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

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School of Engineering to dedicate memorial highlighting contributions of Madison ‘Al’ and Lila Self
LAWRENCE — A memorial commemorating the life and legacy of two of the largest benefactors to the University of Kansas will be unveiled in a ceremony this week at the School of Engineering. The memorial includes photographs and biographical information about the Madison “Al” and Lisa Self, as well as details about the programs they established at KU. It will be dedicated at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, in the engineering courtyard terrace near Eaton Hall, Learned Hall and Spahr Library.

Fourth DEIB vice provost candidate to present Oct. 3
LAWRENCE — The fourth and final candidate for the University of Kansas Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) vice provost position will give her public presentation from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, in the Kansas Union Big 12 Room. Noelle Chaddock works internationally with colleges and universities as a keynote speaker, author, consultant, trainer and human developmentalist in equity, inclusion, access and anti-racism. The presentation will be livestreamed.

Center for East Asian Studies will host a book talk with Dianne Lee
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies will host a book talk and panel discussion with Dianne Lee at 3:30 p.m. today, Sept. 29, in the Marvin Hall Forum. Lee is the author of “Leveraging Stereotypes to Your Advantage: Turning Stereotypes into Opportunities, Finding Balance Between the Yin and the Yang.” Faculty members from KU’s schools of Architecture & Design and Engineering will take part in the panel.

School of Social Welfare tackles ‘Grand Challenges for Social Work’ with 2022-2023 series
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare’s Center for Community Engagement & Collaboration will again host a series of interactive panels highlighting current school research and community practice in areas related to the Grand Challenges for Social Work, beginning in October. The first event, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 20, highlights the Quality Improvement Center on Domestic Violence in Child Welfare.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Cody Howard, School of Engineering, 785-864-2936, [email protected], @kuengineering
School of Engineering to dedicate memorial highlighting contributions of Madison ‘Al’ and Lila Self

LAWRENCE — A memorial commemorating the life and legacy of two of the largest benefactors to the University of Kansas will be unveiled in a ceremony later this month at the KU School of Engineering.

The memorial honors Madison “Al” and Lila Self. In 2007, the couple established the Self Engineering Leadership Fellows Program, which seeks to identify and develop students who have a passion for leadership, business and engineering and possess a “fire in the belly” mentality.

Prior to the SELF Program at the engineering school, the Selfs established the Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship in 1989 to support exceptional doctoral students in business, economics, engineering and mathematics and the biological, biomedical, pharmaceutical, bioinformatic and physical sciences.

“Fellows involved in the programs established by the Selfs distinguish themselves as leaders during their time at KU and after graduation,” said Corey Behrens, director of the Self Engineering Leadership Fellows Program. “It is fitting this memorial was made possible by the vision and generosity of alumni Fellows.”

The memorial includes photographs and biographical information about the Selfs, as well as details about the programs they established at KU. It will be dedicated at the engineering courtyard terrace near Eaton Hall, Learned Hall and Spahr Library at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

Al Self graduated from KU in 1943 with a degree in chemical engineering. He was a successful businessman and a recipient of the school’s Distinguished Engineering Service Award in 2000. The Selfs, both native Kansans, met at KU.

Al and Lila each passed away in 2013. Their total lifetime giving to KU totals more than $108 million.

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Contact: Evan Riggs, Office of the Provost, 785-864-1085, [email protected], @KUProvost
Fourth DEIB vice provost candidate to present Oct. 3

LAWRENCE – The fourth candidate for the University of Kansas Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) vice provost position will give her public presentation from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, in the Kansas Union Big 12 Room.

The presentation will be livestreamed, and the passcode is 904893.

Noelle Chaddock is the fourth and final candidate who will present her philosophy on the role diversity and inclusion play in higher education in the United States and how her philosophy would advance Realizing Intersectional Standards of Excellence (RISE) on KU’s Lawrence and Edwards campuses and further KU’s mission considering current challenges and trends in higher education.

Chaddock works internationally with colleges and universities as a keynote speaker, author, consultant, trainer and human developmentalist in equity, inclusion, access and anti-racism. She also works with organizations, institutions, nonprofits, governance boards, civil and social services, performing arts and entertainment entities around cultivation, development and capacity in these areas. She has worked with corporate clients, health care providers, educators and law enforcement agencies from across the United States since 2001.

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to offer their impressions and observations of each candidate online. There will be separate surveys for each of the four candidates where members of the KU community will have the chance to share their opinion of each candidate. Feedback on Chaddock’s presentation is due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, and a recording of her presentation will be available here until the survey closes.

Each candidate will meet with Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, provost and executive vice chancellor, as well as campuswide DEIB leaders and DEIB office staff, vice provosts, deans, Kansas Athletics, faculty-staff affinity groups, university governance and a representative from the chancellor’s office during their campus visit.
Chaddock is an independent consultant, and she has been among senior leadership as the director of culture and equity on multiple development and research projects during that time. She works with intact organizational and educational teams on strategic planning, talent cultivation, board development, leadership and organizational assessment and data-driven training and development. She also serves as an adjunct professor of women’s gender and sexuality studies at James Madison University.

