Welcome to the University of Kansas. KU is a "great place to be" and one of the nation's "best buys" in higher education, says the respected Fiske Guide, which also awards KU a four-star rating for academics, social life, and overall quality of university life. And that's not even counting NCAA March Madness!
KU is a comprehensive educational and research institution offering more than 100 undergraduate majors and diverse programs in allied health, architecture, business, education, engineering, fine arts, journalism, liberal arts and sciences, nursing, pharmacy, and social welfare. KU includes the primary undergraduate and graduate campus in Lawrence; the Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.; the adult education Edwards Campus in Overland Park; a clinical campus of the School of Medicine in Wichita; and educational and research facilities throughout the state.
You can see KU for miles around, its crimson rooflines accenting the wide blue sky. We admit getting to the top of Mount Oread is physically daunting at first. Stairs, sidewalks, streets — they're all a workout. But nothing worth achieving is ever easy, and from the top the vista is endless.
Students are known to be transformed by their first walk along Jayhawk Boulevard, past the distinguished stone edifices of Hoch, Strong, Watson, Lippincott, Dyche and Spooner halls. Walk beneath the steadfast gaze of bronzed mentor Uncle Jimmy Green, his arm guiding a young protégé, and you too will know: This is where I want to be.
The campus may be jaw-dropping gorgeous, but we also rave about the artsy downtown and its bustling tree-lined streets overflowing with eateries, small shops and galleries. The jazz, classical, rock, hip-hop and sidewalk music scene is renowned. Or just sail away on nearby Clinton Lake.
Still deciding what you want to do when you grow up? At KU you can find your passion, in the arts or the sciences or anything in between. KU has more than 100 fields of study taught by expert teachers and researchers, and more than 40 are nationally ranked, many in the top 10. A KU degree comes with cachet.
Kansans like to get a good price, be it for corn or college, and KU offers more for your investment in time and tuition. This is a value-added education: top-ranked, nationally respected programs low tuition rates that are fixed for 4 years! . That's why the Fiske Guide calls KU "one heck of a deal." Sweet.
We are not just in Kansas anymore. The economy is global, and so is a KU education. We strive to give every student an international learning experience, here or over there. One quarter of all students study overseas, and KU is one of five Simon Award winners for campus internationalization. There's no place like Italy (or China, Morocco or Latin America) for a summer or a semester.
Yes, all major universities do research, but when Forbes Magazine named only 10 as "IQ campuses" for trailblazing research, KU was one. And KU is one of 34 public universities in a select group of North American schools chosen on the basis of national significance in graduate studies and research. At KU, you are part of something great.
When you hear the long, slow, Gregorian cadences of KU's world-famous Rock Chalk chant, you understand why it's been declared the greatest college yell since it was created by a KU chemistry professor in 1886. It cheers the heart and soul of any Jayhawk: Rock Chalk Jayhawk Kaaay-youuuuuuu.
You know basketball is big here. But it's not just because of the national championships, raucous and revered Allen Fieldhouse, NBA stars from Chamberlain to Hinrich or even because four of the most successful college coaches of all time played or coached here. It's also because James Naismith, our first coach, happens to have invented the game. Great things start here.
It's the only one in the whole wide world, special because it is unique but also because this mascot embodies qualities we cherish: forward-looking, happy and confident, eager to compete, able to soar. Above all Jayhawks are loyal. Be one and you become part of a global family.
13 NCAA Final Four Appearances: 1940, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1971, 1974, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003 and 2008
3 NCAA National Championships: 1952, 1988 and 2008
2 Helms Foundation National Championships: 1922, 1923
51 Conference Titles (the most of any school)
Danny Manning and Larry Brown led KU to the 1988 national championship. (University Archives)
| KU Assistant Coach (years) | Current Position |
|---|---|
| Bill Self (1986) | Head Coach, University of Kansas |
| Bob Hill (1979-85) | Head Coach, Seattle Supersonics |
| John Calipari (1984-85) | Head Coach, University of Memphis |
| RC Buford (1984-88) | General Manager, San Antonio Spurs |
| Mark Turgeon (1989-92) | Head Coach, Texas A&M University |
| Kevin Stallings (1989-93) | Head Coach, Vanderbilt University |
| Matt Doherty (1993-99) | Head Coach, Southern Methodist University |
| Neil Dougherty (1996-02) | Head Coach, Texas Christian University |
| Norm Roberts (2003-04) | Head Coach, St. Johns University |
| Tim Jankovich (2003-07) | Head Coach, Illinois State University |
2007-2008 Stats
Historic Stats
KU Basketball History from: KUhistory.com or
KUsports.com
Legend of the Jayhawk | The Rock Chalk Chant | KU Fight Songs
Etta Moten Barnett, Actress and singer. (first African American woman to entertain at the White House)
Bob Dole, former U.S. Senate majority leader, presidential and vice-presidential nominee
Cynthia Carroll, CEO of Anglo-American, one of the world's largest mining conglomerates; named 7th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.
Linda Zarda Cook, executive director of Shell Gas & Power and former CEO of Shell Canada; named one of the most successful businesswomen in Europe
Steve Hawley, NASA astronaut (one of 3 KU grads in space)
Steve Haynes, president, National Newspaper Association
Delano Lewis, former National Public Radio CEO and ambassador to South Africa
Brian McClendon, Google Earth director of engineering (that’s why KU is the center of Google Earth)
Elmer McCollum, scientist (discovered vitamins A and D)
Alan Mulally, president and CEO of the Ford Motor Company. (Alum Bob Eaton is former Chrysler CEO.)
Janet Murguia, president, National Council of La Raza, U.S.' largest constituency-based Hispanic organization
Sara Paretsky, best-selling mystery writer (V.I. Warshawski series)
Dr. William Plested III, president of the American Medical Association
Malcolm S. Robinson, president, National Bar Association
Paul Rudd, Actor (Clueless, 40 Year Old Virgin, Cider House Rules, TV's Friends)
Mathana Santiwat, President, Bangkok University in Thailand
Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas (one of 2 KU women grads elected governor)
Vernon Smith, Nobel Prize laureate in economics
Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto
William F. Woo, first Asian-American to be the editor of a major daily American newspaper, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
More notable alums at http://www.ku.edu/about/alumni.shtml.
KU graduate programs move up in U.S. News national rankings
KU School of Medicine is No. 1 in graduates entering family medicine program
Army secretary, KU chancellor to announce Wounded Warrior program
KU accounting students rank fourth in nation for exam rates
More points of distinction at www.distinction.ku.edu.
More KU news at www.news.ku.edu.
2008 FedEx Orange Bowl - KU 24, Virgina Tech 21
2003 Tangerine Bowl - KU 26, North Carolina State 56
1995 Aloha Bowl - KU 51, UCLA 30
1992 Aloha Bowl - KU 23, Brigham Young University 10
1981 Hall of Fame Bowl - KU 0, Mississippi State 10
1975 Sun Bowl - KU 19, Pittsburgh 33
1973 Liberty Bowl - KU 18, North Carolina State 31
1968 Orange Bowl - KU 14, Penn State 15
1961 Bluebonnet Bowl - KU 33, Rice 7
1948 Orange Bowl - KU 14, Georgia Tech 20
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The US Air Force's T-1A Jayhawk jet trainer
The US Coast Guard's HH-60 'Jayhawk' Recovery Helicopter
Copyright © 2006 by the University of Kansas