remain safe, special and untouchable privileges that others can only dream of having.

KU News: KU nominates 3 juniors for Udall Undergraduate Scholarships

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Guest Columnist
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From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

KU nominates 3 juniors for Udall Undergraduate Scholarships
LAWRENCE — Three students at the University of Kansas are nominees for prestigious Udall Undergraduate Scholarships, which recognize students who demonstrate leadership, public service and commitment in the fields of tribal public policy, Native health care or the environment. The nominees are Nidia Lazos, of Wichita; Grant Misse, of Gardner; and Rylie Parr, of Smithville, Missouri.

Second KU-led Global Climate Teach-in offers local perspectives to worldwide event
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas scholars and students as well as activists and area professionals will share their research and advocacy as part of a global effort to come together around solutions and education for the climate crisis. The second annual Global Climate Teach-in will take place March 29 at Maceli’s Banquet Hall.

KU Law excels during another successful moot court season
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas School of Law’s moot court program, ranked 14th in the nation, is wrapping up the 2022-23 season with several strong showings in competitions across the country. The season includes a final four finish in the University of Houston’s national moot court competition and first place at the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Erin Wolfram, Academic Success, 785-864-2308, [email protected]
KU nominates 3 juniors for Udall Undergraduate Scholarships
LAWRENCE — Three students at the University of Kansas are nominees for Udall Undergraduate Scholarships, which recognize students who demonstrate leadership, public service and commitment in the fields of tribal public policy, Native health care or the environment.
KU’s nominees:
1. Nidia Lazos, a junior in environmental studies minoring in geology and peace & conflict studies
2. Grant Misse, a junior in environmental studies and music composition minoring in French
3. Rylie Parr, a junior in chemical engineering minoring in biomedical engineering
The Udall Undergraduate Scholarship is a federal scholarship that honors the legacies of Morris Udall and Stewart Udall, two former Arizona lawmakers whose careers influenced American Indian self-governance, health care and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.
The Udall Foundation administers the program. This year, the foundation will award 60 students with scholarships of up to $7,000 each. Selected scholars will also receive access to the Udall Alumni Network and attend a four-day scholar orientation in Tucson, Arizona. Students must be nominated by their university to apply, and universities are limited in the total number of nominations they can make.  At KU, the nomination process is coordinated by the Office of Fellowships within Academic Success. Students interested in applying next year should email [email protected].
Biographical details of the candidates follow.
Nidia Lazos, from Wichita, is a graduate of Wichita North High School and the daughter of Veronica Rubio and Horacio Lazos. She is a member of the University Honors Program and is majoring in environmental studies and minoring in geology and peace & conflict studies. In her future career, Lazos plans to address water quality issues in low-income communities. She is a student ambassador for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and serves as a coordinator for Earth, a program within the Center for Community Outreach, where she creates and promotes events on campus regarding sustainability and the environment. Through this position, she also supervises and helps develop the on-campus community garden and corresponding KU Student Gardeners Program. In summer 2022, Lazos participated in LAKES Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Menomonie, Wisconsin, where she conducted research on the psychological aspects of environmental issues surrounding lake pollution in the Red Cedar Watershed, particularly the influences on farmers’ perceptions of specific management practices.

Grant Misse, from Gardner, is a graduate of Gardner-Edgerton High School and the son of Brett and Kourtney Misse. He is a member of the University Honors Program and is a double major in environmental studies and music composition with a minor in French. He plans to start a nonprofit in eastern Kansas to make a global impact through prairie restoration, composting and scalable regenerative farming techniques. As a member of the Sunrise Movement KU leadership team and as the 2040 Vision committee chair, Misse focuses on environmental initiatives to stop climate change and promote sustainability and environmental justice. He also serves as a program coordinator for the Music Mentors Program in the Center for Community Outreach and is continually inspired by the nonprofit work he takes part in through the organization. He also is the vice president of the New Music Guild and is a section leader in the KU Glee Club.

