Hughes symposium wins national award

The Langston Hughes symposium has won a national award recognizing the community outreach of the 2002 events that involved KU, the city of Lawrence, and many communities in Kansas and Missouri.

The Office of University Relations received a 2003 gold award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Awards Program for Alumni Relations, Communications and Development. The national winners are featured in this month’s CURRENTS, the official CASE magazine.

The CASE gold award was the eighth award the symposium has received, including gold and silver district CASE awards to university relations and two regional awards to Continuing Education from the Universities Continuing Education Association. Maryemma Graham, professor of English, directed the symposium. Continuing education administered the symposium and its Web site. University relations provided publicity services. Both continuing education and university relations provided marketing services.

A planning committee co-directed by Graham and Bill Tuttle, professor of American studies, guided the administration, marketing and publicity.

Planning committee core members included Heather Hoy, Barbara Watkins and Kristin Tate of continuing education, Mary Jane Dunlap of university relations, Nancy Hiebert as a community liaison and Alison Watkins as community events organizer.

KU joins national campus compact

Chancellor Robert Hemenway joined the governor and the presidents of 15 other Kansas universities Oct. 15 in signing the charter of the Kansas Campus Compact at the Kansas statehouse. The compact recommits universities to the civic purposes of higher education. Kansas is the 30th state to establish a compact and to affiliate with the national Campus Compact.