New KU Endowment Trustees elected

The KU Endowment Board of Trustees elected Stephonn Alcorn, William W. Humphrey III (Trey), Schalie A. Johnson, Allison Long, Winifred S. Pinet (Win) and Abbey Rupe as new trustees at their annual meeting in October. Alcorn received his bachelor’s in finance in 2017 from KU, where he served as student body president. He is a vice president at the Blackstone Group. Humphrey graduated from KU in 1987 with a bachelor’s in business administration and earned a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1990. He is chief legal officer at Lockton. Johnson received a bachelor’s in environmental studies in 2003 from Connecticut College and a law degree from KU in 2006. She is a partner at Wallace Saunders. Long earned a bachelor’s in accounting and business administration from KU in 1985. She is senior vice president, administration and chief operating officer at KU Endowment. Pinet graduated in 1980 with a bachelor’s in English and received an MBA in 1982, both from KU. She is president and CEO of Sycamore Associates. Rupe received a bachelor’s in microbiology from KU in 2001 and a medical degree from KU School of Medicine-Wichita in 2005. She is a faculty pediatrician at Salina Family Health Care Center.

Lied Center of Kansas celebrates 30th season

The Lied Center’s 2023-24 season kicked off in September with a schedule featuring national Broadway tours, legendary musicians, trailblazing artists, hysterical performances, family shows and more. A few highlights include Buddy Guy, Annie, Ira Glass, MEAN GIRLS, Leo Kottke, Jesus Christ Superstar and Mandy Patinkin. In celebration of the 30th anniversary, the Lied Center is inviting the community to become a permanent part of the venue by naming an auditorium seat. The Lied Legacy Seat Campaign supports a new endowed fund for local students’ bus transportation to school-only performances every year. More information can be found at lied.ku.edu/name-a-seat.

Silvisaurus condrayi designated the official Kansas land fossil

Silvisaurus condrayi, the only dinosaur known to have lived in what is now Kansas, was named the official state land fossil by Gov. Laura Kelly in April. In 1955, Warren Condray found the fossil skeleton on his Ottawa County land and donated it to the KU Natural History Museum. The fossil was described as a new species of dinosaur by KU paleontology researcher Theodore Eaton in 1960 and named Silvisaurus condrayi, in honor of the Kansas rancher. Silvisaurus, which means “woodland lizard,” stood 3 feet tall, was about 12 feet long and lived during the Cretaceous period 145.5-65.5 million years ago.

Record-breaking freshman class

In fall 2023, the University of Kansas welcomed its biggest freshman class in history while overall enrollment has grown to 29,355 students, the highest level since 2010. The historic freshman class includes 5,259 new Jayhawks — a jump of 18% from last year — and surpasses the 2008 class as the largest in KU history. The class boasts an average high school GPA of 3.65 and is the most diverse to date.

ComfortCare Homes, KU School of Medicine-Wichita partner to battle Alzheimer’s

A collaboration between KU School of Medicine-Wichita and one of the city’s largest memory care providers is teaching students about the unique needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. ComfortCare Homes operates group homes staffed with caregivers 24 hours a day and recently donated to the school’s endowment fund. The gift will help purchase specialized equipment to expand participation in clinical research trials and provide support for community outreach. Students doing their clinical neurology rotation observe and interact with clients at a ComfortCare home, while the provider’s employees participate in the same virtual reality training students receive on what it’s like to experience dementia.

School of Business receives largest gift in school history

The University of Kansas School of Business received a $50 million commitment from an anonymous donor that will transform business education and research at the school. The newly endowed fund will provide critical resources for several of the school’s priorities including faculty professorships and fellowships; student entrepreneurship programs and career-focused opportunities; programmatic efforts among diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), study abroad and academic enrichment programs. “We are honored and humbled by the donor’s choice to invest in the School of Business and look forward to sharing future success stories that will be written because of their generosity,” said Dan Martin, KU Endowment president.

Law School's moot court program in top 10

According to rankings published by the University of Houston Law Center, the KU School of Law’s moot court program is 10th in the nation. KU Law finished in the top 30 nationally for the last eight years, but this is the first time it reached the top 10. Additional donor support during the last decade allowed the school to send more talented students to national and international competitions. KU Law won two national championship titles during the 2022- 2023 season: the National Native American Law Student Association (NNALSA) Moot Court Competition and the Federal Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition. This is the third year in a row KU won the NNALSA Moot Court Competition.