Campus news

Jennifer Vardeman, director of the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston, will be the final candidate in the KU School of Journalism & Mass Communications dean search.

U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt addressed members of the 355th graduating class, emphasizing the importance of support from families, colleagues and the broader law enforcement community. Two members of the Overland Park Police Department received the Director's Award for lifesaving actions.

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.

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.

The KU School of Law will host the 15th annual Federal Courts Junior Scholars Workshop, a selective national conference that brings together emerging and established legal scholars to exchange ideas, strengthen scholarship and build community within the field of federal courts. The conference will take place April 24.

KU employees are encouraged to continue submitting ideas to Jayhawks Elevate, the University of Kansas continuous improvement initiative that seeks to enhance operations, the educational environment and community engagement — one idea at a time.

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.

The KU Center for East Asian Studies, in collaboration with the Graduate Scholars of East Asian Studies, will host the Environmental & Economic Challenges in Global Asia Symposium, an interdisciplinary event to take place April 3–4 at Watson Library and online.

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.

Joshua Arpin, assistant teaching professor in the School of Business, and Karen Moeller, clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, were recently awarded the 2026 Faculty Service Award at the University of Kansas.