A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS

No piece of attire is more important at KU than the graduation cap. And under Chancellor Hemenway, more students than ever – a record 30,102 in fall 2008 – are on track to precede him down the Hill wearing that hard-earned hat.

As the size of the student body has grown, so has its academic prowess and diversity. Thanks to concerted effort over many years, the most recent incoming class set new records for ACT scores and diversity.

Throughout Hemenway’s time at KU, numerous Rhodes, Marshall, Goldwater, and Truman scholars have called Mount Oread home, as have champions in academic competitions ranging from journalism to debate, engineering to music.

KU also sharpened its international focus, establishing the Confucius Institute at the Edwards Campus and creating the Global Awareness Program to encourage students to expand their international knowledge, such as by studying abroad or learning a foreign language.

Teachers. Advisers. Researchers. Mentors. KU’s faculty members wear many hats too. Like KU students, they have seen gains in achievement and diversity, with the past 14 years witnessing an83 percent increase in minority faculty and a 60 percent increase in women faculty.

The high quality of KU’s faculty leads to consistently high national academic rankings. KU’s special education program is ranked first by U.S. News, as is city management and urban policy. More than two dozen others are ranked in the Top 25.

Hemenway, who taught classes himself, emphasized the importance of teaching. The Center for Teaching and Learning was established and the annual Kemper Teaching Awards now spotlight – and financially reward – outstanding instructors.

KU also recognized the importance of technology for learning, building its computing capacity, adding online services, and increasing wireless capability.

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