University of Kansas faculty governance leaders are frustrated with a proposal from administration for a second Integrated Sciences Building that would cost nearly $200 million to construct.
Members of Faculty and University Senate told the University Daily Kansan they did not know about a plan for ISB 2 prior to the publication of the Kansan article. The news about ISB 2, coupled with reports of a $30 million Adams Alumni Center remodel â which is being paid for by private funds â left faculty calling for more transparency from the universityâs administration.
âThese major capital intensive projects â doesnât really matter how the university suggests theyâre going to be funded â it looks bad and people feel hurt, and people are expressing greater mistrust still of the universityâs claim about an inability to do things like provide competitive salaries to faculty and needing to dismiss high profile staff members in the DEI [D
photo by: Nick Krug
The Integrated Science Building in the Central District of the University of Kansas is pictured on Tuesday, May 8, 2018.
The University of Kansas has submitted a proposal to the Kansas Board of Regents to construct a nearly $200 million science building, a move that ‘appalled’ a group of faculty members concerned about KU’s budget.
But a KU spokesperson said the university’s proposal was procedural and that the building’s construction would be dependent on securing funding. KU does not expect plans for the new building a second integrated science building to materialize “soon,” spokesperson Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said, and the university remains focused on its immediate budget challenges.
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photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo
In this file photo from May 15, 2016, University of Kansas mascot Big Jay is dressed in graduation regalia during KU s commencement.
After the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of commencement celebrations last spring, at least two universities in Douglas County have elected to host commencements this May celebrating the classes of 2021 and 2020.
The University of Kansas and Baker University will both hold commencement celebrations over two different weekends in May. Douglas County’s other university, Haskell Indian Nations University, has not yet released any plans about graduation.
KU
KU will host three graduation ceremonies in one day for its Class of 2021 graduates this spring.
Strong Hall on the University of Kansas campus is shown on Sept. 13, 2018.
The number of employees at the University of Kansas’ Lawrence campus decreased substantially between 2019 and 2020, according to employee headcount data. But it’s not yet clear how much more of an employee decrease KU will see after budget decisions are made this spring.
From 2019 to 2020, the number of employees at the University of Kansas’ Lawrence campus decreased by over 1,400, according to employee headcount data from KU’s Office of Analytics, Institutional Research & Effectiveness.
In 2019, KU had 9,972 employees. In 2020, that number decreased to 8,564, a difference of 1,408, or 14.1%. The data also shows that the Lawrence campus had fewer employees in 2020 then it did six years prior in 2014. In 2014, KU had 9,982 employees, which is 1,418 more employees than in 2020.