“What’s the best shade grass for Kansas?”
Soon it will be time to seed your lawn if you want a cool season lawn. Many of you have shade trees and buildings that cast shade that you plant into a lawn. So a question I am often asked, “What’s the best shade grass for Kansas?” The answer is simple but requires explanation. Tall fescue is the best shade grass for Kansas. That does not mean that tall fescue is the best shade grass of all those grown. True fine leaf fescues such as sheep’s fescue, hard fescue, and creeping red fescue are actually better adapted to shade than tall fescue, but they have difficulty surviving Kansas summers. It might be better to say that tall fescue is the best shade grass adapted to Kansas conditions. Although tall fescue is our best shade grass, that does not mean that tall fescue is all that good in the shade. Large trees that produce deep shade will not allow tall fescue to survive over the long term. I say “over the long term” because fall-planted cool-season grasses will often do well under shade trees through the fall and spring when there is less leaf cover and growing conditions are better (cooler and moister) than in the summer. We often see people plant tall fescue in the shade each fall and then wonder what happens the following summer. The answer is stress from multiple fronts. Sunlight that passes through the leaves of trees has had most of the “good” light that drives photosynthesis stripped out. The grass struggles to make the food it needs for survival and growth. When this poor diet is combined with the additional stresses of drought and heat, tall fescue is unable to survive.
So, what should you do if you have too much shade for your turf? You have three choices. Reduce the shade by pruning up the lower branches of your trees so more early and late sun reaches the turf. This is not practical with many trees because it can destroy the desired shape. A second option is to plant a groundcover that is well-adapted to shady sites such as periwinkle or English ivy. Another solution would be to mulch the area under the tree.
Horticulture 2022 Newsletter No. 32
https://hnr.k-state.edu/extension/info-center/newsletters/index.html
Blog Post: http://www.ksuhortnewsletter.org
Video of the Week: High Quality Grass Seed: Worth the Extra Expense
https://kansashealthyyards.org/all-videos/video/high-quality-grass-seed-worth-the-extra-expense
REMINDERS
1. Transplant cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower to their final location.
2. Plant salad crops such as lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips, mustard and other greens from mid-August to early September for a fall harvest.
3. Harvest vegetable crops on a regular basis for season long production
TURFGRASS
Kentucky Bluegrass Variety Selection for Cool-Season Lawns
Though Kentucky bluegrass is not as heat and drought tolerant as tall fescue and the warm-season grasses, it is commonly used in northeastern Kansas where there is sufficient annual rainfall. It is also grown under irrigation in northwestern Kansas where the higher elevation allows for cooler summer night temperatures.
Recommended cultivars for high-maintenance lawns and low-maintenance lawns differ. High quality lawns are those that have irrigation to prevent stress and receive at least 3 fertilizer applications per year.
Lawns under a low-maintenance program may provide limited watering and fertilization.
Instead of the 4 to 5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year typical of high-maintenance turf, a low-maintenance program would include 1 to 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year. Obviously, a low-input lawn will not be as attractive as a higher-input lawn, but you can expect the cultivars listed above to look fairly good in the spring and fall, while going dormant in the summer. A listing of both high-maintenance and low-maintenance cultivars can be found at https://tinyurl.com/zh456xvv (Ward Upham)
Recommended Tall Fescue Cultivars
Though several cool-season grasses are grown in Kansas, tall fescue is considered the best adapted and is recommended for home lawns. The cultivar K-31 is the old standby and has been used for years. However, there are a myriad of newer cultivars that have improved color, density and a finer leaf texture. Most of these newer varieties are very close to one another in quality.
Each year the National Turfgrass Evaluation Trial rates tall fescue varieties for color, greenup, quality and texture. Quality ratings are taken once a month from March through October. The cultivars listed at https://tinyurl.com/zh456xvv are on our recommended list. There are many more that rated nearly as well and should be considered worthy of consideration. See https://tinyurl.com/2pp59c6d for a complete list of all cultivars trialed. Note that K-31 consistently rates at the bottom. Keep in mind that blends of several varieties may allow you to take advantage of differing strengths.
