NEWS IN BRIEF
WSWT application deadline Nov. 30
The deadline to apply for the 2008 Wheat State Whirlwind Tour is Nov. 30. Interested faculty and staff can find application information at www.wheatstate.ku.edu. The 11th incarnation of the tour will take roughly 50 KU employees to points across the state to learn more about Kansas’ history, economy, landscape and culture.The five-day trip will start the week after commencement. Preference is given to faculty applicants, but staff are encouraged to apply as well.
Gift to fund urology professorship
Kansas Masonic Foundation members had no problem finding a way to honor their late board member John Wolf — they gave $300,000 to establish and fully endow the John P. Wolf Masonic Professorship in Urology. The money will be used to perform outcomes research on prostate cancer, the disease that claimed Wolf, said J. Brantley Thrasher, professor and William Valk Chair of Urology.Kansas Masonic Foundation President Jeff Sowder and Executive Director Mark Nelson presented the gift to Thrasher and Roy Jensen, director of the Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute. Wolf served on the foundation’s board of directors from 1999 until his death in September 2004.
The Kansas Masonic Foundation has pledged $15 million to the Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute and has given more than $5 million in additional funds over the past 30 years.
The Wolf Professorship in Urology will help the KU Cancer Center stay in line with the goal of becoming an NCI-designated cancer center and help fulfill the overall 10-year life sciences vision for the KU Medical Center.
United Way nearing semester goal
The KU United Way Campaign has updated its progress and is asking for help to meet its goal. As of Nov. 11, KU had raised $176,937.04. The goal for the campaign is $230,000 by the end of the fall semester.All funds raised support United Way of Douglas County. For more information, visit www.unitedwaydgco.org. Ann Brill, dean of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, is KU’s United Way chair.
Teleconference to cover clinical trials
The Office of Research and Graduate Studies will sponsor a live teleconference titled "Clinical Trials: Emerging Legal Threats" from noon to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in Room 152 Smissman on KU's West Campus. The teleconference will address the anticipated heightened federal scrutiny of clinical trials following a September report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services www.oig.hhs. gov/publications/docs/press/2007/FDAClinicalTrials3.pdf accusing the Food and Drug Administration of failing to provide adequate oversight of clinical trials. A panel of health care attorneys will examine the legal implications of conducting clinical research trials and best practices for researchers to avoid mistakes that can create liability exposure.Following the presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists. To register, contact Susan MacNally, compliance coordinator, at 864-4148 or sumac@ku.edu. There is no cost to attend.
Educational Web site features KU professor
AdLit.org, a new Web site that targets educators and parents of adolescent readers, launched this month and features a KU professor as one of its advisers. Donald Deshler, professor of special education, joins several other leaders in adolescent literacy research on the group’s board of advisers.The new service focuses on helping students in fourth through 12th grades learn to read and write better.
AdLit.org offers research-based articles, instructional material for classroom teachers, tips for parents, book recommendations, exclusive interviews with top authors and a free monthly e-newsletter called “Word Up!” The project is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.
Deshler’s fellow advisers include Donna Alvermann, University of Georgia; Fenice Boyd, State University of New York-Buffalo; and F. Todd Goodson, Kansas State University.
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