Agenda and Meeting Notes

All Team Agenda – May 21, 2025

KU Reads: A Common Book Experience – Carol Smith, Dean of Libraries
Fall ’25 Homecoming – Kristi Laclé, Senior Vice President of Operations and Programs, and Ryan Edmonds, Assistant Director of Student Programs
Onboarding Program for New Leaders – Amy Mendenhall, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and Mary Banwart, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Mentoring, and Growth
HLC Debrief – Jen Roberts, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies

Meeting Notes

KU Reads: A Common Book Experience

Carol Smith, dean of KU Libraries, provided a brief update about KU Reads: A Common Book Experience. The program was revamped to go beyond a first-year program for students, creating a more integrated and engaging experience for everyone at KU. Sam Greeson has taken on the role of Common Book Librarian. This year, the selected book is “The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet,” by John Green, who will be visiting the Lied Center on Sept. 2. Teach-in events are being planned for the summer months. Faculty and staff can request copies of the book by visiting commonbook.ku.edu.

Kristi Lacle and Ryan Edmunds - KU Alumni and Homecoming 2025 Oct. 27-Nov. 1

Kristi Laclé, Senior Vice President of Operations and Programs, and Ryan Edmonds, Assistant Director of Student Programs, presented the timeline and goals for 2025 Homecoming, which will be held October 27 – November 1. Goals include strengthening alumni engagement beyond the Lawrence and Kansas City region, enhancing university tradition and spirit, and fostering cross-campus collaboration to elevate the event.

Laclé and Edmunds are asking for units and departments across the university to assist with

encouraging student participation (of the 500 student organizations, only about 20 participate in homecoming), outreach to former students, volunteer recruitment and participation, alumni reunions awards and recognition, communications, and amplifying homecoming activities. The purpose of increasing campus collaboration and university partnerships is to sustain long-term growth for future homecoming events, broaden engagement through tailored programming, maximize available resources, and create a more unified student to alumni experience that enhances the lifelong Jayhawk connection.

Over the next few months, the Alumni Association will be reaching out to units and departments to discuss and plan collaborative engagement activities.

Onboarding Program for New Leaders

Mary Banwart, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Mentoring, and Growth, and Amy Mendenhall, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, presented an overview of an onboarding program for new leaders at KU. The onboarding program is designed to prepare vice provosts and deans for success. Banwart and Mendenhall are in the process of collecting materials to create a physical and digital handbook. Banwart and Mendenhall will be asking units to help craft a section specific to their unit that includes information like organization charts, list of recurring meetings, names and pictures of office staff and direct reports, etc.

Banwart and Mendenhall asked that people share feedback for things to include in the onboarding program. Several recommendations were put forward: begin with lessons on the budget (unit and university level), an early meeting with KU Endowment, and information about interim appointments.

HLC Debrief

Jen Roberts, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies, debriefed the group on HLC’s accreditation site visit in March, stressing that we need to continue collecting documents for evidence. Provost Bichelmeyer noted two themes from the recent accreditation cycle that everyone needs to continue working on for future accreditation cycles: accountabilities and continuous quality improvement. Roberts also shared a document outlining an oversight group to monitor accreditation activities, and asked that people share feedback on the proposed committee membership.