This Friday marks the annual KU Crimson & Blue Day on the Lawrence campus. Coordinated through the Office of Admissions, the open house and campus visit for prospective students and their families features opportunities to learn about academic programs, student life, and resources and support services for students. 

Roughly 2,500 guests are expected to attend. More than 50 offices and academic departments, including the School of Professional Studies and KU Medical Center-based programs, will be on hand to meet with students and answer questions. Guests will also be able to take tours of residence and scholarship halls. 

It takes an entire campus to recruit future Jayhawks. The work of everyone who meets with students — recruiters, faculty, advisors, and staff from a broad range of offices and departments — helps ensure prospective students have a positive KU experience. 

Faculty and staff are also invited to join the Crimson & Blue Day welcome session at 8:45 a.m. in the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.  

In a little more than two years, KU will undergo evaluation by the Higher Learning Commission to verify the institution continues to meet accreditation standards. On Oct. 6, members from various KU campuses met in the Kansas Union to formally begin the process. 

The HLC requires institutions to perform a self-study every four years and every 10 years to demonstrate they meet the requirements for accreditation. Once an institution’s self-report is submitted, a peer review team is selected to conduct the evaluation. The reviewers then make a recommendation for continued accreditation.  

KU successfully completed the Year 10 self-study in 2025, which included a site visit and resulted in KU’s accreditation being reaffirmed. KU will complete the Year 4 self-study, called the Mid-cycle Review, in 2029; no site visit will occur.    

The self-study process involves a diverse and representative cross-section of the university community. KU’s steering committee includes co-leads from the Lawrence and Edwards campuses and the Medical Center for the HLC’s four criteria of accreditation. Criterion committees are being assembled to include representation from all KU campuses to reflect the diversity of the university-wide community.  

Read the full article on the KU News website.

On Oct. 19, KU Information Technology will roll out additional security measures for Duo Multi-Factor Authentication to better protect users from cyberattacks. 

When using Duo as part of KU’s Single Sign-On (SSO), most users will not notice a difference when accessing systems such as Canvas, Enroll & Pay, HR/Pay and KU Anywhere VPN. However, users may see increased security when traveling, using a new device or attempting to log in from a new or infrequently used location. 

If Duo detects unusual or high-risk activity when users sign in through SSO, Duo Push and hardware tokens will be disabled. Instead, one of the following verification methods will be required: 

When additional authentication is required, instructions and verification options will be displayed on the login screen. If further assistance is needed, faculty and staff can contact their department’s IT support staff or the KU IT Help Desk at ITHelpDesk@ku.edu or 785-864-8080. 

When obstacles present themselves, Isabella Bray rises to the challenge, which is one of the reasons she was honored as a September 2026 Staff Employee of the Month.

Bray, a transfer credit specialist for the Office of the University Registrar, specializes in all things pertaining to transfer credits. She handles transfer credit equivalencies, transcript processing, credit re-evaluation and more. 

Described as meticulous, helpful and hardworking, Bray is the go-to source of knowledge regarding transfer credits. Due to personnel changes within the span of a year, Bray temporarily handled the duties for the entire department and university by herself.  

“With all of the staffing changes, Isabella could have let the pressure of the responsibilities get to her, but she has stepped up for our unit in a big way without complaint,” her nominator said. “Even in the midst of her day-to-day responsibilities, she is very responsive to others asking for help and is still finding ways to better our processes.” 

Through her critical role in campus security operations, Sarah Jean Mealiff Coughlan helps build a safer campus environment. For that work, she is being recognized as a September 2026 Staff Employee of the Month. 

As a functional systems analyst in Facilities Planning & Development, Coughlan manages a campus-wide security system, oversees access control scheduling, coordinates key and access control card distribution and serves as the primary support contact for Locks, Access & Security Technology Services. Coughlan, who goes by SJ, has worked at KU since 2006.  

“SJ is the person everyone counts on — no matter the challenge, she finds a way to get it done,” a colleague noted. 

Most recently, Coughlan led a project to migrate a campus-wide security system to a new software platform. The upgrade required coordination with KU Information Technology, KU Police Department, Procurement, vendors and campus users. 

Read more about Bray and Coughlan’s work on the Employee of the Month Award winners website.  

On Oct. 20, Microsoft Copilot experts will be on the Lawrence campus to share tools and build skills for responsibly using AI. Hands-on sessions will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium, where Microsoft specialists will explore how AI can support teaching, research, communications, administration and operational efficiency. 

From 1 to 1:50 p.m., the Microsoft team will cover Copilot Chat and prompt fundamentals, providing participants an opportunity to write prompts to draft course activities, research plans, announcements, task lists or FAQs for student services. 

From 2 to 3:30 p.m., participants will explore Microsoft 365 Copilot and Agents, which can help with Outlook correspondence, Teams meeting preparation and follow-up, Word document drafts, Excel data analysis, and PowerPoint presentations. Additionally, experts will discuss Microsoft Agents and agentic AI.  

Participants should bring a laptop, and a Microsoft 365 Copilot license is recommended for the second session. Registration is requested.  

Last Friday a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Clyde Tombaugh Observatory, which will be located just east of Slawson Hall along Hoch Auditoria Drive. Foundation work on the site will begin this week.  

A joint venture between the School of Architecture & Design’s Studio 804 and the Department of Physics & Astronomy, the observatory is supported by donors and expected to be completed by the end of the spring semester.   

Constructed of rammed earth, the observatory will be 16 feet in diameter and stand 18 feet high with a dome roof. A plaza will sit in front of the structure. The observatory will house the historic 140-year-old, six-inch Clark Refractor telescope.  

The new observatory will replace Lindley Hall’s rooftop observatory, which has not been used since the 1990s because of deteriorating conditions. Plans are to name the observatory after Clyde Tombaugh, the KU alumnus credited for discovering Pluto. 

KU Bookstore is accepting course materials submissions for spring semester classes.  

The target date for all instructors to inform the bookstore of their course’s textbook and materials needs is Oct. 20, which helps ensure that information appears in the Schedule of Classes, as required by law, and can be fulfilled in time for the spring semester.  

Information must be submitted even if texts or materials are not required or recommended.  

The Course Materials Resources page provides details and background about the Higher Education Opportunity Act’s legal requirement to submit course materials information and offers tips and best practices to help students address affordability. The page also provides background on Open Educational Resources options that provide access to freely accessible and open-licensed content. 

In the second week of Movetober — the KU Employee Wellness movement challenge — participants will focus on moving with KU spirit. Here’s how employees can get involved in this week's activities:   

On Thursday, KU Lawrence and Edwards campuses will participate in the national Great ShakeOut Drill, which will be an opportunity to practice what to do in the event of an earthquake.  

At 10:40 a.m. on the Lawrence campus, faculty, staff and students will receive a RAVE emergency alert via email or text message. Additionally, the Emergency Public Address system will be activated to broadcast simulated emergency messaging.   

On the Edwards Campus, the drill will occur at 11:30 a.m. with faculty, staff and students receiving a RAVE alert via email or text message.   

An all-clear alert will be sent five minutes after each message to conclude the drill. For more information, including how to participate in the drill, visit the Office of Emergency Management website. 

As a recipient of federal funds, KU must comply with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. As part of that compliance, the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX provides members of the campus community with information about KU’s Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program. The DAAPP contains important information, including the following: 

View the 2026 DAAPP. 

KU Libraries will celebrate International Open Access Week with a virtual webinar featuring Corinna Turbes, senior manager of government relations at the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 22.   

The webinar, "Navigating Uncertainty: Open/Public Access in a Shifting Policy Landscape," will offer an overview of where federal public access policy stands right now, what's on the horizon, and practical strategies researchers and institutions can use today. The session will be held via Zoom and recorded for later viewing.  

Registration is free for the KU community. For more information on the event, visit the KU Libraries website.

On Oct. 23, the Homecoming Parade, presented by the Kansas Air National Guard, will return to the Lawrence campus. 

Beginning at 6 p.m., the parade will start at the Chi Omega Fountain, march down Jayhawk Boulevard, and conclude at 13th Street and Jayhawk Boulevard. 

To accommodate the parade, traffic along Memorial Drive will be westbound only at 4 p.m. and Jayhawk Boulevard will close to traffic at 5:45 p.m. Prior to the parade, those parked near Carruth-O’Leary and Joseph R. Perason halls, specifically lots 1, 11, 50 and 52, should exit north onto 11th Street. 

The Mississippi Street Parking Garage will be free and open to the public at 4 p.m. 

Chancellor Doug Girod and Provost Arash Mafi will provide the KU community with updates at two separate events this month. All faculty and staff are invited.

The chancellor will give the annual State of the University address at 4 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Jayhawk Welcome Center. For those unable to attend, the event will be livestreamed on the Office of the Chancellor website. Following the address, a Thank Goodness It’s Thursday event will be held in The Pub. Registration is not required but appreciated for planning purposes. 

The provost will give the annual State of the Campus address at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Ballroom of the Kansas Memorial Union. The event will be livestreamed and recorded. 

Following the presentation, faculty and staff are invited to a reception to mingle and continue the discussion. An RSVP is requested.

For the fall semester, the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX is hosting a virtual Introduction to Belonging training. 
 
Part One of the training, Foundational Concepts, will be offered twice: 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 28 and 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 17. Part Two, which will be a discussion, will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Dec. 9.  

In this two-part training, KU employee participants will engage in intrapersonal reflection, learn key concepts and strengthen their interpersonal engagement strategies for fostering belonging in their workplace. Learn more and register for a training session on the OCRTIX website.  

Additionally, last week, Campus Insider shared information about an Introduction to Mandatory Reporting training. The training next month has been moved to Nov. 18. It will be held on Zoom from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. More information and the Zoom link can be found on the OCRTIX website. 

Your KU email account is the official channel for important university communications.

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and procedures and is the Title IX Coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY. Reports can be submitted by contacting the Title IX Coordinator as provided herein or online and complaints can be submitted with the Title IX Coordinator or online.

The University of Kansas is a public institution governed by the Kansas Board of Regents.