KU News Release

New edition of photographic history of KU features 21st century images

LAWRENCE — A classic photographic history of the University of Kansas has been revised to bring the book into the 21st century.

The University Press of Kansas has released the third edition of “On the Hill: A photographic history of the University of Kansas,” first published in 1983.

Beginning with an 1867 photo of a treeless ridge known as Mount Oread, or “the hill,” the book tells the story of the KU’s growth from a single building to the dynamic educational center it is today.

The rich collection of photographs spans 125 years, two world wars, the Great Depression, the turbulent ’60s and ’70s, the expansive 1980s, the technological shifts of the 1990s to 2006. More than 400 images, including 30 recent photographs, and a new chapter, highlight KU’s story. The newest chapter notes more similarities than differences over time. “Teaching, research, study, athletics and entertainment are all once again central themes of the photos …”

The new edition links the book’s first photo to a modern view of a natural campus space being restored to native grasses, Prairie Acre. Beyond the unkempt acre the camera captures residence halls on the western skyline of the campus. The text notes: “Today the University of Kansas reaches far beyond the dreams of its founders, but its roots remain strong, deep and nourishing to all, on the Hill.”

Four women who share a love of history and of KU compiled the text and photos: Katie Armitage, historian and consultant to community and state historical organizations; Donna Butler, managing editor at KU Continuing Education; Carol Shankel, co-founder of the Historic Mount Oread Fund; and Barbara Watkins, writer and editor and recently retired from KU Continuing Education. Virginia Adams, a former feature writer for the Louisville Times, assisted in compiling the original edition.

The foreword by the late Raymond Nichols, KU’s 12th chancellor, and the introductory essays for the first eight chapters by Roy Gridley, professor emeritus of English, are from the original edition. Gridley’s son Karl, a 1985 alumnus, wrote the essay for the new chapter in the third edition.

More details are available on the University Press of Kansas Web site.

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