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KU debaters take 3rd place at major national tournament
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Debate team of sophomores John Marshall, Lawrence, and Jiyoon Park, Topeka, took third place in a major national debate tournament Sept. 30-Oct. 2 hosted by the University of Kentucky. The pair lost a close 2-1 split decision to Georgetown University in the semifinals of the J.W. Patterson Debate Tournament. Three additional KU teams qualified for the elimination round bracket with 4-2 records in the preliminary rounds, including debaters from Bucyrus, Lawrence, Pittsburg and Shawnee.
Students invited to KU Engineering High School Design Competition
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Engineering will host its annual STEM competition — High School Design: Race to Innovate — set to take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 25. Beyond engineering, competitions incorporate tasks related to geometry, mathematics, physics, entrepreneurship, design, budget, project management and presentation skills. The deadline to register for individuals or teams has been extended to Oct. 17.
KPR’s fall membership drive raises $300K but falls short of goal
LAWRENCE — Almost 1,500 people helped Kansas Public Radio raise just over $300,000 during its fall membership drive. However, KPR fell short of its $330,000 goal. After eight days of on-air fundraising, Fall Fanfare 2023 concluded with pledges from 1,488 listener-members. The membership drive began Sept. 22 with more than $228,000 raised through a direct-mail campaign and from monthly donors.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Scott Harris, KU Debate, 785-864-9878, [email protected], @KansasDebate
KU debaters take 3rd place at major national tournament
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Debate team of sophomores John Marshall, Lawrence, and Jiyoon Park, Topeka, took third place in a major national debate tournament Sept. 30-Oct. 2 hosted by the University of Kentucky. The pair lost a close 2-1 split decision to Georgetown University in the semifinals of the J.W. Patterson Debate Tournament. California State University, Long Beach, defeated Georgetown in the finals to win the tournament. The Long Beach Forensics program is directed by KU alumnus and former KU assistant coach Michael Eisenstadt.
Marshall and Park qualified for the 32-team single-elimination rounds as the 22nd seed by winning four of six debates in the preliminary rounds over two days of competition. In the preliminary rounds they defeated teams from the University of Michigan, Samford University, the University of Iowa and Wake Forest University. In the elimination rounds they defeated the 11 seed from Michigan, the 6 seed from Emory University and the 14 seed from the University of Wyoming to advance to the semifinal debate against the 2 seed from Georgetown.
Three additional KU teams qualified for the elimination round bracket with 4-2 records in the preliminary rounds. KU and Wake Forest were the only schools to have four teams advance to the elimination rounds.
The team of seniors Graham Revare, Shawnee, and Will Soper, Bucyrus, collected wins over Michigan State University, Wichita State University and two teams from the University of Minnesota and reached the elimination rounds as the 15th seed. They were knocked out of the tournament in the single-elimination rounds by George Mason University. Revare was the 16th-place individual speaker at the tournament, and Soper was 24th.
The team of junior Jacob Wilkus, Lawrence, and freshman Owen Williams, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, advanced to the elimination rounds as the 25th seed with wins over Wake Forest, Northwestern University and two teams from Michigan State. They lost to the 8 seed from Kentucky in the single elimination bracket.
The team of juniors Ethan Harris, Lawrence, and Jared Spiers, Pittsburg, notched wins over Wake Forest, the University of Georgia and two teams from Cornell College to advance to the elimination bracket as the 26th seed. They were knocked out of the tournament by the seventh seed from Dartmouth College.
“What I am most proud of is how the debaters all showed out for their teammates even after they were out of the tournament,” said Alaina Walberg, assistant coach. “The support John and Jiyoon had from the rest of the team during elimination rounds was just awesome to see and I think really speaks to the KU debate motto, ‘No one is done debating until everyone is done debating.’”
Scott Harris, the David B. Pittaway Director of Debate, said, “We are really proud of all of our teams that competed this weekend and grateful for the hard work of the assistant coaches that put them in a position to be successful.”
