Our graduates are not only scientists but leaders in the lab, classroom and across the campus. Some found their passions early in life, while…
Meet the CLAS of 2017: Humanities
Our humanities graduates push boundaries, driven by the conviction that anything is possible. They look to the past to understand different ways of living,…
Alumni Q&A with Bishop James D. Conley, Catholic priest
Bishop James D. Conley oversees the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, which serves 97,000 Catholics in 134 parishes across 25,000 square miles of Nebraska. It’s…
New stamp set honors Pluto and KU alum who discovered it
One of the greatest discoveries by a KU alum just got a stamp of approval. In 1930, a 24-year old amateur astronomer named Clyde…
Hawks to Watch: Rachel Myslivy, Director of Statewide Programs
Rachel Myslivy, Statewide Coordinator, Double Up Food Bucks; Board Member, Climate + Energy Project Age: 38 KU Degree: MA – Religious Studies; Graduate Certificate…
Hawks to Watch: Natalie Pak, Speech-Language Pathologist
Natalie Pak, Speech-Language Pathologist at Widefield School District #3, Colorado Springs, CO Age: 24 KU Degree: BA Spanish, BA Speech-Language-Hearing (2013), MA Speech-Language Pathology…
Hawks to Watch: Michael Barry, Senior Product Manager
Michael Barry, Senior Product Manager, Amazon Age: 31 KU Degree: BA, English (2007) Why he’s a Hawk to Watch: Michael is one of those…
Hawks to Watch: Michael Barnicle, Trial Attorney
Michael Barnicle, Trial Attorney, Duane Morris LLP Age: 34 KU Degree: BA, Political Science (2004) Why he’s a Hawk to Watch: Michael tested his…
Hawks to Watch: Lauren Henion, Speech-Language Pathologist
Lauren Henion, Speech-Language Pathologist II at TIRR Memorial Hermann Age: 27 KU Degree: B.A. in Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences & Disorders (2011); M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology…
Hawks to Watch: Kirsten Michelle Devin, Medical Student
Kirsten Michelle Devin, 4th Year Medical Student at KU Medical Center, Fulbright Scholar Age: 27 KU Degree: B.A. Spanish (2011) Why she’s a Hawk…
Hawks to Watch: Kenton Rambsy, Professor
Kenton Rambsy, Assistant Professor of English and Digital Humanities, University of Texas Arlington Age: 27 KU Degree: MA English (2012); PhD English (2015) Why…
Hawks to Watch: Justin Mackey, Assistant Athletic Director
Justin Mackey, Assistant Athletic Director, Student-Athlete Development/University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Age: 34 KU Degree: BGS Communication Studies (2004), MA Communication Studies (2008)…
Hawks to Watch: John Sebelius, artist and filmmaker
Age: 32 KU Degree: Master of Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) (2012) Why he’s a Hawk to Watch: John is an artist, filmmaker and…
Hawks to Watch: Chris McDonald, Youth Treatment Counselor
Chris McDonald, Youth Treatment Counselor at Denver Children’s Home, Relief Treatment Supervisor and part time Program Assistant for Easter Seals Age: 24 KU Degree:…
Hawks to Watch: Amy Virginia Buchanan, Performer and Entrepreneur
Amy Virginia Buchanan, Artistic Director/Cofounder at Spring Street Social Society Age: 29 KU degree: BGS, Theatre (2010) Why she’s a Hawk to Watch: Amy…
Hawks to Watch: Devon Cantwell, education reform champion
Devon Cantwell, Founding Computer Science and Science Teachers, Smilow Prep- RePublic Schools Age: 25 KU Degree: Political Science (2012) Why she’s a Hawk to Watch:…
Hawks to Watch: Johanna Maska, Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing
Johanna Maska, SVP Communications and Marketing, Karmic Labs Age: 34 KU Degree: B.S., Journalism, B.A., History (2004) Why she’s a Hawk to Watch: Johanna…
Hawks to Watch: Sara Sneath, Environmental Reporter
Sara Sneath, Environmental Reporter at the Victoria Advocate Age: 30 KU Degree: B.S. in journalism and B.A. in sociology (2013) Why she’s a Hawk to…
Hawks to Watch: Todd Bradley, Medical Instructor
Todd Bradley, Ph.D., Medical Instructor and Director of Viral Genetic Analysis at Duke Human Vaccine Institute Age: 32 KU Degree: Human Biology (2007) Why…
Hawks to Watch: William McNulty, CEO
