KU News Release

KU alumni plan welcome for new freshmen from Kansas City area

LAWRENCE -- Recent area high school and community college graduates planning to attend the University of Kansas this fall will be welcomed to the KU family by members of the Kansas Alumni Association and the Greater Kansas City alumni chapter at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 17, at Antioch Park, 6501 Antioch Road, Merriam.

The Alumni Association is coordinating the sendoff with the Greater Kansas City chapter to provide more than 1,380 new freshmen and their parents an opportunity not only to meet one another but also to meet other KU students and alumni in the greater Kansas City area. Current KU students will offer to share their freshman experiences and will serve as mentors once the new freshmen arrive on campus about Aug. 14 for orientation and fall enrollment activities. KU's fall term begins Aug. 18.

Kansas Alumni Association representatives attending include Kevin Corbett, president; Mike Davis, senior vice president of alumni programs; Jennifer Alderdice, director of student programs; Heath Peterson, director of Kansas chapter development; Jill Simpson, director of national chapter development; and Cory Lagerstrom, Greater Kansas City alumni chapter president.

For more information or to make reservations, contact Jill Simpson at (800) 584-2957.

KU has been rated in the top 50 public national universities in academic reputation, according to U.S. News & World Report's “America's Best Colleges” issue for 2004. A comprehensive educational and research institution, KU enrolls about 29,000 students, including more than 4,000 freshmen. The main campus is located in Lawrence, a city of about 80,000 in northeastern Kansas. Other campuses include the Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.; the Edwards Campus in Overland Park; and a clinical campus of the School of Medicine in Wichita.

Area KU freshmen invited to attend are listed below by their hometowns and zip codes.

From schools and colleges in: Bonner Springs, Bucyrus, Centerville, DeSoto, Edwardsville, Eudora, Fairway, Fort Leavenworth, Gardner, Kansas City, Kan., Lake Quivira, Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Mission, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Shawnee, Spring Hill, Stilwell; Blue Springs, Gladstone, Independence, Kansas City, Mo., Lake Latawana, Lee’s Summit, Liberty, Park Grove, Parkville, Platte City, Richmond and Smithville, Mo.