During the spring, significant changes in the weather — such as the 80-degree shift seen last week — can cause indoor temperatures to fluctuate.   

Building temperatures should stay between 69 and 76 degrees, but on unseasonably warm days, indoor spaces could rise above that range and be uncomfortable. During this time, employees are encouraged to lower window blinds to help reflect the sun’s heat and use personal fans to cool spaces.  

More than 80% of the 130 buildings on the Lawrence campus are heated and cooled through hydronics, which depends on steam or water running through pipes to control temperatures. These systems are highly efficient; however, transitioning from a steam heating system to a chilled water cooling system can take up to 48 hours.  

Turning steam on and off to keep up with fluctuating temperatures is inefficient and puts stress on aging systems. Likewise, if the running water used in cooling systems freezes, it can significantly damage pipes and buildings. Therefore, Facilities Services waits for overnight temperatures to consistently be above freezing before switching to cooling systems. 

If a space is regularly too hot or cold, submit a service request to Facilities Services through Maximo or contact Facilities Services at 785-864-4770 or facilities@ku.edu. 

The 2026 cohort of KU Staff Fellows is seeking focus group participants this spring to evaluate staff perceptions of appreciation and recognition opportunities.  

Members of the Staff Fellows cohort will host a series of focus group conversations between April 20 and May 1. All KU staff are invited to participate to share their thoughts on staff appreciation and recognition and provide insight into what is going well, what is missing the mark and areas of improvement moving forward. All conversations will be kept confidential.  

Information collected during these focus groups will be compiled and included in the Staff Fellows presentation to the chancellor and administrative leaders in May.  

Those interested in participating in an upcoming focus group should complete the Staff Appreciation Conversations Interest Form by April 8. For more information about the Staff Fellows Program, visit the KU Human Resources website. 

Four finalists for the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications dean position will soon visit the Lawrence campus and share their vision for the school’s future. 

The name of each candidate will be announced approximately 1-2 business days before their respective campus visit. The public presentations are scheduled for the following times and locations:

In addition, the presentations will be livestreamed. Members of the KU community are encouraged to attend these public presentations and provide feedback to the search committee. Candidate information, presentation recordings and the online feedback forms will remain open on the dean's search page through April 21. 

The Great Colleges to Work For survey saw a 45% participation rate from KU staff across all campuses, which is above the average, according to ModernThink, the survey administrator. This response is a clear reflection of how invested KU employees are in helping create an environment where every KU employee feels valued and respected.

In the coming months, KU will receive the results and initial analysis from ModernThink. Once those results arrive, campus engagement forums will be held throughout the summer and fall, and initial results will be shared. 

The Great Colleges to Work For survey is part of the newly expanded University Constituent Survey process.  

Gina Wyant has been named assistant vice provost for program life cycle in Academic Affairs. In this position, Wyant will partner with university service units, deans and academic unit program leadership to direct programs through the strategic stages of program proposal, development and approval. Wyant’s role also includes oversight of the Center for Online and Distance Learning, which previously was housed in Jayhawk Global. 

These changes were part of a months-long effort to streamline the program approval and review process and to better integrate that process with the needs of programs and students. Her role helps ensure program innovation and development meet accreditation and KBOR standards and requirements. 

Wyant brings a wealth of higher education experience in guiding strategic initiatives and assessing academic quality and instructional effectiveness. In 2022, Gina was named KU’s inaugural director of assessment, where she provided management and leadership for curricular outcomes assessment and program review to support the university’s mission, strategic initiatives and resource planning. 

Charli Bankart, vice provost for International Affairs and senior internationalization officer, will lead a virtual town hall meeting from 1 to 1:30 p.m. Thursday. He will share information from KU International Affairs and guidance on what to do if unexpected visitors come to campus, classrooms or residence halls. Associate Vice Chancellor of Federal Relations Kyle Christian and Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Research Officer Matthias Salathe will also share updates. Amy Mendenhall, vice provost for faculty affairs, will discuss the next steps in the recent tentative agreement between KU and the United Academics of KU.  

To submit a question or comment for a town hall discussion, please use this form. 

KU will launch a new external supplier registration process on March 30. This change is designed to strengthen security, reduce administrative burden and improve the accuracy of supplier information across campus.  

Take steps before March 25 for a smooth transition. More information can be found in a March 11 email. Please contact the Supplier Management Team at supplier@ku.edu with questions. 

Last night, KU Information Technology updated the Single Sign-On (SSO) page, which is where users enter their KU online ID and password on ku.edu to access KU resources and systems. Here are a few reminders:  

Those who have issues following the update or have questions about the new SSO page should reach out to the KU IT Help Desk at 785-864-8080 or ithelpdesk@ku.edu. 

Next week KU Information Technology will perform another round of network maintenance between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. March 31 to April 3 within the Ellsworth and Price data centers. Interruptions to systems and services will occur during this time. 

Campus-hosted applications, such as Automic, Enroll & Pay, HR Pay, ImageNow and Maximo will be affected, as well as the Central File Server, Enterprise File Server, hosted databases, onsite hosted servers, international traveler remote machines and KU websites. 

Systems and services that will not be affected are internet connectivity, KU email service, network connectivity within a building, OneDrive cloud storage, Microsoft applications, Research File Storage and telephone services. 

Interruptions are expected to last less than 15 minutes but could last up to the five-hour maintenance window. If campus units have a process or system that requires an uninterrupted network connection to the Price Computing Center's data center during this timeframe, they will be contacted directly by the IT Networking Team with preparation and next steps. Questions should be directed to the unit’s IT support team or the IT Help Desk at 785-864-8080.  

Don’t miss the Office of the Provost’s final TGIT of the academic year from 4 to 6 p.m. April 9 at the Hawks Nest on the first floor of the Kansas Union.

Faculty and staff are invited to pause and take time to visit with colleagues across campus and enjoy complimentary snacks and beverages. RSVPs are encouraged for planning purposes. 

Fine academic regalia consultations are available during the Spring 2026 Grad Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday in the Kansas Union Ballroom.

For faculty who prefer to rent academic regalia, the deadline for spring 2026 graduations has been extended to March 30. Order online on the KU Bookstore website. 

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