Monday messages

The New Semester

Dear Colleagues:

KU has had an eventful summer and a successful beginning to the new semester. I want to thank all of you who have been involved in helping students return to the university. We do a good job, I think, of putting out the welcome mat, and I know that many of you have been in the midst of the excitement and occasional chaos of this process.

I want also to thank faculty, staff, and students collectively for the many expressions of kindness and best wishes that I have received after my surgery. I will be responding to each individually, but I just wanted you to know how much your concerns and prayers have meant to me. KU prides itself on being a family, and I have experienced the full power of this family feeling during the past two weeks.

The operation was a complete success. I am feeling fine and recovering quickly. The doctors keep telling me I have to go slowly, but I feel so well that it is hard for me to do so. I expect to be back pretty much full time by early September. In the meantime, I am working at home, and probably distracting people with my phone calls.

The one thing I have learned from this experience is the value of annual physicals. I cannot emphasize enough how important this can be. I urge everyone to schedule an annual check up. You owe it to yourself and your family.

Let me urge you to attend a couple of events that occur early in the fall. First, I hope you will attend the annual Faculty and Staff Convocation on September 13 at 3:30 p.m. in Budig Hall. I will have a number of important initiatives to announce there, and will discuss legislative prospects, as well as KU First, KU’s new capital campaign, and what it can mean for all of us.

In that regard, I hope you will all take the opportunity to attend with your family the KU First faculty and staff pancake breakfast, scheduled for September 8 from 8:30-11 a.m. on the lawn behind Nichols Hall on West Campus. This will be an opportunity for everyone to learn more about the campaign and what it can mean to the entire university. It will be a family event filled with fun for all, and I think you will enjoy it.

Speaking of firsts, KU will also host its first campus-wide open house on Saturday, October 6 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Many of you are involved in the preparations for this event, and it is shaping up to be a great day for families, prospective students, and community members from across the state. I hope you will encourage your neighbors and friends to learn more about KU on October 6. For a full listing of events, go to www.openhouse.ku.edu.

Finally, let me briefly comment on the decisions to celebrate KU pride, and permit responsible tailgating on a trial basis this fall at KU’s seven home football games. There are good arguments on both sides of this issue. Clearly, alcohol must be regulated on campus, and underage drinking cannot be permitted. Just as clearly, we have a responsibility to educate students on intelligent choices about alcohol.

In the end, I accepted the Athletic Director’s assurance that KU fans were committed to responsible tailgating and accepting of the tight controls necessary to conduct this trial. We will assess the experiment at the end of the fall, and I will be inviting all of you to offer your thoughts on how well you feel it has turned out.

In the meantime, I hope you will attend football games this season. The athletic department is working very hard to create a positive environment around the stadium and there seems to be a resurgence of pride in our athletic programs. I hope you will want to be a part of that pride.