Issue 4, 2019
Milestones, money and other matters
H.O.P.E. awarded to engineering professor, Juniper Gardens wins $8 million grant, vice chancellor Reggie Robinson moves on
BY STEVEN HILL
The ARCH 509 design-build studio led by Associate Professor Keith Van de Riet, a’04, earned two architecture awards for its Kaw Pavilion, a zero-budget shelter completed in May at Lawrence’s Burroughs Creek Park. The studio won the merit award for Small Architectural Project from the AIA Kansas Design Awards and the student project award in the Green Architecture category from The Architecture Masterprize, an international design competition.
The 2019 H.O.P.E Award was presented to Matt O’Reilly, g’09, PhD’11, associate professor in the department of civil, environmental & architectural engineering, during the Oct. 5 football game against Oklahoma State. The award is given annually by the senior class to Honor an Outstanding Progressive Educator.
An $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, will allow the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project to expand a program that has proven effective at increasing student engagement by reducing disruptive classroom behavior. The program, called Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), has been proven effective in two dozen peer-reviewed studies. It helps teachers improve classroom management by addressing positive behavior and reducing time spent on handling disruptive behavior. The grant—which is for three years and $4 million and is renewable for a total of five years and $8 million—will enable the Life Span Institute-affiliated Juniper Gardens to expand CW-FIT nationally.
Donna Shank, assoc., designated a $25,000 grant in her name from the Kansas Health Foundation to benefit the pediatric mental health program at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita. Shank was given the chance to make the grant after completing her term as a board member with the foundation. The donation will be used in conjunction with a $1.8 million Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Grant awarded the school in June by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Shank is a two-time chair of the Kansas Board of Regents.
A $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund development of an innovative graduate training program in the School of Engineering that combines the disciplines of chemistry, chemical engineering and computer science. Kevin Leonard, associate professor in the school’s department of chemical & petroleum engineering will lead the new program for KU’s Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis. The NSF Research Traineeship Program will train graduate students to collaborate in the interrelated disciplines of chemistry, chemical engineering, computer science and data science.
Reggie Robinson, c’80, l’87, will leave his position as KU’s vice chancellor of public affairs in November to serve as president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation.
Replant Mount Oread added elm, maple and pine trees to a grove of pear trees between Lindley and Marvin halls given to KU by the Class of 1947. The project will also plant hydrangea, hostas and flowering perennials in new beds. A Launch KU fundraising campaign will pay for the project.
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