Chancellor Douglas A. Girod has approved the promotion and award of tenure for 50 individuals at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses and 96 individuals at the KU Medical Center campuses. Promotions for tenure-track faculty and scholarly positions include review by the University Committee on Promotion and Tenure and final approval by the chancellor. 

The promotions of instructional faculty, which are determined and awarded through separate school or departmental reviews, will be announced at a later date. 

Promotion and tenure are effective at the start of the fall semester. The full list of those granted promotion and tenure is available online. 

Major upgrades to Strong Hall’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system will cause some administrative offices to relocate or close for the summer, with faculty and staff working remotely. 

Additional details and a full list of Strong Hall offices is available on the Provost’s Office website. 

Earlier this month, Human Resources recognized the first group of participants in the First Year Experience Program. The event, with participants pictured above, provided an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments and contributions during their first year at KU. 

Launched last fall, the new employee program provides ongoing learning, engagement opportunities and support for employees as they navigate their new roles at KU. 

All new full-time employees are invited to join a cohort. Individuals interested in learning more can visit the program website for additional information. 

Matt Miller is being recognized as an April Employee of the Month for his ability to welcome new employees and to create a sense of belonging. 

Miller, who is an onboarding coordinator for Human Resources, has worked at KU since 2013. As part of his role, Miller ensures newly hired employees have the support, resources and information they need to begin their new job. Throughout that onboarding process, Miller gets to know new employees and remembers them by name when he sees them on campus afterward.  

“It is obvious when seeing Matt interact with his previous onboarders that he left an impression of welcoming kindness on them. They always remember him just as he remembers them,” his nominator stated.  

Navigating the costs of higher education as a student can be tricky, but Diego Guerrero, a financial aid advisor in the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships, is known for simplifying the process for families and helping them establish a sense of connection to the university. 

For his compassion, expertise and dedication, Guerrero has been selected as an April Employee of the Month. 

In his role, Guerrero supports students and their families through the process of paying for college, including guiding them through available programs, eligibility and financial planning.  

Guerrero’s nominator said he provided outstanding service and unwavering support to their daughter who was going through a challenging time, thoroughly explaining each step of the financial aid process.  

Read more about Miller and Guerrero’s work on the Employee of the Month Award Winners website.   

Paul Popiel, dean of the School of Music, will retire from KU at the end of the fiscal year and return to Notre Dame University, where he earned his Master’s.   

Popiel, who has been at KU since 2010, was named interim dean in 2022 and was fully appointed to the position in 2023. In Provost Arash Mafi’s message to faculty and staff of the school, he noted that during Popiel’s tenure as dean, the school achieved record highs in several areas, including enrollment, scholarship awards, student credit-hour production, and non-major participation in music courses and ensembles and in the Marching Jayhawks.   

At Notre Dame, Popiel will be the next Kenn and Pamela Ricci Director of Bands.   

Work is underway to select an interim dean. 

KU Dining locations will be closed this week, but several will reopen for orientation and summer classes. For hours and the most up-to-date information, visit the KU Dining website.  

Dining Options 

CoffeeHouse Locations 

KU Libraries – including all libraries on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses and KU Medical Center  — are migrating to a new library services platform this summer. The biggest change for users is the libraries’ search engine – Quick Search  — which moves to a new platform on June 3, with full migration completing June 17. Some disruption is expected around those dates, including a freeze on new purchase and hold requests the week of May 25.    

Before the switch, users must save their data — Instructions for Exporting Bookbag or Instructions for Exporting Primo Favorites — as this information will not transfer to the new system. Visit the Library System Updates page for additional details and affected services. 

Last week’s Campus Insider shared incomplete information on the work taking place at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center over the summer. KU will renovate the center over the next 18 months to expand fitness space and modernize facilities.  

Planned renovations include expanding the weight room, creating additional aerobics space, developing a new cycling studio and converting an existing gym into pickleball courts.

Construction will begin in late summer and continue into 2027, with all renovations expected to be complete and operational by the 2027 fall semester. The facility will remain open throughout all construction phases.  

The project is funded through existing bond surpluses and aligns with KU’s Recreational Services Indoor Master Plan, with student input helping guide final design decisions. 

On Wednesday, contractors with AT&T will close Indiana Street between 11th and 12th streets to perform maintenance work on a cell tower on the Oread Hotel’s roof.

Cranes will be parked on Indiana Street. The City of Lawrence anticipates the closure to be completed by the end of May, pending weather or other delays.

On Sunday evening, steam was taken out of service across Lawrence's campus to allow crews to perform critical maintenance. The boilers will turn back on at 8 a.m. Friday, but it could take a while for the boilers to produce enough steam to reach all buildings after the start-up.  

During this outage, occupants in buildings throughout most of campus should expect a loss of hot water, cooler-than-usual building temperatures, fluctuations in humidity, and loss of steam in autoclaves, cage washers and other equipment that use direct steam.  

For a list of affected buildings, refer to KU Operations’ email from April 16. 

Required maintenance is being performed on the KU network, which will disrupt wired Ethernet service in all Lawrence campus buildings from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. Wednesday. KU Information Technology has also scheduled backup workdays on Friday and May 27-29, which will be used only if necessary. The downtime will not affect security camera systems or devices using a cellular connection for network connectivity.

Although the network will not be down at a given location for the entire timeframe, those with processes or systems that require an uninterrupted network connection during this period should contact their IT support team or the IT Help Desk at 785-864-8080 to request any needed assistance.

The Provost's Office communications team wants to hear from faculty and staff about their thoughts on Campus Insider. Share what information is most useful and what items you wish to see in Campus Insider.

Please take five minutes to answer a brief survey that will help the Provost's Office staff plan and develop content that keeps you informed. Your responses will remain confidential. 

Faculty and staff can watch the final virtual town hall of the semester on the Provost's Office website, which will be behind single sign-on.

During the town hall, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Arash Mafi spoke with Cinnamon Blair, vice chancellor for strategic communications, about KU's brand strategy and Shelley Hooks, vice chancellor for research, about the federal grant process.

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.