Congratulating a valued colleague on his new opportunity

Colleagues,

I am writing to let you know about the upcoming departure of a valued colleague.

Jack Cline, our associate vice chancellor for federal relations, has accepted a new position as vice president for federal relations at Northeastern University in Boston. Jack will lead Northeastern University’s federal relations office on Capitol Hill. Jack’s last day with KU will be May 1.

This is certainly bittersweet news for KU and for those of us who had the pleasure of working with Jack. On the one hand, we are sad to lose such a talented colleague. On the other, we are happy for Jack to pursue this new opportunity with an outstanding university in a city where he has professional and personal ties.

In the days ahead, I will visit with Jack and others to determine next steps for filling Jack’s position once he leaves KU. I will keep you posted on this process.

Jack first joined KU in 2012 and has been instrumental to KU’s efforts to engage with federal funding agencies, partner with the Kansas Congressional delegation, and elevate KU’s presence within the national higher education community. In recent years, Jack has positioned us to win federal grants for the KU Cancer Center, the Alzheimer’s Disease Center, and KU Innovation Park in Lawrence; partnered with Senator Jerry Moran to bring the directors of the NCI, NIH and FBI to our campuses; and positioned KU to be in the forefront of issues related to research funding, student support, university intellectual property and collegiate athletics.

In addition to these specific achievements, Jack has been an incredible colleague and friend to so many of us. While he is a great lobbyist, he is an even better person. I know I can speak for the countless faculty, staff and students with whom Jack has interacted over the years in saying he will be missed on both a professional and personal level.

Please join me in congratulating Jack on this next chapter in his career and thanking him for his service to KU.

Respectfully,

Doug

Douglas A. Girod
Chancellor