“Garfield: The Musical With Cattitude” opened Friday night and, even at the matinee show the following day, the actors, including alumna Brianna Woods, gave energized performances that would make you think it was opening night all over again. Read full article.
As one of the first American designers to challenge the boundary between utility and fine art, Wendell Castle creates an enticing breed of objects marked by superior craftsmanship and ingenuity in form, style, and technique. Castle, f’58, g’66, received an honorary degree from KU in 2013. Read full article.
Circuit Judge John Christian Yoder, whose work in law and politics spanned more than 40 years, including two terms in the West Virginia Senate, died Friday as a result of complications from heart surgery. He began a career in government service in his native state of Kansas and graduated from KU School of Law in 1975. Read full article.
NASA was slammed with a record number of astronaut applicants this year and out of more than 183,000 people, only 12 were given that proverbial golden ticket. The deserving dozen includes a Texan and University of Kansas graduate named Loral O’Hara. Read full article.
Peter Mallouk, c’93, b’93, l’97, g’97, an estate planning attorney, started his business with an eye toward servicing medical professionals in suburban Kansas City. Today the company, Creative Planning, is at the vanguard of a profound shift in finance. Read full article.
Shapiro Bieging Barber Otteson llp (SBBO) announced the election of Bo Anderson to partner. Anderson, l’99, had previously been senior counsel at the Denver-based law firm. Read full article.
David Seely, l’82, was elected the new president of the Wichita Bar Association. He joined Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch in 1984 and focuses on civil litigation, especially cases involving oil and gas. Read full article.
Philosophy majors spend their college years pondering deep questions, such as: What is the meaning of life? Do we have free will? And what job am I going to get with this degree after graduation? As chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Sheila Bair, c’75, l’78, leaned on her philosophy degree from the University of Kansas to make crucial decisions during the financial crisis. Read full article.
Nikki Glaser’s come a long way from her days as a reluctant college student at the University of Kansas. Eleven years after graduating with an English degree, Glaser’s back in Lawrence, this time as a headliner at the Free State Festival. Read full article.
The highlight of Gary Woodland’s golf season arrived Friday when Gabby gave birth to the couple’s first child, son Jaxon Lynn Woodland, at 11:56 p.m. Read full article.
The first couple to ever say “I do” in the new, upscale Taco Bell Cantina in Las Vegas, in a ceremony on Sunday, happened to be Olathe native Dan Ryckert and his beloved Bianca. Dan is a 2007 graduate of the University of Kansas. Read full article.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation recognized the third class of Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellows, which includes KU graduate Justin Fairchild, g’13. Read full article.
Jessie Blakeborough, a freelance reporter, college adviser and University alumna, created a Facebook page in January to plan a march to speak out in support of scientific research and science-based policy. Blakeborough, j’13, is one of four administrators for the march. Read full article.
Dan Ryckert, c’08, and his fiancee, Biana Monda, won the the Love and Tacos contest and will be the first couple married in the Taco Bell Chapel in La Vegas. Read full article.
Melanie Morgan, l’93, is the CJA Representative for the District of Kansas and was recently elected to co-chair the Defender Services Advisory Group. Read full article.
“E 1200,” a new short crime drama written and directed by University alumnus Kalee Forsythe, will premiere at Liberty Hall. After going back and forth between getting her degree in film studies or architecture while at the University, Forsythe eventually decided to take a break from classes. Read full article.
Lisa C. Billman has joined SouthLaw PC as an associate attorney for the bankruptcy department located in the firm’s corporate office in Overland Park, Kan. She earned her law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2011. Read full article.
Dan Kalkman, g’15, associate at OZ Architecture, earned his WELL AP credentials in January 2017. The WELL Building Standard comprises seven categories, or concepts, of wellness. Read full article.
Alison McKenney Brown, l’93, received official Colorado Supreme Court approval to practice law in Colorado and assumed the duties of Englewood’s city attorney on April 1. Read full article.
Grant Babbit, c’12, jumped straight out of the film and media studies program and into Los Angeles as a successful freelance cinematographer after graduating in 2011. He plans to come to the University next fall to talk to the current film students about his experiences. Read full article.
Scott Gootee, b’03, l’05, a corporate finance partner in the Kansas City office of Stinson Leonard Street LLP, was named to the 2017 40 Under Forty list by Ingram’s Magazine, the leading business publication covering Missouri and Kansas. Read full article.
Governor Pete Ricketts announced his appointment of Julie D. Smith to the First Judicial District Court of Nebraska. Smith earned her law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law. Read full article.
The keynote speaker will be Kansas Supreme Court Justice Caleb Stegall, appointed to the court in 2014. Stegall is a graduate of Geneva College, Pennsylvania, and the University of Kansas School of Law. Read full article.
KU Provost Neeli Bendapudi visited southwest Kansas recently to discuss efforts made at the University of Kansas to alleviate transfer issues as well as a program to help Pell Grant and first-generation college students acclimate to a large campus. Alumnus Al Shank, a member of the KU Alumni Association’s national board of directors, is also mentioned in the article. Read full article.
The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas has announced additional public programs for the spring 2017 semester. A group of distinguished KU alumni will headline the semester’s programming, including 2017 Dole Lecture guest Robert Kaplan. Read full article.
Sheila Bair has been mentioned as a potential candidate for one of three vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board. Bair, c’75, l’78, is currently the president of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Read full article.
Dan Ryckert, an alumnus who holds two Guiness World Records and is a well-established voice in the gaming community, and his fiancee are competing to become the first couple to be married in the new Taco Bell Chapel in Las Vegas. Ryckert, c’08, has also published six books, including one about his experiences at KU. Read full article.
Stephanie A. Lovett-Bowman, c’05, j’05, l’10, has rejoined the Spencer Fane’s litigation practice after serving with the U.S. Department of Education. Previous to her time at the DoE, Stephanie served with Spencer Fane for five years. Read full article.
Catina Taylor, a co-founder of the V Form Alliance, uses virtual reality that allows elementary and middle school students to take a “field trip” exploring landmarks in Kansas and Missouri that are relevant to black history. Taylor earned a degree from the KU School of Law in 1999. Read full article.
Mary Loveland, a member of the KU Alumni Association’s national board of directors from 1977-1982, is a candidate for the open seat on the Lawrence school board. Loveland, c’70, previously served on the board from 1987-2003 and again from 2007-2011. Read full article.
