The University of Kansas and the United Academics of KU reached a tentative agreement on all 37 articles of the collective bargaining agreement on Thursday. The next steps in finalizing the contract include a ratification vote by UAKU and a review by the Kansas Board of Regents for final approval.  

This accomplishment represents enormous dedication and time spent by everyone involved in the negotiation process and sets the foundation for continued partnership and support for faculty moving forward.   

For up-to-date details and information, please visit the KU Collective Bargaining website. 

Beginning this spring, KU employees heading abroad will want to review a new One KU policy that requires employees to participate in the Loaner Laptop/Azure Virtual Desktop Program if they are conducting university-related business while traveling internationally.  

Designed to protect university data and networks and ensure export compliance, the program provides loaner devices with accessories and applications needed for doing university business while traveling.  

Employees on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses should follow this International Travel Registration Process: 

Be sure to follow the security measures outlined in the policy and refer to Global Risk and Security’s Foreign Travel Security website for additional resources and considerations to enhance personal safety, cybersecurity and compliance with export control regulations. 

Four University of Kansas Police Department staff members were among 21 first responders recognized at the Douglas County KS First Responder Valor Awards ceremony on Feb. 26 at Abe & Jake's Landing. 

Emergency Communications Officers Tyler Ulrich-Hicks and Janae Lubega were presented with the Grace Under Pressure Valor Award, which is given to call takers within a Douglas County agency who performed outstandingly under extreme pressure or extenuating circumstances at a level that exceeds what is normally expected in a dispatch role. 

Sergeant Joseph Jackson and Detective Eli Hodge were presented with the Lifesaving Valor Award, which recognizes first responders for saving a human life that was in imminent risk of death. The lifesaving measures must be extraordinary, above and beyond regular duties. 

Pictured above from left to right are Lubega, Hodge, Jackson and Ulrich-Hicks. Photos are by Cinder and Ivory.

Read more about these first responders’ service in a KU News article. 

Known as selfless, hardworking and a go-getter, Lee Dixon has been selected as a February Employee of the Month. 

Dixon was recently promoted to assistant skilled trades supervisor in Facilities Services’ Maintenance Services department and has worked at the university for about two years. He was a senior plumber at the time of his nomination. Dixon has made an impact by not only providing high-quality service and repairs but also by consistently going out of his way to help others with their workload and problems.  

His team said he often volunteers to manage the on-call phone, cover shifts and make fixes on assignments as he sees them, even if they fall outside of the immediate scope of the project.   

“Although his primary role is plumbing, he actively seeks opportunities to assist with boilers and other systems, both to learn and to stay productive,” Dixon’s nominator said.  

A generous, kind and supportive colleague whose behind-the-scenes work puts KU in the best light, Neil Rasmussen is being recognized as a February Employee of the Month. 

Rasmussen, who is the IT manager for Media Production Studio, came to KU in 2013 with a deep technical understanding and skills in broadcast and event production. Since then, Rasmussen has been the principal production engineer and live event coordinator for MPS.  

Over the past decade, Rasmussen led the technical design and implementation for the video production studio in Budig Hall and provided the backend server support for a shared video editing service that modernized the workflow for creating content for course videos. He has also tripled the number of livestream events and video recordings that MPS produces.  

One nominator noted that Rasmussen is an “IT wizard whose calm professionalism, creative problem-solving, and generosity make him an exceptional colleague and an indispensable part of KU.” 

Read more about Dixon and Rasmussen's work on the Employee of the Month Winners webpage. 

Ric Steele, vice provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, has been appointed as interim vice provost for Academic Affairs.  

In a message to campus, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Arash Mafi shared his confidence in Steele’s ability to lead during a six-month period, adding Steele would continue to make progress on activities and initiatives already underway.   

Steele’s limited-term appointment will provide an opportunity to assess the strengths and needs of Academic Affairs, especially in the context of One KU, before a search is launched to identify a new leader for Academic Affairs. Steele, a professor in Applied Behavioral Science with 25 years at KU, will continue to direct activities in Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs. 

The University Core Curriculum Committee is seeking nominations for the Christopher Haufler KU Core Innovation Award, an annual recognition honoring academic departments that exemplify innovative teaching and learning within KU Core 34 or capstone courses. A $3,000 award, funded by the Office of the Provost, is granted to the recipient’s academic department to support initiatives in teaching, learning and assessment.  

To nominate a course, individuals should submit:  

Please email nominations to kucore@ku.edu by April 11. Self-nominations are encouraged.  

More information, including the selection criteria, are available on the Academic Affairs website. For more information, please email kucore@ku.edu.  

Staff Senate elections for the 2027 fiscal year are being held this week. Staff members will receive an email sometime today with the ballot, which they have until Friday to submit. 

The candidate slate and bios will be available on the Staff Senate website for review. Please review voting options before opening the ballot. Staff can only complete one ballot, and no save-and-continue feature is available.     

The Staff Senate represents all KU staff in University Governance and before KU leadership. Learn more on the Staff Senate website.  

The Open Educational Resources Committee at Fort Hays State University has put together a series of webinars centered on Open Education Week. From 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Arrica Braun, assistant professor of allied health at FHSU, will explore how the artificial intelligence tool Notebook LM can integrate Open Educational Resources into courses.   

One frustration with deploying OER into course design is that the materials can appear less polished than publisher textbooks. Participants will learn how Notebook LM can make course materials more accessible and interactive while providing students with the means to create flashcards, synthesize concepts and engage more easily with course material. 

Those interested in attending can register online. 

A three-hour interactive training program on suicide prevention will be offered for faculty and staff who are in regular contact with students. Emily Kubalik, senior staff clinician and suicide prevention coordinator for Counseling and Psychological Services, will lead "JayhawksTalk: Suicide Prevention for Gatekeepers" from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 18, in the Crimson and Blue Room at Watkins Health Center.  

Campus gatekeepers are often in a position to recognize students who may be in crisis and refer them to appropriate mental health resources. The training will include:  

KU employees can register through MyTalent. KU affiliates without MyTalent access, please email wellness@ku.edu to register. 

Employee tuition assistance applications for summer 2026 are now open and will be accepted until 5 p.m. April 3. Application deadlines are firm, and late applications will not be accepted.   

The Employee Tuition Assistance Program provides employees with assistance to cover tuition for up to 12 credit hours per calendar year. Lawrence and Edwards Campus faculty and staff with an appointment of 48 percent or greater to a regular position and with at least six months of continuous service as of June 1 are eligible for the program.    

More information is available on the Human Resources’ tuition assistance webpage. 

The Office of Faculty Affairs is partnering with AIRE experts to explain how faculty can utilize Faculty Insight to make research connections, create accurate activity reports, and apply for awards. The virtual session “Faculty How to KU: Optimizing Faculty Insight for You” will be held at 3:30 p.m. March 30. Registration is required.  

Faculty Insight offers several ways to keep faculty scholarship information tidy and accurate, allowing faculty to create annual reports quickly and expedite submission processes to save time. 

KU Emergency Management, in partnership with Douglas County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service’s Topeka office, is hosting a severe weather training at 7 p.m. Thursday at Capitol Federal Hall, Room 1111. 

The two-hour workshop, Douglas County Severe Weather Night, will include information about severe thunderstorm development, identification of storm features and safety tips. The free training is open to anyone, and it is being held in conjunction with Severe Weather Preparedness Month. 

Today is the last day for staff to take the Great Colleges to Work For survey, part of the newly expanded University Constituent Surveys process. On Feb. 23, staff at all KU campuses received a secure email invitation from ModernThink to participate. Since then, staff members who haven’t completed the survey received several email reminders with a link from ModernThink.  

The 20-minute survey is confidential, and ModernThink will only provide KU with aggregate data. Staff feedback plays a key role in shaping an environment where every KU employee feels valued and respected. Refer to the FAQs on the webpage to understand who is invited to participate in the survey.    

The International Faculty and Staff Council is hosting its second happy hour of the semester from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Lawrence Beer Company East. All faculty and staff are invited to the event, which will offer an opportunity to connect and a bite to eat provided by the council. Guests will also discuss navigating workplace dynamics and their impact on career growth. Please RSVP to ifsc@ku.edu.  

The group is one of 10 faculty staff councils that bring KU employees together around a common topic, identity or interest. All faculty and staff at KU are welcome to join any faculty staff council. Those interested in joining the International Faculty and Staff Council, can complete the membership form. 

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.