Featured news at KU

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Kansas lettering engraved on Strong Hall at the KU Lawrence campus.

U.S. News & World Report ranks 55 KU graduate programs in top 50 among public schools

illustration of bridging gap

KU researcher proposes strategies for political depolarization in, outside classroom

Silhouette of soldier standing vigil with American flag in background.

Researcher offers communication tips for combating military mental health stigma

KU professor Rikki Roscoe has contributed to the new book “Mental Health Communication for Underserved Populations,” detailing ways to reduce stigma and secrecy among soldiers and veterans who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health issues.

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Ingrid Stölzel

Composer elevates voices of women poets on new recording

A University of Kansas professor has released a new album, “Three Silent Things: Vocal Chamber Music by Ingrid Stölzel,” featuring the settings of female poets’ writing, including one by Kansas native aviator Amelia Earhart.
Photo of the Anglerfish species Bufoceratias wedli from the Field Museum of Natural History.

Research traces evolution of anglerfishes’ famed fishing-rod lures

Variously horrific- or alien-looking, many female anglerfishes sport long, protruding lures used for enticing prey or signaling during mating. Now, research from the University of Kansas is giving new detail to the evolutionary history of anglerfishes’ lures.
Silhouette of soldier standing vigil with American flag in background.

Researcher offers communication tips for combating military mental health stigma

KU professor Rikki Roscoe has contributed to the new book “Mental Health Communication for Underserved Populations,” detailing ways to reduce stigma and secrecy among soldiers and veterans who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health issues.
Damaged trailer

Research targets outdated manufactured housing wind-safety codes

Wind provisions governing the design of manufactured homes haven’t changed since 1994. Part of the problem in modernizing HUD building codes has been a lack of supporting research showing inadequacies in the current regulations. A University of Kansas researcher aims to change that.

Research

KU research shows JOBS Act backfired, resulting in acquisitions of companies instead of increasing IPOs

Alex Platt, KU School of Law professor, has published research showing that the JOBS Act of 2012, which was intended to revive the IPO market, has had the opposite effect. Instead of making it easier for companies to go public through the IPO process, it has resulted in "dual-track bias," which has led many companies to sell to larger companies instead.

States that imposed total abortion bans spend millions more in nutritional food programs, research finds

Lilly Springer, doctoral candidate in economics at the University of Kansas, found that states that implemented total abortion bans by the start of 2023 experienced a 1.6% increase in the overall birth rate. They also experience 4.3% and 2.1% increase in monthly postpartum women and formula-fed infant WIC participation, respectively, leading to an additional $6.9 million in food costs.
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Ingrid Stölzel

Composer elevates voices of women poets on new recording

A University of Kansas professor has released a new album, “Three Silent Things: Vocal Chamber Music by Ingrid Stölzel,” featuring the settings of female poets’ writing, including one by Kansas native aviator Amelia Earhart.
More Research

Kansas Communities

KU Assessment & Technology Solutions partners with Lawrence Homeless Resource Center on community-centered supports

KU ATS partnered with Lawrence’s Homeless Resource Center to strengthen their technology and data systems. ATS supports infrastructure, data practices and decision-making while also providing donations for immediate needs.

‘Buried up to his neck’: How a community saved a Kansas farmer’s life with KFRTI’s grain bin rescue training

In 2023, Allen County first responders trained with the Kansas Fire & Rescue Training Institute in grain engulfment rescue. On Aug. 7, 2025, those first responders saved Joey Berntsen's life.
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Photo of an irrigated corn field.

Groundwater levels in the Kansas High Plains aquifer see first overall increase since 2019

Preliminary measurements by the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) show an overall increase in 2025 groundwater levels across Kansas High Plains aquifer regions, due in part to periods of above-average rainfall. In south-central Kansas, water levels increased an average of nearly 2.5 feet — the highest since 2019.
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Economic Development

KU research growth boosts Kansas communities, fuels economy

Research and development expenditures spanning all University of Kansas campuses climbed to $610.6 million in fiscal year 2025, surpassing the previous record of $546.1 million by 12% and marking a full decade of sustained research growth.

KU research-trained employees fuel economy, meet critical workforce demands in Kansas and beyond, report shows

A recent report from the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science shows more than 7,000 KU research-funded employees leveraged their experience to build careers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2011 to 2023 — and nearly 40% found employment in Kansas.
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Bronze Jayhawk statue

KU remains among top 40 public universities granted patents for inventions

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.
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Student experience and achievement

57 KU students receive Undergraduate Research Awards for spring 2026

This spring, 57 Jayhawks received an Undergraduate Research Award (UGRA) from the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships. UGRA recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship as they work on mentored research and creative projects.

University Dance Company Spring Concert to feature uplifting student performances

Three KU faculty choreographers and Kansas City's Sam McReynolds, a guest artist who was in residency at KU this spring, present work in modern/contemporary, jazz, hip-hop and disco styles for the University Dance Company Spring Concert. A work by Jayhawk Tap Company will also be featured.
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KU Debate coaches and students stand with the 2026 CEDA trophy.

KU Debate wins CEDA National Championship as season concludes

The University of Kansas Debate team of freshman Kate’Lynn Shaw, Chicago, and junior Nargis Suleman, Leawood, won the Cross Examination Debate Association National Championship Tournament. The win is among several strong finishes for the KU Debate program.
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Campus news

U.S. News & World Report ranks 55 KU graduate programs in top 50 among public schools

KU has 55 graduate programs in the top 50 among public universities — including eight in the top 10 — in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings.

KU Law to honor distinguished alumni

The University of Kansas School of Law will recognize Judge Dan Crabtree, Steve Leben and Diane Parrish with its 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award. The award celebrates graduates for their professional achievements, contributions to the legal field and service to their community and the university.
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Randal Jelks stands with his hands in his pockets in a black and white portrait photo

Hall Center to host conversation on Langston Hughes, democracy featuring former KU professors

Randal Jelks, author of "My America: Langston Hughes on Democracy," will join Distinguished Professor Emerita Maryemma Graham in conversation about art as resistance, democracy and activism as they trace Hughes' journey from Lawrence and Kansas City around the globe.
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Latest news

Diverse religious symbols radiate from a serene sunrise, representing unity and spirituality.

New approach to religious literacy aims to foster deeper understanding, avert conflict

In a new article, Ryan Lemasters, a doctoral student in philosophy at the University of Kansas, advocates for a fresh approach to religious literacy compared with current theories. He draws attention to their limitations by virtue of three challenges: conversion, multiple religious belonging and motivation.
Stauffer-Flint Hall exterior.

Third journalism dean candidate to present April 13

Cory Armstrong, Lawrence L. and Ruth E. Pike Professor in Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will be the third finalist in the University of Kansas School of Journalism & Mass Communications dean search to present her ideas for the school’s future.
Randal Jelks stands with his hands in his pockets in a black and white portrait photo

Hall Center to host conversation on Langston Hughes, democracy featuring former KU professors

Randal Jelks, author of "My America: Langston Hughes on Democracy," will join Distinguished Professor Emerita Maryemma Graham in conversation about art as resistance, democracy and activism as they trace Hughes' journey from Lawrence and Kansas City around the globe.
Small white trout lily on forest floor with line of hikers in background.

First public trail at Baldwin Woods set to open April 25

The public is invited to the opening of the new Rice Woodland Trail at the Baldwin Woods Forest Preserve, which is managed by the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research as part of the KU Field Station.
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