LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1996 15B
KU EDITION
Minority Affairs building bridges to KU
- The Office of Minority Affairs helps minority students succeed once they arrive at Kansas University.
BY MARK FAGAN
JOURNAL-WORLD WRITER
An upgraded computer system at Kansas University gives minority students access to one of the most essential tools for succeeding in college: money.
Hundreds of scholarships for minority students are accessible through the Office of Minority Affairs' expanded External Financial Aid and Scholarship Search Program, said Sherwood Thompson, director of minority affairs.
He encourages the more than
He encourages 2,000 minority students on the Lawrence campus to take advantage of scholarships in disciplines ranging from astrophysics to music therapy.
"There's a lot of scholarships out there, but they are highly specialized," said Thompson, in his sixth year as director. "Students can bring in a diskette, and we can download all the information for them. ...
"We want students to become more independent and to be able to handle their financial situations themselves."
One of the office's most successful programs is Students Together Excelling as Peers (STEP). The program gives freshmen and first-year transfer students a chance to meet, interact and gain experience from other minority students.
The computer — linked to several scholarship databases and the Internet — is available during office hours in Room 145 of Strong Hall, where officials have worked for 25 years to retain and support students from four identified ethnic groups: African American, Asian American, Hispanic and American Indian.
The work is widespread. The office provides peer counseling, conducts educational programs, organizes events and operates
KU's Multicultural Resource Center.
The intent is clear: Help minority students feel comfortable on a campus that is 76 percent white.
"KU is a predominantly white campus, so when a lot of minority students come ... they have to find new friends that transcend their own racial background," Thompson said. "KU has an excellent climate. It supports diversity. We work very hard to include all students in all aspects of campus life."
One of the office's most successful programs, he said, is Students Together Excelling as Peers (STEP). The program gives freshmen and first-year transfer students a chance to meet, interact and gain experience from other minority students.
The STEP program includes weekly seminars, field trips, assertiveness training, business tours and even a run through the Adams Challenge Course at Clinton Lake to encourage teamwork. Juniors and seniors offer peer counseling.
The work pays off, Thompson said, as 78 percent of the program's participants graduate from KU in four or five years well above the national average for minority students at public four-year schools.
"We help them develop strategies for success," he said.
Even so, there's still plenty of work to do, Thompson said. He wants to improve on minority graduation rates and work with even more students this year.
He's also hopeful that KU will hire more minority faculty and staff to provide professional role models for students working toward academic degrees.
"It gives them someone they can look up to," Thompson said.
MIKE YODER/JOURNAL-WORLD PHOTO
Connie Convoy, office manager at KU's Office of Minority Affairs, shows Amanda Martinez, senior, and Leonard Huerta, graduate student, how to locate a web page on minority scholarship and fellowship programs available to students.
- **The Institute for Public Policy and Business Research provides up-to-date economic data to businesses through Kansas.**
BY MEGAN NEHER
JOURNAL-WORLD BUSINESS EDITOR
The Institute for Public Policy and Business Research is a Kansas University agency that studies the economy and businesses throughout the state and the nation.
A team of professors along
with about 12 students research the economy, doing specific economic and business-related studies, some of which are commissioned by the governor, the Legislature or other state agencies.
For example, the IPPBR was asked to study the possible closure of the state's mental health hospitals last year. The institute reported on the economic impact of each hospital closure on its community.
"We provide state agencies policy options based upon good research — solid and impartial research," said Charles Krider, director of the institute and business professor.
The institute was developed informally more than 20 years ago, as the university was asked to participate in various studies with the state. Then in the 1985, the group was given the name Institute for Public Policy and Business Research.
"We don't set policy,we offer input to public policy."
Last year the institute was restructured to focus solely on business and economy. Before, IPPBR included public administration issues.
The institute has completed research for Kansas Department of Transportation on the cost benefits of bypasses in Kansas highways; studied the juvenile justice system for Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and will embark on a nationwide survey for IBM next year.
"We provide state agencies policy options based upon good research solid and impartial research.We don't set policy, we offer input to public policy."
university to respond in a cohesive manner to the state's interests." Krider said.
Leaders of the institute have been asked on several occasions
— Charles Krider, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Business Research and KU business professor
"It's been a useful way for the
In addition to its research activities, the institute provides regular economic forecasts for state and local government and Kansas businesses. The institute uses a model to determine what the Kansas economy will be for the next
to testify about the research findings to the Legislature and other state agencies.
As a main component of the Kansas state data center, IPPBR has access to the Census publications and computer tapes for Kansas and neighboring states.
six to 12 months.
The institute also sponsors an annual Economic Outlook Conference and other seminars, and publishes the Kansas Statistical Abstracts and the Kansas Business Review. Both publications offer statistics relating to current economic and business issues in Kansas and the Midwest.
Most recently, the institute developed a World Wide Web page to provide businesses and city leaders across the state access to the data. The address is: http://www.ukans.edu/cwis/unit/s/ippbr. Communities can use the page to retrieve information about their region's economy.
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