Featured news at KU


Our top featured stories

Academic Jay sculpture in front of Strong Hall
The program recognizes the outstanding contributions of faculty at state universities to teaching, student success, research and Kansas communities. KU faculty winners are Vitaly Chernetsky, David O. Johnson, Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam, Laurie Steen and Sufi Mary Thomas.

Other featured news

Photo of drone flying against sky background

Researchers will develop spectrum technologies for safer, more reliable communication for drones and air taxis

With a $760,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation, investigators at the University of Kansas will develop “intelligent spectrum management frameworks” to enable reliable communication for drones as they become more ubiquitous.
Bronze Jayhawk

NSF grant will support new research for pharmaceutical drug discoveries

Zarko Boskovic, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry in the KU School of Pharmacy, has been awarded a $575,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will be used in the Boskovic Lab to shed light on the process of efficiently and selectively creating new molecules that hold potential for drug discovery.
An illustration of the Earth's continents shaped as lakes in a vast forest.

Tool to help teachers use local climate data, engage students' emotions on topic proves to deepen conversations

Imogen Herrick, a researcher at the University of Kansas, created Community Science Data Talks, a tool to help teachers bring local data on climate change into the classroom. A study found that when teachers used the tool and asked students how the data made them feel, they became more engaged in the topic.
A weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, in 1946 showcases a huge mushroom-shaped cloud from the perspective of a viewer on a nearby island.

US military’s destructive relationship with the Pacific Ocean explored in new book

A new book edited by Andrew Isenberg, Hall Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas, focuses on the military’s actions in the Pacific Ocean from World War II through the Vietnam War, offering essays on the inextricable relationship between the natural world and human warfare.

Research



In a new article, Luis Corteguera, a professor of history at the University of Kansas, introduces the concept of “king as mother,” using biblical and classical sources and evidence from nature to explore gendered metaphors meant to shape the perception of male rulers across early modern Europe.
Because the modern workplace is inextricably interwoven with technology, two KU communication studies researchers have proposed a new theoretical approach they call “Socio-Technical Exchange” as an improvement upon the well-worn Social Exchange Theory that has dominated the field for decades. They spell it out in a new paper.
Pair of individuals facing each other at a desk with a hand pointing to a contract while another person takes notes.
Hala Altamimi of the University of Kansas is co-author on several studies examining how the push to increase efficiency, or "do more with less," has affected nonprofit organizations. A pair of studies has found that relying on flexible labor affects nonprofits' operational outcomes and can provide short term financial benefits, but not long-term fiscal improvement.

Kansas Communities



The University of Kansas School of Business has launched a collaboration with a southeast Kansas organization to support local entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC), a division of the University of Kansas, officially launched its new regional training location with an open house Aug. 15 at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park.
Field of wheat during sunset
The Kansas Statistical Abstract is published annually by the Institute for Policy & Social Research at KU. It includes information on a wide range of topics about Kansas, with information in downloadable tables, maps and graphs.

Economic Development



The University of Kansas School of Business received a $10 million gift commitment from an anonymous donor that ensures the construction of a new entrepreneurship hub building that benefits the greater KU community by teaching students to solve problems in meaningful ways. The new gift supplements the donor's lead gift of $50 million in 2023.
The University of Kansas ranked 37th among public institutions in the Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2024, a list published by the National Academy of Inventors. The list showcases universities that play a pivotal role in advancing the innovation ecosystem and driving economic growth in the United States. KU ranked 59th among all universities.
Lab assistant holds up computer chip in blue light.
The University of Kansas is a powerful engine of economic growth and job creation for the state of Kansas, according to a new study detailing the university’s impact.

Student experience and achievement



Out of 60,396 applicants from more than 7,500 institutions worldwide, 26 University of Kansas students have been selected for the 2025 Millennium Fellowship, a leadership development program overseen by the Millennium Campus Network in partnership with United Nations Academic Impact.
Sixteen undergraduate students from the University of Kansas shared their original research at the McNair Scholars Summer Research Symposium. The event marked the culmination of months of dedicated scholarly work and mentorship. Hosted by the KU TRIO McNair Scholars Program, the symposium highlights student-driven inquiry and offers a preview of the next generation of researchers.
University of Kansas students Luna Schultz and Rose Larson preparing for a debate.
The University of Kansas debate team began the 2025-26 season with three teams finishing in the top 10 of the Owen L. Coon Memorial Debate Tournament at Northwestern University, which took place Sept. 5-8 in Evanston, Illinois.

Campus news



The University Theatre opens its 2025-26 season with “Silent Sky,” playing one weekend only – Oct. 3-5. Lauren Gunderson’s play tells the story of astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt, whose research led to a shift in understanding the universe, most notably that the Milky Way was not at the center of it.
Elyce Arons, co-founder of the Kate Spade and Frances Valentine brands, will make her first return to the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence in more than four decades — a visit that will be punctuated by a fireside chat for students and the broader KU community.
Artist's rendering of revitalized Potter Lake
A makeover last year enhanced and preserved the beloved 114-year-old Lawrence campus icon for generations to come. The KU community will gather at 3 p.m. Sept. 26 at an event that will include a cardboard boat regatta.

Latest news

Group of scholars gather, standing and smiling, for photo at KU Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies-hosted conference in Costa Rica.

KU hosts conference, online presentations on colonialism in Central America

KU's Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies has published video from a scholarly summer conference that gathered Indigenous and Afro-Central American leaders from all seven Central American countries. Those leaders presented on the current situation of their groups in historical perspective.
A laptop on a desk with a dark blue overlay and blue and red KU graphic elements.

Google to kick off weeklong KU event on AI in education and research

On Sept. 29, Google will host “Falling into AI,” a weeklong event that invites the Jayhawk community to engage with researchers and industry leaders across the university working with artificial intelligence.
Academic Jay sculpture in front of Strong Hall

KU scholars named 2025 Faculty of the Year by Kansas Board of Regents

The program recognizes the outstanding contributions of faculty at state universities to teaching, student success, research and Kansas communities. KU faculty winners are Vitaly Chernetsky, David O. Johnson, Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam, Laurie Steen and Sufi Mary Thomas.
Artist's rendering of revitalized Potter Lake

KU community will gather to celebrate the renewal of Potter Lake on Sept. 26

A makeover last year enhanced and preserved the beloved 114-year-old Lawrence campus icon for generations to come. The KU community will gather at 3 p.m. Sept. 26 at an event that will include a cardboard boat regatta.