KU News Release

Look who’s turning 50: KU honors program plans open house, symposium

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Honors Program will host an open house from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 14, at Nunemaker Center as part of its 50th anniversary celebration. Faculty, students and friends of the honors program are invited to attend.

Kathleen McCluskey Fawcett, senior vice provost for academic affairs, will open a brief program at 9:45 a.m. Robert Cobb, former executive vice chancellor, will speak on Irene Nunemaker, the benefactor who provided funding to construct the building that houses the honors program, and Jack Bricke, professor of philosophy, will speak about J. Michael Young, a former honors program director.

Anniversary events also include an invitation-only dinner Friday, April 13, at the Adams Alumni Center and the 10th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium from 1 to 5 p.m. April 14 in the Kansas Union with an awards banquet at 6 p.m.

Three honors program alumni will speak during the anniversary events: Jennifer Ford Reedy, a 1995 KU graduate in political science and religious studies; KU professor of law Stephen R. McAllister, who graduated in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree and in 1988 with a law degree and was formerly dean of KU’s law school; and Craig Nelson, a 1962 KU alumnus and a professor emeritus of biology at Indiana University.

Ford Reedy works with McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., and directs the Itasca Project, a public-private economic development initiative. She is married to Chris Reedy, also a 1995 honors alumnus, who is a freelance writer.

Stanley Lombardo, KU professor of classics and director of the University Honors Program, said former directors expected to attend include Francis Heller, distinguished professor emeritus of law and political science; Jim Carothers, professor of English; John Gronbeck-Tedesco, professor of theatre and film; and Barbara Schowen, professor emerita of chemistry.

Del Shankel, KU professor emeritus of microbiology and former KU chancellor, will speak at the April 13 dinner. Chancellor Robert Hemenway will join Schowen in speaking at the April 14 banquet to observe the 10th anniversary of the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Established in 1956, the University Honors Program is one of the oldest in the nation. The program began with 33 high-ability students and has grown to include more than 1,500 students. About 300 students are admitted each year. The program’s mission is to provide enriched educational opportunities for the most academically talented, promising and motivated undergraduate students at KU.

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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.