William McNulty, Cofounder and CEO, Team Rubicon Global Age: 38 KU Degree: Economics, Communication Studies (2001) Why he’s a Hawk to Watch: William is…
Alumni Profile: Clyde Toland reflects on more than a century of Jayhawk family tradition
It will come as no surprise to fellow alumni that many families truly seem to have KU in their DNA. Their family trees have…
Graduation profile: When opportunity knocks, senior answers
Kierstin McMichael is the definition of busy. Between leadership positions and jobs on campus, reading and studying hundreds of pages a week for her…
Graduation Profile: Setting goals and never looking back
Evan Traylor is the kind of person who goes after what he wants and doesn’t look back. From his first campus tour, Evan knew…
Graduation Profile: An accidental Jayhawk learns to shine behind the scenes
Four years ago Gabe Alaniz never would have agreed that a liberal arts degree at a large, research university would be the best place…
Graduation profile: Passion for rural medicine shapes aspirations
Growing up in a town of less than 150 people tends to leave an impression on a person. Emily Lenherr’s experience was such a…
Graduation Profile: Trading in computer screens for nature scenes
One week into her first desk job, avid hiker and outdoorsman Rachael Boothe knew that she wanted to trade in her computer screen for…
Graduation Profile: A graduation ceremony 18 years in the making
In the six years Cindy Sexton has organized the Department of Psychology’s graduation ceremony, she’s seen hundreds of students walk across the stage. This…
Alumni Q&A with J. Ann Selzer, political pollster
When pundits and the public turn their attention to Iowa and its presidential caucuses every four years, J. Ann Selzer has become something of…
Alumni Q&A with Ann Birney, historian and performer
In the decades since her disappearance in the summer of 1937, famed aviator and Kansan Amelia Earhart has continued to captivate the interest of…
Distinguished Alumni: Tech career puts Brad Garlinghouse at forefront of innovation
Last year, Forbes magazine proclaimed “That ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech’s Hottest Ticket.” Increasingly, reports show that creative thinking has become just…
Alumna is recognized among 100 Inspiring Women in STEM
As diversity continues to be an important issue on our campus, it’s also a significant issue nationally – especially in STEM fields. Alumna Anita…
Driver’s License to Degree: CLAS celebrates 16-year-old graduate
2015 was a big year for Alina Zheng; in the same year that she celebrated her sweet 16, she also earned a bachelor’s degree…
Q&A with Stuartt Corder, alumnus astronomer
High in the mountains just outside Santiago, Chile, a group of scientists are looking toward the sky, capturing information about every corner of our…
Distinguished Alumni: Major Dan Rooney gives back to veterans’ families with Folds of Honor
Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, was on a commercial flight in 2006 that would end up changing…
Distinguished Alumni: Social justice and public service are hallmarks of Anne Levinson’s career
In a time when girls were still wearing bloomers in gym class, Anne Levinson tried out for the boys’ baseball team in junior high.…
Q&A with Megan Lease: KU’s First PhD Candidate in Women’s Studies
On the first day of the new semester, Megan Lease made history. Megan defended her dissertation, “A Strong Woman of the Lord: Performing Gender at…
Graduation Profile: Senior perseveres to give speech of a lifetime
As a first-generation college student and a single parent earning minimum wage, Alyssa Cole was stressed and frustrated. At the end of her rope,…
Graduation Profile: Discovering romance in the romantic language department
It’s a story that could’ve been taken straight from the script of a romantic comedy. For most of their lives, they had been just…
Graduation Profile: Academic success isn’t up for debate
Waiting with bated breath for the results to be posted, the excitement in the room was palpable. After a moment of silent scanning, a…
Graduation Profile: Finding strength and hope through difficulty
Leaving her home on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota to study at KU changed Jordyn Gunville’s life in more ways than…