Rylie Parr, from Smithville, Missouri, is a graduate of Smithville High School and the daughter of Stephanie Parr and Casey Parr. Rylie is majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in biomedical engineering. She plans to pursue a career that allows her to utilize chemical engineering concepts to prioritize sustainability. In summer 2022, Parr participated in an REU at the University of Texas-Austin, where she measured the rate of water permeability of droplet interface bilayer systems. She is an active member of the KU Improv Club “Safety Goggles On,” Society of Women Engineers and Society for Biomaterials. Parr also currently serves as one of the food board managers for the KU Student Housing Association and is a IHAWKe ambassador where she helps increase the number of diverse engineers through outreach and recruitment activities. In summer 2023, she will be interning at Hostess Brands to reduce water and energy usage across multiple locations.

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Contact: Emily Ryan, The Commons, 785-864-6293, [email protected], @TheCommonsKU
Second KU-led Global Climate Teach-in offers local perspectives to worldwide event
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas scholars and students as well as activists and area professionals will share their research and advocacy as part of a global effort to come together around solutions and education for the climate crisis. The second annual Global Climate Teach-in will take place March 29 at Maceli’s Banquet Hall, sponsored by the KU Environmental Studies Program, The Commons, KU Libraries, Institute for Policy & Social Research, Center for Compassionate & Sustainable Communities, the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging and the Department of Geography & Atmospheric Science.
KU is one of more than 200 institutions around the world participating in the teach-in, organized by Bard College.
“Katharine Hayhoe tells us the most important thing we can do to fight climate change is to talk about it,” said Ward Lyles, associate professor of public affairs & administration. “Talking means learning. And learning brings power. Learning together about climate change in Douglas County and Kansas will empower us.”
The structure will follow the format set by the global movement. Broken into hourlong segments, each component series of the event will include short presentations, followed by a larger discussion among panelists and audience members. Each hour is organized around a central theme:
1. 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Adaptation & Mitigation
2. 6:30-7:30 p.m.: Culture & Health
3. 7:30-8:30 p.m.: Communication & Policy.
In addition, a Theatre 560 class will perform an original play titled “Harsh Weather.”
“Since theatre has a rich history of inspiring action and developing empathy, the students hope to bring these tools to bear through their improvisation, acting, playwriting and design,” said Laura Kirk, associate teaching professor in theatre & dance.
Another area in which this event aims to create long-term impact is by building regional connections.
“As with everything we do, The Commons is deeply invested in bringing people together around shared challenges toward more informed understanding,” said Emily Ryan, director of The Commons. “That this event builds a space for community and campus to come together with diverse sets of knowledge is critical to awareness of this age-defining crisis.”
To facilitate engagement beyond campuses and across domains, the event is free and open to the public. It will take place from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and it will be livestreamed. Snacks and beverages will be provided.
Organizations represented by presenters at this event include KU, Douglas County, Clean Air Now, Friends of the Kansas River and the Sunrise Movement.
A full list of panelists is available in the online version of this press release.
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Contact: Emma Herrman, School of Law, [email protected], @kulawschool
KU Law excels during another successful moot court season
LAWRENCE – The 2022-2023 moot court season has been another successful one for the University of Kansas School of Law, with many teams finishing strongly in a variety of competitions. The teams, coached by KU Law faculty and alumni, travel across the country to compete.
Moot court madness
KU Law started the new year strong Jan. 28-29 at the Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship, hosted at the University of Houston. The competition is invitation-only for the 16 highest-performing moot court programs in the country. KU Law was invited because of the Moot Court Council’s successes last academic year, which resulted in a No. 14 program ranking.
After six rounds, Emily Depew and Jessica Kinnamon, both third-year law students, outperformed that rank by progressing to the Final Four.
“This is the moot court equivalent of March Madness,” said Pamela Keller, clinical professor of law and moot court director. “Jessica and Emily were in a national championship tournament with only the best teams in the country, and they made it to the Final Four. If we had an Allen Fieldhouse for moot court, they would have a banner in the rafters.”
Both students received a scholarship award for their semifinal finish, and Depew received the award for Third Best Oral Advocate in the competition.
Depew and Kinnamon were amazing representatives for the Shook, Hardy & Bacon Center for Excellence in Advocacy, Keller said. “Jayhawk lawyers everywhere would be proud of their performance.”

