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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOV. 2, 2015 | 'OLUME 130 ISSUE 20
NEWS ROUNDUP »
YOU NEED TO KNOW
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
GET READY.
Check out our men's basketball special issue inside this paper. Your gameday preview, bold predictions and more.
>> B SECTION
REACH OUT. BE KIND. STARTING NOW. The Kansan Editorial Board writes: "It's not only the University administration that needs to respond. It's the entire KU community. And we must respond right now."
Opinion >> PAGE 4A
KELCIE MATOUSEK/KANSAN
ART IN FOCUS.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Professor and artist Michael Krueger. Arts & Culture >> 5A
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MISSY MINEAR/KANSAN
WHAT YOU MISSED AT HOMECOMING 2015. Check out stories and photo galleries of events from Homecoming including a rainy parade.
>> Kansan.com
WORLD CHAMPS!
Kansas City Royals fans celebrate on Massachusetts Street on unday after the team won the World Series, defeating the New York Mets in five games.
Meet the "mother" of KU women's athletics
CHRISTIAN HARDY @ByHardy
Senior Tiana Dockery rose up above the net, found a lane, and slammed the ball to the hardwood court; the thunderous collision between ball and floor shook through Horejsi Family Athletic Center. Point, Kansas.
On the edge of the bench closest to the net, Kansas coach Ray Bechard eagerly jumped out of his seat and shouted a few words of encouragement.
PRIATE STINGLE/KANS
Marlene Mawson watches Kansas volleyball on Oct. 21
It's Marlene Mawson.
Another coach sat 10 rows behind him, between sections A and B. She gazed at the court with her eyes wide, startled by what Dockery had just done. This coach, though, was retired, more relaxed, and rather removed — yet equally important — to what became a 19-game win streak for Kansas volleyball on that Wednesday night.
"They're not good," Mawson said, looking onto the court. "They're fantastic."
For most of the match, Mawson, who is considered the mother of women's athletics at Kansas, sat with her
She breaks her folded hands to join in the applause with the 1,520 people in attendance. But, even then, her hands seem to end up back in her lap, her thumbs fidgeting.
fingers locked in her lap, with a quiet comment or criticism of the game here or there every so often. She twiddles her thumbs — maybe a sign of the investment she has in the team.
oney, so a lot of the people no were coaching would each two or three or four sorts," said Kerry Kapfer, no played for Mawson in early 1970s and is in the insas Volleyball Association all of Fame for her efforts Shawnee Heights over 26ars. "Without her, I reallyn't know what would have opened at KU."
"We did not have floods of
"She got women's athletics off the ground here," Bechard said. "She just gave females a chance to compete."
PAIGE STINGLEY/KANSAS
Mawson knows what it's like to be in the position Bechard is today; she's been there. In fact, she might be the reason it exists.
In 1968, Mawson was tasked with establishing an intercollegiate women's sports program at the University of Kansas with a budget of only $2,000 per year to cover for six sports. That $2,000 covered equipment, uniforms and travel, and comes to about $13,675, accounting for inflation. So, on top of her physical education faculty position, Mawson was suddenly coaching four women's sports — volleyball among them.
Mawson coached the volball team for five years and so contributed to building men's basketball, softball d field hockey programs. even though on a much taller budget and with fewer sources, the programs were each different.
For all the things that we from the standpoint ofidas, and travel, andopportunities, we should look at those that didn't havething and still competed
When Kapfer played forawson, the team traveledstation wagons and playedgeneric uniforms. Now, itsshots, identifiable Adis-sponsored uniforms, andarter busses or — onocan— planes. Mawson wasjor player in that transiion, especially before she leftUniversity in 1990.
because they loved the sport," Bechard said.
"It's exciting to just to see the changes in sports for women over the last 40 years," Kapfer said. "It's a different world, and it's better. It's really the way it should be."
Mawson said she has been impressed with the way women's athletics has shifted in the 40 years, too, and Kansas volleyball is a beacon of that change.
"It's incredible that not only volleyball but all of women's sports have the opportunities they have nowadays," Mawson said. "That wasn't always so."
Few teams — if any — can rival 19 consecutive wins at Kansas, especially in the short history of women's sports. Mawson was quick to deflect the attribution of that progress to Joan Wells, who was
SEE MAWSON PAGE 11
Vitter discusses progress on "Bold Aspirations" goals before becoming chancellor at Mississippi
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's all about making the rises more engaged and ving them from just a mas-
he development of the Uniisys's core curriculum and aewed focus on experiential ning opportunities. according to Vitter, course esign has been a major facin working towards these tegic goals.
urses more engaged and giving them from just a mas- lecture format, which is very exciting or engaging students, to using technol- ologies in novel ways that the s can focus on important traction," Vitter said. Since the implementation the new core curriculum, er said the University has been working on something ed "flipped classrooms," in which students are involved online modules they can be zed on at home, providing lessors with feedback for s students need help in.
gives the professor the ty to really tune the class maximum effect," Vitter
e University has redeed 50 to 60 courses since initiative began and they hoping to be part of the s Foundation effort to offlip classes at a much r scale, according to Vit-
Vitter said one of the goals of the strategic plan was to increase retention and graduation rates among undergraduates. In the last few years, the graduation rate has hovered around 60 percent. Vitter says with the new plan, he expects those numbers to rise to 70 percent by the end of the decade, or at least soon after.
ter. There will be around 15 University partners who will work to offer such classes, and, if all goes well, Vitter expects the program to begin in 2017.
Vitter said he expects the new provost to oversee the continuation of "Bold Aspirations" as well as other projects undertaken by the University.
According to Vitter, the campus is undergoing one of the biggest infrastructure remodels in its history.
Over the next three years, students will see new additions to campus, including an Earth Energy and Environmental Center building, a remodeled Burge Union, an art lab and research facility, a new parking lot, a power plant, a new residence hall and a gradeate village, Vitter said.
Vitter said these new infrastructures are key to establishing the University's reputation
as an educational leader.
"We cannot be a flagship university if our science facilities are not truly top notch." Vitter said. "Frankly, if we waited any longer, those facilities could become dangerous."
Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs Sara Rosen will be handling provost 'duties while a search committee is formed to find a replacement. Vitter called Rosen a "key player in a host of important initiatives dealing with undergraduate curriculum," and said Rosen could very well be a candidate for provost; however, no formal candidate search has begun.
Vitter said he expects that they will be bringing final candidates to campus by the end of spring semester.
Although Vitter said he is ready to start his position as chancellor of the University of Mississippi, he said he has great respect and admiration for the University of Kansas and its administration.
- Edited by Rebeka Luttinger
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