In December and January, KU Lawrence and Edwards campuses’ vice chancellors, vice provosts and deans delivered their annual Strategic Alignment presentations to Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer and other senior leaders. The presentations cover the work underway in their respective units, an assessment of challenges and opportunities, and longer-term aspirations, especially as they relate to Jayhawks Rising, the KU Lawrence and Edwards strategic plan. The annual Strategic Alignment presentations facilitate transparency, coordination across units, collaboration, accountability and budgetary processes and ensure alignment with Jayhawks Rising institutional priorities as unit leaders plan their activities and strategic priorities for the coming year.  

The slide decks from these presentations are available on the Jayhawks Rising webpage to view through March 14. Unit leaders are also encouraged to share and discuss these presentations with faculty and staff in their units during the spring semester. 

Through meetings with staff, faculty and students, the Higher Learning Commission peer review team will confirm that KU’s policies, practices and overall commitment to continuous improvement ensure superior educational quality and the highest standards for scholarly discovery and innovation. Essentially, are we as an institution successfully achieving our mission to educate leaders, build healthy communities and make discoveries that change the world?

Your preparation and participation are critical in demonstrating KU’s commitment to academic excellence and continuous improvement. Visit the What Faculty Should Know or What Staff Should Know pages for information on how to help in KU’s reaffirmation of accreditation. 

Establishing performance goals is an important part of the evaluation process and is most effective when taking a consultative approach with your supervisor. When accessing the new goal plan for fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025) in MyTalent, the system will offer a quick tour of recent updates to the layout. Human Resources has also updated training resources to reflect these adjustments: 

With campuses closed for multiple days last week due to winter weather, HR encourages everyone to review KU's Inclement Weather Policy and time reporting details. The Inclement Weather and Campus Closing Eligibility Chart (.xlsx) is a helpful guide for employees to know how the policy directly relates to their position. 

For questions and/or concerns, visit HR's Inclement Weather FAQ page or email hrdept@ku.edu. 

Deadline: March 3

The Provost’s Office and the Office of Graduate Studies are in the early stages of planning this year’s Doctoral Hooding Ceremony and are asking all faculty to encourage eligible doctoral students to apply for graduation by the March 3 deadline. The 2025 ceremony, which will be May 17 in the Lied Center, is for doctoral students who have graduated or will graduate in summer 2024, fall 2024, spring 2025 or summer 2025.  

For more information, please visit the Doctoral Hooding website. 

Thursday, Feb. 27

Join Mary Banwart, associate vice provost for faculty development, mentoring and growth, for The Faculty Career Cycle: Mapping Your Career, where she will introduce a faculty development planning tool that will help new faculty map the key stages, goals and outcomes of their career. This tool can help new faculty plan their time and track progress toward their goals and be helpful in defining realistic ways to achieve them. This Early Career Faculty Foundations 2.0 event is designed for new faculty, but is open to all and will be held from 2:30-3:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 in the  International Room on the fifth floor of the Kansas Union. 

Due March 3

Applications are open for faculty and academic staff to participate in Sprints Week, a five-day intensive collaboration with KU Libraries. Teams of expert librarians partner with faculty and academic staff on a broad range of projects that enrich research and teaching efforts. Selected participants receive a $1,000 stipend. 

Apply through March 3. Applicants notified by the end of March.

Due March 5

KU International Affairs is accepting proposals and applications for travel grants that support faculty and graduate student research and collaboration abroad. The deadline is March 5. Grant recipients will be notified by the end of April. 

More information can be found on the webpages for faculty travel grants and travel grants for graduate students. 

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.