Spencer art museum to offer holiday entertainment

The Spencer Museum of Art will hold its annual Winter Holiday Celebration from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 14 at the museum. During the celebration, the Lawrence International Folk Dancers will perform Eastern European dances, and storyteller Jacob Bohanon will tell traditional Choctaw tales. There will be photo opportunities with Santa Claus, paper craft-making will be offered and refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public.

Med Center Auxiliary raises money for those in need

The KU Medical Center Auxiliary has raised more than $25,000 this year through its bazaar, bake sales and gift shops. About 200 women are members of the auxiliary, which uses the money it raises to award grants and scholarships and to provide wheelchairs and other necessary items for the hospital. In the past 55 years, the group has maintained the hospital memorial gardens, provided coffee service for waiting rooms and given support to medical residents and their spouses.

Washburn prof to give presentation about works

KU alum and noted author Thomas Fox Averill spoke Dec. 8 in Nunemaker Hall about his work in and about Kansas. Averill, who has written several books, collections of short stories, and magazine and journal pieces, was invited to campus by the KU Honors Program. Both of Averill’s recent novels, The Slow Aire of Ewan MacPherson and Secrets of the Tsil Café, were set in Kansas. Averill is a professor of English and the writer-in-residence at Washburn University.

SUA offers travel package to Tangerine Bowl

Student Union Activities and STA Travel are offering a round-trip package to the Dec. 22 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla., with packages starting at $255. Fares include round-trip bus transportation, two nights of hotel accommodations, all-access passes to the “Tangerine Jam” on Dec. 21, admission to the pre-game tailgate and transportation to the tailgate and game. For game ticket information call the KU athletics ticket office at 864-3141. For more information about the travel package call SUA at 864-SHOW or visit www.suaevents.com.

KU Card information now available online

Faculty, staff and students can check their KU Card balance, report a lost or stolen card, or recharge a KU Card online. To access card information, faculty or staff can visit the Kyou portal from the link on www.ku.edu and log in using their KU online ID. The new options are listed under the “finances” tab. For more information about the KU Card program, access the KU Card Web site at www.ku.edu/~kucard.

Researcher receives funding for study on teenagers

Michael Wehmeyer, director of the KU Center on Developmental Disabilities and associate director of the Beach Center on Disability, will lead a five-year study, funded by the Education Department’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. The $1.5 million grant will support research on the impact of promoting self-determination in teenagers with disabilities on their transition to independent adulthood.