MARCH 2026

Greetings faculty colleagues,

You may have seen the recent research update announcing $610.6M in research expenditures during fiscal year 2025—an impressive 12% increase from the previous year. It’s an incredible feeling to know that despite a year of uncertainty and change, our community continues to innovate, expand its reach, and deliver life-changing advancement for our state and beyond. KU faculty are at the heart of these achievements.  

The university will soon celebrate research across KU during the annual University Research Awards. I encourage you to join us in celebrating the work of our outstanding colleagues on April 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jayhawk Welcome Center.  

The Office of Faculty Affairs continues to partner with research experts to bring you timely programming to help support your research initiatives. One such opportunity is coming up next week: Faculty How to at KU: Emerging Changes for Public Access Research and Navigating Requirements. Experts from KU Libraries and the Office of Research will discuss important changes happening with public access requirements for publications and project data, share resources, and answer your questions. Join us online Monday, March 9, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.  

Additionally, during Faculty Development Academies Week, our first day will be dedicated to research and discovery as we explore collaborative research networking, emerging trends and updates within the KU research landscape, and supporting faculty in remaining at the forefront of discovery. Faculty Development Academies Week takes place May 18 through May 22. 

Whether we are celebrating accomplishments or learning together, I continue to be inspired by our faculty research stories. I hope to see you at an upcoming research event. 

With gratitude,

Amy Mendenhall 
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs 
Professor, Social Welfare 

Early Career Faculty Foundations

Early Career faculty met on Friday, Feb. 20, to discuss and learn more about all things related to teaching, research, professional development, support, and career milestone planning. The event also provided plenty of time for across-campus connections. A huge thank you to our incredible facilitators and presenters who made the event a success! We were thrilled to have experts from the Center for Teaching Excellence, KU Office of Research, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Department of English, and the Department of Communication Studies join us.

As we move into the middle of the spring semester, students may miss class for various reasons, which makes this a good time for faculty to review the University Excused Absences policy. The policy outlines reasons that must be considered an excused absence, but instructors may use their discretion in allowing excused absences for additional reasons, such as students' personal safety concerns.  

If a student is in communication with you about missing class and you are concerned for their wellbeing, please keep in mind these resources that are available to them: 

Professional Licensure Programs policy

In accordance with U.S. Department of Education regulations, KU has established a new policy relevant to programs leading to professional licensure. All licensure programs must make publicly available information about whether their program meets the requirements for licensure for each U.S. state and territory. In addition, if a student is admitted to a licensure program that does not meet licensure requirements in the student’s location (defined as the physical address where the student lives while taking KU classes), the student must be notified and the student may not enroll unless they submit a statement attesting that they intend to seek employment in a state or territory where the program meets licensure requirements.  

Individual disclosures are the responsibility of Enrollment Management in coordination with individual licensure programs and the Office of Academic Affairs (KULC) and the Office of Academic and Student Affairs (KUMC). It is the responsibility of licensure programs to maintain their individual program disclosure pages and to review and update these pages at least once per year.  

The KU collective bargaining webpage has been recently updated to include: 

The UAKU website also offers updates in the negotiation process.  

Faculty How To at KU: Emerging Changes for Public Access Research and Navigating Requirements

Do you have a grant from a U.S. federal research funding agency? Or, are you planning to apply for one? KU Libraries and the KU Office of Research want you to know about important changes happening with public access requirements for both publications and project data in order to help set you up for success. From requiring immediate public access to eliminating a previously allowed embargo period, there will be numerous changes impacting researchers, institutions, and publishers. Join experts from both KU Libraries and KUOR to learn more in this "Faculty How To" as they provide a current overview, share resources, and answer your questions.

Monday, March 9, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Online

Faculty How To at KU: Optimizing Faculty Insight for You

The Office of Faculty Affairs is partnering with AIRE experts to explain how you can utilize Faculty Insight to make research connections, create accurate activity reports, and apply for awards. Faculty Insight offers several ways to keep your scholarship information tidy and accurate, allowing you to create annual reports quickly and expedite submission processes to save you time.

Monday, March 30, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Online

Registration now open! KU Faculty Development Academies Week

Plan ahead now for Faculty Development Academies Week. Faculty Development Academies are day-long intensives, focused on a particular topic, giving faculty time to delve deep and develop a core capacity in a chosen area. They take place every May, the week after finals week. Participants are welcome to register for as many dates as they’d like.

This year, choose days related to Research and Discovery, Academic Leadership, Academic Mentorship, and Global Engagement. Register for as many dates as you'd like to attend!

Monday, May 18, through Friday, May 22

Kansas Union, Malott Room (Friday's session takes place at Watson Library)

Thursday, March 5: Join KU Alumni and the Office of the Chancellor for TGIT (Thank Goodness It’s Thursday)! The TGIT event series offers faculty and staff the chance to unwind, connect, and celebrate our Jayhawk community. Refreshments and giveaways will be provided, and attendees are encouraged to register in advance.

Friday, March 6: Join the Institute for Policy and Social Research for the March 2026 research luncheon, Causal Mechanisms Behind Environmental Injustice: The Role of Enforcement, presented by Professor Dietrich Earnhart (Economics and Center for Environmental Policy). Lunch will be provided. Please email ipsr@ku.edu if you would like to attend and let them know if you require any accommodations or have any dietary restrictions. 

Tuesday, March 10: Please join the Office of Research for a Collaborative Research Luncheon focused on democracy research at KU and K-State during the Collaborative Research Luncheon: Polulistm & Democracy. The vent takes place from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Malott Room of the Kansas Union. Register at this link.

