A new year for our university

Faculty and staff,

Welcome back, Jayhawks! I am excited to begin another semester with you as we continue our mission of education, service and research. With classes in full swing, I’d like to highlight some of the initiatives we will discuss throughout the year ahead. 

Education

Though official data isn’t available until September, we know we have another large freshman class and strong overall enrollment across our campuses. These numbers confirm talented students from across Kansas and the world see value in choosing KU and go on to receive the support they need from faculty and staff like you as they earn their degrees. The first month of the semester is especially important for these students, and I know I can count on you to help them start the year right.

Service

One of the most visible ways KU serves Kansans is by training health care practitioners for the state of Kansas and beyond. This fall we will continue construction of our new Wichita Biomedical Campus and our new KU Cancer Center facility, which together will enhance our ability to educate the next generation of health care providers, develop new treatments and care for patients. Additionally, we continue to provide important services to Kansas communities through our Kansas Geological Survey, our Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and countless other units that engage Kansans across the state.

Research 

KU strives to make discoveries that benefit the world, and thanks to your efforts, we have increased our research expenditures for nine consecutive years. Of course, unprecedented disruptions to federal funding continue to cause significant uncertainty for researchers across our campuses. KU’s leadership team continues to work with elected officials, policymakers and higher education peers on your behalf so that our university can continue to make discoveries that benefit society, with a focus on areas such as health, security and energy.

Economic development 

Now more than ever, it is imperative we communicate the economic value KU provides our state. With this in mind, we recently shared a new report that quantifies KU’s annual statewide impact at $7.8 billion, which includes KU activity in operations, construction and research, as well as the expenditures of KU startup companies, visitors, students and alumni. I encourage you to visit impact.ku.edu to learn how you can utilize this report in conversations with stakeholders so they better understand how KU benefits our state.

A terrific example of KU's economic impact is our Gateway District, which will bring thousands of visitors to campus for events that create new expenditures in Lawrence and new revenue to support KU's academic mission. I hope you will join us for the first event in the Gateway District this Saturday as we host a home football game in the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Budget challenges

Throughout the spring and summer, you have heard from me and Executive Vice Chancellors Barbara Bichelmeyer and Steve Stites about our campus budget challenges, which require campus-specific strategies and hard decisions in the coming months. As we have described, these decisions are necessary to balance budgets and continue working toward market pay plans to achieve appropriate and competitive compensation for our people. You can expect additional information from Barb and Steve, in coordination with CFO Jeff DeWitt and his team, in the weeks ahead.

Alignment  

This month marks the one-year anniversary of our new “One KU” leadership structure, which has enhanced alignment of our Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses so we can address challenges and opportunities in a more collaborative way. I want to thank the University Cabinet and each of you — our faculty and staff — who are embracing this university-wide perspective and seeking new ways to work together across our campuses. 

Welcome back, Jayhawks. I look forward to another great year with you. 

Respectfully, 

Doug 

Douglas A. Girod 
Chancellor