Next Steps for Graduate Studies

Students, staff, and faculty

The Graduate Studies Advisory Committee was very active over the spring semester and recently submitted reports to advise Chancellor Girod and me on opportunities to strengthen graduate education at the University of Kansas.

Please join me in thanking the members the committee for their dedication to this effort. Members of the Refresh Subcommittee and the Re-imagine Subcommittee were tasked with reviewing how we best support graduate education and identifying innovative approaches to deliver service and support in the future. As this work was underway, the staff in Graduate Studies have been and remain dedicated to the tasks before them. They, too, deserve our gratitude.

The chancellor and I will review the reports during the summer and confer with members of the committee, staff in the Office of Graduate Studies, and others focused on graduate study at KU before we finalize plans for the future of graduate education at KU. I expect we will be ready to share our plans with the committee, to gather any final feedback, and then announce any decisions and a timeline for implementation to campus soon after.

Thank you to the co-chairs of our two subcommittees: Associate Dean of Education Lisa Wolf-Wendel, Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies Amanda Ostreko, Distinguished Professor of English Maryemma Graham, and Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Perry Alexander. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Interim Dean of Graduate Studies Audrey Lamb who will continue in this role until we are able to implement any decisions next year. She has been a vital participant and leader, both in the review process as well as in the ongoing activities of the Office of Graduate Studies.

As I stated in January, graduate students are the lifeblood of KU and take an active role in both our educational and research missions. I appreciate interim Dean Lamb’s continuing contributions to ensure the best for our students.

Carl

Carl Lejuez
Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor