KU News Release

KU research institute to host conference on population shift from rural to urban areas

LAWRENCE — One of the central issues facing Kansas — the shift of population from rural to urban areas — will be the subject of an upcoming conference at the University of Kansas.

The 2006 Kansas Economic Policy Conference will be Oct. 26 at the Kansas Union. Conference chair Joshua Rosenbloom, professor of economics and director of the Center for Economic and Business Analysis at KU, said the conference will focus on how governments in the state can respond to the population shift and the opportunities created by new technologies.

“On the one hand, urbanization is leading to population declines in many parts of the state, and on the other, it is responsible for the relatively slow growth of the state’s population and economy relative to the United States as a whole,” Rosenbloom said.

The conference’s morning keynote speaker, Suzanne Leland, an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, will address this topic from the perspective of academic research. Luncheon speaker Rep. Doug Mays will provide a perspective from the legislature, which last year passed legislation concerning procedures for mergers between county and municipal governments.

The conference will have a live satellite link to the southwestern Kansas town of Ulysses. This is the third year the conference has been linked to Ulysses, but for the first time, one panel will be moderated live from Ulysses.

Registration is online. The fee is $85 for those attending in Lawrence and $75 for those attending in Ulysses. A campus parking permit is $6.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the Kansas Statistical Abstract. The abstract was released electronically Sept. 1. It includes information about the state’s agriculture, education, crime and population.

To help mark the anniversary, the first abstract has been scanned and is available online. The 40th edition includes a congratulatory letter from Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and trivia that compares data from the 1960s to today.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.