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The Water Cooler,
October 2020

This month we are excited to announce a virtual fundraising event to benefit the Jayhawk Career and Student Alumni Networks, as well as KU Campus Cupboard. We hope you will join us to support these important initiatives, registration is free.

 

Building on recent issues of the Water Cooler, this month we also bring you updates and announcements about upcoming professional development and networking opportunities including webinars focused on building positivity in the work place and developing a challenge mindset.  

 

Managers and human resource professionals will find useful resources for protecting employee health, melding organizational leadership with human resources and promoting collaboration in the workforce.  

 

We feature a great job opportunity with the Lawrence Public Library, a story about a Jayhawk working on the frontlines to combat COVID-19 and a webinar that explains how storytelling can be a powerful tool for building inclusive environments.  

 

Rock Chalk.

 

Howard Graham, g’08, PhD’19

Director of the Jayhawk Career Network

News

 

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

How to build workplaces that protect employee health

John Macomber, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a veteran of the real estate industry, was studying ways to make workplaces safer for employees long before the Covid-19 crisis hit.

 

Listen to a conversation with Macomber on how to make offices safe to return to after Covid – and beyond.

 

Listen

 

PERSONAL BRANDING BLOG

How organizational leadership fits with human resources

Organizational leadership is often paired with human resources. Some see the two as different sides of the same coin while others view it as two separate disciplines. While each plays a specific role, they do overlap in certain areas.

 

Organizational leadership focuses on the overarching company strategy while human resources manage the human capital strategy. Organizational leaders help marry employee goals with organizational goals.

 

Read more

 

TRELLO

3 ways alone time can make you a more creative and collaborative team player

Collaboration is the fuel for some of civilization’s greatest achievements. Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say, and people can do truly amazing things when combining their talents.

 

But generating creative ideas sometimes works better as a solo pursuit. Taking some time away from your collaborators—even just for a couple of hours—can be empowering for you, your work, and your entire team.

 

Read more

 

FORTUNE

5 of the best tips for navigating the pandemic at work from chief HR officers

Heads of human resources have a lot to talk about these days. There’s a raging public health crisis to deal with, which has forced many companies to transition to at least a partly remote workforce.

 

There’s also a racial reckoning underway, which has brought issues of racial violence and inequities into the forefront, pushing organizations to grapple with uncomfortable topics—and, at least in some cases, take the steps needed to get to greater parity within their own ranks.

 

Read more

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virtual fundraising event to benefit the Jayhawk Career and Student Alumni Networks, as well as KU Campus Cupboard.

Compassionate Conversations

 

KANSAS ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Compassion, patience mark alumna’s approach to Navajo high court

When Tina Tsinigine was sworn in as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona, it marked the first time the tribe’s three-member high court has comprised three women.

 

Tsinigine, g’03, “didn’t really think about that” when she sought the appointment, but it seems to her entirely appropriate that the final say on legal matters for the largest American Indian territory in the United States should rest with women.

 

Read more

 

EOS

The challenges of fieldwork for LGBTQ+ geoscientists

A new survey from KU Geology reveals the unique issues that traveling for research poses for LGBTQ+ scientists.

 

There is increasing awareness of the hazards of sexual harassment and assault in the field-based sciences and a growing understanding that fieldwork is not always accessible for geoscientists with varying physical abilities or young families. However, there has not been a deliberate focus on challenges faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community in the geosciences with respect to fieldwork.

 

Learn more

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Campus Connections

 

THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

See the difference of the KU MBA

Choose the top-ranked online MBA that builds your fluency in innovative business strategies and global leadership. As a student in the country’s #31 Best Online MBA Program1, you’ll customize your coursework based on your interests, creating the foundation for the career path you choose. Our AACSB-accredited online curriculum flexes around your full-time commitments, so we’ll work with you while you keep working. With your degree, you’ll join a global network of over 25,000 KU School of Business alumni ready to help advance your career.

 

Learn more today!

1. Retrieved on August 24, 2020 from usnews.com/education/online-education/university-of-kansas-155317

Provided by our connections at the University of Kansas School of Business

 

KU COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES

Hawks to Watch: Heba Mostafa, molecular virologist

KU community members across the globe have joined forces to curb the spread of COVID-19 and provide relief to communities in need, showing the world what’s possible when Jayhawks rise to major challenges.

 

One of these Jayhawks, Heba Mostafa, who earned a doctorate in microbiology in 2014, made national and international headlines this spring for her efforts to develop quick, reliable testing for the virus — innovative work that put the research and technical skills she sharpened at KU to the test in the most consequential ways imaginable.

 

Learn more

 

KANSAS ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Literacy efforts gain added urgency amid pandemic closings

When he joined Read Charlotte in 2015 as the North Carolina nonprofit’s first executive director, Munro Richardson set a goal of doubling by 2025 the percentage of metro-area children who meet state reading standards by third grade.

 

Halfway into that decade-long effort, Richardson, c’93, has learned how tough the task is, even without the added stresses of early school closings necessitated by the global pandemic. Surprisingly, those recent developments have left him more confident than ever.

 

Read more

 

KU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Making it Personal: The Power of Storytelling for Building Inclusive Environments

Storytelling can help us accomplish both perspective taking and goal setting. We’re all more than just one dimension or one story.

 

In this recorded webinar Maria Morukian explores the value of storytelling for diversity, equity, and inclusion learning and identifies the kinds of stories one can use to foster empathy and understanding.

 

Watch

 
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Featured Job

 

KU ALUMNI JOB BOARD

Diversity Coordinator

The Lawrence Public Library is hiring! The library seeks to hire an enthusiastic and experienced Diversity Coordinator whose vision and commitment to this work will help the library achieve its stated goal of advancing equity at the library as well as in our community.

 

Apply!

Featured Jayhawk Business

 

JAYHAWK BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Lawrence Country Club

Jayhawk: Katie Gates

Location: Lawrence, KS

 

Lawrence Country Club is a proud partner of the KU Alumni Association. A private, member-owned club that provides exceptional family-oriented recreational and social activities and services.

 

Support the Lawrence Country Club and more KU businesses on the Jayhawk Business Directory.

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Events

 

Greater KC Virtual Happy Hour

Join the Kansas City Jayhawk Alumni Network for a virtual happy hour!

5 p.m. CT
Thursday, Oct. 15

 

Developing a Challenge Mindset to Reshape Your Skills, Your Work, and Your Identity

Greg Roth will weave together a rich tapestry of stories and wisdom from those who were willing to experiment and push themselves through challenges. He’ll show you how a “challenge mindset” can transform your thinking, your outlook, your approach, your effort, and ultimately your identity.

11 a.m. CDT
Tuesday, Oct. 20

 

Success is Knocking!

As we discuss self-doubt turning into self-esteem, we are not advocating just thinking positive thoughts. Positivity is a part of building a successful career, but right thoughts must turn into right actions.

11 a.m. CDT
Thursday, Nov. 12

 

Jayhawks Flock Together

Please join us for a virtual fundraising event benefitting the Jayhawk Career Network and Student Alumni Network, as well as KU Campus Cupboard. Registration is free!

7 p.m. CT
Thursday, Nov. 19

More News

Copy the Leader: Kelsey Galle

Talking leadership with Kelsey Galle, Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement at the KU Alumni Association
Read More

KU sets dates for Homecoming 2024

The University of Kansas will celebrate its 112th Homecoming Oct. 14-20, culminating in the KU
Read More

Driving with Jayhawks: Chris Teahan

Chris Teahan, d’21, and Paige Freeman discuss Chris' KU journey, including winning the 2022 Men's
Read More

Welcome to the University of Kansas Alumni Association

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: