Dr. Arash Mafi is the new — and first — Executive Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. We let him settle into his new role for a week, then asked a few questions to get to know him better. 

What excites you most about KU and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences?  

You have a lot of options when it comes to choosing the best path toward your future. So why major in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences?

What’s the foundation of a city? For urban planner Ward Lyles, the spaces we inhabit are defined as much by an approach to life, and the people we encounter, as they are by the systems and physical structures that make up a sound infrastructure. The way he sees it, the true bedrock of a strong community lies in a simple, yet immensely powerful, guiding principle: compassion. 

Do aliens exist on Mars? Possibly. But how do humans actually go about answering that question? One option is to examine rocks to understand the types of  life-forms, like squishy things, that roamed the earth billions of years ago. That's what Alison Olcott does in her role as associate professor of paleobiogeochemistry in the Department of Geology at the University of Kansas. And while playing on Google Maps one day, Alison found that the rocks she needed to study are found not far from KU, in the Gypsum Hills of Kansas. Who knew Kansas and Mars were so similar!