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March employees of the month

Patricia Weaver, Unclassified employee

Patricia Weaver

Started at KU: 1980.
Current title: Executive director, KU Transportation Center, and associate director for outreach, Transportation Research Institute.
What that means: Weaver works extensively with rural and small urban transit systems and conducts research in the areas of transit demand analysis and system planning. She is also responsible for meeting the outreach goals of TRI, including partnerships with transportation-related organizations.



Rae Ann Brown, University support staff

Rae Ann Brown

Started at KU: 1990.
Current title: Administrative associate senior, Department of Slavic Languages and Literature.
What that means: Brown serves as receptionist, handles all financial records, maintains files, performs all the duties of graduate secretary, manages material needs and the departmental library and supervises student hourly employees.
Notable: Brown has worked hard to deploy resources in ways that have saved KU money and contributed to the material well-being of the department.

RESEARCH MATTERS:

A KU professor's research has shown that a quality music program can boost a school's performance on standardized tests. Christopher Johnson, professor of music and dance, performed a study comparing results with similar demographics but with varying quality music programs. He found jumps of 22 percent in English test scores and 20 percent in math scores at elementary schools with good music programs. One theory holds that scores improved because music helps develop attentiveness. For more, or to listen to the original broadcast, visit www.researchmatters.ku.edu.