Points of Distinction

The new "Review of 50 Public University Honors Programs" ranks KU No. 6 in its category of 13 schools. KU ranks in the top 10 in five areas in the study.

It was No. 2 among all schools for benefits to student participants, including study abroad, housing, and priority registration. It ranked No. 5 for "excellence ipact." It is No. 6 in the attainment of presitigious scholarships, especially the Rhodes and Goldwater awards.

KU has had 26 Rhodes scholars, more than all other Kansas institutions combined. It has had 53 Goldwater scholars.

Other public institutions in KU's category included Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Pitt, Texas-Austin, and Virginia.Texas is the only other Big 12 school included in the study.

"The honors staff at KU has a notably strong commitment to its advocacy role on behalf of honors students and programs," the study noted.

Princeton Review has again ranked KU in its The Best 377 Colleges: 2013 Edition and in its Best Western Colleges and Best Value Colleges categories.

KU's University Daily Kansan ranked No. 6 on Princeton Review's Best College Newspapers list, and KJHK-FM was No. 16 on the Best College Radio Station ranking. Among Jock Schools, KU placed No. 12.

The freshman class of 2012 has a collective ACT score of 25.1, the highest in KU's history and an increase over the record-setting 24.9 average of the two preceding years.

This is the first time an incoming class has had a collective ACT average above 25.

It is also the most diverse class in KU history, 21.3 percent being minority students.

The freshman class numbers 3,771, an increase of 5.3 percent over 2011. Total KU enrollment is 27,939. The School of Engineering enrollment increased by 22 percent as its freshman class expanded to meet the state's need for more engineers. The School of Nursing enrollment increased by 9.3 percent and the School of Pharmacy by 6.7 percent.

The School of Business experienced a 141 percent increase in its freshman class because it admitted more freshmen directly.

Joe Lutkenhaus, a Distinguished Professor of microbiology, molecular genetics and immunology at the KU Medical Center, has been named one of three winners of the 2012 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize by Columbia University in recognition of his work to understand the intricate, dynamic, and three-dimensional organization of bacterial cells.

Lutkenhaus shares the prize with Richard M. Losick of Harvard University and Lucy Shapiro of the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Established in 1967, the Horwitz Prize is Columbia University's top honor for achievement in biological and biochemistry research, and is widely considered a precursor to the Nobel Prize.

Mother Earth News includes Lawrence in its 2012 list of "8 Great Places You've (Maybe) Never Heard Of," all setting a high standard for livability, sustainability, and civic pride.

The magazine praises the town's sense of Civil War history, the rich cultural opportunities available at KU and Haskell Indian Nations University, and the appreciation of local food and farmers markets. The newhydroelectric power plant scheduled to open in late 2012 at Bowersock Dam was also noted.

The other cities on the list: Golden, Colo.; Dover, N.H.; Charleston, S.C.; Port Townsend, Wash.; Red Lodge, Mont.; Hilo, Hawaii; and Denton, Texas.

The American Institute for Economic Research 2012 College Destinations Index ranks Lawrence No. 8 in the top 75 U.S. towns and cities for college students. 

Manhattan, home of Kansas State University, was ranked No. 14.

Criteria included the concentration and diversity of college students, cost of living, arts and leisure venues, employment opportunities, and entrepreneurial activity.

KU student Kelsey Murrell, an English literature and creative writing major, has become the 26th KU student to win a prestigious Rhodes scholarship.

She will receive funding to attend the University of Oxford for one or two years, where she will pursue graduate degrees in migration studies and refugee and forced migration studies.

Murrell will graduate from the University Honors Program and with highest distinction from KU in May 2012.

KU faculty ranked second nationwide in 2011-12 for the number of prestigious Fulbright awards they received, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Nine KU faculty members received the awards, which enable recipients to teach and conduct research overseas for a year.

Juan Manuel Santos, president of the Republic of Colombia and 1973 University of Kansas graduate in economics and business, received the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the KU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, in a campus visit Sept. 24, 2012.

Other events during his visit included meetings with students and a conversation at the Dole Institute of Politics led by institute director Bill Lacy.

Before his election in 2010, Santos, 58, served three years as defense minister and two years as finanace minister.