Though K-31 may still be a good choice for large, open areas where weeds and a lighter green color can be tolerated, the new cultivars will give better performance for those who desire a high-quality turf. (Ward Upham)
FRUIT
Pear Harvest
Most pear cultivars should not be allowed to ripen on the tree. They should be picked while still firm and ripened after harvest. Tree-ripened fruits are often of poor quality because of the development of grit cells and the browning and softening of the inner flesh. Pears ripen from the inside out and waiting until the outside is completely ripe will often result in the interior of the fruit being mushy and brown.
Commercial growers determine the best time to harvest pears by measuring the decrease in fruit firmness as the fruit matures. This varies with growing conditions and variety. A Magness meter is used for testing and measures the pressure needed to push a 5/16-inch tip a specified distance into an individual fruit. Home gardeners can use these other indicators:
1. A change in the fruit ground color from a dark green to light green or yellowish green. The ground color is the “background” color of the fruit.
2. Fruit should part easily from the branch when it is lifted up and twisted.
3. Corking over of lenticels. Lenticels are the “breathing pores” of the fruit. They start out as a white to greenish white color and turn brown due to corking as the fruit nears maturity. They look like brown “specks” on the fruit.
4. Development of characteristic pear aroma and taste of sampled fruit.
Pears will actually be of higher quality if they are cooled immediately after harvest. Temperatures between 31 and 50 degrees will work with the warmer temperatures actually reducing the amount of chilling needed. Just don’t go over 50 degrees. Homeowners may want to use a refrigerator, if possible. The amount of chilling required varies by cultivar from 2 days to several weeks.
Pears ripen in one to three weeks after being removed from storage if held at 60 to 65 degrees F. They can then be canned or preserved. If you wish to store some for ripening later, fresh-picked fruit should be placed in cold storage at around 31degrees F and 90 percent humidity. Placing fruit in unsealed gallon plastic bags can provide the necessary humidity.
Ripen small amounts as needed by moving them to a warmer location and holding them at 60 to 65 degrees F. Ripening at too high a temperature (75 degrees F and higher) may result in the fruit breaking down without ripening. (Ward Upham)
TREES
Tubakia Leaf Spot of Oaks
This leaf spot disease of oak is starting to appear. Members of the red oak group are more likely to be affected than those in the white oak group, but members of both groups are showing symptoms. Red oaks often have distinct round spots as well as dead areas that follow the veins.
White oaks also have the dead areas that follow the veins and large blotches of dead tissue but lack the distinct spots. Leaves severely damaged may drop. However, trees rarely lose enough leaves to harm the health of the tree. No fungicide sprays are recommended. (Ward Upham)
VEGETABLES
Harvesting Winter Squash
Summer squash such as zucchini and scallop are harvested while immature but winter squash such as acorn, hubbard and butternut are harvested later, in the mature stage, after the rind is tough and seeds have developed. We normally think September is the time that winter squash are harvested. Harvesting too early leads to fruit that shrivels and rots.
There are two main characteristics that help tell us when winter squash are mature: color and rind toughness. Winter squash change color as they become mature. Butternut changes from light beige to deep tan. Acorn is a deep green color but has a ground spot that changes from yellow to orange when ripe. Gray or orange is the mature color for hubbard.
A hard, tough rind is another characteristic of mature winter squash. This is easily checked by trying to puncture the rind with your thumbnail or fingernail. If it easily penetrates the skin, the squash is not yet mature and will lose water through the skin — causing the fruit to dry and shrivel. Also, immature fruit will be of low quality. The stem should also be dry enough that excessive water doesn’t drip from the stem.
Winter squash should be stored cool with elevated humidity. Ideal conditions would be 55 to 60 degrees F and 50 to 70 percent relative humidity. Under such conditions, acorn squash will usually last about 5 to 8 weeks, butternuts 2 to 3 months and hubbards 5 to 6 months. (Ward Upham)
MISCELLANEOUS
Composting: Choosing a Bin
Though raw organic materials will eventually compost if given moisture and access to the microorganisms that break organic materials down, building a compost pile can greatly speed up the process. Also, a properly constructed compost pile will produce enough heat to destroy insect pests and disease organisms.
A number of things are needed for building a compost pile including a bin, a source of water, “green” materials and “brown” materials. This week we will cover bins.
