News
Professor’s ‘Complete Works’ preserves music of pioneering African American bandleader
KU Music scholar Colin Roust has published the first “Complete Works” of early 19th century African American bandleader and composer Francis Johnson. The work includes 282 songs, cotillions, quadrilles, waltzes and quick steps that comprised the popular dance music of Johnson’s day.
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Fri, 01/16/2026
KU professor leads project to document history, preserve KC-based movement to fight for better restaurant pay
Tadeo Weiner Davis, assistant professor of social welfare at the University of Kansas, earned a grant to preserve materials of Stand Up KC, a movement dedicated to earning better pay for fast food and casual restaurant workers, and record oral histories of those involved.
Wed, 01/14/2026
Study shows how kidnapping of athlete's father influenced society, president across continents
Two media scholars at the University of Kansas have published a study analyzing media coverage of the 2023 kidnapping of soccer star Luis "Lucho" Diaz's father.
Tue, 12/16/2025
Superman’s bygone battle with hate group provides strategy for thwarting modern conspiracy theories
In a new book chapter, Colin McRoberts, associate teaching professor of business at the University of Kansas, traces the story of Superman’s battle with the Ku Klux Klan in a 1946 radio serial and suggests it may provide strategies for thwarting the damage done by conspiracy theories.
Mon, 11/17/2025
Study finds Marion County Record raid created ‘shared press distress’ among fellow journalists
Research from the University of Kansas has found that the raid on the Marion County Record newspaper in rural Kansas created “shared press distress” among fellow small town journalists. Shortly after the raid, journalists reported feeling distress and asked questions about if such raids would continue to be allowed and what it would mean for their journalistic practices.
Mon, 11/10/2025
Study finds Kansas City fare-free bus policy attracted new riders, increased overall use
A University of Kansas study found that following Kansas City's policy implementation of fare-free bus service, new riders were attracted to the service and overall usage increased, among other changes. Traditionally marginalized communities were especially affected by the change, showing that such a policy has equity benefits, the study author said.
Thu, 11/06/2025
Attitudes toward immigration become more polarized during electoral periods, study finds
In a new study, Sofia Vera, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, examines how the issue of immigration affects voters, finding that a strong partisan polarization occurs close to an election, but once it is over, both sides begin to converge in the middle.
Mon, 10/27/2025
Study documents wind regulations across all Kansas counties, can help guide energy policies nationwide
Researchers at the University of Kansas have published a study based on the Kansas Energy Transition Atlas. The site documents wind energy regulations across all 105 of the state's counties, and findings from the study document which regions of the state tend to have enabling or blocking restrictions, how agriculture influences policy, whether voting habits play a part and more.
Tue, 10/14/2025
Study finds group reflective practice beneficial to planning commissions, staff, yet rarely used
A University of Kansas researcher conducted a study on how staffing reports for planning commissions could be improved. The results showed that group reflective practice, or simply making time for elected officials and staffers to discuss why they do what they do, can lead to better practice.
Tue, 10/07/2025
Untold story of AIDS in the Midwest ‘Heartland’ revealed in new book
A new book shares the untold story of AIDS in the Midwest heartland, where unlikely coalitions cultivated their own distinct strategies for survival that became a surprising and lasting blueprint for LGBTQ politics today.
Wed, 09/03/2025
New book tells story of Kansas labor court that both flirted with fascism, stood up for workers' rights
KU professor Ben Merriman tells the story of the Kansas Court of Industrial Relations in a new book. The author shares how it was the only such court in the nation and the legacy it has for American labor law today.
Fri, 08/29/2025
Democracies’ ‘de-risking’ strategies for trading with China compared in new study
In a new paper, Jack Zhang, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, compares the “de-risking” strategies the U.S. and Japan employ by analyzing legislative measures to identify products considered a security risk when trading with China.
Mon, 08/25/2025
Researcher outlines ‘cluster of topics’ for legal approach to address global climate crises
KU Law scholar John Head has outlined the ecological, cultural, global and legal reforms necessary to address climate crises around the world in a new article for the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review. While the political reality may seem unlikely to address the issue, Head addresses why it is necessary and what steps could be taken.
Tue, 08/19/2025
Law scholar examines water law approaches around the world, analyzing how nations protect vital resource
Robin Kundis Craig, an environmental law expert at the University of Kansas, has written a chapter in “Comparative Environmental Law,” examining and comparing how countries around the world approach water law.
Tue, 08/12/2025
Study traces history of legislation to help low-income households pay for energy
A new article by Uma Outka, William R. Scott Professor of Law at the University of Kansas, traces the history of how American legislation has helped low-income households pay for energy. The scholar suggests the topic should not only be considered part of poverty law, but expanded via energy law as well.
Mon, 07/21/2025
Women activists seek to raise Tanzanian girls’ age of consent from 15 to 18
In a new scholarly article, Agnes Phoebe Muyanga, doctoral candidate in women, gender & sexuality studies at the University of Kansas, investigates the steps women’s organizations, activists and advocates are taking to raise the age of consent from 15 to 18 years old for girls in Tanzania.
Mon, 07/14/2025
Study finds cities with proactive, risk-tolerant governing styles most likely to have ambitious climate strategies
A new study from KU has found that cities that base their governance style on a proactive, learning-oriented and risk-tolerant approach are the mostly likely to have implemented ambitious climate resilience strategies. The study also introduces the concept of transformative governance capacity, a measure that can gauge how cities approach climate readiness.
Mon, 07/07/2025
Women of color fare better in personal earnings where racial minority men struggle most, study finds
In a new study, ChangHwan Kim, a professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, examines why the stronger the power of race in accounting for earnings inequality among men in a local labor market, the weaker double disadvantage married women of color experience.
Mon, 07/07/2025
Author spotlights ‘Algorithmic Age of Personality’ in African literature
A University of Kansas scholar of African digital humanities examines how social media tends to reduce important discussions to name-calling in a new book titled “The Algorithmic Age of Personality: African Literature and Cancel Culture.”
Tue, 06/24/2025
Plaintiffs left 'standing in the dark' when seeking redress for police misconduct, researcher finds
In a new scholarly article, Sharon Brett of KU Law writes that current legal frameworks set forth by Supreme Court rulings make it unnecessarily difficult for plaintiffs to prove standing in cases regarding police misconduct. Brett's new work proposes methods to remedy the obstacles.
Tue, 04/29/2025
Study finds engagement journalism training reduced 'horse race' political coverage, boosted more substantive content
A study co-led by the Universty of Kansas found that news outlets that took part in Democracy SOS engagement journalism training reduced the amount of false-binary "horse race" coverage of elections that focused solely who was winning, instead producing more substantive content. Researchers argue the training could help generate content for a less polarized, more engaged populace.
Tue, 04/22/2025
Partisan politics proved most significant factor for speed of corporate shutdowns during pandemic, study shows
In a new study, Shradha Bindal, assistant professor of finance at the University of Kansas, investigates the speed with which U.S. firms shut down their headquarters because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It finds that the political orientation of the firms and their CEOs proved the most significant factor.
Wed, 04/16/2025
Limits of nation’s belief in manifest destiny explored in new ‘Borderlands’ book
In a new book, Andrew Isenberg, Hall Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas, offers a reconsidered history of manifest destiny that breaks from traditional narratives of U.S. territorial expansion.
Tue, 04/08/2025
Research explores engagement with climate change in state and national parks
A new study from the University of Kansas suggests many parks sidestep the opportunity to educate millions of Americans and to “inspire civic engagement” around the issue of climate.
Mon, 04/07/2025
The Care Board, KU-led site to gather information on care work's role in the economy, now live
The Care Board, a project that gathers information on care work, which often goes unnpaid, done every day in the American economy is now live. The site can help journalists, policymakers, communities, nonprofits and the public better understand the influence care work has on the American economy.
Wed, 03/26/2025
Subset of Taylor Swift fans who question her sexual identity are focus of new study
In a new study, Brian Donovan, professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, focuses on a thriving subset of Taylor Swift fans called “Gaylors,” who embrace subversive readings of Swift’s songs and seek to compile evidence she is secretly queer. His study explores how those interpretations cultivate joy, shape personal identity and build community.
Tue, 03/18/2025
Kansas, Missouri farmers avoid discussing climate change regardless of opinions, study finds
Despite belief or skepticism on the topic, Kansas and Missouri farmers avoid talking about climate change with neighbors, community members and even family for a variety of reasons, including avoiding arguments or violence or fear of damage to their livelihood, research from the University of Kansas has found.
Tue, 03/04/2025
Embrace of authoritarianism in US fueled by culture wars more than economy, study finds
In a new book chapter, David Norman Smith, professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, examines Donald Trump’s intention to be a dictator “on day one” of his second term in office. He scrutinizes Trump’s assertion that many individuals “like” such talk of a dictatorship and finds that this is fueled more by the culture wars than the economy.
Wed, 02/26/2025
Researcher urges emphasis on democratic accountability standards in public administration education
Given changes in democracy around the world, the field of public administration education should reevaluate its accreditation standards to examine what democratic accountability standards are to better educate the next generation of public servants, a KU professor argues in a new article.
Fri, 02/21/2025
US businesses reluctant to take political action despite tariff costs, study finds
In a new study, Jack Zhang, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, presented business managers with information about the input costs of new tariffs to their bottom line and invited them to take political action to express support or opposition to these tariffs. The findings suggest this information did not significantly increase managers’ propensity to take any political or social action.
Wed, 02/19/2025
Research finds local approaches to addressing domestic violence can guide international efforts
International policy organizations that aim to address social problems such as domestic violence tend to provide guidance, especially to developing nations, but more could be done to consider what they could learn from those on the ground.