Prior to her work as an independent consultant, Chaddock worked in higher education for more than a decade. She served as the vice president of equity and inclusion at Bates College from 2019 until 2021, making her the first Black vice president at the school. She diversified incoming faculty cohorts from 30% racial diversity to 65% in her first year at Bates College. Prior to that, she served as associate provost at Rhodes College from 2016 until 2019. She has also held the leadership positions of inaugural chief diversity officer and Title IX deputy coordinator.

Chaddock teaches and publishes in social theory, Black feminism and Black dramaturgy and theatre. She is an author with 11 publications, including her book “Antagonizing White Feminism: Intersectionality’s Critique of Women’s Studies and the Academy.”

Chaddock earned her bachelor’s degree in human development, a master’s degree in philosophy, a graduate certificate in feminist theory and a doctorate from Binghamton University.

More information about the search and each of the candidates is available online.

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Contact: LaGretia Copp, Center for East Asian Studies, 785-864-0307, [email protected], @KUEastAsia
Center for East Asian Studies will host a book talk with Dianne Lee

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies will host a book talk and panel discussion with author Dianne Lee at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in the Marvin Hall Forum. The first 35 students will receive a free copy of Lee’s book, “Leveraging Stereotypes to Your Advantage: Turning Stereotypes into Opportunities, Finding Balance Between the Yin and the Yang.” There will be a book signing and refreshments after the event.

Growing up in the 1980s in Malaysia, Lee and her family lived a typical Malaysian Chinese life. Her mother started an adhesive tape packaging business in the 1980s while her father worked for a large company. After completing her secondary schooling in Malaysia, she studied at Indiana State University and remained in the U.S. after graduation. Now, as the executive director of Kitchell Construction and Project Management, she handles business development for Kitchell in the architecture, engineering and construction space, taking on client development and billion-dollar contracts.

In her book, Lee shares how she has had to turn negative situations into positive success stories, both personally and professionally. She deconstructs how society views stereotypes as mostly negative characteristics and demonstrates that if certain traits persist, they can be detrimental to one’s life, but with the right approach, strategy and mindset, those negative experiences can be used as an advantage.

In a recent podcast with Womenpreneur Asia, Lee said, “I’m a very proud Chinese Malaysian, an Asian American. This is who I am. I refuse to let anybody diminish who we are and the contributions that we bring to this country. I worked really hard for my position. I work harder than a lot of other people because I’m a woman and because I’m a minority, and I work in a very Caucasian and male-dominated industry.”

After her book talk, Lee will join Nilou Vakil, associate professor of architecture, and Caroline Bennett, professor and associate chair of graduate studies in the School of Engineering, in a panel talk on women in STEM moderated by Hui Cai, chair of the architecture department.

Akiko Takeyama, the director of the Center for East Asia Studies, said the event is a way to bring together the important issues of gender, leadership, STEM and Global Asia.

“Dianne is a leader in the male-dominated architecture and construction industries,” Takeyama said. “She is committed to nurturing women and people of color in the fields. Our sponsors for this event demonstrate the wide range of interest in the intersection of these topics.”

The event is co-sponsored by the schools of Engineering and Architecture & Design, Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, and the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity.

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Contact: Melinda Lewis, School of Social Welfare, [email protected], @KUSocialWelfare
School of Social Welfare tackles ‘Grand Challenges for Social Work’ with 2022-2023 series

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare’s Center for Community Engagement & Collaboration will again host a series of interactive panels highlighting current school research and community practice in areas related to the Grand Challenges for Social Work, beginning in October.

The Grand Challenges highlighted in these events align with major scholarship initiatives within the School of Social Welfare and critical concerns facing society: building healthy relationships to end family violence and closing the health gap. These events will be held virtually to facilitate access for KU alumni and partners across the country and to highlight the collaborative scholarship. Participants will be able to receive 1.5 hours CEUs for attending each free event.

“As social workers, we are committed to advancing justice and building capacity to meet the ‘Grand Challenges’ our society faces. Within the school, scholars, students and our community partners are pursuing scholarship and innovating practice to address these critical issues in this especially crucial moment. These events give us opportunities to consider together — as scholars, practitioners and allies — where we are today and what we must bring to the future,” said Melinda Lewis, associate director, Center for Community Engagement & Collaboration.

The first event, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 20, highlights the Quality Improvement Center on Domestic Violence in Child Welfare. Juliana Carlson, associate professor of social welfare, led an evaluation of the QIC, which works across multiple sectors to advance an adult and child survivor-centered approach. Carlson will be joined by her partners, Lonna Davis, Futures Without Violence; Gary Taylor, independent consultant and child welfare expert; and Ruby White Starr, Latinos United for Peace & Equity, to share their collaboration and the practice implications of their findings. Participants will learn about how changes in the child welfare system and in organizations that serve survivors of domestic violence can integrate practice wisdom and research from each and from the science of trauma and resilience, to respond to survivors’ unique needs, address behaviors of the person who caused harm and create safer contexts for everyone. Event registration is now open.

In spring 2023, KU Research Project Director Cheryl Holmes will share her work to center rural perspectives in public health agendas — including in the crucial decisions required to respond to the evolving COVID-19 emergency. From noon to 1:30 p.m. April 20, 2023, Holmes and her partners — Elizabeth Reid, Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund, and Darrel Box, Lafayette Regional Health Center — will introduce participants to the communities in rural Missouri that were part of this investigation. The panel will consider how the lessons learned in this participatory research can be incorporated into patient-centered research, policy and practice, to help close the health gap with a greater focus on rural needs and perspectives. Event registration is now open.

