Volume 124 Issue 21
Monday, September 19, 2011
kansan.com
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Q&A
Forward ruled ineligible
KORY.CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
Kansas forward Braeden Anderson has been rufed ineligible to play for the University this season, Kansas Athletics announced Friday.
Anderson
The 6-foot-8 freshman from Alberta, Canada was ruled a partial qualifier for an athletic scholarship by the NCAA but was not approved by the Big 12 conference. Anderson attended multiple high schools, which often raises questions with the NCAA clearinghouse.
According to NCAA rules, potential student-athletes must have ACT or SAT scores that match his or her core class grade point average on a sliding scale. The higher the grade point average, the lower the standardized test score has to be. The lower the grade point average, the higher the test score must be, etc. Completion of 16 core courses in high school as well as a minimum grade point average are also required to become qualified. Athletes become non-qualifiers or "partial qualifiers" when one of the requirements is not met.
Partial qualifiers are not able to receive a scholarship their first year, practice, or participate in games their first year. They are able to receive need-based financial aid, but according to Big 12 conference rules, all partial qualifiers must be approved by the conference. Anderson's case was denied.
Edited by Joel Petterson
"I am very disappointed but I know Braeden is even more crushed" coach Bill Self said in statement. "He has worked very hard to be in a position to come here. I certainly understand the uniqueness of his academic record coming from Canada. I understand the NCAA ruling and I understand the Big 12 policy that states that the faculty athletic representatives must approve, but I am extremely disappointed in the outcome.
"Braeden has been great since he arrived here. Our goal for the immediate future is to give him as many options as possible moving forward so that he can make the best decision that fits him so he can get on with his academic career."
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little sat down with reporter Jessie Blakeborough to discuss everything from possible conference realignments to Osceola. Mo.'s discontent with the Javhawk mascot
Chancellor chit-chat
JESSIE BLAKEBOROUGH
jblakeborough@kansan.com
In efforts to increase conversation and information sharing between the student body and University administration, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little has agreed to a series of "Fireside Chats" with The UDK to support a more direct line of communication.
Chancellor Gray-Little sat down with reporter Jessie Blakeborough to discuss the current campus issues, future projects and student concerns.
Q: The University was ranked 101 by U.S. News, which was an improvement from last year, but
still below the University of Missouri. What is the administration's reaction to this?
A: There's always a big discussion when the rankings come out and it's always new if you go up a point or down a point. I think there is a little change, whether or not this is a trend we will know in another year or two if it continues. Certainly, it is our goal and aspiration to continue to improve in the rankings because the rankings are often important in a way that we are evaluated by other students. So, it is important to look good. We have plans to improve our rankings, not to "beat Mizzou".
Q: The administration is currently undergoing a lot of reorganization. Can you describe that process, specifically the reorganization of Student Success?
A: I think that the reorganization, overall, is part of a greater effort. Our interest is in having a stronger recruitment program, strong orientation and then a series of programs that support them as they proceed through the University. And in the reorganization, the effort is to make sure we have programs that align with those goals. Some of the areas that currently report to the Provost admissions and enrollment have been moved in that direction and have a closer tie with the senior administration in the provosts office in the academic area. The focus is on stronger recruitment and stronger support for students, which is closely related to our ranking.
Q: The strategic plan, Bold Aspirations, was announced Sept. 14, could you please describe what this means for current and future students?
A: The reason to do a strategic plan is to have a guide for the things you want to focus on. We spent about a year now in a planning process, in some ways it's been more than a year. The idea is to say these are the areas we are working on, these are the priorities we have, these are the things we are going to try to
shape and these are our investments and that's the reason for planning.
The plan that we unveiled focuses on the quality of undergrad and graduate education, on research productivity, engagement, and resources. I think those are exactly the things we need to focus on as a University both to fulfill our mission and also to affect our rankings. It is not solely for rankings, it is to make sure that we are as good as we can possibly be and obviously those things affect our rankings.
Q: Where are we now in the plans?
SEE CHANCELLOR I 1
CAMPUS
Increased funding helps improve research
CLAIRE MCINERNY
cmcinerny@kansan.com
Dan Simon spends part of his school days in a lab in Haworth, running experiments to create a topical gel that could prevent Chlamydia outbreaks.
Simon, a junior from Overland Park, could not conduct this type of research without a $4,500 grant from the American Society for Microbiology. Research funding from both federal grants and private donations at the University has reached a record high this year, with more than $224.6 million from federal grants, and $153.2 million from Kansas University Endowment Association.
The Endowment Association uses the money to put toward building renovation, better faculty, and to help the University
Endowment money affects students in several parts of their education, whether it is through scholarships for students or new facilities. Rosita Elizalde-McCoy, director of communications at the Endowment Association, said that 80 percent of land at the University was donated by alumni, with the most recent addition being West Campus.
get accredited by the National Cancer Institute. The University of Kansas Medical Center has been working to raise $61 million to be a designated cancer center by the NCI and endowment has contributed to this cause.
Leigh Stearns, a professor of geology, works with a West Campus research organization and grant money helps her do her job.
Stearns is a glaciologist at the center for the Remote Sensing
of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), an organization that studies the behavior of glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica. CReSIS is working with a $20 million grant this year and the additional funds aided in the hiring of Stearns. CReSIS combines the efforts of engineers and scientists to develop tools to penetrate through ice sheets.
"When we need more information about something about the ice, we try to build it ourselves," Stearns said. "This is a really great opportunity to foster a collaboration between scientists and engineers to create the next generation of these instruments."
Stearns' grant money also pays for her to travel to Antarctica and Greenland every year to study glaciers first hand.
Stearns is one of the many
professors at the University who spend a lot of time on their research projects. Steve Warren, vice chancellor for research and graduate studies, said that the University makes research a priority for professors. Professors working on research are allowed to teach fewer classes during the semester, because it not only benefits the project, but everyone on campus.
"If you're at a research university, you're exposed to the cutting edge of the development of knowledge," Warren said. "The faculty members you're working with are the people creating the knowledge, the new knowledge that drive science and scholarship."
—Edited by Mandy Matney
Grad student Brandon Gillette (brown) helps carry a fuel drum as the rest of the Bryd Glacier team organizes and climbs gear for GPS deployments on Bryd Glacier (Dec. 2010)
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CLASSIFIED 10A CRYPTOQUIPS 4A SPORTS 12A
CROSSWORD 4A OPINION 5A SUDOKU 4A
all contents; unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
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