KU Office of the Chancellor

Hats Off to Chancellor Hemenway

ROCK CHALK FOREVER

In a place with so many ingrained traditions – the Rock Chalk Chant, the steam whistle, waving the wheat – Chancellor Hemenway’s various hats, from his beret to the straw hat at commencement, became something of a tradition themselves.

But for him, as for countless Jayhawks, the walk down Campanile Hill at Commencement remains the favorite tradition and fondest memory of the university. Unique to KU, “the walk is the ceremony.”

To make sure Mount Oread retains its special charm, Hemenway oversaw a number of preservation efforts, such as the renovation of Danforth Chapel.

One of the most recent is the Campus Heritage Plan. Funded by the Getty Foundation, it provides a framework for ensuring that future growth is consistent with the landscape and character of the campus.

Few schools can match the KU athletic tradition, starting with the 111 years that basketball has been played on Mount Oread and most recently witnessing the donning of championship hats in San Antonio.

Led by Hemenway hires Lew Perkins, Bill Self and Mark Mangino, the basketball and football teams made KU the second school in history to win the Final Four and a BCS game in the same year, as well as the first Kansas university to win a BCS bowl game.

A special commitment to women’s sports has provided new facilities for teams ranging from rowing to volleyball, and KU set a Big 12 women’s basketball single-game attendance record of 16,113 in April 2009. KU Athletics is poised for even more success in the future. Renovations at Allen Fieldhouse and Memorial Stadium, along with new academic and training facilities for student-athletes, will stand as part of the Hemenway legacy.