Three-peat champions
For the third consecutive year, a KU Law team won first place at the National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA) Moot Court Competition, which took place Feb. 25-26 at the University of Oklahoma School of Law.
KU Law was represented by two teams this year: Jade Kearney, second-year law student, and Alex Valin, third-year law student; and Emily Depew, third-year law student and seasoned NNALSA moot court veteran, and Chris Birzer, second-year law student. Both teams advanced to the Elite Eight, with Depew and Birzer pulling out ahead to take home the trophy.
“Emily Depew completed what I believe to be a first,” said Kevin Barnett, third-year law student and secretary of NNALSA. “She has won the competition all three years of her law school career. I can’t speak highly enough of Emily’s talents as an oralist in this competition; now, she is the undisputed three-peat champion of the NNALSA Moot Court Competition.”
Shawn Watts, lecturer in law, said he credited not only the hard work of the students but also the alumni who coached them.
“It is impossible to overstate what incredible alumni coaches we have in Nancy Musick and Chris Carey,” Watts said. “They drive the team’s preparation and success. And, of course, our students show year after year that they are top-notch appellate advocates in federal Indian law.”
“KU Law’s success in winning the last three NNALSA moot court national championships comes down to three factors: faculty and alumni consistently putting in the time judging practice rounds, dedicated students spending countless hours perfecting arguments and an exceptional moot court program leader in Professor Keller,” Depew said. “I was fortunate to have three outstanding partners each of the last three years in Zach Kelsay, Doug Bartel and Chris Birzer as well as the support of Professor Watts.”
Professionalism and collegiality
Continuing the trend of success, Hailey Reed and Karlie Bischoff, second-year law students, competed in the Wagner National Labor & Employment Law Moot Court Competition at New York Law School in early March. They finished the octofinals as the top seed and kept that seed all the way to the final round.
“We were proud to represent KU Law all the way to the final round of the Wagner moot court competition, especially given how prepared and talented our fellow competitors were,” Reed and Bischoff said in a joint statement. “This experience has only increased our appreciation and respect for our coaches, professors and classmates who invested so much time and energy into preparing us for the competition. We are excited to continue representing KU in future competitions during our 3L year.”
Joyce Rosenberg, clinical professor of law and coach for Reed and Bischoff, said the final round was one of the best she had ever heard and that both KU and the Loyola-Chicago team they competed against gave the judges a difficult decision in the end.
“As a coach, I am tremendously impressed with Hailey and Karlie’s professionalism, diligence and teamwork,” Rosenberg said. “They put in hours upon hours of work on their brief and on practice rounds. And I am proud that, in true Jayhawk spirit, many faculty and alumni volunteered to work with them, judge practices and give detailed feedback.”
Bringing home the cup
Two additional KU competitors, Kat Girod and Helen Phillips, third-year law students, brought home the Shapero Cup by winning the Regional Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition in Detroit. They then continued to the national rounds in New York City in the 31st Annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, where they advanced to the Elite Eight.
“Kat and Helen work hard and produce consistently excellent results,” said Stephen Ware, Frank Edwards Tyler Distinguished Professor of Law. “Most lawyers never get a chance to argue before a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, but Kat and Helen have now already done so with top-notch results.”
Girod also took home the award for Best Oral Advocate in the Shapero competition. Sixth Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge noted Girod’s “palpable mastery of the material” and “exemplary” performance. Girod credited Ware for supporting her and Phillips in their success.
“Professor Ware did a fabulous job helping us prepare,” Girod said. “He helps us schedule practice rounds with bankruptcy practitioners, which is an invaluable component of our preparation.”
In a moot court competition, individuals write an appellate brief and give a mock argument before a panel of judges acting as the U.S. Supreme Court. KU Law’s moot court program is currently ranked 14th in the nation based on 2022 rankings from the University of Houston Law Center and has placed in the top 30 nationally for the past six years. Additional highlights from the 2022-2023 moot court competition season include:

1. Rachel Henderson, second-year law student; Hayley Koontz, second-year law student; and Caitlin McPartland, third-year law student, participated in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition on Feb. 22-25. A KU Law advocate was recognized as best oralist in each of the three rounds of competition: Henderson in one and McPartland in two.
2. Emma Bishop, second-year law student; Aylin Jamison, second-year law student; Joan Lee, third-year law student; Justin Shock, second-year law student; and Brien Stonebreaker, third-year law student, participated in the Jessup International Law Moot Court on Feb. 25-26.

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KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
[email protected]
http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

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