KU provides opportunities to engage on campus and within the community. The Center for Service Learning (CSL) is one example of KU's commitment to advancing community-engaged scholarship and civic engagement that fosters participation in a diverse and global society. Save the date for Thursday, February 13 from 3-4:15 p.m. to learn more about CSL and other experiential learning taking place at KU. As part of our New Faculty Foundations series, this session will also provide you with the tools to enhance your scholarship and equip your classroom with integrated and impactful community engagement opportunities. RSVP for the February 13 session here. 

More broadly, the Big Event at KU offers an opportunity for faculty to engage directly with KU and the Lawrence community. By recruiting thousands of student, faculty, and staff volunteers to work at hundreds of local job sites during one day of service, the Big Event provides a helping hand to Lawrence residents by completing projects in their neighborhoods. Consider helping out next spring!

What is the Hill?

The KU Lawrence campus is built on a hill that overlooks Lawrence and the Kansas River; classes were first taught on this hill in 1869. The reference to KU being built on a hill is celebrated today, with our campus often referred to as "The Hill" and "Mount Oread." 

On the second Sunday of May, KU’s Commencement ceremony brims with tradition and buzzes with excitement. The ceremony’s centerpiece is the walk down the hill—graduating students’ first steps toward the future.

Old North College, the first building on KU Campus, overlooking Lawrence and the Kansas River, ca. 1867

Our Getting Started with Canvas "how to" is coming up!

Additionally, register for our next "how to": A Walkthrough of your Faculty Insight Profile. Faculty Insight is the university's official database in which faculty record and update their research, teaching, and service activities. It feeds to the searchable public-facing database, Experts at KU, which connects faculty to collaborators, potential graduate students, grant opportunities, and awards.

Join us for one or both of our upcoming "How to at KU" sessions and please register ahead of time, so we can prepare!

Upcoming "How to at KU":

Thursday, August 1 from 10-11 a.m. (CST)

Topic: Getting started with Canvas

Monday, September 23 from 3-4 p.m. (CST)

Topic: Faculty Insight Walkthrough

Simple Syllabus is a centralized, template-driven platform that allows instructors to personalize and publish interactive class syllabi. When using the syllabus tool, syllabi are automatically populated with the language and components required by KU’s Syllabus Policy, and at the same time, provide accessible digital syllabi for students. The tool can easily sync Canvas assignment information, such as due dates, into the syllabus and provides reporting functions to instructors. 

IT will offer three Simple Syllabus workshops in August that will cover accessing, editing and submitting syllabi within the Simple Syllabus system. Visit their workshop calendar at this link to register for a training.

Register for New Faculty Orientation by Friday, August 9!

Our New Faculty Orientation is a full-day event that takes place on Monday, August 19. It serves as an opportunity to hear from campus leaders; learn more about KU’s students; and become acquainted with key units that support teaching and research, provide course design resources, help with grant writing and funding, and foster professional development. Most importantly, New Faculty Orientation will provide you with a chance to connect with each other. 

Additionally, we are hosting a New Faculty Orientation campus tour on the following Tuesday morning (Aug. 20). Join us in the rotunda of Strong Hall for coffee, donuts, and a guided tour to learn more about our beautiful campus.

Join us this fall for New Faculty Foundation Series events!

New faculty are welcome to join us for New Faculty Foundations 1.0 or 2.0. However, 1.0 sessions are tailored specifically for faculty in their first year at KU. 

Find all of our 1.0 and 2.0 upcoming events at this link. Registration for upcoming 1.0 sessions are also available by clicking the buttons below.