KU Features

ROCK CHALK SNAPSHOT

May 2009The campus of the University of Kansas is renowned for its beauty. Whether you’re familiar with its striking buildings, monuments and vistas or seeing it for the first time, here are suggestions from the photographers at University Relations for achieving memorable images of some of KU’s beloved sights.

TEACHING DOLLARS & SENSE

April 2009 William E. Lewis teaches a personal finance course that addresses fiscal topics traditionally tied to college life — budgets, bills, renting an apartment — but also helps students prepare for tasks that lie ahead — retirement, investing and much more.

START YOUR ENGINES

March 2009 KU engineering students interested in all things related to cars find their way to Jayhawk Motorsports - a group that designs, builds and races a Formula SAE racecar to compete against other colleges and universities every year.

JAYHAWKS ON ICE

February 2009 The men's basketball team might get more attention, but KU's club hockey team has a devoted following, too. These athletes make their own travel arrangements, practice off campus and compete against other club teams — all for the love of the ice.

DANCING LIKE THE STARS

January 2009 Get to know KU's competitive ballroom dance team. These 18 students tour the country, dancing against some of the best collegiate teams around. From samba to swing, these Jayhawks know how to get down.

ART IN THE OPEN

December 2008 Among the many beauties of the KU campus are its public sculptures and other artworks. Take a "gallery walk" on Mount Oread with our new guide to the history behind the statues, courtyards and fountains; their sculptors or creators; and their campus locations.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE HILL

December 2008 Enjoy some scenes from campus over the winter break.

WINTER ON THE HILL

December 2008 KU's main campus, long considered one of the most beautiful in the nation, occupies 1,000 acres on and around Mount Oread in Lawrence. In this slide show, a winter ice storm creates glistening accents along Jayhawk Boulevard.

JAYHAWK JACK-O-LANTERNS

October 2008 Pick a pumpkin stencil and carve a little school spirit into your Halloween decoration. Download a pattern below, print it out and attach to your pumpkin. Cut out the dark areas, remove the stencil and show off your Jayhawk Jack-O-Lantern!

PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS

October 2008 The 2008 presidential race has become one of the most polarizing and scrutinized campaigns in decades. At KU, Professor Robert Rowland and others share their expertise and analysis to help decode the rhetoric that has shaped the race.

FALL ON THE HILL

September 2008 KU's main campus, long considered one of the most beautiful in the nation, occupies 1,000 acres on and around Mount Oread in Lawrence. In this slide show, trees, plants and flowers begin their transition for winter weather and create colorful accents along Jayhawk Boulevard.

STRIKE UP THE BAND

September 2008 The Marching Jayhawks have been integral to campus life for more than 100 years. With all of KU's past history and recent athletic success, it's been pretty cool to be with the band.

ONE STOP REFERENCE SHOP

September 2008 Started as a rumor control hotline in 1970, KU Info has morphed into a general information wellspring. Students, parents, alumni and just about anyone else in the world can have their questions answered with a simple phone call or a quick query online.

CUTTING-EDGE CROP MONITORING

September 2008 KU professor Jude Kastens keeps an eye on crops across Kansas and the entire country using satellite imagery. The information he and his colleagues collect helps them to predict harvest yields for multiple crops throughout the United States.

2008 KEMPER AWARDS

August 2008 Twenty professors will be honored with a $5,000 W.T. Kemper Fellowship in recognition of their teaching and advising excellence. The "surprise patrol" is led by Chancellor Robert Hemenway and other top KU officials who will hand out awards to unsuspecting professors.

OCCUPATION: INNOVATION

July 2008 Valentino Stella, distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, holds an amazing 32 patents for drugs that treat cancer, AIDS, epilepsy and other diseases. As the renowned leader of the Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics Program at the KU Cancer Center, today Stella is helping to make KU a world leader in the development of drugs to combat cancer.

'SUPREME COURT' FOR NEW SPECIES

June 2008 KU professor Daphne Fautin is a commissioner for the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, the world’s top body overseeing the naming of new species. Among this year’s ‘top 10’ new species is this bat, discovered in the Philippines by a KU graduate student.

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

June 2008 A gift to KU Libraries will benefit scholars who study the African-American materials in the Kansas Collection. Donated from communities across the state, the materials reveal how African-Americans achieved and contributed to Kansas history through the years.

GRADUATION STORIES

May 2008 Thousands of students made the traditional march down Mount Oread from Memorial Drive, through the campanile and into Memorial Stadium this year. Here are some of the faces you saw in the procession and their interesting stories.

WELCOME TO THE HILL

May 2008 Take a tour through KU's rich history and look back at Commencement ceremonies past and present in a two-part video.

WAVING THE WHEAT

May 2008 Once again KU's annual whirlwind tour of Kansas for more than 40 faculty and staff members, many of whom are new to the state, has completed its weeklong journey across the state. Read the tour blog for highlights and photos from the trip.

REMAKING GREENSBURG, PART 4

May 2008 Studio 804, the award-winning senior graduate studio, designs and builds the greenest building in Kansas for the town devastated by a tornado May 4, 2007. The new building -- an arts center for Greensburg -- is now open to the public.