Amy Mendenhall, associate dean for research in the social welfare school, said that the Grand Challenges for Social Work series would likely continue in fall 2023.

“For social work, the Grand Challenges have served to focus our profession on the contributions we already make to address unmet needs, as well as the considerable distance that remains on our journey to social, economic, racial and environmental justice,” she said. “Our school’s scholars, practicum agencies, students and community partners doing important work to address the Grand Challenges, and we are honored to use the CCEC platform to elevate their stories.”

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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]

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

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

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Contact: Joe Monaco, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected], @UnivOfKansas
KU welcomes largest freshman class since 2008
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas this fall welcomed its largest freshman class in 14 years and the most academically talented and diverse freshmen in its history, according to annual data released today by the Kansas Board of Regents.
This year’s freshman class includes 4,457 new students, making it the largest freshman class since 2008 and the second-largest class in KU history. The average high school GPA of these freshmen is a record-high 3.66, and minority students account for a record-high 28.5% of the class.
Beyond the freshman class, KU’s overall enrollment fell slightly by 0.2% (47 students) to 27,638.
“We are pleased to see this increase in first-time freshmen and to have held steady on overall enrollment this year,” said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “These enrollment numbers demonstrate that talented students from across the state and nation see the benefit of attending a leading public research university like KU to prepare for their lives and careers. Additionally, these enrollment numbers speak volumes of the work our faculty and staff do to recruit and retain talented students, especially during the uncertainties of the pandemic in recent years.”
KU leaders attributed the jump in freshmen to various factors, ranging from the university’s academic reputation, targeted recruitment strategies, the university’s nationwide network of donors and alumni, and the profile of KU athletics.
“Everything we do at KU — from education to service to research, to engagement with alumni and donors, to competing in athletics — ultimately contributes to our ability to recruit new students to campus,” Girod said. “Every member of our university community deserves thanks and credit for our enrollment success.”
The university continues to refine its scholarship offerings to make KU more accessible to prospective students and parents. In particular, KU no longer requires standardized test scores for admission or merit-based scholarships. Instead, KU now offers merit-based scholarships based solely on high school GPA that are guaranteed for four years, making a world-class KU education more affordable than ever. Students and parents are encouraged to learn more about these automatic, renewable scholarships and to apply by the university’s priority deadline of Dec. 1.
Girod said the university must continue working hard to overcome challenges facing KU and higher education.
“While we are pleased with this year’s freshman class, we must continue our efforts to recruit and retain top students and create a university they want to attend,” he said. “The reality is, college enrollment continues to decline across the nation, and we continue to face flat population trends here in the Midwest. These challenges haven’t gone away, which is why we must remain steadfast in our efforts to improve KU through our strategic planning initiative and Higher Learning Commission accreditation process.”
Graduation rates
Today’s data also include record-setting graduation rates. Specifically, this year’s four-year, five-year and six-year graduation rates are all record-highs.
“Getting students to KU is important, but equally important is ensuring they earn their degree in a timely fashion,” Girod said. “While we celebrate this year’s record-setting graduation rates, we will maintain our focus on improving the student experience through enhancements to advising, health care and other areas of importance to students.”
Additional highlights

1. Enrollment at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses – which are counted together – is down 0.36% (86 students) to 23,872. Enrollment at KU Medical Center is up 1.05% (39 students) to 3,766.
2. There are 1,504 veterans, active duty and military-connected (dependent) students enrolled for fall 2022.
3. The number of first-time freshmen enrolled in the School of Business is at an all-time high (731 students) and comprises 16.4% of the entering freshman class.
4. KU’s newest school, the School of Professional Studies, headquartered at the Edwards Campus and specifically focused on serving workforce needs in the Kansas City metropolitan area and beyond, grew its headcount by 32% to 677 students and its student credit hours by 41% compared to fall 2021.
5. Diversity is now at an all-time high at KU, with minority students (6,896) comprising 25% of the KU population.
6. KU continues to set records for out-of-state student enrollment. This year, nonresidents make up an all-time high 41.2% of the Lawrence and Edwards population.

KU is now accepting applications and scheduling campus visits for prospective students. The university encourages prospective students and families to apply by the Dec. 1 scholarship deadline. Additionally, prospective students and parents are invited to attend the university’s annual Crimson & Blue Day on Oct. 14 or explore other options to visit campus.

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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]

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

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

Headlines

KU resecures $8M in federal funds for 4 Educational Opportunity Programs
LAWRENCE — The Center Educational Opportunity Programs has recently secured over $8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education to ensure the University of Kansas can continue to help first-generation and low-income students not only reach college but also be successful once they get there. The funding supports four TRIO programs: KU TRIO McNair Scholars Program and KU TRIO Veterans Upward Bound as well as two Upward Bound Math & Science grants, which will serve high school students in Douglas, Leavenworth, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties.

10 KU students named ExCEL Awards finalists
LAWRENCE — Ten students have been selected as finalists for the 32nd annual Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership Awards at the University of Kansas, including students from Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Shawnee, Topeka and Wichita (67212) and from Kansas City, Missouri. Two winners will be announced at the conclusion of Homecoming week, which culminates in the KU football game against Iowa State at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Study will predict fate of Western Atlantic mollusks by scouring ancient fossil record
LAWRENCE — Generations from now, will people still jam into beachside food stands for clam rolls and splurge on trays of oysters at swanky restaurants — or will clams, oysters and many other mollusk species soon become victims of human-driven climate change? A paleontologist at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum believes an answer can be found in the 3-million-year-old fossil record of mollusks in the Western Atlantic, encompassing hundreds of species, both living and extinct.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Laura Kingston, Center for Educational Opportunity Programs, 785-864-3415, [email protected], @CEOPmedia
KU resecures $8M in federal funds for 4 Educational Opportunity Programs

LAWRENCE — The Center Educational Opportunity Programs (CEOP) has recently secured over $8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education to ensure the University of Kansas can continue to help first-generation and low-income students not only reach college but also be successful once they get there.
Under the leadership of CEOP director Ngondi Kamaṱuka, the university received funding to continue four highly successful TRIO programs: KU TRIO McNair Scholars Program, KU TRIO Veterans Upward Bound and two Upward Bound Math & Science grants.
“TRIO programs provide the support systems that make positive differences and ultimately lead to success,” Kamaṱuka said. “At the University of Kansas, we have multiple college access and educational equity programs that allow for support across the spectrum of needs. This resecured funding allows CEOP to continue supporting high schoolers, veterans, student-parents and undergraduate researchers.”
KU TRIO McNair Scholars Program
Established at KU in 1992, the KU TRIO McNair Scholars Program provides low-income, first-generation and underrepresented minority students with the necessary skills, resources and support to prepare and earn placement in graduate programs to pursue doctorates.
For 30 years, the legacy of the McNair Scholars program has worked to diversify academic and research fields by preparing undergraduate students for graduate school through scholarly activities and research opportunities. Under the current leadership of Mulubrhan Lemma, the most recent five-year award of $1.6 million will continue supporting 31 Jayhawks annually.
“KU students who qualify for the TRIO McNair Scholars Program have a strong research potential. Their personal narrative greatly influences their academic interests and a commitment to create new legacies for their communities,” Lemma said. “Qualifying for McNair Scholars program indicates a strong academic potential and deep commitment to a rigorous and challenging academic track.”
CCAMPIS at KU
The Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program supports eligible student-parents with child care needs and provides student success programming. CCAMPIS, a federally funded program established at KU in 2018, will support eligible undergraduate and graduate students who have a child enrolled at Hilltop Child Development Center.
The new CCAMPIS director, Tonya Waller, brings 19 years of experience working for CEOP, most recently as director of a GEAR UP program serving students in Topeka.
“I am very excited to serve in this new capacity as CCAMPIS director,” Waller said. “This program will provide invaluable service and support for our student-parents in their degree attainment while mitigating the stress associated with finding and maintaining high-quality, affordable and accessible child care.”
The most recent four-year award of $1.8 million will continue the CCAMPIS partnership with Hilltop to provide financial support to 30 KU student-parents, allowing them to focus on education without having to worry about affording child care, thereby increasing the likelihood of degree completion.
KU TRIO Veterans Upward Bound
Established in 1999, the KU TRIO Veterans Upward Bound Program (VUB) has a long legacy of serving veterans in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area, including Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, and Jackson, Cass and Clay counties in Missouri.
As an education and skills program designed specifically to serve the needs of today’s veterans, VUB annually supports 125 veterans by offering a range of valuable resources: advising, counseling and expertise to help discover personal paths to success.
The $1.5 million, five-year grant will continue VUB’s legacy of preparing veterans for success at any stage of their educational journey of beginning or returning to postsecondary education.
KU TRIO Upward Bound Math-Science
The university has received $3 million for two TRIO Upward Bound Math-Science grants designed to strengthen participating students’ math and science skills.
Known as the Math & Science Center, one grant will provide services to 66 high school students who are at Highland Park, Topeka, Lawrence, J.C. Harmon or Washington high schools. The other grant, known as KU Upward Bound Math & Science, serves 60 students at Leavenworth and Turner high schools.
Together, these grants will help students from five Kansas counties recognize and develop their potential to excel in math and science and encourage them to pursue postsecondary degrees in math and science with the goal of securing careers in those areas.
“I want to make sure Kansans have access to high-quality higher education but also find success,” Kamaṱuka said. “Access isn’t enough if students don’t also have support. We provide decades of evidence-based support that is personalized to the unique needs of today’s students. KU’s TRIO programs will help the university work toward that goal.”
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Contact: Paige Freeman, KU Alumni Association, 785-864-0953, [email protected], @kualumni
10 KU students named ExCEL Awards finalists
LAWRENCE — Ten students have been selected as finalists for the 32nd annual Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership Awards at the University of Kansas. This year’s ExCEL Awards are presented by Konica Minolta. Two winners will be announced at the conclusion of Homecoming week, which culminates in the KU football game against Iowa State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, in David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Nominees were selected based on their leadership, communication skills, involvement at KU and in the Lawrence community, academic scholarship, and ability to work with a variety of students and organizations. The selection committee included representatives from the Center for Orientation and Transition Programs, KU Endowment, Student Union Activities/Kansas Memorial Unions and the Homecoming Steering Committee.
The ExCEL Award was first given in 1991. To be eligible, applicants must be full-time undergraduate students with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher. Each finalist completed an application and participated in an interview. The finalists and their academic majors are listed below, along with highlights of their campus achievements.
Aylar Atadurdyyeva, a senior in global & international studies, microbiology, political science and Slavic studies with minors in German studies and psychology from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, is executive director of The Big Event and the Homecoming Steering Committee. She also directs finance and partnerships for Student Union Activities.

Ethan Christ, a senior in anthropology and biochemistry from Overland Park, is executive director of the Center for Community Outreach and president of the pre-med fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon.

Claire Dopp, a senior in chemistry with a minor in environmental studies from Olathe, is an undergraduate assistant at the Center for Undergraduate Research and previously served as coordinator of the Kansas Union Gallery.

Miracle Emenuga, a senior in chemical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering from Lagos, Nigeria, is president of the KU chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and was formerly vice president of LEAD UP.

Isobel Langham, a senior in psychology and dance from Topeka, is president of the Panhellenic Association and a member of the community and campus outreach board for the organization CARE Sisters.

Mikayla Leader, a senior in mathematics and STEMTeach from Wichita, is executive director of Student Union Activities and an adviser for The Big Event.

Reilly Moreland, a junior in strategic communications with a minor in business from Prairie Village, is a student ambassador for the KU Professional Selling Program and an account executive at the University Daily Kansan.

Thanh Tan Nguyen, a junior in business analytics and supply chain management from Phu Yen, Vietnam, directs marketing and engagement for Student Union Activities and is president of the KU Memorial Corp. board.

Marah Shulda, a senior in chemical engineering and global & international studies from Shawnee, is co-president of the KU Society of Women Engineers and rank leader and equipment manager for the Marching Jayhawks.

Ladazhia Taylor, a senior in strategic communications with a minor in leadership studies from Kansas City, Missouri, is president of the KU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America and an Adidas campus ambassador.

The theme for KU’s 110th Homecoming is “Home on the Hill.” KU’s Homecoming is sponsored by Best Western Plus-West Lawrence, Central Bank of the Midwest, Konica Minolta, the KU Bookstore and Pepsi Zero Sugar. Jayhawks can purchase the official 2022 “Home on the Hill” Homecoming T-shirt online from the KU Bookstore.

For more information and to view the full schedule of Homecoming activities, go to kualumni.org/homecoming.

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Contact: Brendan Lynch, KU News Service, 785-864-8855, [email protected], @BrendanMLynch
Study will predict fate of Western Atlantic mollusks by scouring ancient fossil record
LAWRENCE — Generations from now, will people still jam into beachside food stands for clam rolls and splurge on trays of oysters at swanky restaurants — or will clams, oysters and many other mollusk species soon become victims of human-driven climate change?
A paleontologist at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum believes an answer can be found in the 3-million-year-old fossil record of mollusks in the Western Atlantic, encompassing hundreds of species, both living and extinct.
“A key thing about looking back 3 million years ago is we have really good knowledge of the climate then, and it was quite a bit warmer — and in fact those are the conditions that we expect to reach due to human-induced climate change,” said Bruce Lieberman, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and senior curator at the Biodiversity Institute. “We can use the 3-million-year-old interval as a model for what climate will be like 200 years from now. And we’re asking the question, ‘What’s distinctive about the species that survived, and those that didn’t?’ That’s going to allow us to predict what’s going to happen, who’s going to survive, and who’s going to go extinct over the next two centuries.”
Lieberman will lead the $2.4 million project, with about $880,000 coming to KU. Other key researchers include KU Biodiversity Institute research affiliates Erin Saupe of Oxford University and Luke Strotz.
Beyond improving scientific understanding of the health of marine ecosystems and food chains, the project could help estimate the economic future of Western Atlantic fisheries.
“There are about 300 mollusk species, and some of these species are really commercially important — things like oysters, or other things that are the source of fried clams,” Lieberman said. “We might not eat clams that much if we’re in Kansas, but if you’re on the Eastern Seaboard, people consume a lot of them, and they contribute to the economy. Further, they’re kind of the base of the food chain, so they have a more outsized impact than we tend to think. They’re important food resources. We care about them for conservation purposes, too.”
Lieberman and his collogues hope to tease out which biological and behavioral traits gave some mollusk species evolutionary success, and which traits doomed species.
“If it works the way we hope it does, we think it could allow people to take other modern groups of species and apply similar approaches — groups that might not even have a great fossil record — to try and also look into the future,” Lieberman said. “We think they could be a good model system to better try and understand effects that certain traits might have on extinction, partly because it’ll help us understand the fundamental evolutionary role of physiology. We hope it will extend to other groups and other times in the past, but also for the present.”
Results from Lieberman’s previous scholarship show a mollusk species’ metabolic rate is a “highly significant predictor of extinction probability” over the past 3 million years. But what other traits give a mollusk evolutionary fitness? The researchers will analyze the fossil record using ‘ecological niche modeling’ — a method of mapping and predicting species’ habitats — as well as statistical analysis to see which traits are tied to species’ staying power.
“One approach will involve the use of ecological niche modeling, something that KU and especially the Biodiversity Institute has pioneered,” Lieberman said. “We’ll take the distributions of those mollusks, look at the places where they’ve occurred in the past and relate that to places they occur today — then project out to 200 years to see, ‘Hey, will there still be available niches for these species?’ We’ll also use various statistical tests to see which traits correlate with survival, either singly or in combination.”
In the meantime, colleagues Rowan Lockwood of the College of William and Mary and Emily Rivest of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science will run experiments to observe physiological responses in existing mollusk species to environmental conditions expected in the coming centuries. The researchers will use data from the statistical analyses along with physiological experiments to assess traits that best forecast survival and extinction.
Lieberman said the hard shells of mollusks tend to preserve as fossils better than other species, providing such a detailed record it might help forecast how other groups of animals could fare in coming centuries.
“We also think mollusks could be a good model system to better understand the impacts or the effects certain traits might have on extinction,” he said. “This is a group that has an incredibly dense fossil record, so it gives us the opportunity to develop this predictive framework.”
At least three postdoctoral scholars, two graduate students and 16 undergraduate students will receive support for training under the award. At KU, researchers will coordinate with the TRIO SES & STEM program to extend education and training opportunities to students at KU and beyond who are first-generation, low-income or have a disability or condition for which they have accommodations.
“This is a really good way of reaching out to first-generation students and others to give them an appreciation for STEM opportunities and why and how it can be a good and beneficial career for people,” Lieberman said. “We’ll be working with people starting out in college, but also younger people who are middle school students from the Kansas City, Kansas, school district, providing some outreach with them to talk about the effects of climate change, and why it matters for everybody.”
Lieberman said the team also would work with other organizations around Kansas City to provide K-12 outreach and education on climate change, including Bridging the Gap.

Plans also include a physical and online exhibition on mollusks at the Paleontological Research Institution’s “Museum of the Earth” as well as citizen-science and outreach programs in Virginia. Images from the work will be contributed to the online Neogene Atlas of Ancient Life.

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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]

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

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

Headlines

New consortium to improve data science across Kansas
LAWRENCE — A new initiative is empowering students to boost their data science skills while benefiting Kansas businesses and organizations. The University of Kansas and partner institutions are preparing new community data lab coursework that will bring together students from various disciplines to hone their data science skills by analyzing real-world information provided by partner organizations. Community partners are businesses, nonprofits and government organizations who will receive data-based solutions, generated by students, free of charge. The Kansas Data Science Consortium invites organizations and businesses to contact them to get involved.

New online professional management graduate certificate from KU designed to help current, future leadership executives
OVERLAND PARK — Advancing into leadership or even the executive ranks of an organization can be challenging. To help more people achieve and succeed in these vital roles, the University of Kansas School of Professional Studies has launched an online graduate certificate in professional management. The program, based at the KU Edwards Campus, focuses on in-demand leadership and management skills. The curriculum covers subjects including interpersonal communication, project management, financial management and team leadership.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Gryffin Eason, Kansas Data Science Consortium, [email protected]
New consortium to improve data science across Kansas
LAWRENCE — Information flows around and through all of us, abundant as water, rich as oil. A new data science initiative is empowering students to harness this resource while benefiting Kansas businesses and organizations.
Data science is an interdisciplinary field that refines information into usable data to fuel insights. The field is growing rapidly, and employers seek professionals capable of analyzing, computing and drawing conclusions from data. To expand the state’s data science capabilities, the National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, EPSCoR, awarded funding earlier this year to a team of researchers and educators from across Kansas. The Kansas Data Science Consortium will incorporate real-world data sets into student learning, and it is seeking community organizations of all types to partner and share data.
“The KDSC created a hub to significantly increase the data science capacity in Kansas,” said Tim Pleskac, principal investigator and professor of psychology at the University of Kansas. “It is a place where Kansas organizations, businesses and municipalities can find data science solutions to the problems they face. The consortium generates these solutions by empowering our students to work on these problems and gain experience in this exciting new field. With the NSF funding we are able to take this approach statewide working with universities and colleges to get students started and connect them with community partners from across the state.”
Educators from KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University are preparing new courses for the spring: Community Data Labs. These labs will bring together students from various disciplines to hone their data science skills by analyzing real-world information provided by partner organizations. Community partners are businesses, nonprofits and government organizations who will receive data-based solutions, generated by students, free of charge.
The team already has plans for expansion.
“We’re already working with smaller universities and colleges to set them up for participation in a year or two,” said Will Duncan, KU assistant research professor of data science.
These additional partners include public and private institutions, both large and small.
“The idea is that data science spreads,” Duncan said. “It’s important that our work doesn’t focus exclusively on these major college towns who already have resources. We are building a workforce statewide, and we are providing data-based solutions to businesses and organizations statewide.”
Educators, students and community members in areas without partnering educational institutions can still benefit from this programming. The KDSC is also creating an online repository of data science projects and teaching materials that will be publicly available.
The KDSC is funded by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 initiative, called Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructures driven by Social Equity. Through EPSCoR, NSF builds research capacity and workforce development in areas of the country, like Kansas, that receive a lower percentage of federal research funding. The project has two branches. The first is advancing the resilience of infrastructures which all Kansans depend on. The second branch seeks to create a stream of community leaders and decision-makers who will transform how a community invests in and manages its human and physical infrastructure. The KDSC is strengthening the Kansas workforce and improving students’ ability to consume and evaluate information and news in their everyday lives.
The KDSC invites organizations and businesses to contact them to get involved in the development of technologies and approaches to refine data science. Partnered community organizations gain access to these innovative tools and can make connections with accomplished graduates. To learn more, email [email protected].

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Contact: Chris Gregory, KU Edwards, 913-897-8411, [email protected]
New online professional management graduate certificate from KU designed to help current, future leadership executives
OVERLAND PARK — Advancing into leadership or even the executive ranks of an organization can be challenging. To help more people achieve and succeed in these vital roles, the University of Kansas School of Professional Studies has launched an online graduate certificate in professional management. The program focuses on in-demand leadership and management skills. The curriculum covers subjects including interpersonal communication, project management, financial management and team leadership.
Stuart Day, dean of the KU Edwards Campus and the professional studies school, said the professional management graduate certificate program provides useful workplace skills that complement students’ and working professionals’ industry knowledge.
“Right now, there’s an increased demand for leaders who can combine their technical and functional skill sets with executive-level leadership abilities, strong written and spoken communication, and project and financial management abilities,” Day said. “This certificate’s curriculum helps students develop into stronger leaders with a competitive professional advantage.”
The 12 credit-hour graduate certificate is conducted completely online, allowing students to easily pursue their studies from wherever is most convenient for them and quickly earn a recognized credential. The program is offered through KU’s School of Professional Studies, which is based at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park.
“It’s important to reach our students where they are,” Day said. “This program’s online curriculum lets students complete coursework from anywhere, on a schedule that fits their needs.”
Day said the professional management graduate certificate program continues the campus’s commitment to serving the workforce needs of the Kansas City region.
“This certificate helps students and working professionals develop the multidisciplinary skills they need to succeed in today’s workforce, across a variety of industries,” Day said. “We’re proud we can offer this opportunity to help prepare the next generation of leaders.”

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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]

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

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

Headlines

Declassified documents reveal Black Sea’s history as ‘forbidden border zone’ during Cold War
LAWRENCE — The Black Sea remains one of the most prized and contested spots on earth. A University of Kansas history professor’s new article, “The Black Sea Coast as a Landscape of Cold War Intelligence,” explores its development as a locale for tourism, commerce, military activity and intelligence gathering, based on newly declassified KGB records from Ukraine and Georgia.

Bruce Lieberman named director of KU Paleontological Institute
LAWRENCE — Bruce Lieberman, professor in the University of Kansas Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and senior curator in the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, has been named director of the KU Paleontological Institute. He previously served as interim director from 2005 to 2007.

KU, TFI partner to reduce instances of children running from foster care
LAWRENCE — Earlier this month, TFI Family Services and the University of Kansas provided legislative testimony about their recent partnership to address the issue of children missing from foster care placement to the joint Kansas Child Welfare Oversight Committee. TFI reported to the legislative committee that they implemented Placement Stability Team Decision Making in January 2022 to hear from both youths and their families in making placement decisions. As a result, TFI has seen positive progress in reducing frequency of missing youth from placement.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
Declassified documents reveal Black Sea’s history as ‘forbidden border zone’ during Cold War
LAWRENCE — It was known in antiquity as “the inhospitable sea.” In modern times, it’s been called the Soviet Riviera, famed for its subtropical climate.
The Black Sea remains one of the most prized and contested spots on earth.
According to Erik Scott, associate professor of history at the University of Kansas, the region has served as both a place where Soviet elites vacation and as a “forbidden border zone.” Recently it’s been a key battleground in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Control of the coastline is at the center of the conflict,” Scott said.
Scott’s new article “The Black Sea Coast as a Landscape of Cold War Intelligence” explores its development as a locale for tourism, commerce, military activity and intelligence gathering, based on newly declassified KGB records from Ukraine and Georgia. It appears in Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History.
“The Black Sea is seen as a key strategic territory by Russia and also as vital for Ukraine’s economy and its connections to the outside world. There’s so much grain going out from Odesa to the rest of the world, and it’s some of the most coveted real estate in the region,” he said. “By all accounts, Russia is trying to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea. So in many ways, the battle centers around access to the Black Sea for Ukraine.”
Nearly twice the size as the Great Lakes, the Black Sea bounds Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Scott said the one word to describe the area is “diversity.”
“It’s diverse in terms of the many different populations that live along it. It’s very complex because of all the states that border it. It’s ecologically diverse as well; it has subtropical beaches but also mountains, swamps and marshland,” he said.
The territory boasts a rich history (it’s where Jason and Argonauts were fabled to have journeyed to find the Golden Fleece). But in the modern age, the Black Sea has repeatedly found itself at the center of international politics.
“There was a perception during the Cold War that the Soviet Union was closed off from the rest of the world. I tried to basically show how borders and bridges to the outside world coincided along the Black Sea coast. How the state created both openings and closures on this landscape,” he said.
Scott made several research trips to Tbilisi and Kyiv to view the KBG archives. He also traveled to Russia to look at other archival collections. Since the Black Sea is touched by all these states, materials are split among various countries.
“The KGB records are really rich,” Scott said.
“Some of the investigative files for unauthorized border crossers consist of multiple bound volumes of interrogations, informant reports and biographical materials. The KGB sifted through everything, especially if someone fled. They really wanted to understand why they fled — not only who needed to be punished but what needed to be done to build up the border to prevent further flight.”
People often speak about the KGB in hushed tones, as if the organization was a mixture of Big Brother and SPECTRE. How does Scott characterize its effectiveness during the Cold War?
“I was surprised at how the Soviet border regime was at once extremely sophisticated, in that it had extensive surveillance systems and informant networks, but also how ramshackle it was in some portions. When viewed up close, you see how rickety the Iron Curtain was … but yet how pervasive it was,” he said.
While the KGB was quite formidable — and it had wide-ranging authority and very little oversight — Scott notes one crucial factor that made it less than all-powerful.
He said, “It’s a giant bureaucratic organization with multiple divisions. Within those divisions, there are different departments. And then there are different branches of the KGB: Georgian KGB. Ukrainian KGB. They’re all supposed to report upward, but there was a tendency for officers on the ground to craft their reports based on what their superiors in Moscow wanted to hear.”
Scott has taught at KU since 2012 as an expert in Soviet and global history. He also serves as director of KU’s Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies and is the editor of The Russian Review. He is fluent in Russian and Georgian.
“If we want to understand why Russia invaded Ukraine, it’s really hard to grasp that without understanding the history, politics and various strategic designs Moscow has long had on the Black Sea region,” Scott said.
“I also think we live in a world of borders. For a long time, the Iron Curtain was looked at as some kind of aberration. But I tried to put it in a comparative context, where it can be seen as a set of strategies for managing migration that anticipated so many things that are still done today.”
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Contact: Anne Tangeman, Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, [email protected], @kunhm
Bruce Lieberman named director of KU Paleontological Institute

LAWRENCE — Bruce Lieberman, professor in the University of Kansas Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and senior curator in the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, has been named director of the KU Paleontological Institute. He previously served as interim director from 2005 to 2007.
The institute, a unit of the KU Biodiversity Institute, produces the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, a renowned source of current invertebrate paleontology knowledge with over 50 volumes published since 1953. The institute, in partnership with the KU Libraries, also publishes the monographic series KU Paleontological Contributions.
The Paleontological Institute was previously under the direction of Paul Selden, Gulf-Hedberg Distinguished Professor of Invertebrate Paleontology, from 2007 until his retirement in 2020. Bill Ausich of the Ohio State University’s School of Earth Sciences served as interim-chief-editor from July 2020 through July 2022.
“Professor Lieberman is a world expert on invertebrate paleontology, with extensive experience managing projects and an impressive track record of funding by federal agencies,” said Jorge Soberón, University Distinguished Professor and director of the Biodiversity Institute, who co-chaired the search committee. “He’ll maintain the tradition of the Treatise but has an exciting vision for moving it from a traditional monograph format to a digital resource for data.”
About Bruce Lieberman
Lieberman is a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist whose research focuses on macroevolutionary patterns and processes using the fossil record as well as the evolutionary history of invertebrates.
Lieberman joined the KU faculty in 1998. He has been a senior curator at the Biodiversity Institute since 2007 and a professor in the ecology & evolutionary biology department since 2012. He was a program director in the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation from 2020 to 2021.
He received his doctorate in geological sciences from Columbia University in 1994, where he also earned his master’s degree in 1991. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geological sciences from Harvard University in 1988.

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Contact: Valerie Hawley, School of Social Welfare, 785-864-3804, [email protected], @KUSocialWelfare; Taylor Forrest, TFI Family Services, [email protected]
KU, TFI partner to reduce instances of children running from foster care
LAWRENCE — Youth in foster care run away from placements for many reasons, but it almost always boils down to the need for family, connection, belonging and normalcy.
Earlier this month, TFI Family Services and the University of Kansas provided legislative testimony about their recent partnership to address the issue of children missing from foster care placement to the joint Kansas Child Welfare Oversight Committee.
During this testimony, TFI and KU reported how they worked to identify and mitigate the factors that contribute to a youth’s decision to run from foster care placement.
“The youth we interviewed were very clear that when they are provided with the supports necessary to sustain relationships important to them, when they receive high-quality care in placements that feel like a good fit for them, and when they are allowed voice and choice in their care, they are more likely to remain stable in placements,” said Kaela Byers, associate research professor of social welfare and principal investigator of the study.
TFI is utilizing the recommendations and results from KU’s School of Social Welfare research to make changes in practice to build protective factors and address risk factors. TFI reported to the legislative committee that they implemented Placement Stability Team Decision Making in January 2022 to hear from both youth and their families in making placement decisions. As a result, TFI has seen positive progress in reducing frequency of missing youths from placement. Recently, Area 8 went 53 consecutive days with zero children missing from placement.
“One child missing from placement is one too many,” said Rachelle Roosevelt, senior vice president of TFI. “That’s why we are working continuously to address this dire issue. TFI has seen significant improvement, and we will continue to work in that direction to promote child safety and well-being. That is always our top priority.”
TFI has also seen additional positive results in case management in areas 4 and 8. Area 4 comprises most of southeast Kansas. Area 8 includes Barber, Butler, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood, Harper, Kingman, Pratt and Sumner counties.
1. Area 4 and Area 8 have seen a reduction in the number of children entering foster care.
2. Last quarter, 36.7% of children in Area 4 were kept in their home school when placed in care, while 32.1% of children in Area 8 were kept in their home school (goal 25%).
3. Area 4 has exceeded their goal of having more than 78% of children placed with at least one sibling.
4. Area 4 and Area 8 have exceeded their goal of having more than 50% of kids in kinship placement.

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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]

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