Greetings faculty colleagues,
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One of the major goals of the Office of Faculty Affairs is to recognize the contributions that KU faculty make to our campus community and beyond in the areas of teaching, research, and service. To serve this purpose, the Office of Faculty Affairs coordinates the selection process for multiple university-level recognitions, facilitates nominations for key awards and recognitions outside of the university, and promotes a culture of recognition across KU.
This spring, twelve Lawrence faculty members were granted university teaching awards for their work in supporting student learning both inside and outside the classroom. These outstanding instructors will be recognized at the University Teaching Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, October 21. We hope you can join the celebration!
In the area of research, four Lawrence campus scholars garnered awards designated as highly prestigious by the National Research Council, while fourteen faculty earned nationally competitive prestigious awards for outstanding research. Additionally, seven Lawrence campus faculty received University Research Awards and were honored at the annual recognition event last spring. Nominations for the 2026 university research awards will open soon, and winners will be recognized at the University Research Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, April 14.
As part of expanding the campus culture of recognition, we are also very excited to announce a new university-level award: the Faculty Service Award. This award recognizes exceptional contributions to the KU community through institutional service — a vital component of faculty work that often goes under-recognized. This award will allow us to showcase the meaningful efforts of KU faculty to support students and colleagues through mentorship, program evaluation, committee service, and other contributions.
We encourage you to nominate a deserving colleague for an award in teaching, research, or service. You can find nomination information on our Faculty Teaching and Service awards on the Faculty Affairs Awards and Recognition Opportunities page. Nominations are now open, with Teaching Awards nominations due on February 2 and Service Award nominations due on December 1, so now is the time to plan for your nomination submissions!
In the interest of promoting a culture of recognition across KU, our office has created an awards brochure to highlight the outstanding contributions of faculty over the past year — Let’s continue to celebrate the excellence that strengthens our university community.
With gratitude,
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Meagan Patterson
Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Professor, Educational Psychology
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| Robin Lehman
Director of Faculty Recognition & Awards
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Distinguished Professor Lecture: Raj Bhala
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On September 15, Raj Bhala, University Distinguished Professor of Law, presented his lecture, "Deceitful Destruction of International Trade Law: America First and Xenophobic Autarky."
See more images from the evening!
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Office of Faculty Affairs Highlights |
The Office of Faculty Affairs is excited to share our first annual highlights publication. We hope this document provides you with an overview of our priorities and our continued work in the areas of faculty advancement & recognition, faculty relations & policy, and faculty development & growth — what we’ve accomplished and what we aspire to achieve in the future. Please take a look at our Office of Faculty Affairs Highlights page (a link to a PDF is also available within the page). We have a limited number of print copies available of the Highlights publication. If you would like a print copy, please email us at facultyaffairs@ku.edu.
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Faculty Recognition and Awards Travel Reimbursement
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The Office of Faculty Affairs has developed a new travel support process for faculty who are newly awarded members/fellows of national organizations designated as prestigious or highly prestigious. Partial travel funds are available for attending one’s induction ceremonies as a newly elected member/fellow, and faculty are encouraged to seek additional funding from other sources (i.e., schools, departments, Office of Research, grants). For all eligibility and requirements, please visit our Travel Reimbursement for Faculty Recognition & Awards for Research page.
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KU Libraries Resources for Federally Funded Research
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In order to comply with a 2022 directive from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has updated its Public Access Policy, effective July 1, 2025, to require immediate public access to publications and data resulting from federally funded research. KU Libraries has collected information and resources to help KU researchers comply in the Funder Public Access Policy Guide. While NIH-funded research is the most immediate concern, similar requirements are expected to be in place for all federally funded research by January 1, 2026. In early spring, KU Libraries, Faculty Affairs, and the Office of Research plan to host a webinar to provide more information and support for researchers.
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Collective Bargaining Updates |
This fall, the University and the United Academics of KU (UAKU) have met at the collective bargaining table for seven meetings, with four more sessions scheduled as of now. The University and UAKU have both passed 15 counterproposals each, with four tentative agreements reached this semester. This brings the total number of negotiation sessions to 38, with 104 University proposals/counterproposals, 111 UAKU proposals/counterproposals, and 14 proposals with tentative agreements for the entirety of collective bargaining thus far. Keep track of proposals and agreements made on our Collective Bargaining Updates page.
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Early Career Faculty How to at KU: Faculty Insight Walkthrough
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The Office of Faculty Affairs invites all New & Early Career Faculty to attend our fall "Faculty How to at KU" series. Our October session will feature the Faculty Insight experts from Analytics, Institutional Research & Effectiveness (AIRE). Faculty Insight is a portal that enables faculty to record their research, teaching, and service activities. It feeds to the searchable public-facing database, Experts at KU, which connects faculty to collaborators, potential graduate students, KU Communicators, and media outlets nationally. Join us for this session and learn more about Faculty Insight and ways to leverage this tool for your scholarship and collaboration needs.
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Tuesday, October 7, from 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Online via Zoom
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Faculty 14-Day Writing Challenge with NCFDD
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The Office of Faculty Affairs is excited to offer a 14-day Writing Challenge for Faculty this fall! Together with NCFDD, we hope to encourage faculty to commit to writing 30 minutes each day, logging their progress, and supporting KU colleagues throughout the challenge.
Let's Write! Please register by October 12.
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Monday, October 20 through Sunday, November 2
Online
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Distinguished Professor Lecture: Robin Kundis Craig
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Please join us for “Just Add Water: Private Property Rights and Environmental Protection in a Panarchical Reality", an inaugural lecture presented by Robert A. Schroeder Distinguished Professor of Law Robin Kundis Craig, J.D.
Reception to follow. The event will be live-streamed and recorded for those who cannot attend in person. Learn more about Craig's presentation and scholarship.
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Monday, October 20, at 5:30 p.m.
Kansas Room, KU Memorial Union
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Academic Analytics Site Visit
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Academic Analytics will be visiting the KU Lawrence campus for various training sessions on their Activity Management and Peer Analysis tools.
Below are sessions that would be beneficial for most faculty to attend:
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General Products overview/Q&A: for early career faculty, or those new to Faculty Insight, Benchmarking, or Experts at KU
Wednesday, October 22, from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Malott Room, KU Memorial Union
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Faculty Insight to manage your activities and development: for any faculty member who is familiar with Faculty Insight but would like to learn how to better leverage the tool for tracking and reporting their activities.
Wednesday, October 22, from 9:45-10:45 a.m.
Malott Room, KU Memorial Union
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Graduate Mentoring Workshop Sessions
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The Graduate Mentoring Workshop is presented by the Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Faculty Affairs. The workshop is informed by the foundational elements of the Entering Mentoring Training provided by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) and tailored to support the KU community. The training will focus on four key areas: setting and aligning expectations, effective communication with mentees, using Individual Development Plans (IDPs) as part of your mentoring practice, and supporting your mentees in developing resilience, self-efficacy, and independence.
All four sessions present the same content. Please register for the date that best fits your schedule:
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Friday, October 24, from 11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 11, from 11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 15, from 11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Friday, March 6, from 11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
All sessions take place on the Lawrence campus; lunch is provided
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| Distinguished Professor Lecture: Hyunjin Seo
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Please join us for “From Digital Literacy to Civic Engagement: University–Community Partnerships for Economic Mobility and Community Capacity Building," an inaugural lecture presented by University Distinguished Professor Hyunjin Seo.
Reception to follow. The event will be live-streamed and recorded for those who cannot attend in person.
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Tuesday, November 4, at 5:30 p.m.
Big 12 Room, KU Memorial Union
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| The Faculty Idea Exchange: Student Surveys of Teaching Best Practices for Engagement & Application
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Join us for an opportunity to engage with faculty from across the university on ideas current to the faculty role, with this session focused on the Student Survey of Teaching Taskforce report and best practices.
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Wednesday, November 5, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Online via Zoom, registration required
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October 5-31: KU Wellness is launching is first movement challenge for employees: Movetober! There are multiple ways to participate and weekly themes to keep you motivated, all on the Movetober website.
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Thursday, October 16: State of the University Address, followed by "Thank Goodness It's Thursday." RSVPs are not required, but are appreciated.
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Wednesday, October 22: All KU staff and faculty are invited to attend and cultivate more holistic support, networking, and community-building at this year's Staff & Faculty Rapport events.
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Friday, November 3: The Commons will host a Kenneth Spencer Lecture: An Evening with Margaret Renkl, author and non-fiction writer, in Conversation with Megan Kaminski, poet and professor of Environmental Studies. Reserve your free ticket.
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NCFDD membership and programming |
Aligning you time with your priorities
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Did you know that NCFDD provides a Core Curriculum with 10 skills you can develop on demand? For example, one skill you can hone is aligning your time with your priorities. If you are mystified by those colleagues who always seem to be on top of their organization game, learn the secrets of making a strategic plan and checking in on it daily and weekly, so you can prioritize what’s most important.
And if you need to prioritize writing, don’t forget to sign up for our KU/NCFDD 14-Day Writing Challenge! Our writing challenge takes place from Monday, October 20, through Sunday, November 2. Plan to finish your semester strong and join us!
As a reminder, KU is an institutional member of NCFDD, which ensures all KU academic faculty and staff can register for an NCFDD membership at no additional cost. To join the NCFDD community, be sure to sign up here.
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Calls you don't want to miss |
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Wednesday, October 8: KU International Affairs has opened nominations for two competitive awards that recognize faculty who engage in internationalization across campus.
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Jeffrey A. Hall, Professor and new Chair of Communication Studies shares a bit about his most recent book, "The Social Biome," and the feedback he's received so far. The 2025 publication has been featured on many platforms and was even featured on a New York Times Quiz.
“It has been so gratifying that people who have read The Social Biome have reached out to tell me how much they enjoyed the book and share how they changed their social habits to live a more connected life. There is nothing like writing something that inspires your readers.”
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Dates to be aware of and share with students
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Saturday, October 11-Tuesday, October 14: Fall Break
- Friday, October 17: Enrollment appointments begin for spring 2026
- Monday, November 3: Application for fall graduation deadline (law and undergraduate)
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All dates above apply to full semester courses. Some deadlines may exclude certain schools and colleges. See the entire Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 calendar on the Registrar’s website.
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CV Builder and NIH Biosketch
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All faculty now have the ability to create their own custom Vitas and Biosketches in the Reporting tab of Faculty Insight, via the CV builder.
Find short videos on creating your custom CV and Biosketch by , clicking on the Help toolbar, then the Quick Links to Videos. Here, you will find videos on "How to Create a Custom CV" and "How to Create a NIH Biosketch" to guide you through the process.
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KU Spotlight on Faculty Excellence honorees announced for 2025-26
KU Spotlight on Faculty Excellence celebrates KU faculty contributions in research, scholarship and creative activity. Each professor will be recognized during a Kansas Athletics event. The 2025-26 honorees represent the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and schools of Business, Education & Human Sciences, Engineering, Health Professions, Medicine, Pharmacy and Social Welfare.
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