Annual Report

The Jayhawks capped their historic season with a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech at the FedEx Orange Bowl in Miami. This was the Jayhawks' third appearance at the Orange Bowl; previous visits were in 1948 and 1969.

Chancellor Robert Hemenway, Executive Vice Chancellor of the KU Medical Center Barbara Atkinson, and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Richard Lariviere.

Aaron Douglas, a Topeka native who became the most important visual artist of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s and 1930s, was celebrated with a national multidisciplinary conference at KU. As part of the conference, the Spencer Museum of Art organized the first retrospective of Douglas' works, which traveled to Nashville, New York, and Washington, D.C.

In January, the Kansas Honors Program honored its 100,000th high school student scholar, Audrey Allison of Belpre. The KU Alumni Association program, established in 1971, encourages excellence in secondary education and recognizes the top 10 percent of high school seniors throughout the state.

Ronen Sen (below left), India's ambassador to the United States, visited KU to discuss Indo-American relations. Sen spoke about the transformed U.S.-India relationship and the opportunities that come with it, with a special focus on science, technology and research.

Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former U.S. senator for Kansas, gave the 2007 Emily Taylor and Marilyn Stokstad Women's Leadership Lecture, administered by the Hall Center for the Humanities.

Hoping to avoid the fate of the extinct dodo bird, KU researchers and students joined a worldwide celebration of the 198th birthday of Charles R. Darwin. Darwin Day featured the Lawrence premiere of a new award-winning film, "Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus"; a costume contest; exhibits; and other special events.

Nobel Prize winning physicist Sheldon Glashow asked a KU audience, "Does Science Progress through Blind Chance or Intelligent Design?" Glashow shared the 1979 Nobel with two other physicists for work that predicted neutral currents, charmed particles, and intermediate vector bosons, all of which were subsequently discovered by experiments.

The fourth annual KU in the Capitol event informed legislators, staff, and Statehouse visitors about KU's research and outreach efforts.

One of the creative forces behind Google Earth, KU graduate Brian McClendon, returned to the School of Engineering to kick off the Engineering Expo for elementary and high school students.

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, as portrayed by Ted Zalewski, charged up the Hill to visit the Dole Institute of Politics. The one-man performance uses Roosevelt's own words to illustrate the forces that shaped Roosevelt's personality and leadership style.

After a summer of being closed, Danforth Chapel – the site of more than 5,000 weddings since 1946 – was rededicated in September. An extensive renovation of the chapel added a bride's room and restored the stained glass, woodwork, organ, and fixtures.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the speaker for the Student Lecture Series. Kennedy, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for Hudson Riverkeeper, and president of Waterkeeper Alliance, spoke on "Crimes Against Nature."

The 115-year old house at 1346 Louisiana – the former home of the late Juanita and Reginald Strait – was renovated into a gathering place for KU students who live in scholarship halls. The Wilna Crawford Community Center was named for the mother of Jann Rudkin, who with her husband, Tom, donated the funds for the renovation.

The Dole Institute of Politics hosted three of history's most prominent leaders. Former U.S. Sen. Howard Baker received the 2007 Dole Leadership Prize and participated in a moderated discussion sponsored by the Dole Institute of Politics.

"An Evening with Walter Mondale" at the Dole Institute featured the former vice president and Democratic nominee for president. Gen. Richard B. Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave the annual Dole Lecture.

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford Motor Co., gave the spring 2007 Anderson Chandler Lecture at the Lied Center. Mulally, a KU alumnus, joined Ford Motor Co. in 2006 after a lengthy and distinguished career at Boeing.

A candlelight vigil at the Memorial Campanile honored victims of the shootings at Virginia Tech. In the wake of the shootings, KU has implemented an emergency communication system that includes text messaging, e-mail, voice mail, and Web site alerts.

The KU community donated more than $30,000 to help the citizens of Greensburg recover from a devastating tornado that destroyed the town May 4. Among the fund-raising efforts were the KU Alumni Association's Green for Greensburg campaign, which raised $25,000 for the American Red Cross and KU Dining Services' "Dine to Donate" campaign, which raised $2,500 for Heart to Heart International.

The National Geographic turned to KU's Natural History Museum while filming the 3-D film, "Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure" about the enormous reptiles, toothy fish, and sharks that dominated the inland sea that covered what now is Kansas. The filmmakers researched the museum's vast collection of marine life specimens and consulted Larry Martin, professor and curator of vertebrate paleontology, about aspects of the animation.

The 10th annual Wheat State Whirlwind Tour took faculty and staff on a five-day, 1,200-mile trek through Kansas, including an alpaca farm.

