The KU Office of Community Impact has designated seven Community Impact Champions and 19 Community Impact Hubs for 2026, launching a new recognition effort to support community-engaged scholarship and elevate partnerships demonstrating impact and collaboration across Kansas. 

OCI promotes collaboration between KU faculty, staff and students with organizations and individuals in communities working together to solve local and global issues through community-academic partnerships. The designations support and uplift that work for continued growth and sustainability.  

This year’s inaugural designees represent a broad network of KU and community partners that span community theaters serving Kansas City to health action teams across Kansas. Although they have different missions, each designee shares a united vision to connect people and positively impact communities. 

To read more about the initiative and the full list of Community Impact Champions and Hubs, visit the CIO website.

Later this month, KU employees will have the opportunity to exercise their knowledge and skills through KU’s annual compliance training. Beginning Sept. 22, the training modules will be assigned through MyTalent. All KU employees should complete the required training by Oct. 26. 

Required Training 

Additional Training 

Employees designated as campus security authorities will also be assigned the Campus Security Authority module, which they will also need to complete by Oct. 26. Additionally, all employees have the option to complete the Fostering Respect and Belonging module, which will deepen self-awareness, strengthen intercultural competency and develop tools for recognizing and addressing bias and discrimination. 

More information will be sent to employees in the coming weeks. These training modules, which should take about 20 to 30 minutes each, provide additional tools and resources that contribute to a more welcoming, safer and successful environment where all Jayhawks can thrive. 

Lisa Didion, assistant professor of special education, is honored as one of the last year's Spotlight on Faculty Excellence honorees, alongside Jennifer Kurth, chair of special education, during a KU women’s basketball game. 

This academic year, the KU Spotlight on Faculty Excellence program will celebrate 12 KU faculty and their contributions in research, scholarship and creative activity. Each honoree will be celebrated at a KU volleyball, men’s basketball or women’s basketball game. 

Honorees are selected from nominations submitted by school and center leaders at the Lawrence, Edwards and medical center campuses. A selection committee utilizes a scoring rubric that includes research, scholarship or creative impact; societal or community impact; commitment to mentorship; institutional contribution; and innovation and leadership. 

Six faculty members from the Lawrence and Edwards campuses have been selected as 2026-27 Spotlight honorees:  

Plans for upcoming spotlight events are being finalized and will be shared via the Spotlight on Faculty Excellence webpage.  

Known for her consistent excellence and attention to detail, Emily DeMarchi, Kansas Public Radio’s media, sponsorship and events coordinator, is being recognized as an August Employee of the Month.  

At KPR, DeMarchi plans events, manages social media across multiple platforms and administers the station’s e-newsletter. She also serves as the resident graphic designer, recently revamping KPR’s visual identity and marketing materials, and creates partnerships with local businesses to offset KPR’s cash outlay through trade agreements.  

“Emily is one of those people who has an abundance of talent in various areas and approaches her work with determination and thoughtfulness,” her nominator noted. “She genuinely cares about her co-workers and how KPR is represented in the community and works tirelessly to improve our product for KPR members and listeners.”

Described as the foundation of the business professional development program team, Whitney Hersh, administrative associate for the School of Business program, is essential to the team’s operations running smoothly. Her reliability and expertise have earned her the recognition of being an August Employee of the Month. 

Hersh oversees the program’s application of Suitable, a platform that business students use to track activities and earn points required for graduation. She serves as the point of contact for students with questions or concerns related to Suitable and additionally manages the MGMT 498 permission-to-enroll process, providing guidance and assistance to students as they progress toward graduation.  

“We simply would not have graduated students the last two years without her tireless work behind the scenes and her constant intervention on behalf of students that need extra support to complete their graduation requirements,” her nominator said. 

Read more about DeMarchi and Hersh’s work on the Employee of the Month Award website.  

Vice Provost for Jayhawk Global and Distinguished Professor Neal Kingston stepped down from his leadership role at Jayhawk Global on Thursday and will now focus on his faculty role of teaching, research and service. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Arash Mafi will take on management and leadership of the division and use the opportunity to assess goals, aspirations and prospects related to the Jayhawk Global portfolio.

In a message to staff in Jayhawk Global, Mafi thanked Kingston for his dedication and effort in furthering KU’s online and competency-based education programs. Mafi noted that before Kingston arrived at KU 20 years ago, his career was first shaped by a nontraditional path that included experience as a high school teacher and a number of leadership roles at Educational Testing Service.

“His tenure as Kentucky’s associate commissioner for curriculum and assessment helped him divine opportunities in statewide assessment systems and alternate assessment portfolios. Over the past 15 years alone, Kingston has worked on more than 286 funded projects, which have been awarded more than $348 million, an achievement which may be unparalleled at KU,” Mafi said.

