SEPTEMBER 2025

Dear Faculty and Staff,

It's wonderful to have our College community together again as we kick off another academic year. Whether you spent your summer resting, conducting research, working on campus, or traveling, I hope you're refreshed and ready to dive into new challenges and opportunities.

Building Community

After attending several welcome back events across the College, I was reminded why I love being part of this institution. The energy and enthusiasm from our students at the College’s Academic Welcome during Hawk Week was outstanding. Thank you to the College Undergraduate Academic Services team for all your time and work creating such an engaging and successful event, which broke their event attendance record with more than 500 students participating. I also appreciate the many faculty and staff from across the College who joined in welcoming our students and helping make the event such a success. Congrats, team!

I also was invited to attend and participate in the Honors Convocation and the Jayhawk Jumpstart Luncheon. Spending time with those student communities was such an uplifting way to begin my semester. The faculty and staff in these units are doing incredible work.

Thank you all for your effort!

Research Excellence & Innovation

KU and the College continue to excel in research despite recent challenges. Why? Because of you and your dedication to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and discovery. Our students have the remarkable privilege to learn from active researchers working at the forefront of their fields. What an incredible opportunity. Here are a few highlights from the summer:

Moving Forward Together

As we navigate the challenges and opportunities of the year ahead, keep our mission close to mind. I will continue to make myself available to receive your ideas and feedback, including the faculty luncheons, small group discussions, and the second annual College Conversation in October.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the College. Here's to a successful semester filled with learning, growth, and community.

Sincerely,
Arash

Arash Mafi, Ph.D.
Executive Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Professor, Physics & Astronomy

Mark your calendar for the opportunity to help us build a stronger, more connected future for the College.

Official invite and RSVP coming soon. 

The College Recruitment & Outreach team will be hosting a majors fair for KU's open house event. Keep an eye on your email for more information and the sign-up form in the next couple of weeks. 

The College Dean's Communications Team is looking for faculty doing interesting research (spoiler alert: it's all of you) to be featured in videos, social media, websites, blogs, and more. Help us elevate the amazing research in the College by sharing with us and the broader KU and Kansas communities. Interested? Fill out this quick form to connect with us. 

We can't wait to celebrate YOU and all you do for the College. Check out the schedule and sign up for as many events as you're able. We look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.

They're in every department in the College, and we want to hear about them. Share and celebrate your amazing staff members today. We'll recognize in the coming months. 

Congratulations to the faculty and graduate student recipients of various awards from the College Office of Graduate Affairs. The following programs honor the contributions to excellence in graduate education. Read more about each award and see previous winners. 

Allen S. Wilber Scholarship
Rachel Hampton, Sociology 

Byron A. Alexander Graduate Mentor Award
Prof. Jonathan Brumberg, Psychology

John C. Wright Graduate Mentor Award
Prof. Andrew Isenberg, History

Lillian Jacobey Baur Early Childhood Award
Kelsey Smith, Special Education 
Cassie Stevens, Clinical Child Psychology

Outstanding Thesis Award 
Spring 2024:
Marcela Paiva Veliz, Indigenous Studies 
Rachel Andreini, English 
Summer/Fall 2025:
Amanda Gehin, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 

Mocktails & Mingle is a premier career program in collaboration with the University Career Center and KU Alumni Association. This program introduces students to alumni and local leaders for networking and career exploration. The Mocktail topics have been curated with student pathways in mind, providing students an opportunity to connect with professionals from career industries that are of interest to them.

How can you help?

In an effort to meet our prospective and current students where they're at, the College joined TikTok. Follow us over there (or Instagram or Facebook) and join in on the fun. 

The Dean's Office is now curating a bi-weekly newsletter for updates and information from all Dean's Office units: Recruitment & Outreach, Budget, Undergraduate Academic Services, and Graduate Affairs. Every other Monday, we've got everything you need to know all in one spot. Worried you missed one? They're archived here.