The 10th annual Wheat State Whirlwind Tour took faculty and staff on a five-day, 1,200-mile trek through Kansas, including the underground salt mines near Hutchinson.

Chancellor Robert Hemenway led a delegation to China to develop more academic exchange programs and potential research collaborations for KU faculty and students.

Construction has begun on a new dormitory and additional training space at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center near Hutchinson. The two buildings are Phase I of a $16 million capital improvement project.

KU on Wheels has a different look and, under its new contract with MV Transportation, its buses are ADA compliant and more environmentally friendly. In fact, KU researchers are refining the technology that will transform everyday cooking oil into biodiesel fuel that should soon be powering KU's buses.

Arnold Rampersad, acclaimed author and scholar, spoke on "The Enigma of Ralph Ellison." Rampersad's latest book, "Ralph Ellison: A Biography," has been described as the definitive account of the writer whose only novel, "The Invisible Man," won the 1953 National Book Award.

Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a KU alumna, presented the business school's fall 2007 Anderson Chandler Lecture. Bair spoke about sub-prime mortgages, payday loans, and the financial literacy of saving, spending, and not wasting money. She also participated in a round-table discussion with area bankers and in classroom sessions with small groups of business students.

A KU-backed early childhood language and literacy initiative in Kansas City, Kan., earned a a $3.4 million U.S. Department of Education grant. KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts presented the Reading First grant to program leaders in September.

KU has joined with the Army's Command and General Staff College in an initiative to educate the next generation of Army officers. KU offers advanced-degree programs to faculty and students at the CGSC in Fort Leavenworth.

Alexander McCall Smith, best-selling author of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series, was the first speaker in the 2007-08 Humanities Lecture Series, sponsored by the Hall Center for the Humanities. McCall Smith, who also has written several other literary series, spoke about "The Very Small Things of Life."

The 2007 football season smashed school records, among them the first 11-0 start in school history, the most home victories ever in one season, and the first time KU had seven conference wins in one season. The Jayhawks, led by AP Coach of the Year Mark Mangino, earned a spot in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was the grand marshal for the annual homecoming parade along Jayhawk Boulevard on the Lawrence campus. "Jayhawk Nation," was the theme of Homecoming Week activities, which culminated in a victory over Nebraska in Memorial Stadium.

NBC news correspondent Bob Dotson was the featured speaker at Kansas Editors Day, sponsored by the School of Journalism. Dotson, a KU alumnus, spoke about "A Survival Kit for Professional Storytellers – How to compete with cell phones and Web sites."

Legendary civil rights activist U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., received this year's Robert J. Dole Leadership Prize from the Dole Institute of Politics. Lewis, who has represented Georgia's Fifth District since 1987, has been at the center of the civil rights movement since the early 1960s.

KU and Haskell Indian Nations University co-hosted the national conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. Thirteen KU and Haskell students presented at the conference; almost 30 students from KU and Haskell were among more than 3,000 participants from all over the country.

A decades-long buildup of sediment across Kansas' public reservoirs has created a little-known crisis in the state. The Kansas Reservoir Summit, hosted by KU and organized by the Kansas Water Office, brought together Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, governmental agencies, researchers, and businesspeople to discuss the situation and the potential problems with the quality of the state's drinking water.

Dole Institute of Politics hosted "An Evening with Robert D. Novak." Novak's conservative "Inside Report" for the Chicago Sun-Times is one of the longest-running syndicated columns in the nation.

"The Music Man" was the first in a yearlong series of special performances celebrating the 50th anniversary of Murphy Hall. A cast of 41 and a 33-piece orchestra performed Meredith Willson's popular Broadway musical set in River City.

KU received a $2.4 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative aimed at doubling the number of math and science teachers graduating annually to about 50. The grant will benefit UKanTeach, a new collaborative program in KU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Education that leads to a degree in science or math as well as a teaching license in four years.

Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commanding general of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, spoke at the Dole Institute of Politics. Caldwell's presentation, "The Changing Face of Warfare in the 21st Century," was co-sponsored by the KU-Fort Leavenworth Program.

After nearly 18 months of negotiations, the university announced an affiliation agreement among the KU Medical Center, KU Hospital, and the KU physicians group. This affiliation signals a new level of cooperation among these entities and is key to meeting the university's goal of achieving National Cancer Institute designation.

The Dole Institute of Politics hosted "An Evening with Michael Dukakis." Dukakis was the 1988 Democratic presidential candidate but lost in the general election to George H.W. Bush.