The University of Kansas

First Life Span director receives highest award
Stephen R. Schroeder, the first director of the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies at KU, received the highest award given by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.
The Distinguished Achievement Award, presented at the association’s annual conference in Bethesda, Md., on Nov. 3, recognizes Schroeder’s lifetime contributions to the lives of people with disabilities and their families.
Schroeder directed KU’s Life Span Institute from 1990 until stepping down from that post Aug. 1. He retired Oct. 31 but will continue as the interim director of the Kansas Center for Excellence in Disabilities Education, Research and Service at KU. The center oversees several training, technical assistance and direct service programs at the Life Span Institute for people with disabilities across Kansas.
He took over the Life Span Institute at a critical juncture, when the Bureau of Child Research, Gerontology Center and the Center for Multicultural Leadership were incorporated into the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies.
Under Schroeder’s entrepreneurial administration, several other prominent research groups joined the Life Span Institute, making it one of the largest and most respected research and development centers on disabilities and human development in the world with $15.6 million in grants in fiscal year 2000.
“Steve’s background in experimental psychology and pharmacology enabled him to provide leadership to biomedical researchers and nurture a collaborative biobehavioral approach to the problems of development and disabilities,” said Steven Warren, Life Span Institute director.
In his last year as Life Span Institute director, Schroeder saw the culmination of his life’s work on behalf of people with self-injurious behavior: a groundbreaking five-year study of the drug risperidone, which holds great hope for people with this devastating problem. The study appears in the November issue of American Journal on Mental Retardation.

New group to advise education graduates
The dean of education at KU says asking public school superintendents to advise the university’s academic programs ultimately serves Kansas schoolchildren as well as KU students preparing to teach and those continuing in professional careers in education.
Angela Lumpkin, KU education dean, formed the Superintendents’ Circle this fall to seek the advice of 21 school superintendents on preparing education graduates for today’s classrooms. The superintendents represent school districts in which KU’s School of Education places students for observation, field experiences and practice teaching, internships and practicum experiences.
“This is a collaborative partnership group. We believe it is essential that we listen to the suggestions of today’s school leaders,” Lumpkin said. “We need the advice of our constituents as we make decisions about our academic programs. We also need to hear how KU can help schools respond to the educational issues they face.”
The future students in Kansas classrooms will be the true beneficiaries of this group, Lumpkin noted. Ideas gleaned from the superintendents’ discussions will enable KU to better prepare graduates for success in their classrooms.
The concept has drawn praise from the superintendents.
Randy Weseman, superintendent for Lawrence schools, said, “This open exchange of ideas with educational practitioners is a step forward into the ‘real world’ of public education. The Superintendents’ Circle is a great vehicle through which the School of Education receives direct feedback from the head policymakers of school districts in Kansas.”
Cal Cormack, superintendent for Basehor-Linwood schools, described the advisory group as a win-win situation. “It’s an excellent opportunity for the school district and the university to work together.”
Lumpkin, who joined KU’s faculty in June, said the KU Superintendents’ Circle is similar to a professional advisory group she organized at the State University of West Georgia in Carrollton.

Women’s basketball team to visit hospital
For the ninth year, the Kansas women’s basketball team will spread some KU cheer at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The women will visit patients and bring along donated KU gear. The gifts come from businesses and organizations licensed to use the university’s name and logo. The team, accompanied by coach Marian Washington, will visit the hospital from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18.

Leonard Krishtalka named member of Speakers Bureau
The Kansas Humanities Council announces the addition of Leonard Krishtalka to its Speakers Bureau. Krishtalka’s program, “Science and the 21st Century,” examines the challenges and discoveries awaiting scientific research in the next 100 years.
Krishtalka’s presentation complements another KHC sponsored program, “Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future,” a traveling Smithsonian exhibition touring six Kansas communities in 2002.
Krishtalka earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and completed his doctoral studies in paleontology and evolutionary biology at KU and Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
In 1995, Krishtalka was appointed to his current position as director of the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center at the University of Kansas. He is the author of more than 130 research and popular articles as well as one book, “Dinosaur Plots and Other Intrigues in Natural History,” a collection of popular articles about science and nature.
The Kansas Humanities Council is a not-for-profit organization that promotes discussions about history, traditions and ideas. Entertaining, thought-provoking talks on more than 80 topics are listed in the new Speakers Bureau catalog. To obtain a free catalog of programs, contact Deborah Pomeroy at (785) 357-0359, dkpom@aol.com or www.ku.edu/kansas/khc.