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Contact: Cody Howard, School of Engineering, 785-864-2936, [email protected], @kuengineering
Students invited to KU Engineering High School Design Competition
LAWRENCE — High school students, start your engines! The future of engineering is revving to race as the University of Kansas School of Engineering hosts its annual STEM competition — High School Design: Race to Innovate — set to take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 25.
The deadline to register for individuals or teams has been extended to Oct. 17. Winning teams across the six disciplines will be awarded scholarships to pursue their degrees as Jayhawks.
The High School Design Engineering Competition is a cornerstone of KU’s commitment to promoting science, technology, engineering and math education and nurturing the next generation of engineers, inventors and innovators.
While the competition is for high school students, it is also an opportunity to learn about high-stakes, large-scale project management for undergraduate students in the Self Engineering Leadership Fellows (SELF) Program. These fellows plan and execute this student-led recruitment event, spending months collaborating with industry professionals and consulting with top academics to launch an inspiring introduction to the real world of engineering.
Participants will be tasked with tackling real-world engineering challenges related to speed and innovation. Beyond engineering, competitions incorporate tasks related to geometry, mathematics, physics, entrepreneurship, design, budget, project management and presentation skills. The computer science challenge also includes an onsite hack-a-thon.
Highlights include:
1. Teams will showcase their engineering solutions, which address pressing medical, industrial and environmental concerns ranging from efficient dialysis solutions to heat transfer technology developments.
2. A panel of industry experts will evaluate the projects, providing valuable feedback and insights.
3. Students, educators, parents and college advisers are welcome to meet with industry sponsors, current KU faculty and SELF Fellows to learn more about the engineering field.
SELF Program Director Corey Behrens said the event offers a great chance to learn more about the field of engineering.
“High School Design is an incredible opportunity for prospective engineers seeking to solve real-world problems,” Behrens said. “I’m so proud of the SELF Fellows and thankful for all the industry partners lending their support for the future leaders of industry and technology.”
The competition is made possible through the support of sponsors including Microsoft, ScriptPro, Burns & McDonnell, HNTB, Garmin and Argus Consulting.
For more information, please visit the competition website or contact Education Program Coordinator Stephanie Ruppen at [email protected] or 785-864-7683.
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Contact: Joanna Fewins, Kansas Public Radio, 785-864-2468, [email protected], @kprnews
KPR’s fall membership drive raises $300K but falls short of goal
LAWRENCE — Almost 1,500 people helped Kansas Public Radio raise just over $300,000 during its fall membership drive. However, KPR fell short of its $330,000 goal.
After eight days of on-air fundraising, KPR ended its fall membership drive with $300,511 in pledges. As of Sept. 29, Fall Fanfare 2023 concluded with pledges from 1,488 listener-members.
The membership drive began Sept. 22 with more than $228,000 raised through a direct-mail campaign and from monthly donors. By the campaign’s end, almost $73,000 was raised on air by pledges from new and renewing members.
“We faced a few obstacles in this drive,” said Feloniz Lovato-Winston, KPR director. “There was beautiful weather as well as a couple of high-profile football games while we were fundraising. There was a lot more competition for listeners’ attention. We’ll look for alternative ways rather than on-air pledging to make up the shortfall. If listeners who haven’t pledged yet give at a level that works for them right now, we can easily meet our goal.”
The majority of KPR’s funding comes from individuals who contribute to the station in order to ensure it is properly resourced to serve the listening community. Of the total raised, more than half can be attributed to KPR Sustainers, or those who give monthly on an ongoing basis.
All donations during membership drives directly support KPR’s local and national programming, including news and talk shows from NPR, locally hosted music shows like classical music, “Trail Mix” and the “Retro Cocktail Hour,” and all of the equipment and technology that make programs on KPR possible.
The overall total does not include challenge grants, in which a company, foundation or individual will donate money if KPR can raise a certain level of funding during a specific time period. Almost $55,000 was raised through challenge grants.
Even though the on-air portion of the drive is over, listeners can donate anytime at the KPR website.
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