Robert Hemenway is the 16th chancellor of KU, serving as the chief executive of the university, which includes the main campus in Lawrence, the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, the Edwards Campus in Overland Park and the School of Medicine-Wichita, along with facilities in Garden City, Hays, Parsons, Pittsburg, Topeka and Yoder.
Under his leadership, KU has seen remarkable success in the classroom, with 26 graduate programs ranked by U.S. News in the top 25 nationally. KU researchers have also been successful, bringing $289 million to Kansas in 2007, including funding for efforts supporting KU’s drive to create a nationally designated cancer center.
KU has also had success in the field of competition. In 2008, the KU debate team finished the season ranked No. 1, the journalism school won the Hearst intercollegiate writing competition – the “Pulitzer” of college journalism – the men’s basketball team won the national championship and the football team became the first team from Kansas to win a BCS bowl game.
Chancellor Hemenway is known nationally for his biography of African-American novelist Zora Neale Hurston, which was a New York Times “Best Books” pick in 1978.
In addition to his duties as chancellor, Chancellor Hemenway continues to teach. He grew up in Hastings, Nebraska, and he and his wife, Leah, have eight children and seven grandchildren.
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