DON'T TOSS THAT TRASH

April 2008 Actually, Kermit, it IS easy being green. KU's Environmental Stewardship Program makes it possible by educating the university community on the hows, wheres and whats of recycling.

REMAKING GREENSBURG, PART 3

April 2008 Studio 804, the senior graduate studio at the University of Kansas’ School of Architecture and Urban Planning designs and builds the greenest building in Kansas for a devastated town. Part three of the four-part series.

MARCH OF THE JAYHAWKS

April 2008 Recap the Jayhawks' championship season with our photo gallery that includes images from every March Madness game.

BUTTERFLY ON THE BRINK

April 2008 A KU researcher says the astonishing 3,000-mile migration of the monarch butterfly may collapse without urgent action to halt intense deforestation in Mexico.
Related news: KU researcher says habitat destruction may wipe out butterfly migration

TOP-TIER TALKERS

March 2008 KU has one of the finest teams around. Debate teams, that is. And like their counterparts on the basketball court, these standout student-competitors are one of just 16 teams headed for the national tournament March 29-31 at California State University-Fullerton.
Related news: Two KU teams headed for National Debate Tournament
KU debate team ends January as nation’s top-ranked varsity squad

IRISH LITERATURE COLLECTIONS

March 2008 One of most extensive collections of Irish literature held outside of Ireland resides in the special collections department at KU's Spencer Research Library. Take a narrated tour of some of the collection's highlights.
Related news: KU’s collection of Irish literature features more than 25,000 items

TREES OF THE LAST ICE AGE

March 2008 We live in a time characterized by skyrocketing amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. But imagine if you could push a "reverse" button and cut carbon dioxide to lower levels not seen for thousands of years. One KU professor is doing just that – with ice age trees.

SPRING BEAUTY

March 2008 KU's main campus, long considered one of the most beautiful in the nation, occupies 1,000 acres on and around Mount Oread in Lawrence. In this slide show, trees, plants and flowers blossom to create colorful accents along Jayhawk Boulevard.

MASCOT FASHION

March 2008 See KU's mascots pose and preen. When they do, it's quite a scene. Big Jay has a closeup now. His look makes others say "Wow!" Baby Jay is looking good. He knows to smile like models should. Cameras flash and shutters snap. One more shot -- now it's a wrap!

REMAKING GREENSBURG, PART 2

March 2008 Studio 804, the senior graduate studio at the University of Kansas’ School of Architecture and Urban Planning designs and builds the greenest building in Kansas for a devastated town. Part two of the four-part series.

SMASHING THE SUBATOMIC

Feb. 2008 KU students and researchers will be on hand this summer in Europe when the largest scientific device ever built begins operation. The Large Hadron Collider will allow researchers to better understand the underlying properties of the universe.
Related news: KU physicists probe ‘brave new world’ with gargantuan particle accelerator

KU BASKETBALL THEN & NOW

Feb. 2008 Look back at the men's basketball 1988 championship team to see how the game has changed and what has stayed the same.

DINOSAUR DEBATE

Feb. 2008 KU paleontologists are in the midst of a scientific debate. At issue – which came first – dinosaurs or birds?
Related news: PBS program ‘NOVA’ to feature KU paleontologists

REMAKING GREENSBURG

Feb. 2008 Studio 804, the senior graduate studio at the University of Kansas’ School of Architecture and Urban Planning designs and builds the greenest building in Kansas for a devastated town. Part one of the four-part series.

AN UNFORGETTABLE SEASON

Jan. 2008 KU caps off an unforgettable and record-breaking season with a win over Virginia Tech in the 74th FedEx Orange Bowl, the first BCS bowl win in school history.

BRINGING BACK THE BIG EASY

Jan. 2008 As New Orleans rebuilds, faculty and students from KU’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning and groups from the devastated 7th Ward cooperate on designing structures that will revitalize their community.
Related news:

• KU architecture designs for New Orleans earn regional, national top honors
• KU architecture students work with Tulane to help New Orleans’ Seventh Ward

BUILDING THE BIODIESEL BOOM

Jan. 2008 It’s the alchemy of alternative energy: Researchers and student volunteers at the University of Kansas are transforming waste grease into valuable transportation fuel.
Related news: KU biodiesel researchers welcome bus riders on ‘green’ road trip

NAME THAT BUILDING

Jan. 2008 KU’s historic buildings display institutional architecture from late-Victorian Romanesque Revival through Beaux Arts Classicism to Collegiate Gothic — as well as surprising elements such as this whimsical jester. Do you know where they are? Take the pop quiz.

WINTER ON THE HILL

Jan. 2008 KU’s main campus, long considered one of the most beautiful in the nation, occupies 1,000 acres on and around Mount Oread in Lawrence. In this slide show, a winter ice storm creates glistening accents along Jayhawk Boulevard.

WHEN ROBOTS ATTACK!

Jan. 2008 Whether designing, building or programming, these KU students have a single goal: to create a stronger, faster and smarter robot that can defeat those made by their classmates.