Our goal is to have a bin that will hold at least a 3 foot x 3 foot x 3 foot high mound of material. Anything less than this and the process will be slow and will not produce sufficient heat to kill insect and disease pests. For home gardeners, a 5 x 5 x 5 bin would be about the largest that can be easily handled. Though there are a number of compost bins that can be purchased, gardeners can build their own. A simple bin can be made from discarded pallets or a ring of woven wire. Plans are available for a variety of bins at https://extension2.missouri.edu/g6957 . You may want to consider having a 3 bin system which consists of a holding bin to hold materials until enough materials have been collected to compost, a composting bin for a actual compost process and a third bin to hold the finished compost. For a video on choosing a bin, see https://bit.ly/2AwhCPy.. (Ward Upham)
Contributors: Ward Upham, Extension Associate
Division of Horticulture
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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, as amended. Kansas State University, County Extension Councils, and United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating, Ernie Minton, Dean.
KU News: Study shows whistleblower programs marred by cronyism, mismanagement, secrecy
From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
Headlines
Study shows whistleblower programs marred by cronyism, mismanagement, secrecy
LAWRENCE — According to a new study from the University of Kansas, government programs that pay “bounties” to whistleblowers who come forward have, themselves, been hampered by mismanagement, cronyism and abuse. “These are extremely secretive programs,” said Alexander Platt, associate professor of law. “The agencies have to preserve anonymity for whistleblowers, many of whom still work for companies they’re reporting on. The problem is, the agencies have invoked this justification as an excuse to also hide embarrassing or controversial information about the programs’ operations.”
Kansas Geological Survey honors outstanding students
LAWRENCE — Four University of Kansas students have received outstanding achievement awards from the Kansas Geological Survey, based in KU’s West District. The recipients were presented cash awards and certificates. The Kansas Geological Survey studies and provides information about the state’s geologic resources and hazards, including groundwater, oil and natural gas, rocks and minerals, and earthquakes.
Authors criticize how communications is taught
LAWRENCE – Asking basic questions about her field of study and teaching has led Meggie Mapes, assistant specialist and introductory course director for the University of Kansas Department of Communication Studies, to oppose “punitive” approaches to teaching and instead to favor an “emancipatory” method of education that takes student input deeply into account.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Mike Krings, 785-864-8860, [email protected]
Study shows whistleblower programs marred by cronyism, mismanagement, secrecy
LAWRENCE — The federal government is relying more than ever on whistleblowers to sniff out corporate fraud and misconduct. According to a new study from the University of Kansas, the government programs that pay “bounties” to whistleblowers who come forward have, themselves, been hampered by mismanagement, cronyism and abuse.
Alexander Platt, associate professor of law, spent the better part of two years battling the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission over a series of Freedom of Information Act requests for information about the whistleblower programs. When he finally prevailed, he quickly saw what the agencies might have been trying to cover up. Among other findings presented in his study, Platt shows that the CFTC has awarded nearly two-thirds of all money to tipsters represented by a single law firm and the SEC had disproportionately favored tipsters represented by former SEC officials.
“These are extremely secretive programs,” Platt said. “The agencies have to preserve anonymity for whistleblowers, many of whom still work for companies they’re reporting on. The problem is, the agencies have invoked this justification as an excuse to also hide embarrassing or controversial information about the programs’ operations.”
A summary of Platt’s findings was recently published on the Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog. The full study, entitled “The Whistleblower Industrial Complex,” is available on SSRN.
Since Congress created the whistleblower programs in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, a defining challenge for the agencies administering them has been triaging the avalanche of tips coming in the door. In 2021, for instance, the SEC received nearly 50 tips every workday while employing just a few dozen staffers to sift through them.
Platt argues that the agencies have solved this mismatch by effectively outsourcing the tip-triage function to the private whistleblower bar – especially the concentrated group of well-connected, repeat player lawyers whom, he found, have been dominating both programs.
“Private lawyers have likely extracted hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and expenses from these programs,” Platt wrote, adding that “Unlike traditional plaintiffs’ side securities attorneys and attorneys who represent clients seeking government payments in many other contexts, private whistleblower lawyers operate free from virtually all public accountability, transparency or regulation.”
Platt pays particular attention to the role of the revolving door. About one-quarter of dollars awarded by the SEC have gone to clients of lawyers who formerly worked for the agency. Platt estimates that means as much as $70 million has been paid by the SEC to its own alumni.
“It’s a very small number of lawyers who show up again and again, representing clients who get pay outs,” Platt said.
