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KU senior from Kansas City awarded full ride to University of Cambridge to pursue sustainable engineering
LAWRENCE — Elizabeth Appel, a 2020 Park Hill High School graduate and a University of Kansas senior in civil engineering, is the most recent Jayhawk to be named a Gates Cambridge scholar, bringing the university’s total number of winners to four since the program was established. The scholarship covers the full cost of studying at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
National League of Cities to kick off ‘Roadshow’ in Lawrence to celebrate organization’s 100th anniversary
LAWRENCE — In 1924, the National League of Cities (NLC) was founded at the University of Kansas. To commemorate its centennial, NLC, the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration (SPAA), the League of Kansas Municipalities and the city of Lawrence will convene at KU for a daylong celebration Feb. 29, followed by a half-day visit to the League of Kansas Municipalities in Topeka.
Poet, paleobotanist will reflect on species loss, extinction
LAWRENCE — Visiting poet Kristi Maxwell will give a reading from her latest book, “Goners,” at an upcoming event at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum. In addition to Maxwell’s poetry reading, Kelly Matsunaga, KU faculty member and assistant curator of paleobotany at the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, will offer reflections based on her research with plant species. The event will take place at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 in the museum’s Panorama in Dyche Hall.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, KU News Service, 785-864-8858, [email protected], @ebpkansas
KU senior from Kansas City awarded full ride to University of Cambridge to pursue sustainable engineering
LAWRENCE — Elizabeth Appel looks at her future in engineering as more than just capitalizing on a talent for math and science. For Appel, it’s also a way to benefit humanity using a discipline that is not necessarily people-focused.
“I think one major issue is a lack of education on infrastructure not just as a technical product, but also as a social tool,” Appel said. “The built environment shapes how people interact with one another and how they see themselves in their greater community. Public services and public spaces have great power to influence peoples’ lives for the better.”
Appel is a 2020 Park Hill High School graduate and a University of Kansas senior in civil engineering with an emphasis in environmental engineering. She is also the most recent Jayhawk to be named a Gates Cambridge scholar, bringing the university’s total number of winners to four since the program was established. The scholarship covers the full cost of studying at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Gates Cambridge scholars are chosen for their outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, a commitment to improving the lives of others and reasons for their choice of course. For Appel, that will be pursuing a Master of Philosophy degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development.
“I felt there was a gap in my understanding of how to engineer things not just for today’s problems, but for tomorrow’s problems as well,” Appel said. “That’s the main reason I pursued this Master of Philosophy program.”
In her application, Appel noted how this particular program will facilitate her goal of becoming an engineer striving to undo the damage done by decades of divisive infrastructure. Internships and experiences as a KU undergraduate exposed Appel to the societal impact of infrastructure in the region, from the South Lawrence Trafficway to urban Kansas City communities shaped and dominated by highways.
“I’ve always known you learn more from people than you do in a classroom,” Appel said. “Working with engineers, students and community advocates in the Kansas City metro has really solidified my belief in the power of engineers to do real good for the communities.”
As a KU undergraduate, Appel has pursued research that explores “ambiguous, social-focused questions” related to civil engineering. Working with Admin Husic, assistant professor of civil engineering, Appel examined the correlation between “redlined” neighborhoods as defined in the 1930s-1950s and modern urban flooding in those areas.
“Elizabeth is investigating the intersection of flooding and social vulnerability,” Husic said. “Her aim is to understand how flooding may disproportionately impact certain groups and what engineers and policymakers should do to address that inequity.”
Appel’s many leadership roles at KU include restarting the university’s competitive design-build competition Concrete Canoe and leading the team to a third-place finish in the regional competition in 2023.
At the 2022 regional competition, KU could only bring three people and no competitive teams.
“I was motivated by my urge to represent KU well on a regional level and to provide the same opportunities that other students had to my own peers,” she said. “Restarting Concrete Canoe was a lot of work, but it showed that even a team of novices can outperform established competitors. That experience taught me that even without technical expertise or experience in the subject, if one has the persistence and dedication necessary to push forward, anything is possible.”
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship program was established in 2000 by $210 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge. The first class of scholars came into residence in October 2001. Since then, the trust has awarded more than 2,000 scholarships to scholars from more than 100 countries.
Each year Gates Cambridge offers full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries outside the United Kingdom to pursue a postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. Approximately 25 awards are available in the U.S. each year.
Around the world is a community of more than 1,700 Gates Cambridge alumni, including three Jayhawks.
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Contact: Sydney Bannister, School of Public Affairs & Administration, [email protected], @KUSPAA
National League of Cities to kick off ‘Roadshow’ in Lawrence to celebrate organization’s 100th anniversary
LAWRENCE — In 1924, the National League of Cities (NLC) was founded at the University of Kansas in the original Fraser Hall. To commemorate this milestone, NLC, the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration (SPAA), the League of Kansas Municipalities and the city of Lawrence will convene at KU for a daylong celebration Feb. 29, followed by a half-day visit to the League of Kansas Municipalities in Topeka.
Lawrence will serve as the first stop in a roadshow at 100 cities across the country, culminating in November at NLC’s City Summit conference in Tampa, Florida.
