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KU, FBI cybersecurity conference April 4 to include keynote from FBI Director Christopher Wray
LAWRENCE — Members of the University of Kansas community and the public are invited to attend an upcoming cybersecurity conference April 4 that will bring together experts in the field from industry and research. Speakers will include FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran. The event is $25 and is open to the public, but registration is required. Members of the media wanting to cover the conference need to contact Bridget Patton, FBI public affairs specialist, at 816-512-8200 or by email for credentials.
2024 KU First Nations Student Association (FNSA) Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival set for April 13
LAWRENCE — For decades, the University of Kansas First Nations Student Association (FNSA) has hosted the Annual KU FNSA Powwow. The event celebrates the diversity of cultures in the community through dancing, singing and honoring the traditions of Indigenous ancestors. The 2024 FNSA Powwow & Indigenous Cultures Festival will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 13 inside and outside the Lied Center of Kansas.
Study finds media coverage focused on Katherine Johnson’s achievements, treated discrimination as past problem
LAWRENCE — The 2016 film “Hidden Figures” told Katherine Johnson’s story as a brilliant mathematician, a trailblazer who overcame racism and sexism to succeed at NASA in the 1950s and ’60s. That monumental career was again examined in the media following her death in 2020. A new study from the University of Kansas analyzed newspaper coverage of Johnson’s death, finding that media focused on her achievements first but also tended to depict the race- and gender-based discrimination she faced as a problem of the past.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, KU News Service, 785-864-8858, [email protected], @ebpkansas
KU, FBI cybersecurity conference April 4 to include keynote from FBI Director Christopher Wray
LAWRENCE — Members of the University of Kansas community and the public are invited to attend an upcoming cybersecurity conference that will bring together experts in the field from industry and research.
The FBI & KU Cybersecurity Conference: Bridging the Knowledge of Government, Industry Workforce and Research is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 4 at the Kansas Union on KU’s Lawrence campus.
The event is $25 and is open to the public, but registration is required to attend. Members of the media wanting to cover the conference need to contact Bridget Patton, FBI public affairs specialist, at 816-512-8200 or by email for credentials.
Chancellor Douglas A. Girod said that as cybersecurity continues to pose a serious threat to the economy and national security, KU can help address this challenge.
“We are educating the next generation of cybersecurity-minded leaders and continuing our cutting-edge research and tech development in cybersecurity-related fields,” Girod said. “KU has the infrastructure and talent to be a national leader in this space, and this conference is a great way to help us fulfill that role.”
Christopher Wray, FBI director, will be the first keynote speaker at 8:35 a.m.
Conference highlights include:
Keynotes from Wray and Stevan Bernard, chief executive officer for Bernard Global LLC.
Featured speaker U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran.
Remarks from university and FBI leaders.
Top KU researchers discussing the latest research on cybersecurity, including such topics as resiliency, trust and disinformation.
Panel of industry and government stakeholders on best practices and potential threats/attacks.
Breakout sessions on topics like Snake malware and skills for the cybersecurity professional.
Student poster presentations highlighting current KU research.
Additional information is available at the conference website.
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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”
a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.
https://kansaspublicradio.org/podcast/when-experts-attack
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Contact: Melissa Peterson, University Academic Support Centers, 785-864-7267, [email protected]; Laura Kingston, [email protected]
2024 KU First Nations Student Association (FNSA) Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival set for April 13
LAWRENCE — For decades, the University of Kansas First Nations Student Association (FNSA) has hosted the Annual KU FNSA Powwow. The event celebrates the diversity of cultures in the community through dancing, singing and honoring the traditions of Indigenous ancestors.
This legacy of enriching the local community through Native American traditions and cultural heritage expanded in 2017 with the establishment of the Indigenous Cultures Festival (ICF) through a partnership between FNSA and the Lied Center of Kansas.
The 2024 FNSA Powwow & Indigenous Cultures Festival will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 13 inside and outside the Lied Center of Kansas.
New this year, through KU’s commitment to supporting this long-standing community event that brings all people together for a day of celebration, the powwow will take place on the KU Powwow Grounds at the Lied Center. The committee thanks the KU Operations Team and outgoing Vice Provost Mike Rounds and the Office of the Provost for their dedication and support.
This daylong, family-friendly event will welcome the KU, Lawrence and surrounding communities to participate, share experiences, make connections and learn more about the traditions, culture, history and contemporary topics relating to the Indigenous peoples of North America.
