KU congratulates the more than 100 faculty and academic, support, and unclassified professional staff affiliated with the Lawrence and Edwards campuses who retired during the 2025-26 academic year. 

At a luncheon during the spring semester, the retirees from the academic year were individually recognized and thanked by Chancellor Douglas A. Girod and Chief Academic Officer, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Arash Mafi. 

Anita Abel, associate director in the Office of Research, won the grand prize of two round-trip tickets to anywhere Southwest Airlines flies. The tickets were donated by the airline through KU Travel Services. Abel is pictured above with Girod and Mafi. 

The Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and KU Endowment host the annual retirement reception. Photos of the honorees and the event are available to view. 

Read the KU News article for a full list of KU employees who, before April, indicated to Human Resources that they would be retiring between June 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026. The list includes the last place of employment for retirees and their total years of service at KU. 

Last week the 2026 cohort of Staff Fellows presented recommendations for strengthening employee recognition and appreciation at KU. The written report “All Jayhawks, One Nest: Building appreciation and recognition at the foundation of KU culture, one twig at a time,” is available to view online, as is the fellows' recorded presentation.   

As part of the project, the Staff Fellows cohort conducted a literature review, interviewed members of the KU Employee Recognition Committee, held focus group discussions and analyzed peer institutions in the AAU and the Big 12. Their work focused on identifying meaningful, inclusive and consistent approaches to recognition that supported employee engagement, reinforced KU’s commitment to a positive workplace experience, and helped identify strategies and initiatives for cost-effective and sustainable action.

Coordinated by Human Resources, the Staff Fellows Program is an opportunity for staff to build leadership skills, gain experience and work together on strategic campus projects.   

Staff Fellows are pictured above. Bottom row: Zephyr Yu, Ashley Kalatusha and Cady Bush. Second row: Amanda Burghart and Erin McElroy. Third row: Sam Deming, Carol Rudolph and Katie Williams. Fourth Row: MarSue Mackey and Megan Maresh. Back row: Craig Alexander and Derek Zomer. 

Earlier this month, the University Constituent Surveys Implementation Team met to discuss updates and actions related to recommendations from faculty, staff, undergraduate student and graduate student surveys.  

Those updates can be viewed on this spreadsheet, including the two highlighted below.  

Staff Recommendation: A consistent and readily accessible system of recognition through some kind of token.  

Updates from Human Resources' Learning & Development team include:  

Graduate Recommendation: Improve communication to students, advisors and administrators regarding how student fees relate to specific service availability, particularly for students in online programs and across the various campuses. 

Throughout the year, KU Employee Wellness offers Lunch-N-Learns on a wide range of topics related to health and well-being. A video archive of those Lunch-N-Learns is available to view online at any time.  

Recent topics include:  

The Spencer Museum of Art is sharing a documentary short featuring international artist-in-residence Ayomi Yoshida. The film, “Proof of Life: Ayomi Yoshida and The River of Time,” explores Yoshida’s artistic heritage and practice, as well as the two new commissioned installations that she created while in Lawrence: an immersive video in the Spencer Museum’s Central Court and an interactive mural at the Lawrence Community Shelter. 

Yoshida’s works also appear in the exhibition “Brush, Block, and Blood: Three Generations of Yoshida Women Printmakers,” which closes on June 28. The Spencer Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The museum is closed on Monday. Admission is free for everyone.

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