KU Boot Camp scholarships

An anonymous donor has provided $50,000 to support scholarships for low-income individuals interested in technology careers to participate in two popular KU programs. Coding Boot Camp and Digital Marketing Boot Camp, offered through KU Lifelong & Professional Education, cover coding, data analytics, cybersecurity, digital marketing and tech project management. The programs give participants the essential skills needed to be successful in today’s digital world.

New endowed scholarship for KU School of Medicine-Wichita

A group of business and community leaders originally formed to help the KU School of Medicine-Wichita transition to a four-year campus a decade ago is continuing to support the school in other meaningful ways. Their latest contribution of more than $100,000 endowed a new scholarship for two incoming medical students. The 4-Wichita Advancement Board was created in 2011, the same year the school began teaching first- and second-year students. The board hopes to raise more donations from the community. To learn how to get involved, contact Brad Rukes at 316-293-2641 or email .

KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center recognized

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) renewed the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s (KU ADRC) national designation. One of just 33 centers in the U.S., the KU ADRC received its first designation in 2011. The renewal comes with a five-year grant that will provide more than $15 million in funding through 2026. Nearly six million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, including approximately 180,000 people in Kansas and Missouri. Since its first renewal in 2016, the KU ADRC has supported more than 190 studies and enrolled nearly 3,400 participants in clinical trials.

Top 25

U.S. News & World Report named KU as the No. 24 Best Value School.

Long-term investing pays off

A scholarship fund invested in KU Endowment’s Long-term Investment Program in 1973 is a powerful example of how an endowed fund impacts the university. The Glenn and Elizabeth Adams fund was established in 1964 by KU alumni Paul and Maurine Adams in honor of his parents. Dr. Dwight Adams, another son of the couple and also a KU alumnus and donor, recently reached out to acknowledge the success of the fund. “The original gift made for scholarships in the name of my parents years ago has more than doubled,” Adams said. “At the same time, the amount of scholarship support provided has exceeded the original gift.” Adams hopes highlighting the fund growth will inspire other donors to support KU.

The quest to conquer all cancers

The University of Kansas Cancer Center reached a significant milestone by achieving National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation in 2012 and being renewed in 2017. In September, the center applied for the exclusive status of NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center designation — to be one of only 52 elite cancer centers in the U.S. Comprehensive centers are those recognized for their trailblazing research and leadership in developing leading-edge treatments. More than 50 professionals spent a total of 1,700-plus hours writing and editing the application, which ended up exceeding 1,700 pages. Site visits will take place in early 2022.

New KU Endowment trustees elected

The KU Endowment Board of Trustees elected Kannon Shanmugam, Petra Tasheff, Elizabeth Boldridge Tovar and Frank Tsuru as new trustees at their annual meeting in October. Shanmugam attended KU in 1989, received his undergraduate and law degrees at Harvard and was a Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford. He is managing partner and chair of the Supreme Court litigation practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Washington, D.C. Tasheff graduated from KU in 1978 with a bachelor’s in English. She received her law degree from Northwestern in 1981 and is retired from the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. Boldridge Tovar received her bachelor’s in psychology in 2002, her master’s in psychology in 2009 and her doctorate in higher education administration in 2011, all from KU. She is executive officer and associate vice president, Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and associate athletics director for Student-Athlete Academic Services at the University of Iowa. Tsuru graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s in petroleum engineering in 1983. He co-founded Momentum Midstream in 2004 and currently serves as its CEO. He also is president and CEO of Indigo Natural Resources.

New Chancellors Club professors

Four KU professors are recipients of the prestigious Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship, which recognizes outstanding educators for their dedication to excellence. The honorees are Scott Moser, M.D.; Cynthia Teel, Ph.D., RN, FAAN; Mikhail Barybin, Ph.D.; and George Tsoflias, Ph.D. Moser was appointed associate dean for curriculum at KU School of Medicine-Wichita in 2015. He has earned numerous teaching awards and was the founding faculty advisor for Wichita’s JayDoc Community Clinic. Teel serves as associate dean, academic affairs for the KU School of Nursing. She has been honored frequently during her 28 years at KU and has secured more than $1.7 million in grants. Barybin is a professor of chemistry and is principal investigator for the Barybin Research Group. His 20-year KU career includes serving as a University Honors faculty fellow. Tsoflias, a professor of geology, came to KU in 2003 after roles in industry and with the government. He has excelled in innovating experiential learning and mentoring undergraduate and graduate research. Each professor will receive an annual $10,000 honorarium for the next five years.

You Said It

“I’m giving to support nurse anesthesia students because I am a 1994 alumna of KU’s graduate Nurse Anesthesiology Program. My grandfather, Gustave A. Roy, was a 1930s alumnus of KU’s undergraduate program and medical school.”

Cynthia Epplin, master’s in nursing anesthesia 1994, Pinckneyville, Ill.

“KU Mini College is awesome. It’s the reason I reconnected with campus, have come back to campus nearly every year for the last 12, became a lifetime Alumni member and plan to move to Lawrence.”

Margaret Buckley, bachelor’s in Latin American studies and Spanish 1997, Portland, Ore.

“I’m giving because I love KU. I treasure my memories there, especially my time as a resident assistant with Student Housing and my experiences with the history and political science departments.”

Jesse Burbank, bachelor’s in history and political science 2017, Chicago, Ill.

“Giving back during COVID times is so important. As someone who didn’t get a lot of scholarships, I want this to go back to scholarships through the Greater KU Fund.”

Dominic Pitts, bachelor’s in computer science 2017, Lenexa, Kan.