Platt warns that these important government programs may have been captured by this concentrated group of attorneys, and he makes recommendations to ensure that these programs are operating in the public interest. Expanded transparency and oversight of the private attorneys could ensure a more sustainable, accountable and efficient whistleblower program, he wrote.
“If good cases are being left out, that means the program isn’t working. Would these programs prevent another Madoff scheme today? We don’t know,” Platt said. “Today, whistleblower programs are a bit of a free-for-all when it comes to the attorneys involved. That’s a policy choice that was made at the outset of these programs. Ten years in, I think it’s time to tighten the reins a bit. These are good programs that could be, and should be, better.”
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Contact: Annette Delaney, 785-864-2152, [email protected]
Kansas Geological Survey honors outstanding students
LAWRENCE — Four University of Kansas students have received outstanding achievement awards from the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS), based in KU’s West District. The recipients were presented cash awards and certificates.
Madison Rice, a junior in microbiology and anthropology from Bixby, Oklahoma, received the William W. Hambleton Student Research Award, named for the director of the KGS from 1970 to 1986.
Working with the KGS forensic and archaeology geophysics program, Rice used ground-penetrating radar to map sections of Valencia Cemetery in Shawnee County and Alma Cemetery in Wabaunsee County that contain unmarked graves. Her work can be used to identify the presence of burial sites and provide information about the types of burial, such as whether the individual was interred in a wood or metal coffin, a burial vault or neither.
Rice presented the results of her work this summer at the International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar, as well as in 2021 at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting and the Kansas Association of Mappers conference.
Kaela Nerhus is a May 2022 graduate from Fort Dodge, Iowa, who earned a Master of Science in geology. She received the Lee C. and Darcy Gerhard Field Research Student Prize, named for the KGS director from 1987 to 1999 and his wife.
A graduate research assistant in the geohydrology and stratigraphic research programs at the KGS, Nerhus provided field assistance for multiple projects related to the state’s water resources. She assisted drillers in the field as they collected core samples from farmed and unfarmed playas — small, shallow, intermittent wetlands filled by precipitation or runoff — to assess how land use affects recharge rates, or the amount of water that seeps from a playa into the underlying aquifer.
Nerhus assisted drillers with labeling, organizing and transporting core samples back to the KGS and then analyzed the chemical composition of the sediment cores to estimate recharge rates. She also collected samples on the Republican River for a project related to streambank erosion and nutrient loading.
Nerhus’s research addresses issues identified in the Kansas Water Vision and Kansas Water Plan and adds to a body of work that will allow farmers and water resource managers to assess the tradeoff between crop production and groundwater recharge.
Kathryn McClure and Kujtim (Tim) Shaban both received the Norman Plummer Outstanding Student Award, named in honor of a KGS staff member from 1936 to 1969.
McClure, a graduate student in museum studies from Shawnee, began her work at the KGS as an outreach assistant before transitioning to archives assistant. Working with thousands of rock samples from across the country donated to the KGS for use in outreach activities, McClure established a workflow to identify and map the locations of origin of the samples. She cataloged more than 3,000 samples and documented procedures for others to follow to continue the work.
In addition, after finding a trove of unlabeled photos of women who had once worked at the KGS, McClure completed extensive research through archival materials and publications to identify them and their job titles. She then designed and wrote a narrative for a new KGS exhibit to highlight the women and their achievements. The exhibit will be installed on the third floor of Moore Hall.
Shaban, a Kansas City, Missouri, graduate student in environmental geology employed in the KGS Data Resources Library, took the lead in revamping the KGS brine analysis/water chemistry database, which houses data related to water produced from oil and gas wells across the state during petroleum exploration. Researchers use the data to answer questions related to groundwater and surface water quality and conservation and to further the understanding of the state’s mineral resources. Updates to the database will allow new data and new types of data to be entered and retrieved efficiently.
In addition, Shaban organized several years’ worth of donated out-of-state well records and found appropriate homes for them at other state geological surveys or agencies, answered public inquiries, assisted with field work and entered a substantial amount of data into well record databases used by the public and KGS scientific staff. The Data Resources Library houses records for more than 450,000 oil and gas wells and 250,000 water wells.
The Kansas Geological Survey studies and provides information about the state’s geologic resources and hazards, including groundwater, oil and natural gas, rocks and minerals, and earthquakes. It employs approximately 30 students.
— Story by Julie Tollefson
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Contact: Rick Hellman, 785-864-8852, [email protected]
Authors criticize how communications is taught
LAWRENCE – Asking basic questions about her field of study and teaching has led Meggie Mapes, assistant specialist and introductory course director for the University of Kansas Department of Communication Studies, to oppose “punitive” approaches to teaching and instead to favor an “emancipatory” method of education that takes student input deeply into account.
That is the gist of an “agenda-setting theory essay” Mapes co-wrote titled “Against the grain,” first published online April 23 in the journal Communication Education.
Mapes and her co-authors — Lore/tta LeMaster, B. Liahnna Stanley, Angela Labador, Ana Isabel Terminel Iberri, Megan Stephenson and Tyler S. Rife — examined over a century’s worth of writings in the journal (originally called The Quarterly Journal of Speech and then The Speech Teacher) to question the assumptions they found there. In their telling, it’s a damning list: criminalizing Blackness, erasing Indigeneity and working to secure U.S. empire near and far through a compulsory disciplinary focus on U.S.-centrism.
And that’s just for starters.
“Critical communications pedagogy” is just a jumping-off point, the authors write, “to advance what we understand as far more crucial political demands that meet our contemporary political moment: Decolonization of Land, Water, and Body–Mind–Spirit; Abolition of Prisons and Police; and Transnational Solidarity Against U.S. empire.”
Mapes knows it’s a lot to consider for someone who only knows of John Dewey as “one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the 20th century.”
“If we want to understand how our discipline came to be, then we need to really look at the first journals that were so important,” Mapes said. “And it’s so reliant on Dewey, who clearly uses language that says ‘Education is about getting rid of the savages.’ So it’s about creating a good citizenry.
“But, of course, that citizenry is supposed to look and act a certain way. And we, in our discipline, have used communication as the vehicle to try to train people, often, to look a certain way, to use professional communication under these conditions.”
The co-authors write that “the Dewey-ian philosophical core has led the discipline to champion nationalist and imperialist discourses and agendas through educative means and under the guise of advancing and securing democracy.”
Following that thread leads Mapes and her co-authors to question all sorts of “settler colonial” assumptions and to argue, instead, for communication education that is emancipatory in outlook.
“We insist,” they write, “on abolishing punitive practices in the classroom that penalize difference and dehumanize students, like attendance, participation, plagiarism software, and other carceral technologies of surveillance. We refuse U.S.-centrism and U.S. English hegemony.”
“This article is asking us to recognize that most of those questions are based in a particular history, and maybe that’s not the only way,” Mapes said. “Maybe that’s not the only route to how education could look.”
Mapes said that, as much as possible, she tries to incorporate the philosophy outlined in the article in her classroom.
“What we say in classrooms really matters,” she said. “When we talk about classrooms as not being of the real world, that’s not fair, because of course classrooms are the real world. How we treat students and model for them in classrooms matters, so they’re not neutral. They are political spaces that we should think of as such.”
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KU News Service
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Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs
KU News: Spencer Museum announces 2022–2023 KU Common Work of Art, language department receives ‘Center of Excellence’ designation
From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
Headlines
Spencer Museum announces KU Common Work of Art for 2022–2023
LAWRENCE — The Spencer Museum of Art has selected an untitled “sounding sculpture” by Harry Bertoia as the KU Common Work of Art for the 2022–2023 academic year. The sculpture, which was designed to be touched, seen and heard, connects to themes of access in the KU Common Book “Disability Visibility” by edited by Alice Wong.
KU language department receives ‘Center of Excellence’ designation from French Embassy
LAWRENCE — The Department of French, Francophone & Italian Studies at the University of Kansas has been designated a “Center of Excellence” by the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. With this designation, KU joins a shortlist of the most prestigious colleges in the country and is only the 25th addition to the network.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Elizabeth Kanost, 785-864-0142, [email protected]
Spencer Museum announces KU Common Work of Art for 2022–2023
LAWRENCE — The Spencer Museum of Art has selected an untitled “sounding sculpture” by Harry Bertoia as the KU Common Work of Art for the 2022–2023 academic year. The sculpture, which was designed to be touched, seen and heard, connects to themes of access in the KU Common Book “Disability Visibility” by edited by Alice Wong.
Bertoia’s “untitled (sounding sculpture)” will be on view in the Spencer Museum’s Jack & Lavon Brosseau Center for Learning beginning Aug. 16, along with a month-long installation of other art from the collection in dialogue with themes from the Common Book. The sculpture will remain in the Brosseau Center for the entire academic year through May 14, 2023.
Bertoia created sounding sculptures with metals such as brass based on their ability to resonate sound when gently touched. Despite his intentions, touching these sound sculptures poses several risks. The oils present on hands can damage metal over time. Aggressive handling can bend or even break the sculpture’s thin brass rods, and art displayed without a protective cover is subject to damage from dust and accidental contact.
Curator Kate Meyer said that highlighting this multisensory artwork poses questions about how museums can support multi-faceted access to art mindfully, compassionately and sustainably.
“How can we honor Bertoia’s intent for his sculpture while maintaining it for future audiences to enjoy? This question relates to a larger theme of equitable access,” Meyer said.
Resources for expanding conversation about the KU Common Work of Art are available online, including audio and video recordings of the sculpture being played. Instructors interested in incorporating the KU Common Work of Art and other Spencer Museum resources into their fall courses are invited to fill out a class engagement form.
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Contact: Caleb Olsen, [email protected]
KU language department receives ‘Center of Excellence’ designation from French Embassy
LAWRENCE — The Department of French, Francophone & Italian Studies at the University of Kansas has been designated a “Center of Excellence” by the French Embassy in Washington, D.C.
“The Centers of Excellence (Centres d’Excellence) were established by the French government to promote French culture in American universities and increase ties between scholars, artists and public intellectuals in France and the U.S.,” said Bruce Hayes, professor of French and department chair. “It is highly selective and includes only the strongest programs.”
With this designation, KU joins a shortlist of the most prestigious colleges in the country and is only the 25th addition to the network. The College joins Ivy League schools such as Brown, Princeton, Harvard and Yale, as well as state schools including the University of California-Los Angeles, the Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin.
“The international profile and strength of our students and faculty is the main reason we were able to earn the designation as French Center of Excellence,” said Van Kelly, professor of French and director of graduate studies, who will serve as the center’s director. “The French Center crosses academic disciplines and fields, and KU is rich in students and faculty who engage in outreach with French and Francophone cultures.”
Hayes said the effort students have put into their studies is what made this possible.
“An unusually high percentage of students at KU who study French complete a minor or major, and almost 90% of them study abroad in France,” Hayes said. “Additionally, our students have a high level of involvement in extracurricular activities. For example, right before the pandemic, our French Club was awarded second prize by the French Embassy for its ‘France on Campus’ competition.”
According to the French Embassy’s website, one benefit of the designation is “financial support on a yearly basis from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S.” Christine Bourgeois, assistant professor and undergraduate director of French, said she saw additional advantages as well.
“Students at all levels can now look forward to more French scholars visiting campus to share work, provide support and give feedback,” Bourgeois said. “So much of our work reaches outside of the confines of KU. Participation in the Centre d’Excellence network will help our students both understand and play active roles in national and international conversations.”
Bourgeois also noted the importance of joining a network of other universities that, like the College, boast an exceptional French program.
“Achieving Centre d’Excellence puts us in direct conversation with some of the best French departments both in the Midwest and around the country,” she said.
Similarly, Hayes said that joining the network provides nearly limitless avenues for future student success.
“This puts our department on the map for French studies and provides us with new contacts in France to which we would not otherwise have access,” Hayes said. “It gives us the chance to propose collaborative projects with other centers and forge ties with universities in France.”
According to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), about 321 million people around the world speak French, and as the official language of 29 countries, it is second only to English.
To Kelly, this means the Lawrence campus will become a destination point for many noteworthy French and Francophone scholars.
“We hope to cooperate with other French Centers of Excellence in sponsoring the visits of contemporary and global French writers, filmmakers and cultural festivals,” Kelly said, “as well as fostering trans-Atlantic partnerships for study and public dialogue about France and the French-speaking world.”
While the designation elevates the status of the university in general, those who will benefit from it most, Hayes said, will be the students.
“For those who pursue French studies as a profession, they are going to be looked at differently coming from a program with a Center of Excellence designation. Our peers at other universities are very much aware of this prestigious program.”
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KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
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Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs
