THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ACCIDENT
Man crashes truck, damages dwelling
PAGE 3
TAYLOR WILLIAMSON twilliamson@kansan.com
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
A man in a black truck drove into a house near the intersection of Sixth and Tennessee Streets early yesterday evening, which caused substantial damage and left the surprised residents an interesting lawn ornament.
Melinda Toumi, a postdoctoral researcher in the chemistry department, lives in the house with her husband and two children. She was reading a book inside with her youngest child at the time of the crash.
"I heard a really loud noise and looked up to the window, and saw the pillars of the porch fall over," Toumi said. Police responded to the scene, and a wrecker was called to get the truck out of the yard. The porch was severely damaged, and without the pillars, the stability of the roof overhang
was compromised.
The driver of the truck was initially unconscious, but eventually came to, according to Toumi.
"He started opening his eyes and speaking, saying he was really sorry," Toumi said. "“There was definitely a strong smell, I asked him how much he had to drink and he said 'Not much.'"
And some local high school students witnessed the wreck, according to Toumi.
"They said the truck was in the air when it hit my porch."
Toumi said she wasn't sure how much it will cost to repair the damage, but was just concerned about the safety of her family.
"My husband's at Home Depot right now," Toumi said, "just trying to get enough lumber to prop the roof up for the night, for safety."
Last night a man driving a black truck crashed into a home at the intersection of Sixth and Tennessee. The crashed caused substantial damage to the porch and lawn of the home, forcing the homeowner to temporarily prop up the porch overhang with lumber.
Edited by Jason Bennet
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
Want to see a video of damage from the crash? Go to kansan.com/videos
EDUCATION
Dean is all business with alma mater
CLAIRE MCINERNY
cmcinerny@kansan.com
Growing up in India, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi was in love with the University of Kansas. For three years while her father worked on his doctorate here, Bendapudi and the rest of hr family heard stories from her father's time at the University. Years later, Bendapudi completed her own doctorate here and is now 31 days into her tenure as dean of the business school.
UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
Bendapudi was hired after William Furest resigned last year in the midst of questions about how the school was using student course fees. She returned to Kansas after teaching at Ohio State and serving as executive vice president and chief customer service officer of Huntington National Bank.
Business is the most popular major for Kansas students, with more than 1,025 declared majors and 745 minors. Bendapudi is excited to maintain the popularity of the business school and also expand its knowledge base out to non-business students.
Bendapudi said a business minor for students is a perfect addition to any major.
"You could be an optometrist, a veterinarian, an engineer, but where are you going to work? You're going to work in a business of some kind," Bendapudi said. "Having a sound understanding of how business works makes you more effective in whatever your core area is."
The main goal Bendapudi wants to focus on as dean is promoting and helping students find jobs after their time at the University. In the current job market, it is not enough to attend
class and get good grades, she said, so students must have the initiative to get internships and be proactive with their futures.
"It's a tough economy, but there's always room for the best prepared," Bendapudi said, "So I want my students to be the best prepared in the classroom and eventually the boardroom."
Because business is such a popular major, not only at the University but also at colleges across the country, there is a lot of criticism about it being a major where students can slack off. The New York Times published an article in April reporting how business students nationwide don't graduate with all of the skills needed to survive in the job market.
Patrick Mahoney, a senior from Overland Park, finds his business education to be appropriately challenging. After switching his major from political science to business three semesters ago, Mahoney feels more prepared to graduate this spring.
"In the business school it's a different way of thinking. You have to think more analytically and all your classes tie together", Mahoney said. "You use everything from one class in another class."
Business students at the University have to learn the fundamentals of all areas of business, something employers find incredibly useful.
For the past two years, Brian Jones, the senior director of human resources for American Eagle, hired students from the KU business school to intern for the company. Jones said his company had such a great experience with these students that they offered a few full time positions after graduation.
"The folks we have found in the business school have been very teamwork oriented,very collaborative, and high levels of integrity." Jones said.
With the current state of Wall Street and major financial institutions, studying finance or business might seem daunting to students. The very people who are supposed to be experts on business and the economy are the ones who made mistakes leading to the current recession.
Bendapudi says having more diversity on Wall Street and in financial institutions could prevent problems like this. Students from the same big business schools are consistently recruited to run the economy, but having more down to earth Midwest
students with the same business fundamentals adds more variety to the industry.
Bendapudi found that her business degree from the University was able to match up with 'hose from better-known business schools, and that the University prepared her with moree experience.
"I think the opportunity at KU is that we are large enough that a student can really go out and get the whole breadth, but that we are really small enough that we can tailor to that student," Bendapudi said. "But the student has to take ownership of that."
Edited by Josh Kantor
University to institute wireless improvements
BOBBY BURCH
After meeting with student body President Libby Johnson and Vice President Gabe Bliss, University IT began a project to expand wireless internet to frequently used areas of campus. The wireless expansion, which will continue throughout the fall semester, will eventually reach areas including Jayhawk Boulevard, Wescoe beach and Potter Lake.
bburch@kansan.com
As students settle in for the new academic year, the University of Kansas' department of Information and Technology is busy improving services and telecommunication around campus.
Ann Erickson, a senior from Tonganoxie, replied to a University Daily Kansan inquiry on student wireless experience so far this year.
"We have problems in our room where it cuts in and out," Henke said.
However, as IT expands wireless to new areas of campus, some students have expressed concerns about the University's existing WiFi internet access.
Patrick Henke, a senior from Olathe, expressed similar concerns about KU's wireless reliability.
"It's terrible," Erickson wrote. "From experience, it only works in certain areas and even then it's slow and cuts out."
In an effort to provide better service and more efficient technology support, University IT hired the Huron Consulting Group Inc. to review its technology services around campus in the summer of 2010. The group's report outlined that:
Overall need for more consistent consulting-level support for faculty and students related to technologies.
Classroom standards have not been set, resulting in variable capabilities.
The University is behind the curve in terms of supporting technology-enhanced teaching in the classroom.
In an email notifying University deans, directors and department chairs of the new changes, Diane Goddard, Vice Provost for Administration and Finance, wrote that: "By fall 2011, we hope that the plan for increased academic technology support will be well on its way to filling the gap at KU."
Julie Loats, director of Enterprise Applications and Services for University IT, said that the merger of University IT and IDS will help
Following Huron's recommendations, the University's Instructional Development Services (IDS) merged its operations with the IT department, taking effect last spring.
JOTO
Loats said that University IT hopes to further its service efforts by offering Blackboard technology support to students.
"One of the sounds we heard last spring loud and clear was that students didn't feel they had a place to go if they needed help with blackboard," Loats said. "With this merger wed like to be able to provide more support for students."
"It brings all of those staff together so it can be a more focused and holistic approach to classroom support," Loats said.
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 7
provide comprehensive technology support for students and faculty.
Edited by Jayson Jenks
CLASSIFIEDS 10
CROSSWORD 6
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
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