Featured news at KU


Our top featured stories

A group of hands are joined before the backdrop of a sunset.
A KU team has led the publication of a special issue of the journal Inclusion, calling for opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be paid, equitable members of research teams. The journal includes firsthand accounts from researchers with disabilities.

Other featured news

Fossilized Douglassarachne acanthopoda

Ancient arachnid from coal forests of America stands out for its spiny legs

A University of Kansas researcher has published a description of a spider with up-armored legs found in an Illinois fossil deposit that's 308 million years old. The ancient critter recently was described in a new paper published in the Journal of Paleontology
A group of hands are joined before the backdrop of a sunset.

KU team leads special journal edition on including people with disabilities in research

A KU team has led the publication of a special issue of the journal Inclusion, calling for opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be paid, equitable members of research teams. The journal includes firsthand accounts from researchers with disabilities.
A photo of a school's empty hallway.

Educational research should pinpoint anti-Black aggressions to build better policy, scholar argues

A KU scholar has published an article that argues educational research should instead study antiblack aggressions as scholars originally intended and use the approach to build more equitable policy at the individual and institutional levels.
Photo of islands in the Vona Vona Lagoon of the New Georgia Group, Solomon Islands.

Researchers parse oddity of distantly related bats in Solomon Islands that appear identical

A study of body size in leaf-nosed bats of the Solomon Islands that involved evolutionary biologists from the University of Kansas — who collected specimens, conducted genetic analysis and co-wrote research in the journal Evolution — reveals surprising genetic diversity among nearly indistinguishable species on different islands.

Research



Jack Zhang, assistant professor of political science, introduces both a new dataset on sanctions involving China and a research framework for expanding knowledge about non-Western economic sanctions more generally.
A KU scholar has published an article that argues educational research should instead study antiblack aggressions as scholars originally intended and use the approach to build more equitable policy at the individual and institutional levels.
Fossilized Douglassarachne acanthopoda
A University of Kansas researcher has published a description of a spider with up-armored legs found in an Illinois fossil deposit that's 308 million years old. The ancient critter recently was described in a new paper published in the Journal of Paleontology

Kansas Communities



The University of Kansas School of Law is set to receive $1.6 million in federal funding for the establishment of a free legal aid clinic dedicated to serving veterans. With an estimated 194,000 veterans in Kansas, the clinic would be the first of its kind in the state.
The Kansas Geological Survey-produced map shows the type and age of rock layers found at or near the surface in the north-central Kansas county. The map identifies deposits of rocks and other materials of economic importance for building roads and construction projects.
Silhouette of cadet in front of American flag
The University of Kansas ranks fifth nationally among Tier 1 research institutions in the annual “Military Friendly Schools” survey. The ranking reflects KU’s long-standing commitment to serving veterans and other military-affiliated students.

Economic Development



An upcoming cybersecurity conference will bring together experts in the field from industry, workforce and research to KU. FBI Director Christopher Wray will be the first keynote speaker at 8:35 a.m.
KU's Institute for Sustainable Engineering has a new name —Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering-KU (WISE-KU). The naming builds on the university’s deep relationship with The Wonderful Company, a global agricultural company co-founded and led by Stewart and Lynda Resnick.
Pair of scientists working in lab; supervised smiling children working with cookie cutters; individuals sitting in creek bed taking samples on partly cloudy day; medical professionals talking to seated patient with blood pressure cuff on her arm.
Research expenditures spanning all KU campuses increased to $368.6 million in 2023, capping nearly a decade of steady expansion. Last year alone, externally funded research at KU supported the salaries of 4,372 people, and the university spent $78.9 million in 97 Kansas counties on research-related goods and services, according to a report from the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science.

Student experience and achievement



Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has named the 2024-2025 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. DaNae Estabine, junior in psychology from Olathe, is KU's fellow, nominated by Chancellor Douglas A. Girod.
The University Awards, among the most prestigious awards presented at KU, were established to recognize students who embody service excellence, dedication or whose academic achievements are stellar.
Top of Campanile, clouds
One recent University of Kansas graduate accepted a prestigious Fulbright award as a teaching assistant in Austria, and two other alumnae and a doctoral candidate were named alternates to study or conduct research abroad.

Campus news



Three outstanding high school teachers from Lyndon and Shawnee, Kansas, and from Webster Grove, Missouri, will be recognized with the Wolfe Teaching Excellence Award this spring. KU seniors submit the nominations.
The Lawrence campus aesthetic plays a key role in recruiting, and the KU landscaping team works to create a beautiful and welcoming environment for students, employees and visitors.
Light fog around Potter Lake in spring
This summer, Potter Lake is getting a makeover for its 113th birthday. A major project will begin in May to dredge the lake, rebuild portions of the original edge wall, and improve the spillway and sediment basin. Part of the work will be to collect turtles, frogs and reptiles and relocate them to a pond in KU’s West District.

Latest news

Fossilized Douglassarachne acanthopoda

Ancient arachnid from coal forests of America stands out for its spiny legs

A University of Kansas researcher has published a description of a spider with up-armored legs found in an Illinois fossil deposit that's 308 million years old. The ancient critter recently was described in a new paper published in the Journal of Paleontology
Top of Campanile, clouds

Recent KU graduate receives Fulbright Award; 3 others named alternates

One recent University of Kansas graduate accepted a prestigious Fulbright award as a teaching assistant in Austria, and two other alumnae and a doctoral candidate were named alternates to study or conduct research abroad.
Facilitator speaking to room of students

Volunteers needed for 2024 Hawk Week sexual violence prevention program

This August, the Sexual Assault Prevention & Education Center needs at least 250 volunteers, 175 of whom will facilitate one or more group sessions, which are offered Aug. 18 and 24.
A group of hands are joined before the backdrop of a sunset.

KU team leads special journal edition on including people with disabilities in research

A KU team has led the publication of a special issue of the journal Inclusion, calling for opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be paid, equitable members of research teams. The journal includes firsthand accounts from researchers with disabilities.