The day includes interactive experiences and educational workshops focused on Indigenous cultures and history, including:
Powwow 101 Presentations by Jancita Warrington (Menominee, Potawatomi, and Ho-Chunk Nations)
Native Screenwriters Panel featuring Miciana Alise (Tlingit)
Native Fashion Panel featuring Dr. Jessica Metcalfe (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
Power of Native Theatre featuring Honolulu Theatre for Youth
Ishtaboli (Choctaw Stickball) Interactive Presentation featuring Ron McKinney (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) and the Haskell Stickball Club
Pine Needle Basket Weaving Workshop featuring Amy June Breesman (Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma)
Unveiling of Murals by Navajo/Creek/Yuchi/Seminole artist Steven Grounds
Activities offered during the 2024 KU FNSA Powwow & Indigenous Cultures Festival will be held inside the Lied Center. Attendees planning on staying throughout the powwow are encouraged to bring lawn chairs; available seating will be limited.
Regional Native American artists and artisans will have items for sale in accordance with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990. Leading the food vendors is longtime vendor Peaches’ Frybread and popular local vendor Monteau’s Indian Tacos. Additional Indigenous-inspired food will be available for purchase throughout the day. During the event, only adult-size T-shirts will be for sale.
All activities on April 13 are free and open to the public. It is recommended guests bring cash to purchase from vendors and lawn chairs for enjoying the powwow. For full and up-to-date details on the Annual FNSA Powwow & Indigenous Cultures Festival, please visit the powwow website or connect with the Facebook event.
For more information, contact Laura Kingston by email.
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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings
Study finds media coverage focused on Katherine Johnson’s achievements, treated discrimination as past problem
LAWRENCE — Without Katherine Johnson, NASA would not have landed a man on the moon.
The 2016 film “Hidden Figures” told Johnson’s story as a brilliant mathematician, a trailblazer who overcame racism and sexism to succeed at NASA in the 1950s and ‘60s. That monumental career was again examined in the media following her death in 2020.
A new study from the University of Kansas analyzed news coverage of Johnson’s death, finding that coverage focused on her achievements first but also tended to depict the race- and gender-based discrimination she faced as a problem of the past.
Steve Bien-Aimé, assistant professor of journalism & mass communications at KU, analyzed 42 news items and opinion pieces following Johnson’s death to determine how her life and career were presented in newspapers.
“To be one of the premier mathematicians sending people to the moon means you are really good,” Bien-Aimé said. “I wanted to know are they talking about that, or that she was a rarity as a Black female NASA mathematician, or that she was a pioneer? Overall, journalists did a pretty good job of presenting her as a brilliant mathematician first.”
Coverage focused first on Johnson as a person. She was at the top of her field, and her expertise was vital to one of the foremost scientific achievements, it noted. Coverage mentioned that she overcame severe racial and gender discrimination.
However, newspapers tended to treat racism and sexism as though they were issues of the past, not problems still facing society today, according to the KU study. Coverage also did not examine why structural racism and sexism were and continue to be problems or who benefits from them.
“Katherine Johnson’s time in science butted right up against Jim Crow and the civil rights era. Some of her most notable NASA work came about a decade after Brown v. Board, but it’s not like a court decision made all discrimination go away,” Bien-Aimé said. “There was not a name put on who did it, or why such discrimination existed. When you avoid that, you also avoid examining how or why structural inequities are built and maintained.”
Coverage of Johnson’s death and career was good at using person-first language, or the fact that first and foremost she was a brilliant mathematician. And while it noted there was underrepresentation of women in the sciences during her career, coverage also lacked citation of other women in discussing her work and legacy, the KU study found. Fewer than half of the news items quoted women who were not Johnson, and many of those that did quoted Margot Lee Shetterly, whose book was the basis for the film “Hidden Figures.”
“The coverage showed she was great at what she did. If you say she was a great Black woman mathematician, you are putting qualifications on how good of a mathematician she was,” Bien-Aimé said. “She was a brilliant mathematician, and those other identities are important, but we should treat her the same as others. She was noteworthy because they don’t go to the moon without her.”
The research, published in the Journal of Black Studies, notes that coverage of Johnson’s death can serve as an example of hegemony, or reinforcing the status quo in that people can assume why the type of discrimination she faced existed. However, that can amount to disavowal, or not addressing difficult topics because the writer or those in today’s society feel they did not cause the issue, Bien-Aimé said. It also presented a missed opportunity to discuss issues such as disparities of women and people of color in STEM fields today.
Such presentations of notable figures are important not only for how they discuss one person and their experiences, but for what they can tell us about current society and journalism, according to Bien-Aimé. He also said that how journalists portray individuals such as Johnson is important because of the shrinking media landscape and how their voices are amplified, whether their coverage is positive, negative or ambivalent.
“Journalists have a tough job, and having to produce more and more content all the time, it is hard to produce more robust stories,” Bien-Aimé said. “But we have to know if we are able to look at these situations and ask, ‘Why is it rare? What makes this a novel event?’”
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Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]
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