Featured news at KU


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Individuals walk along downtown Lawrence.
In a new article, Lacey Wade and Jeff Holliday, assistant professors of linguistics at the University of Kansas, reveal that Kansans associate Kansas speech with “unaccentedness,” while non-Kansans associate Kansas speech with Southern-accented voices.

Other featured news

Individuals walk along downtown Lawrence.

Linguistics experts decipher what a Kansas accent is or is not

In a new article, Lacey Wade and Jeff Holliday, assistant professors of linguistics at the University of Kansas, reveal that Kansans associate Kansas speech with “unaccentedness,” while non-Kansans associate Kansas speech with Southern-accented voices.
A photo of Joseph R Pearson Hall on the KU campus, which is home to the School of Education and Human Sciences.

Authors shed light on first-generation experience for higher ed professionals

A book chapter co-written by University of Kansas researcher Dallas Doane documents the experiences of first-generation higher education professionals who transition to faculty roles while highlighting the strengths people in the experience naturally bring.
Mic and platform in front of a crowded room of seated participants.

New book ‘Leading Without Apology’ provides guidance to women to advance to educational leadership roles

Women make up a majority of teachers and education professionals, but they are underrepresented in school leadership roles. A new book by KU scholars aims to help women anticipate the challenges to advancing and advocate for themselves to take on such roles.
Stock photo of vapor smoke being exhaled

Study finds common vaping additives disrupt lung-surfactant film in lab model

A new study from the University of Kansas shows that additives common to commercially available vaping devices, vitamin E and CBD, soften a vital lung surfactant at high enough concentrations, at least in a simplified lab model.

Research



University of Kansas researcher Ilya Vakser and colleagues at Stony Brook University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research will use a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to expand knowledge of macromolecular systems using artificial intelligence.
A University of Kansas physicist played a leading role in a CERN study showing that two rival explanations for how gluons behave inside atomic nuclei can now be experimentally distinguished.
Students working in a studio at a large control board to produce the "Good Morning Indian Country" broadcast.
The new book “News Desert U” examines six university community partnerships in which faculty and students produce news for communities that have lost coverage. The book’s authors, including a University of Kansas journalism faculty member, explore lessons learned and argue for more support from universities to faculty who are leading such efforts.

Kansas Communities



The University of Kansas Office of Community Impact has announced 26 inaugural champions and hubs that support community-engaged scholarship and collaboration across Kansas.
The KU Transportation Center supports the roads, routes and relationships that strengthen the Sunflower State. Part of the School of Engineering, the center has partnered with transportation professionals, transit providers and local governments throughout Kansas.
Graduating officers of the KLETC 362nd Basic Training Class.
Seventeen officers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center on Sept. 11. Members of the 362nd Basic Training Class will go on to serve in communities throughout the state.

Economic Development



The Center for Workplace Excellence supports career development in the Greater Kansas City area, helping businesses and nonprofit organizations strengthen workforce skills, improve organizational effectiveness and navigate today’s rapidly changing workplace environment.
The National Academy of Inventors ranks the University of Kansas 39th among public universities for the number of utility patents granted in 2025, marking the fourth consecutive year the University of Kansas is listed among the United States’ top 100 institutions receiving patents.
Person soldering wires in an electrical engineering laboratory
The website, partner.ku.edu, serves as a gateway to KU’s business-focused resources, connecting employers with world-class research, core laboratories, workforce training and top talent.

Student experience and achievement



Four University of Kansas seniors — Saad Awan, Kaitlyn Carson, Katherine Goodwin and Jaden Huehl — have been endorsed for prestigious fellowships for study in the United Kingdom with the support of KU’s Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships.
KU Libraries collaborated with students from the Department of Design for a new mural in The Kettle in Watson Library. The public is invited to an opening reception at 4 p.m. Sept. 24 to celebrate the work and partnership.
a group of musicians wearing KU Marching Band uniforms playing various brass instruments
Members of the University of Kansas Marching Jayhawks will travel to London this month to represent KU at the Union Jack Classic, where the band will perform at the KU football game against Arizona State University on Sept. 19 at Wembley Stadium.

Campus news



The University of Kansas will welcome home one of its own this fall when KU alumna and NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara returns to Lawrence for a public event celebrating the 2026-27 KU Reads: A Common Book Experience selection.
The University of Kansas is hosting the second annual Falling into AI Summit from Sept. 22-24, bringing together leaders from KU, KU Medical Center, Google, Amazon Web Services, Apple and artificial intelligence industry partners to explore how AI is transforming education, healthcare, research, workforce development and society.
KU banner with text: One of America's top research universities
The University of Kansas has announced 15 faculty members from the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses as recipients of KU’s annual teaching awards. They will be honored at a public reception Oct. 13 at the Jayhawk Welcome Center.

Latest news

a group of musicians wearing KU Marching Band uniforms playing various brass instruments

KU Marching Jayhawks to represent university in London at Union Jack Classic

Members of the University of Kansas Marching Jayhawks will travel to London this month to represent KU at the Union Jack Classic, where the band will perform at the KU football game against Arizona State University on Sept. 19 at Wembley Stadium.
The KU Lawrence campus with fall foliage in view.

Four KU seniors to compete for Rhodes, Marshall, Churchill scholarships

Four University of Kansas seniors — Saad Awan, Kaitlyn Carson, Katherine Goodwin and Jaden Huehl — have been endorsed for prestigious fellowships for study in the United Kingdom with the support of KU’s Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships.
Katie Schultz presents the 2026 Tiberti Lecture on March 10, 2026.

KU Engineering’s Tiberti Lecture returns this fall with a focus on managing difficult conversations

Aaron Mann, senior principal and chief legal officer at Terracon, will deliver the J.A. Tiberti Family Lecture at the University of Kansas School of Engineering at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in the Beren Auditorium.
Individuals walk along downtown Lawrence.

Linguistics experts decipher what a Kansas accent is or is not

In a new article, Lacey Wade and Jeff Holliday, assistant professors of linguistics at the University of Kansas, reveal that Kansans associate Kansas speech with “unaccentedness,” while non-Kansans associate Kansas speech with Southern-accented voices.