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August 2020
For over a year now, we’ve been compiling career resources, news and info while also highlighting some of the Jayhawks who really rock their 9-to-5. The Water Cooler is a monthly email newsletter for alumni, students and friends of the University. If you’re interested, be sure to subscribe here.
In May, against the background of COVID-19, we celebrated graduation and the arrival of summer. Now in August, we prepare for fall along with the return to school still amidst the uncertainties of the pandemic.
This issue of the Water Cooler features articles and stories that highlight the roles school and continuing education play in our personal and professional lives. Read about the importance of professional development and how COVID-19 is shaping the fall semester at KU.
We continue our commitment to bringing you important articles about diversity and equity, share the story of how an MBA student has benefitted from KU Mentoring and describe how alumni and corporate partners can help recent graduates and current students through the new Bridges program. All of this month’s pieces highlight a constant in our ever changing world, Jayhawks always Flock Together.
Rock Chalk.
Howard Graham, g’08, PhD’19
Director of the Jayhawk Career Network
Bridges is KU’s marketplace for connecting students and recent grads to real-world, experiential projects that benefit your business.
The Bridges marketplace is fueled by individuals like you – fellow alumni, families, and businesses. In minutes, you can create short-term, virtual projects for students and alumni to help them launch their careers.
Need a logo created? Bridges can help.
Need a social media campaign created? Bridges can help.
Need data analyzed? Bridges can help.
As a Jayhawk, you have exclusive access to a range of online learning tools.
Upcoming webinars explore how to be resilient when facing adversity, as well as the power of storytelling for building inclusive environments, and how to embrace your authentic self to stand out and thrive.
Next month bestselling author of “Switch” and “Made to Stick”, Dan Heath, will share insights on how to solve problems before they happen based on his newest book “Upstream”.
You don’t have to wait for a new year, a birthday, or a new job opportunity to reinvigorate your career.
You can make “New Years’ resolutions” whenever you want—halfway through the year, or at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday. You can make today the beginning of the year where you dedicate yourself to your career.
Former Google Maps and Google Earth exec Brian McClendon has launched a symptom-checking app aimed at helping communities contain COVID-19.
To open campus buildings safely, the KU worked with a nonprofit called CVKey Project to pilot a symptom-checking app among a small group of staff that needed to access research archives and laboratories. The app reviews symptoms and either clears users to go into school or directs them to stay home and contact a health professional for further guidance. Now, KU is preparing to roll out the CVKey app to its student population of nearly 30,000 for entry into 266 buildings across campus.
One of the most difficult professional transitions anyone can make is becoming the boss, advancing from team member to supervisor or manager, especially if you become the boss of your former peers. But a big transition doesn’t have to mean a trial by fire.
With guidance on a few key elements of successful leadership, and a willingness to keep growing and improving, you can take on your new responsibilities with confidence. All leaders and managers should hone their skills and grow in areas with room for improvement.
New ideas about diversity and inclusion have developed, shifting the focus towards enriching human learning and experience, so-called ‘unity in diversity.’
When it comes to education, ‘unity in diversity’ in the classroom doesn’t seem a farfetched idea anymore for any globally minded teacher. This can be accomplished by either having technology that connects students with foreign knowledge and cultures or by having an international student body to make the learning environment multicultural and diverse.
Recently, the United States Supreme Court deemed it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees for sexual orientation or transgender status.
In this episode, Kyle Velte, associate professor of law, explains why the SCOTUS ruling is a “landmark case that will transform the American workplace.” She also recounts her own experiences at the Supreme Court and tells us how the highest court in the land conducts its business in the age of COVID-19.
I’m sorry. It was not supposed to be this way. It’s okay to mourn the loss of what you thought this season would look like. Whether you walk through the Campanile and down the Hill in May or not, you are not walking away empty handed. You are walking away with incredible mentors who saw a light in you from the beginning. You are walking away with a joy that comes from finally finding your voice, confidence and inner peace with who you are.
Your walk may look different, but it is not bad.
Recent graduate, Brianna Mears, j’20, reflects on the abrupt end of her senior year by writing to her freshman-self.
In a typical year, Laura Diede and her 10-person staff help 150 instructors create videos, record lectures and find other ways to put class lessons online.
After KU announced in March it would transition all classes to remote-learning formats to protect students, faculty and staff from COVID-19, “It’s basically everyone who needs to do it,” says Diede, c’03, g’09, director of the Center for Online and Distance Learning (CODL). “So we’re helping everyone. It’s an explosion.”
This session will share research on how issues of diversity and inclusiveness impact our workforce, workplace relationships, organizational productivity, and employee satisfaction and dignity.
11 a.m. CT
Thursday, Aug. 20
While preparing to deploy with the U.S. Army, Marcus suffered a severe spinal injury that left him paralyzed. After dying on the operating table twice, the surgeons saved his life, but told him he’d never walk again. In his webinar Marcus will talk about mental resilience, unconditional gratitude and ways to adapt to events outside your control, apply the Adversity Scale and find opportunity in any Adversity.
12 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Aug. 26
Join fellow KU Alumni for a virtual happy hour. Meet other Jayhawks from the Chicago area!
6 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Aug. 26
Join fellow KU Alumni for a virtual happy hour. Meet other Jayhawks from the Dallas area!
6 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Aug. 27
Bestselling author Dan Heath reveals how some leaders have learned to spot problems in advance: a school district that can predict which students will drop out — 4 years before graduation. An internet service company that can predict which customers are likely to cancel their subscriptions — as early as two weeks after they sign up! When we shift from downstream response to upstream planning, it can cause miracles.
12 p.m. ET
Thursday, Sept. 10
We build lifelong relationships that strengthen the University of Kansas and the legacy of excellence embodied by its students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends.
Jayhawk Welcome Center at Adams Alumni Center
1266 Oread Ave., Lawrence, KS 66045
kualumni@kualumni.org | 800.584.2957
Your membership in the KU Alumni Association is the single most powerful way to make all of KU stronger, including the value of your own degree. Through your membership, the Association:
