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Study finds high levels of social infrastructure lead to healthier communities
The United States spends significant amounts of money on health care every year, but health outcomes have not improved. New research from the University of Kansas has found that high levels of social infrastructure, especially in the arts, is connected to healthier communities.

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Tue, 07/29/2025
University of Kansas announces summer-fall 2024, spring 2025 graduates
The names of more than 6,200 graduates at the University of Kansas for summer and fall 2024 and spring 2025 have been announced by the University Registrar. Many graduates and candidates for degree celebrated by participating in KU Commencement, which took place May 17.
Tue, 07/29/2025
KU Libraries select FOLIO as new library services platform (LSP)
The University of Kansas Libraries signed an agreement to implement FOLIO, hosted and supported by EBSCO Information Services, as its new library services platform (LSP) – the core system used to manage library operations such as acquisitions, cataloging, circulation and electronic resource management.
Tue, 07/29/2025
Study finds high levels of social infrastructure lead to healthier communities
The United States spends significant amounts of money on health care every year, but health outcomes have not improved. New research from the University of Kansas has found that high levels of social infrastructure, especially in the arts, is connected to healthier communities.
Mon, 07/28/2025
KU faculty earn University Distinguished Professor status
Five University of Kansas faculty members have been named University Distinguished Professors, recognizing their record of research, scholarship and excellence in teaching.
Mon, 07/28/2025
KU chemistry professor receives NSF CAREER Award for research on synthetic polymers
Aaron Teator, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas, has been chosen for a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. It is the NSF’s most prestigious award for early-career faculty. The five-year grant totaling more than $687,000 will enable Teator to further his research, which seeks to develop new reactions leading to unique synthetic polymers that have the potential to impact a variety of products.
Mon, 07/28/2025
Renowned medieval scribe’s innovative glossary reveals evolution of languages
In a new book, Misty Schieberle, professor of English at the University of Kansas, focuses on 15th-century scribe and poet Thomas Hoccleve, whose trilingual glossary combines a variety of sources in innovative ways.
Thu, 07/24/2025
KU centers team up to introduce local students to STEM fields in physical performance
A new partnership within the Achievement & Assessment Institute at the University of Kansas blends STEM education and physical performance training to offer middle school and high school students hands-on experience in sports medicine, exercise science, and strength and conditioning.
Wed, 07/23/2025
Study of now-submerged migration routes redraws map of how humans settled beyond Africa
An improved simulation of ancient sea levels can reveal how melting glaciers continuing long after the Last Glacial Maximum may have transformed migration pathways and shaped the rise of civilizations in Afrlca.
Wed, 07/23/2025
Elizabeth Dole’s Senate papers open for research at Dole Archives
The Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archives and Special Collections at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics recently opened former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s Senate papers for research and public access at the University of Kansas.
Wed, 07/23/2025
KU researcher advocates scientific framework to unlock music therapy’s full potential
Music therapy isn’t a “soft science,” according to KU Life Span Institute researcher Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, who advocates for wider adoption of her framework to evaluate and strengthen music therapy as a health intervention.
Wed, 07/23/2025
Researchers unveil evolutionary effects on mammalian species due to extreme environments
New research from the University of Kansas reveals an unexpected way animals adapted to high-altitude environments.
Tue, 07/22/2025
Paleontologists will convene in Kansas to boost sharing and crediting of scholarly data
A conclave of about 20 prominent paleontologists, data scientists and editors from academic journals will gather Aug. 4-5 at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum to improve how data is shared among professionals in the field — and beyond.
Tue, 07/22/2025
Study finds news releases written by humans more credible than AI content
A study from the University of Kansas found that when people read news releases they were told were either written by a human or generated by artificial intelligence, they found the human content more credible and the organization it represented more trustworthy. The study was published in Corporate Communications: An International Journal.
Tue, 07/22/2025
Insight from KU Center for Public Partnerships and Research helps Michigan reimagine anti-poverty strategies
A recent partnership between the Achievement & Assessment Institute’s Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR) and the state of Michigan has led to new insights about how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding is used — and how it might be refined to better serve families facing economic insecurity.
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.
Fri, 07/18/2025
Expert can comment on Israeli moves to defend Syrian Druze, election outlook
A University of Kansas associate professor of Jewish studies says Israel’s Druze religious minority might be more inclined to back Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu as a result of his recent military moves to protect their kinfolk in southern Syria.
Wed, 07/16/2025
Research shows freshwater fish like complicated shoreline environments, just as saltwater species do
A University of Kansas associate professor is co-author of new research seeking to ascertain how fish react to waterfront edges using a variety of underwater seawall panels made to resemble plant roots. The intent is to attract wildlife — both plant and animal — improving species diversity and water quality.
Wed, 07/16/2025
Scholar argues for move away from meritocracy in schools to redefine purpose of education
Yong Zhao, an education scholar at the University of Kansas, argues in a new article that education should move away from the idea of meritocracy, which fosters unnatural competition among students and unequal outcomes, to the Human Interdependence Paradigm, in which schools help every student use their strengths to guide their own education and solve problems for the world to reach their unique potential.
Wed, 07/16/2025
KU professors awarded Big 12 Faculty Fellowships for 2025-2026 academic year
Six KU faculty members have been selected to participate in the Big 12 Faculty Fellowship over the summer and the upcoming academic year. These scholars will visit and collaborate with faculty and students across the Big 12 Conference.
Tue, 07/15/2025
Study examines early sensory processing and development in people with autism
A researcher from the University of Kansas Life Span Institute recently published a comprehensive review of differences in sensory processing for people with autism during the prenatal (in utero) and neonatal (birth to a few months old) phases of life.
Tue, 07/15/2025
IT-capable employees improve relevance and timeliness of financial reporting, study finds
In a new study, University of Kansas School of Business researcher Adi Masli examines IT-capable employees’ role in the production process of financial information, deducing that enhanced management of raw data during this process decreases technical errors and increases data processing speed.
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, 07/14/2025
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute releases fall 2025 catalog with 50 courses and 8 special events — preview it July 16
The KU Osher Institute's fall 2025 catalog features 50 courses and eight special events for lifelong learners ages 50 and up. With 19 new classes and seven first-time events, topics range from history to current events and culture. A preview event is planned July 16, and course registration opens that day at 5 p.m. at the Osher Institute website.
Fri, 07/11/2025
Audio-Reader programs win 3 awards from International Association of Audio Information Services
Audio-Reader Network, an audio information service based at the University of Kansas for blind, visually impaired and print-disabled individuals, was recently honored by the International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS) at the organization’s annual conference, including for work on a 2024 voting guide for Kansas City audiences.
Thu, 07/10/2025
Music without borders: KU Wind Ensemble makes mark on global stage at World Expo 2025
The University of Kansas Wind Ensemble has returned from a successful international tour to Osaka, Japan, where it represented the United States at the 2025 World Exposition — one of the world’s largest global events, welcoming millions of visitors from around the globe.
Wed, 07/09/2025
New book delves into bigotry in critical, nonpartisan manner seeking to analyze how hate is taught
"On Bigotry: Twenty Lessons on How Bigotry Works and What to Do About It," a new book by Nicholas Ensley Mitchell of the University of Kansas, takes a critical, nonpartisan look at bigotry to help readers better understand it. Mitchell writes that bigotry is taught, and, as an education scholar, believes anything that is taught has curriculum that can be analyzed.
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.”
Thu, 07/03/2025
Kansas Geological Survey receives donation from NextEra Energy Resources for continued research
A $10,000 donation to the Kansas Geological Survey is earmarked for the development of an experimental solar array in southwest Kansas.
Tue, 07/01/2025
Research from the University of Kansas suppresses coronavirus by targeting Mac1
A study published in mBio details the vulnerability of coronaviruses to inhibitors of a small protein domain called Mac1, found in all coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV. The findings point toward potential antiviral therapies.