On March 31, the Finance Shared Service Center made improvements to its process for submitting requests through the Finance Service Portal. Finance SSC collaborated with the Finance Strategic Initiatives Team to analyze the feedback received since last year’s launch of the FSP. Key improvements include:   

Additionally, the Jayhawks Elevate Workgroup created a bulk option for Independent Contractor Requests and clarified guidance around Human Resource’s decision tree. Finance SSC will continue to evaluate feedback to drive future improvements. 

Deadline: April 25

On April 2, University support staff and unclassified professional staff should have received an email to complete the USS-UPS Climate Survey from Mike Walker with the Docking Institute of Public Affairs. 

The USS-UPS Climate Survey provides comparative employee satisfaction data for the six Regent universities in Kansas. Responses from KU staff help direct the focus of Staff Senate for the 2025-2026 session as well as provide input for Jayhawks Rising, the strategic plan for KU Lawrence and Edwards' campuses. Results also quantify how various areas of employee satisfaction have changed since the last survey in 2022.  

Please complete the 10-minute, confidential survey by April 25. Please remember: 

 If you did not receive the survey link and believe you should have, please send an email to staffsenate@ku.edu. 

The University Ombuds Office wants your responses.   

The annual community survey of the Ombuds Office will be open until April 18. Any student, staff or faculty member of the KU Lawrence and Edwards’ campuses can respond. The Ombuds team is particularly interested in hearing from individuals who have used the office’s services in recent months. Results from the confidential survey will help inform the office’s work and will also provide valuable data for University Governance’s annual assessment of the Ombuds Office that is shared with the Provost. 

The KU Policy Library is moving from Drupal to TeamDynamix Knowledgebase to better meet the university’s policy needs. The new policy library will go live in early April with the existing Drupal site removed from public view shortly thereafter. Those attempting to access the old site will automatically be redirected to the new one.

With the transition, you will experience improved search functionality and additional features. For most faculty and staff, the transition will be seamless with minor cosmetic updates to align with TDX functionality. If you have any questions about this transition, please reach out to policy@ku.edu. 

The deadline for filing individual tax returns is April 15, which means some folks may be scrambling to find their W-2 forms this week. KU employees have the option to receive an electronic or printed copy of their W-2 forms.  

Electronic copies are available through the State of Kansas Employee Self-Service Center. Instructions for accessing your electronic W-2 can be found on the Payroll website. If additional assistance is needed, the State of Kansas Help Desk can be reached at 785-296-1900 or toll-free at 866-999-3001 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. 

For those who have not consented to receive their W-2 electronically, printed copies were mailed out before Jan. 31 to the address on file in the HR/Pay system. 

More details can be found on the Payroll Office’s W-2 Information webpage. 

A new exhibit at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library welcomes an observation of the scribbles and doodles made years ago in medieval manuscripts. “Marvelous Medieval Marginalia: Drawings, Doodles, and Notes on the Edges of Readers’ Imaginations,” organized by Special Collections Curator Eve Wolynes, is on display in the library’s third-floor exhibit space until July 15.  

The marginalia exhibit celebrates historic notes and the larger context they provide about the people who penned them and the times they lived in. Wolynes’ selections for display span a wide variety of books from “elite products illuminated with real gold and vibrant hues” to more practical, everyday tomes such as an early veterinary guide to horses.  

Crystal Mai, who was named a March 2025 Employee of the Month, has served as a longtime leader at KU, first joining the School of Law as career services director in 1996 and now in her current role as associate dean. While she oversees day-to-day building and administrative operations in Green Hall, much of her recent responsibilities have involved organizing efforts to accommodate the move of the School of Social Welfare into Green Hall. 

This undertaking alone has included coordinating with the project architect regarding floor plans, moving furniture and thousands of books from the library with the help of multiple organizations and units, and communicating updates with faculty, staff and students, culminating in a “Herculean effort,” according to her nominator.  

Recognized for her work to make internships more accessible to business students, Madelyn Mueller has been named a March 2025 Employee of the Month. Mueller, who is the internship program coordinator for the School of Business, recently revamped the internship scholarship process and expanded internship opportunities to better meet the needs of a variety of students. 

“She has consistently demonstrated an ability to turn challenges into opportunities,” one nominator noted. “Her dedication to supporting students with unique circumstances —whether international students, those with disabilities, student athletes or others facing barriers — has been transformative.”  

Read more about their work on the Employee of the Month Winners webpage. 

Monday - Friday

This week marks Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week, which celebrates the contributions of graduate students to the mission of KU and raises awareness of their efforts in teaching, research and service to the campus.

The Office of Graduate Studies will recognize and celebrate graduate student contributions through a social media campaign on Instagram and LinkedIn. The campaign will shed a spotlight on graduate students who have excelled in teaching, service and research. Additionally, departments and schools across campus will host events to show appreciation for their students.

Today

Guests for today’s virtual town hall for KU Lawrence and Edwards' campuses include Associate Vice Chancellor for Federal Relations Kyle Christian, Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWitt and Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Chari Young. The livestream begins at 4 p.m., and it will be recorded for later viewing. 

Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer will lead a discussion with updates on federal changes that impact the university and review submitted questions related to budget and personnel activities and the Chancellor’s March 25 message. 

Tuesday

Faculty and staff will have an opportunity to discuss key concerns for KU’s international community at a session from 2:30-4 p.m. Tuesday in Watson Library, 3 West. KU Legal Services for Students, Student Affairs and Graduate Studies will join leaders from International Affairs to discuss concerns facing KU’s international students, faculty and staff.  

Tuesday

University Distinguished Professor of English Marta Caminero-Santangelo will present her inaugural distinguished professor lecture, “Imagining a Latino Heartland: Storytelling in Kansas, Then and Now,” at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Union.   

Often, the story of Latino culture in the United States centers on regions where the Latino population has historically concentrated, such as New York, Florida, California and the Southwest, but Caminero-Santangelo will share the story of their history in the heartland of America and their long-standing, often neglected presence in the region.  

Individuals can register to attend the lecture in person. A recording of the lecture will be posted afterward on the Office of Faculty Affairs website for those unable to attend.  

Wednesday

The Office of Faculty Affairs invites new faculty to the workshop Time Management and Getting Your Feet on the Ground. New and experienced faculty will talk about time management best practices, including how to tame your email inbox, how to manage varied and complex projects as an academic, and introduce a planning process to help faculty structure and set goals for the summer. The Early Career Faculty Foundations 1.0 event will be held from 3-4:15 p.m. Wednesday in Strong Hall, Room 145. Register for the event.  

KU IT is updating Teams meeting settings to improve security and prevent unauthorized access. Moving forward, only KU participants will be admitted automatically. Non-KU participants, guests joining without signing in and those dialing in by phone will be placed in the meeting lobby and must be admitted by the organizer or an approved participant. This update is part of a broader effort to improve Teams security and functionality. You can read more about the changes in this article. 

The deadline for the summer 2025 Tuition Assistance Application for employees has been extended to Friday. Timely submission is strongly encouraged, and late applications may be denied.  

The Employee Tuition Assistance Program provides eligible employees with assistance to cover tuition for up to 12 credit hours per calendar year. Please visit Human Resources’ tuition assistance webpage for more information.

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.