Monday messages

KU research has benefits far beyond Mt. Oread

Dear Colleagues,

During a time when the news seems inundated with talk of economic woes, it may be easy to forget about all the good news that KU has received in recent days and weeks.

One of these was the news that KU had conducted a record amount of research in FY 2008: $297.4 million, two-thirds of which was funded by external sources. Between 1,500 and 1,800 KU faculty, staff and students are working on externally funded research projects at the Lawrence campus alone.

These figures are impressive and the overall funding figure is a record, but looking just at the numbers doesn’t convey the importance of what they represent.

Research conducted at KU changes lives. It expands the body of human knowledge and helps us better understand ourselves and our world.

As you know, the fight against cancer is the university’s top research priority and this quest goes hand-in-hand with the drug discovery and life science research efforts that bring national prominence to KU. KU is also known as a home for cutting-edge research into our planet – from arctic glaciers to Kansas wheat fields – and for work on alternative energy.

But our work isn’t limited to these fields. Just as our university’s drive to expand the boundaries of knowledge itself knows no bounds, KU faculty and staff conduct research in a wide range of fields on projects that can span continents.

For example, Derrick Darby in the Department of Philosophy recently won a Spencer Foundation Grant for collaborative research in the United States, South Africa and Brazil on the racial achievement gap in education.

John Head from the School of Law received an award from the Fulbright Distinguished Chairs program to teach courses on international financial law and Chinese law at the University of Trento, Italy, while at the same time delivering public lectures and conducting research.

And Kim Warren in the Department of History received a fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation for work studying the political activism of African American women from the 1930s through the 1940s, examining their critical role in the civil rights movement.

These are just three examples of how members of the KU community are constantly adding tiles to the ever growing mosaic of human knowledge.

One could go to any school or department on this campus and find dozens of examples just like these of dedicated KU faculty and staff members who are making discoveries and sharing those discoveries with their students and the world.

That’s the value of an international research university and it’s one piece of good news we shouldn’t forget.

Sincerely,
Bob Hemenway
Chancellor