State senator tapped by KU Med

KU Medical Center in June named state senator David Adkins vice chancellor for external affairs.

Adkins, a KU alumnus, will report to Executive Vice Chancellor Donald F. Hagen and will oversee alumni and community relations, the staff of the KU Med magazine, Health and Technology Outreach, and continuing education. He will also work with other staff in the areas of government relations and university marketing.

Adkins was elected to the Kansas Senate in 2000, after four terms as a Kansas state representative.

He announced in June that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in November. He will serve the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2005.

Most recently, Adkins was vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and chair of the Senate Reapportionment Committee. During his eight years in the House, he was chair of the Appropriations Committee, the Select Committee on Higher Education and the Taxation Committee.

Hall Family Foundation names chancellor to board of directors

Chancellor Robert Hemenway has been elected to the Hall Family Foundation board of directors. Two previous chancellors—W. Clarke Wescoe and Franklin Murphy—sat on the board.

In 2001, the Hall Family Foundation pledged $42 million to further life sciences research at the KU Medical Center and to fund a scholarship in the humanities at the Lawrence campus Hall Center for the Humanities. The $42 million pledge remains the largest private gift to a college or university in Kansas history.

Center for Russian and East European Studies names director

Erik Herron, assistant professor of political science, has been named director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies. Herron received a bachelor’s degree in Russian and East European studies from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in Russian and East European studies from Indiana University, and a doctorate in political science from Michigan State University. His primary research interest is elections and political parties in post-communist Europe and Eurasia.

KUSM-Wichita renames lecture series after former dean

As part of its 30th anniversary commemoration, the KU School of Medicine-Wichita has renamed its monthly noon lecture series the Joseph C. Meek Live and Learn Lecture Series, after a Wichita endocrinologist who was KUSM-W dean from 1990 to 2001. Meek will present “The Thyroid: Recognizing When it Goes Awry” at 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 21. All subsequent lectures will be on the second Tuesday of the month. For more information, contact Amy Schafer, aschafer@kumc.edu. Lectures are free, but reservations are requested by calling (316) 293-2643.

Northern Colorado taps associate athletic director

Jay Hinrichs, associate athletic director for facilities planning, has become athletic director at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Hinrichs was formerly in charge of the Williams Fund, an organization that oversees athletic department donations. Before coming to KU, Hinrichs was vice president for operations and development for the Kansas City Royals.