March 13, 2002

Contact: Charlotte Davis, KIAAA, (913) 627-7659; Lynn Bretz, University Relations, (785) 864-8866.

KU official to give keynote address at state athletic administrators conference

MANHATTAN -- A top University of Kansas administrator will give the keynote address Friday, March 15, on "Coaching and Character" at the 33rd annual conference of the Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.

KU Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations Janet Murguia will deliver the keynote address at 1 p.m. in Manhattan's Holiday Inn Holidome, site of the conference, which runs until midday Sunday. The KIAAA is an organization of Kansas middle and high school athletics administrators.

Murguia will give a motivational talk about her experiences as a high school athlete and how guidance from coaches and experiences with teammates have helped her in her career.

As one of Alfred and Amalia Murguia's seven children, Janet Murguia grew up in the Mexican-American neighborhood of Argentine in Kansas City, Kan.

Before coming to KU, Murguia served as deputy campaign manager and director of constituency outreach for the Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign. Prior to the campaign, she worked at the White House in various capacities beginning in 1994. She was deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of legislative affairs, serving as the senior White House liaison to Congress.

Murguia's appointment to KU in July 2001 was praised by Sen. Pat Roberts, Gov. Bill Graves and Sen. Sam Brownback for bringing a talented Kansan back to the state.

Murguia and her siblings are known for their accomplishments. Ramon Murguia is a lawyer and former chair of the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic advocacy organization in the United States. Janet Murguia's twin sister, Mary, is a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for Arizona, and brother Carlos is a federal judge for the U.S. District Court in Kansas City; they are the nation's first brother-sister duo to become federal judges.

Murguia, in her first year as executive vice chancellor for university relations, oversees public affairs and public relations at the university's campuses. Her administrative areas include the offices of University Relations, Governmental Relations and Trademark Licensing; the KU Visitor Center; and KANU-FM public radio station and Kansas Audio-Reader Network, a radio reading service for the blind and visually impaired.

A KU alumna, Murguia holds a juris doctorate from the law school, a bachelor of science degree in journalism from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications and a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.