In recognition for his depth of knowledge and its application, Kingston was named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the American Psychological Association and was elevated as a distinguished professor at KU in 2018. 

Maximo, the web platform for submitting KU Operations service requests, underwent a major upgrade this weekend and now has a new layout. When logging in, users should notice an updated screen, shown on the left, and directions to use KU Single Sign-On (SSO) to log in.  

The upgrade offers a more user-friendly platform, which should make requesting a service easier. Before making a request, be sure to review the Maximo Service Request Quick Guide webpage, which has been updated to help users navigate the new platform. 

Users who have issues accessing or navigating the site can reach out to the Maximo Administrators group at maximoadmins@ku.edu. Access to Maximo will continue through the URL maximo.ku.edu; however, bookmarks and other direct links to the site may need to be updated as the site structure has changed. 

Beginning Thursday, students, faculty and staff on the KU Lawrence and Edwards campuses will need to enter their full KU Online ID email address when logging into systems and applications that use KU’s Single Sign-On. 

Instead of just using a KU Online ID (j123h456 or jhawk) to log in, use the full email address that includes a KU Online ID and @ku.edu (j123h456@ku.edu or jhawk@ku.edu). Passwords do not change.

Remember, users must log in with the email address that is composed of their KU Online ID plus @ku.edu, even if they have a different custom email address. 

Employees who work for KU affiliates and access KU systems behind SSO should also enter their KU Online ID plus @ku.edu.  

Those who experience any issues signing in should contact their IT Support team or the IT Help Desk at 785-864-8080 or ithelpdesk@ku.edu for assistance.

This change will provide a consistent login experience across KU’s campuses. 

Faculty, staff, departments and centers can apply to participate in the KU Big Ideas Incubator for Community Impact. Applications are due Oct. 5.

The initiative is a collaboration between the KU Office of Community Impact, KU Achievement and Assessment Institute and Jayhawk Extended Learning that helps turn promising ideas into services and solutions that support communities, schools, youth and families. 

Through a year of coaching, mentoring, professional learning and hands-on development, six selected teams will strengthen their ideas, test them with potential users, and build a practical plan for bringing them to market. Participants will also receive a $1,000 sponsorship at the conclusion of the program to assist in bringing their idea to scale. 

To apply and learn more, visit the KU Office of Community Impact’s website. Organizers will select six projects and notify participants by Oct. 9. 

KU International Affairs has opened nominations for two competitive awards that recognize faculty who engage in internationalization across campus.  

Nominations and supporting materials should be emailed to whitneydenning@ku.edu no later than Oct. 12. Visit International Affairs Faculty Awards for Internationalization for more information and criteria.  

KU Libraries is accepting nominations through Sept. 18 for the 2026 David Shulenburger Award for Innovation and Advocacy in Scholarly Communication, which recognizes members of the KU community who are expanding access to research, advancing open scholarship and transforming how knowledge is shared. 

The annual award honors KU faculty, staff, students and academic units who advance open access and innovation in scholarly communication. Recipients are selected for outstanding contributions that support open sharing of research and drive systemic improvements in how knowledge is communicated.  

Up to two recipients may be selected, with award amounts ranging from $500 to $3,000. Individual recipients may also be invited to join KU’s Open Access Advisory Board.  

A variety of contributions may be considered: engagement with open educational resource, open-access publishing, and infrastructure stewardship, the creation of open-source tools, open data sharing, public scholarship initiatives and other efforts to broaden access to knowledge. 

More information can be found on KU Libraries website.

For those who want to make changes but struggle to do so, the Employee Wellness session “Getting Unstuck: Small Steps, Big Shifts Toward Your Future,” will provide the tools to help. From 9 to 11 a.m. Sept. 17, the two-hour interactive session is designed for anyone who feels stuck — whether in habits, decisions or goals — and wants a practical, encouraging way forward. 

Gail Tiemann, wellness coordinator for the Office of Mental Health & Wellbeing, will explore why feeling stuck is normal, how to identify invisible barriers and how to take small, doable steps toward meaningful change. Participants will learn how to celebrate wins to build momentum. 

KU employees should register for the session through MyTalent. KU affiliates can register through the KU Medical Center website. 

At KU Employee Wellness’ next Lunch-N-Learn, participants will explore the benefits of music for mental and physical wellness. The session will be held virtually from 12 to 12:50 p.m. Sept. 17. 

Led by Rebecca J. Lepping, research assistant professor of neurology and director of the Power of Music Lab at the KU Medical Center, the session will provide a better understanding of how the arts and music impact health and wellness and research leads to evidence-based practices. Participants will also leave with strategies for including music for wellness in their personal and professional lives, including resources for why and how to engage a board-certified music therapist. 

KU employees should register for the session through MyTalent. KU affiliates can register through the KU Medical Center website. 

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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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