Thursday, March 12: Notebook LM and Seamlessly Integrating OER Resources into Your Courses. Attendees at this session can expect to learn about how the artificial intelligence tool Notebook LM can make your course materials more accessible and interactive while providing students with the means to create flashcards, synthesize concepts, and engage more easily with course material.This event is a part of FHSU's Open Education Week OER Webinar series. Register at this link.

Friday, March 27: Faculty and staff are invited to participate in the KU Reads Teach-In at Watson Library from noon to 4 p.m., to consider instructional strategies and program development from different disciplinary standpoints. Registration is not required, but lunch will be provided for participants who register by March 24. The 2026-27 KU Reads: A Common Book Experience selection was recently announced as "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey.

Friday, March 27: Red Hot Research featuring 2026 Keeler Family Intra-University Professorship Recipients is hosted by The Commons and takes place at Watson Library from 4 to 5:40 p.m.

Presenters:

Wednesday, April 8: The KU Employee Wellness Fair takes place from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Kansas Union Ballroom and will feature wellness resources, free chair massages, live music and free catered food.

Monday, March 23: The Office of Research is soliciting nominations for the New Faculty Research Development Awards. These awards are designed to begin building a sustainable program of research, scholarship, and/or creative activity for applicants and are open to faculty in their first 60 months on the Lawrence or Edwards campus. Learn more and apply at this link.

Wednesday, April 1: Applications are now open for the One KU Collaborative Research Awards, which provide seed funding to launch or strengthen innovative, interdisciplinary research partnerships between KU Lawrence and KU Medical Center. These awards support projects in key research growth areas with strong potential for external funding and are open to any tenured or non-tenured faculty member in the KU Lawrence or KU Medical Center research community. Learn more and apply at this link.

Wednesday, April 1: Applications are now open for One KU Research Pivot Awards, which are designed to help KU researchers explore and align novel ideas with new opportunities and build internal capacity to maintain research momentum when their usual sources of external funding in a given topic area have become unavailable and are open to any tenured or non-tenured faculty member in the KU Lawrence or KU Medical Center research community. Learn more and apply at this link.

Friday, April 6: The Office of Faculty Affairs is accepting applications for the 2026-2027 Senior Administrative Fellows. The Senior Administrative Fellows program allows a small group of competitively selected tenured faculty to explore administration. Fellows learn more about KU and administrative roles, engage in self-reflection and assessment of their own leadership styles and preferences, and consider possible pathways of leadership in higher education. Learn more about the program, schedule, and apply by April 6 at this link.

Friday, April 17: The University Core Curriculum Committee (UCCC) 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. 

Please email nominations to kucore@ku.edu by April 17. Self-nominations are encouraged. More information, including the selection criteria, is available at this link. For more information, please contact kucore@ku.edu. 

Jordan Atkinson

At KU, Dr. Atkinson is deeply engaged in university leadership, contributing to curriculum development, academic policy and student success initiatives across multiple committees. He also currently serves as President of the Eastern Communication Association.

Dates to be aware of and share with students

All dates above apply to full semester courses. Some deadlines may exclude certain schools and colleges. See the entire Spring 2026, Summer 2026, and Fall 2026 calendars on the Registrar’s website.   

Beginning March 2, single sign-on access will be required to see instructor names and class locations on the Schedule of Classes website. The course title and description will still be visible to the public. For additional information, users will need to log in using their KU online ID and password. 

This update addresses safety and privacy concerns stemming from instances of targeted harassment and unsolicited contact toward faculty and students. While providing more privacy, the change still allows for transparency and preserves full access to the KU community. 

The University of Kansas recently updated its emergency alert system to ensure Lawrence and Edwards campus employees receive critical information during an emergency. Effective February 18, all university employee mobile phones listed in HR Pay will automatically be opted into the emergency alert system, which sends text messages and emails in the event of an emergency. This change means employees whose phone numbers are in HR Pay no longer need to specifically sign up for emergency text messages in the My KU Portal, and will instead receive them automatically.

If your mobile phone number is already in HR Pay, you don’t need to take any action. If you have not already added your mobile number in HR Pay, we recommend you add it now so you will receive emergency alerts. Please refer to the online instructions on how to update your number. If you prefer not to receive text messages, you may choose to opt out in HR Pay.

The Office of Faculty Affairs recently welcomed KU faculty members Allison Kirkpatrick, Jonathan Brumberg and Claudia Dozier in new roles to support priorities in policy revision and educational programming. Learn more about the new fellows positions and initiatives.

KU Libraries are preparing to go live this summer with a new library services platform (LSP), FOLIO, and a suite of integrated products to empower essential backend capabilities and user-facing upgrades. The new open‑source system will enhance functionality for instructors and students, increase efficiencies in essential libraries services, unify systems across the Lawrence campus, Wheat Law Library, and KU Medical Center, and better support library user needs. Learn more about FOLIO and its June launch.

The KU Bookstore is here to help you prepare course materials that are affordable, accessible, and ready for students on day one. Please submit adoptions by October 24 (Spring), April 1 (Summer), or May 1 (Fall). Use the online adoption form, your personalized reminder link sent before each deadline, or email textbook@ku.edu.  We’re happy to assist with OER, courseware setup, custom course packs (Jayhawk Ink), and Auto Access options. 

This March, KU Dining is celebrating National Nutrition Month with events throughout the month focused on helping Jayhawks make healthy changes and learn more about nutrition on campus. Everyone is encouraged to attend events, connect with our nutritionist, and make food donations to Campus Cupboard. In addition, special discounts will be available on Wednesdays and Fridays on açaí bowls, salads, and grain bowls at Blend in the Market to encourage balanced, nutritious meals. Learn more about upcoming events at https://dining.ku.edu.

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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.

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