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LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas has launched a free speakers bureau service to make its professors available to speak in communities of all sizes across the state.
More than 85 faculty members from a broad array of fields already are part of the bureau, which will connect professors with civic, service, professional and educational clubs as well as schools throughout Kansas.
"The faculty has a wide range of expertise," said Janet Murguia, executive vice chancellor for university relations. "This is an exciting opportunity for our professors and communities across the state to connect, learn about each other and share information and resources."
The bureau, administered by KU's faculty governance office, has a Web site that highlights speech topics and explains how to arrange a speaker.
Topics include:
• "Economic trends and outlook in (any county in Kansas)" by Charles Krider, professor of business
• "Welcome to the Supreme Court of the United States: Nine Scorpions in a Bottle?" by Stephen McAllister, dean and professor of law
• "The Older Driver: Stereotypes & Reality" by Paul Atchley, assistant professor of psychology
KU faculty members have been speaking to groups for years, but the process has been an informal one, said Tom Beisecker, an associate professor of communication studies who helped create the bureau as president of KU's University Senate. This is KU's first centralized speakers bureau.
"We want our faculty to be ambassadors in the state," he said. "We want the people of Kansas to have a greater understanding of what they're like and what the university is all about."
Jim Carothers, professor of English, has been speaking to groups for years.
"The benefit for me as a faculty member is that I get to find out what people are talking about, thinking about and interested in away from the Lawrence campus," Carothers said.
Carothers also has been to Kansas high schools to talk to students about preparing for college composition and literature.
"It interests me to see what they're reading -- and what they're not," he said.
The bureau will mail informational cards to interested organizations. KU's Office of University Relations will distribute cards at the Kansas State Fair in September and at KU's Open House in October as well as other venues across the state.
For more information about the speakers bureau, contact the faculty governance office at (785) 864-5169 or govern@ku.edu. The bureau's Web site is www.ku.edu/~speakers.
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