“It’s an honor to kick off the National League of Cities’ Centennial Roadshow in Lawrence, Kansas, where this great organization was founded,” said Clarence Anthony, CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities. “Having the opportunity to gather at the University of Kansas allows us to reflect on NLC’s history and look ahead to the opportunities the next 100 years will bring for America’s cities, towns and villages. After beginning our roadshow in Lawrence, we’ll be traveling from coast-to-coast, visiting cities of all sizes to celebrate all that local governments and their residents have given to our country over the last century.”
National League of Cities history
In 1924, 10 state leagues were brought together by John Stutz at KU to create a new, national organization to serve as a clearinghouse for information about municipal government. Stutz is the longest-serving director for the League of Kansas Municipalities, at 35 years. In that time, Stutz became known nationwide as a local government expert and leader in the development of municipal associations. It was during his tenure as executive secretary of the League of Kansas Municipalities that Stutz also became the first executive secretary of the American Municipal Association, later renamed the National League of Cities in 1964.
Over the next 100 years, the nonpartisan National League of Cities has grown in size and influence, serving as a resource for mayors, city council members and municipal government staff, providing them with research and technical expertise.
The National League of Cities, now based in Washington, D.C., serves as a advocate for the nation’s cities, towns and villages in the nation’s capital and has played a historic role in shaping some of the country’s most significant pieces of public policy. Among these are the passage of the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. As a testament to the organization, presidents of the National League of Cities have gone on to become governors, members of Congress, senators and cabinet secretaries.
Hosted by champions of excellence in public service
In addition to celebrating the rich and impactful history of NLC’s 100 years, this visit has also provided an opportunity for the three hosting organizations to reflect on their own roles in shaping local government and public service in Kansas and across the country.
“Kansas played a significant role in the National League of Cities’ founding, with our own John Stutz leading the organization in its early years. Like NLC, the League of Kansas Municipalities has always prioritized serving our members by listening well and responding to local needs,” said Nathan Eberline, executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities. “Today, as cities face challenges like infrastructure renewal, affordable housing and other critical issues, NLC remains an invaluable resource — connecting local leaders and amplifying their voices on the national stage,”
Before the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration was formally established, the Master of Public Administration program drew prospective public servants from across the country. The program will celebrate its 75th anniversary in Tampa at the International City/County Manager Association Annual Conference in fall 2025. Further, the KU Master of Urban Planning program celebrates 50 years of educating planners for careers in sustainability, transportation, housing, community building, environmental conservation, governance, nonprofits, advocacy and more.
This celebration will include a new addition to the KU SPAA community, School Director Maja Husar Holmes, who arrived in Lawrence in January 2024.
“The centennial celebration of the founding of National Leagues of Cities in Lawrence highlights the deep commitment of the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration to its No. 1 ranking in local government management,” Holmes said.
For more than two decades, the KU MPA program has held the top spot in local government management as reported by U.S. News & World Report, highlighting KU and the city of Lawrence as inherent focal points for public service and the origins of local government excellence and resiliency.
“I am thrilled to welcome all to the birthplace of the National League of Cities as we joyously commemorate its 100th anniversary, a testament to the enduring spirit of community and collaboration that defines our nation’s municipalities,” said Bart Littlejohn, mayor of Lawrence.
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Contact: Emily Ryan, The Commons, 785-864-6293, [email protected], @TheCommonsKU
Poet, paleobotanist will reflect on species loss, extinction
LAWRENCE — Visiting poet Kristi Maxwell will give a reading from her latest book, “Goners,” at an upcoming event at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum.
In addition to Maxwell’s poetry offering, Kelly Matsunaga, Thomas N. Taylor Assistant Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and assistant curator of paleobotany at the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, will offer reflections based on her research with plant species. The event will take place at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 in the museum’s Panorama in Dyche Hall.
In her eighth book of poetry, published in 2023 by Green Linden Press, Maxwell makes use of the lipogram, an ancient form in which certain letters are excluded from the available alphabet to convey the experience of loss. The book, which centers endangered species, serves to question the common practice of elegizing as it examines the role that anthropocentrism plays in ongoing extinction, according to the publisher.
Her work entangles human-generated modes and events — such as language and erasure; imperialism and extinction — to examine ways in which humans have had a profound and damaging effect on the planet and our ways of understanding it.
“Kristi Maxwell’s new book, ‘Goners,’ considers both the facts about our current moment of mass species extinction and the difficult feelings that arise as we reckon with that devastation,” said Megan Kaminski, professor of English and environmental studies. “This interdisciplinary event will provide both conversations and a community space where we can grapple with questions of environmental stewardship and openings into the care we might provide for our fellow earth inhabitants.”
An associate professor of English at the University of Louisville, Maxwell has a doctorate in literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Arizona.
“We find ourselves in a unique place here at KU, being able to consider extinction — a phenomenon that holds such gravity in the collective understanding — from multiple forms of research,” said Emily Ryan, director of The Commons. “In our midst, we have scientists whose work gives us a completely different way of understanding extinction — as an inevitable part of evolutionary processes and as something that offers us clues to understanding the world more fully. To host Matsunaga in the same space as Maxwell promises a truly dynamic way of thinking about humans’ role in all of this as individuals and as a species.”
The event is supported by the Department of English, the Environmental Studies Program, The Commons and the Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum. Copies of the book will be for sale from Raven Book Store.
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