Talk:University of Kansas

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This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the University of Kansas article.
Article policies

I've never edited anything on Wikipedia in my life, so I have no idea what I'm doing, but I just thought I'd mention that the Museum of Anthropology hasn't been open for several years. You can read the history of when it closed and the collection changed names at http://www.arcc.ku.edu/. Can someone who cares and is experienced at updating this stuff fix the KU article? Thanks! --Kim in Lawrence, KS

The article linked to by "Jayhawks" goes to a band from Minnesota. I don't know if we want to remove the link, or edit the Jayhawks page, but something should be done here. I'm just too lazy to do anything right now.  :-) --Jubydoo 08:40, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Did we obtain permission for the seal? I also suffer from laziness and I was going to contact KU for permission because I wanted to use the seal and I have also made a template with vital statistics based on the UNC Chapel Hill graphic. Can I go ahead with this?--Pocket Rockets 00:12, 30 Jan 2005 (UTC)

It seems like most of the images of school seals are used under Fair use. --Amoore 08:56, Feb 12, 2005 (UTC)

What does anyone think about seperating out the history section and expanding it a bit. The history is rather complicated, but if someone who knew it could summarize some central points into a paragraph or two, we could expand the history section out.LH 01:45, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like a good idea. I know a fair amount of the history, so once I actually have some free time, I'll get started. RedRollerskate 23:34, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

This article should probably contain some information about the steam whistle that is a major characteristic of the Lawrence campus http://www.kuhistory.com/proto/story.asp?id=58 --Amoore 08:56, Feb 12, 2005 (UTC)

This is maddening. We have a pretty good looking graphic but do you see where the words 'undergraduate' and 'graduate' are misaligned and not in bold like the others? Looking at the source, I can't see the word 'Enrollment' for one thing, and I cannot find ANY difference in the formatting of those two words. I tried changing the width of the graphic, I tried deleting and retyping the source, all to no avail. Can someone who knows something about editing take a look at this graphic and troubleshoot it? Please? It's making me crazy.--Pocket Rockets 01:31, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

It's a feature of the template infobox used for the university info. see Template:University information for the template, and the discussion page... the template is used only on four schools just now.... there is an alternate template which you can see an example of at Wikipedia:WikiProject Universities/example -- settings here Template:Infobox University which is linked to by MOST university pages. I suggest we switch from the one currently used to the other.... -- Rick Boatright 19:15, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

I propose a new list of "Notable Athle tes" or somesuch. Recently I have noticed in the "Distinguished Alumni" section a slippery slope where more and more athletes are being added to the list. Dana Stubblefield is one of my favorite players, but I am not sure he should be listed alongside Pulitzer Prize winners, great artists and scientists. Jim Ryun should remain where he is because he is also a Congressman. I don't want to do this unilaterally though.--Pocket Rockets 01:38, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

  • I think that's probably a good idea. I'd say go for it (and perhaps list Ryun in both places?). ESkog 04:13, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

I have a small request/suggestion. Could someone explain the meaning of "Rock Chalk"? Donna 8 April 2008

See Rock Chalk, Jayhawk. That should probably be linked somewhere in this article. Stardust8212 01:57, 9 April 2008 (UTC)


Contents

[edit] Notable alumni

1. I would like to poll Wikipedians as to what should be the standard for inclusion in the "distinguished alumni" section. Does celebrity qualify a Jayhawk as a "distinguished alumnus"? If not then we should probably eliminate Scott Bakula, Don Johnson, and Dee Wallace Stone, as they have not been nominated for any significant awards that I am aware of. I like their work, but I think we need some semi-objective standard to keep from cheapening the list.

2. Someone keeps trying to slip Paul Rudd into this list, despite the fact he has never had a significant TV or film lead, much less any awards. Maybe it's Paul Rudd himself... On the other hand maybe I am wrong; please post whether you think he should be removed. Stewart Bailey is in the same category as far as I am concerned. Has he been recognized for his work? Is he famous?

3. Other Jayhawks who could possibly be removed include Brian Barker (researched and found that appx. 10% of the bar in England are considered "Queen's Counsel", hardly an astounding achievement), Richard Davis, Robert Kleist and Sara Paretsky.--Pocket Rockets 06:06, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

  • As far as I'm concerned, the standard for inclusion on this list should probably be that the person has (or is worthy of) a Wikipedia article about themselves. Maybe that's too broad - but if you look at other universities' pages this seems to be pretty much the norm. I'd rather have a list a little too inclusive here than take out something useful/notable. ESkog 13:49, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Well if it were up to me I would delete at least Paul Rudd, Stewart Bailey and Brian Barker. I see what you are saying about having an article about themselves, but Bob Dotson seems to have impeccable credentials yet he does not have a Wikipedia article. On the other hand Rudd has a Wikipedia article (which I would vote to delete btw), yet has done nothing remarkable in the performance arts as yet, IMO. My position is that if we are going to say someone is a "distinguished alumnus" then we should have a damn good reason for saying so. This list has people who have earned Pulitzer prizes and Tony awards and National Book Awards, discovered planets, entertained presidents, etc. If a Jayhawk gets a callback from a sitcom, does that entitle them to be listed alongside William Inge?--Pocket Rockets 05:48, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Those all sound reasonable to me. I'm a current student and didn't know any of the three are alumni (and only had even heard of Rudd). On the other hand, Scott Bakula and Don Johnson are pretty well-known alumni among current students. Not the greatest standard, I know, but I don't really know what objective standard would work better. ESkog 07:04, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Poking around other university sites it appears we might have another option - check out List of University of Southern California people, which is a comprehensive list of "notable" alumni, faculty, and students. This would allow us to be more inclusive without feeling like we're gumming up the main page with inconsequential people. ESkog 07:08, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
  • I am not an alumni and have nothing to do with this institution. In my opinion, the criteria for a list like this should be slightly broader than just "those who have an article". It would be better if it also included those who should have an article. However if it ends up more than half "red", then that might be too broad. Editors wanting to add more than that should go back and create some articles to turn the red links blue. -Willmcw 07:11, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
  • I saw the UNC-Chapel Hill article and I thought it was just great--It has pictures of campus landmarks, school traditions, student life, etc. I wish I could contribute some of that. What would really help are photographs. I also checked out the link to USC above and it was very humbling. Still, one has to remember that USC is a much larger school, but I still can't help but think we are not doing justice to KU by this article.--Pocket Rockets 04:09, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Have digital camera, live at 6th and Lawrence, am on campus every day. There's no reason I couldn't get some good pictures for this. I'll see what I can do. ESkog | Talk 04:31, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Much as I like Bob Dole it appears from the bio here: [1] that he didn't actually graduate from KU "He attended the University of Kansas, Lawrence, entering in the fall of 1941. He received an A.B. and LL.B. from Washburn Municipal University in 1952." could anyone explain this to me? Stardust8212 23:55, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

He did not graduate from KU. A war got in the way. (ESkog)(Talk) 00:05, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
  • Alumnus does not mean graduate. See our own article on alumnus or any dictionary, e.g. American Heritage: "A male graduate or former student of a school, college, or university." Bob Dole is a former student. Ergo, he is an alumnus. He is notable. Ergo, he is a notable alumnus. Dpbsmith (talk) 00:41, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, after I wrote that I remembered reading this same thing somewhere before, and then looked it up, and then felt really dumb, and then read your comment. Oh well, maybe this time I'll remember, feeling stupid has that effect on me. Stardust8212 00:51, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
A lot of people think "alumnus" means "graduate." This came up in another university article some time ago. At the time I wasn't 100% certain myself until I looked it up. Then the issue came up in another article. Then another. Then another. So this time around I was a bit brusque. I didn't mean to make you "feel stupid." Dpbsmith (talk) 01:56, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
Not your fault, as I said, I already felt pretty dumb for mentioning it even before seeing your response. My brain is just working slower than my fingers today. Stardust8212 02:05, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
  • P. S. My sincere thanks to the people who are adding references in the alumni sections. Keep up the good work. Dpbsmith (talk) 00:45, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Can anyone verify the honorary alumni status of Donald J. Hall, Sr.? It was my understanding that KU doesn't award honorary degrees.--75.75.6.110 02:43, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

I believe Paul Rudd, star of such films as Cluesless (where he is featured in KU apparel), 40 Year Old Virgin, and Knocked Up (again, in KU apparel) is notable, and has been continuously recognized by University entities, such as the Theatre & Film Department, that he corresponds with. Additionally, Don Johnson, is not just a KU alumnus, but a donor and has had oversight in the Theatre & Film Department. 129.237.151.211 (talk) 21:18, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Notable Alumni List split from main article

Split this section from main article. Unsure how to synchronize updates via WiKUpedia clone ... by geoWIZard 24.124.112.230 24.124.112.230 (talk) 22:11, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Athletics section

Is it becoming too bloated? Can/should we summarize here and fork off into Athletics at the University of Kansas or something like that? ESkog 07:18, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

  • Actually I think the ideal solution would be to flesh out the academic side of the article; it does look a bit lopsided. I would not be opposed to an athletic-specific article though. Maybe we just need a basketball-specific article and provide a link to it in the main article under the section header and then a little sketch? Kind of like they do in the Atlantic Hurricane Season articles.--Pocket Rockets 04:09, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
  • I've split it off as I mentioned - let me know what you think. Let's see what we can do with the academic side of things here. Since I'm local, I don't really have good perspective on what's notable and what's local. ESkog | Talk 07:01, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Coming from an Oklahoma State fan you Guys have an awesome basketball team. Keep up the good recruiting so we can keep the rivalry going! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.137.72.249 (talk • contribs) 01:18, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

  • Thanks for the sentiment, but this isn't really a message board. (ESkog)(Talk) 01:20, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Translation of School Seal

We need cite what language the seal is written in, small detail, but maybe important.

[edit] Why "KU"?

I know Kentucky has UK as well, but how did the University of Kansas come to reverse its initials?

[edit] Gallery

I have added a few pictures of KU that I took last spring. Try to add more pictures. I will also take a few pictures and add them tomorrow.--Vidyashankara 03:38, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Improved Description of Medical Center

I felt the description of the Medical Center was nice, but terribly incomplete. It didn't make sense to me to mention particular degree programs (Audiology, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacology, for example) without any mention of the Med Center academic structure or the many, many other degree programs available. KUMC is comprised of 4 main schools: School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Allied Health, and School of Graduate Studies. Each school offers a wide variety of degree granting programs. I think it makes much more sense to describe this structure, rather than throwing out a random spattering of specific degrees. The degrees one may earn within each school seems implicit to me (PhD = Grad Studies, MD = Med School, BSN = School of Nursing, Audiology/Med Tech/PT = School of AH, etc...). Any thoughts? Mrmb6b02 15:27, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Adding KU specific wiki to the External Links

My name is Jarrod, and I'm with a group creating WiKUpedia, a community specific wiki with the goal to help KU students (past, present, and future) learn what life is really like at the university. I think we already have pretty solid information about student senate and student fees that aren't available anywhere else online, but I know that the project is still in very preliminary stage of what we hope it can achieve. We are in the process of forming the WiKUpedia Project student organization and any suggestions would be very welcome. Feel free to reach my on my talk page either here or at WiKUpedia.

I would love to put a link to the wiki as an additional resource for readers to look at when they are looking for information about the University of Kansas. Do you think this is an appropriate link to add to external references?

--Jarrodm (talk) 07:16, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] More on KU specific wiki/External Link deletion

AT 18:53, 12 April 2008, User:ElKevbo deleted the link to WiKUpedia, saying that Wikipedia is not a directory of links, and citing WP:EL. However, WP:EL says that linking to articles that provide relevant information that is too detailed to be included in the article is allowed. WiKUpedia provides detailed information about life at the University of Kansas and can't be included in a single Wikipedia article (thus the need for an entire site devoted to the subject).

WP:EL also says that linking to another wiki is allowed if it is stable and often-edited. WiKUpedia just received a $1,000 investment from the student media fund to support its continued existence, so the stability is not an issue. And at last count, WiKUpedia had more than 150 registered editors after only a semester of existence. There is no reason why a link to this resource containing more information shouldn't be included on this page.--JackConnor1 (talk) 06:28, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Fixed link to updated wiki. Jayhawk wikipedians, please feel free to take a look! Jarrodm (talk) 14:51, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] new template

I quickly made a new template for the University of Kansas (below). It needs a lot of work so come on and help make it better. Remember (talk) 16:21, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

v • d • e
University of Kansas
Academics
Athletics
Campus
Student life
Broadcasting
Miscellaneous
Just a few comments. I would take out the KU link next to academics since the template's title links to the same article. For athletics, I would put in a "Coaches" section. Also, are there any article here yet about traditions at KU? Here's the template that Texas Tech uses. You can take a look at it for some ideas, but you've covered most things already. Looks good! →Wordbuilder (talk) 19:22, 13 April 2008 (UTC)