Graduation Profile: Wake-up call turns expulsion into opportunity
Marcus Florez, B.S. in chemistry, Class of 2015 If it weren’t for Marcus Florez being expelled, he may never have become a promising young…
Graduation Profile: Making space for women’s voices
Katherine Gwynn, B.A. in English and women, gender & sexuality studies, Class of 2015 As a double major in English and women, gender &…
Graduation Profile: Grad student follows ‘convoluted road’ to career
Amy Esplund, M.A. in speech-language pathology, Class of 2015 For many students, determining a future career isn’t always easy and the path to deciding…
Graduation Profile: Study abroad inspires lifetime of work
Adam Sundberg, Ph.D. student in history, Class of 2015 Growing up in the same house with an evolutionary botanist and a historian clearly had…
Graduation Profile: Finding a place that fits
Vashti Goracke, B.F.A. in dance, Class of 2015 Vashti Goracke has a bittersweet relationship with dance. Some days are good, some days are bad.…
Graduation Profile: College experience alters path for senior
Marquise Paige, B.S. in geology, Class of 2015 The student carrying the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ banner at graduation this year is…
Tech Trek connects Jayhawks to Silicon Valley
Getting a job is often as much about who you know as it is what you know. For students looking to enter the technology…
Distinguished Alumni: Sharon Lee cares for fellow Kansans through low-cost clinic
During her time on the Hill, alumna Sharon Lee’s experiences shaped not only her future career but her values, belief system and outlook on…
Classroom guests help students envision careers
Liberal arts and sciences graduates go on to successful and sometimes unconventional careers. They combine personal passion with the flexibility of their degree…
Alumni Achievements: Grant encourages creative genius
Alumna combats violence against native women through tribal law reform Chaos. That’s how Sarah Deer, College alumna and MacArthur ‘genius’ grant winner, describes her…
Alumni Achievements: Triple major leads to unexpected path
Just after collecting his diploma in 2009, Patrick Mathay embarked on a bike trip that would steer him toward his future career. It started…
Alumna is first female combat arms officer
The University of Kansas Army ROTC commissioned its first female Field Artillery officer this spring following Pentagon orders in 2013 to open combat-arms branches…
Distinguished Alumni: Edgar Heap of Birds known worldwide as innovator of conceptual Native American art
Growing up in an underprivileged area of Wichita, Kansas, it never occurred to Edgar Heap of Birds that being a professional artist was an…
Distinguished Alumni: William Fisher embarked on successful geology career thanks to trouble with chemistry
Looking at the sum of his career, William Fisher attributes many of his accomplishments to a crucial conversation during his college years. Initially, Fisher…
Graduation Profile: Honduran filmmaker looks to the future
Honduran filmmaker, Hispano Durón, looks to a creative future making films and teaching at the University of Honduras after successfully achieving his Ph.D in…
Distinguished Alumni: Foreign service career placed B. Lynn Pascoe in the middle of major world events
Imagine witnessing many monumental international issues of the 20th century firsthand. Living in China as a political officer in the 1970s right after the…
Distinguished Alumni: John Gurche brings the past to life combining art and paleontology
If you notice a lifelike presence when you look into the eyes of John Gurche’s sculpture of an ancient human ancestor, that’s no accident.…
From Liberal Arts to Law
Think of great pairings and you might come up with combinations like rock and chalk, or crimson and blue. But what about liberal arts…
From Liberal Arts to Law – Ryan Rowan
Ryan Rowan got his B.G.S. at KU in political science and African and African-American studies in 2008. What do you do and what’s your…
From Liberal Arts to Law – Karen Arnold-Burger
Karen Arnold-Berger earned her undergraduate degrees from KU in personnel administration, political science and psychology in 1979. What do you do and what’s your…