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KU, United WE partnership to release gender parity data for Kansas municipal boards and commissions
LAWRENCE — Researchers from the University of Kansas Institute for Leadership Studies will release a white paper this week outlining the gender makeup of municipal boards and commissions across the state of Kansas. The report was commissioned by United WE through the Appointments Project and Ready to Run Kansas Women’s Leadership Series partnership. The report shows that Kansas women are underrepresented on civic boards and commissions, especially on “power boards” that have direct influence on policymaking and financial resource allocation such as planning and zoning boards.
Science reporter, producer Kendra Pierre-Louis to speak in ‘All We Can Save’ series
LAWRENCE – The collaborative University of Kansas virtual series inspired by contributors to the book “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis” will return for a second event this spring. Journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis, a senior science reporter at Gimlet Media and podcast producer, will join an online KU event at 11 a.m. March 29.
University Dance Company Spring Concert set for March 25-27
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas students will showcase the artistry and energy of the Department of Theatre & Dance at the University Dance Company Spring Concert, with performances March 25-27 in Murphy Hall’s Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Two performances will be available to watch via livestream. Kansas cast members include students from Hesston, Independence, Overland Park, Shawnee and Spring Hill.
2021 Woodyard Award recognizes Kapila Silva for international work
LAWRENCE — Kapila Silva, professor of architecture at the University of Kansas, is the recipient of the 2021 George and Eleanor Woodyard International Educator Award. Silva will give a talk on what it means to be an international educator at the award presentation and reception, which will take place April 28. The award selection committee was impressed with Silva’s creation of an Asian-focused study abroad program, the introduction of courses that included non-Western perspectives and his mentorship of international students and those doing research with an international context.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Emily Vietti, Institute for Leadership Studies, [email protected]
KU, United WE partnership to release gender parity data for Kansas municipal boards and commissions
LAWRENCE — Researchers Mary Banwart and Emily Vietti from the University of Kansas Institute for Leadership Studies will release a white paper this week outlining the gender makeup of municipal boards and commissions across the state of Kansas. The report was commissioned by United WE through the Appointments Project and Ready to Run Kansas Women’s Leadership Series partnership.
The report shows that Kansas women are underrepresented on civic boards and commissions, especially on “power boards” that have direct influence on policymaking and financial resource allocation such as planning and zoning boards. Of the six most common civic boards and commissions, Kansas women have achieved gender parity on only two: library boards and housing boards, regardless of community size. While women hold more than two-thirds of the seats on library boards across Kansas, they hold only about one-quarter of the seats on planning and zoning boards.
“This report is a first look at representation on Kansas municipal boards and commissions,” said Emily Vietti, co-author and partnership director for the Appointments Project and Ready to Run Kansas Women’s Leadership Series. “While Kansas women are well represented in some instances, we see that Kansas communities have some work to do. Increased transparency and accessibility of information about the appointments process will be necessary to move our state toward gender parity on municipal boards and commissions.”
The findings of the report, which will be available March 23 at womenlead.ku.edu, will be discussed during the Research and Representation program at noon March 23. The program will include a research presentation and a follow-up panel discussion about municipal board/commission appointments with Jade Piros de Carvalho, mayor of Hutchinson, and Erik Sartorius, executive director at the Kansas League of Municipalities. The program will be on Zoom, and registration is open.
“To achieve gender parity on boards and commissions, women need access to information about how to be appointed to these positions,” said Banwart, director of the Institute for Leadership Studies at KU. “Too often we found unnecessary barriers such as incomplete or hard-to-find information on websites or opaque appointment processes. If we hope to kick open these glass doors and then hold them open for other women to come through, civic leaders need to understand the ways in which they can make their boards and commissions more accessible. Gathering and sharing this data opens that conversation and provides an opportunity for Kansas municipalities to examine how their appointments processes could get more equitable.”
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Contact: Emily Ryan, The Commons, 785-864-6293, [email protected], @TheCommonsKU
Science reporter, producer Kendra Pierre-Louis to speak in ‘All We Can Save’ series
LAWRENCE – The collaborative University of Kansas virtual series inspired by contributors to the book “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis” will return for a second event this spring. Climate reporter and journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis will be in conversation with A.D. Boynton II for an event at 11 a.m. March 29.
Pierre-Louis is a senior science reporter at Gimlet Media and produces podcasts such as “How to Save a Planet,” a popular series that explores a range of diverse topics to help unpack complex questions around climate change. Pierre-Louis is driven by revealing connections and relationships between humans and the environment, promoting ways in which these relationships can be strengthened. In her work, she is committed to addressing the problems as well as identifying possible solutions to aid in understanding and reversing the effects of climate change. Her 2012 book “Green Washed: Why We Can’t Buy Our Way to a Green Planet” targets a central question about the role of consumerism in exacerbating the impacts of climate change.
In her contribution to the text “All We Can Save,” titled “Wakanda Doesn’t Have Suburbs,” Pierre-Louis asks readers to imagine a world framed differently from the one they currently know. Invoking popular works of fantasy and science fiction, she argues for the power of stories in lived experiences and human capacity to create realities, saying, “The stories that we tell about ourselves and our place in the world are raw materials from which we build our existence.”
Pierre-Louis will offer a presentation, followed by conversation with Boynton, KU doctoral candidate in English, writer and teacher. Afterward, attendees will have a chance to ask further questions.
This series is led by The Commons, with support from the Environmental Studies Program; the Indigenous Studies Program; the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction; the KU departments of African & African-American Studies, English, Geography & Atmospheric Science, and Geology; the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity; the KU Sawyer Seminar; the Office of Multicultural Affairs; the Global Awareness Program; the Health Humanities & Arts Research Collaborative and the University Honors Program.
All events in this series are free and open to the public. Link to Zoom registration for March 29.
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Contact: Lisa Coble-Krings, Department of Theatre & Dance, 785-864-5685, [email protected], @KUTheatre, @KUDanceDept
University Dance Company Spring Concert set for March 25-27
LAWRENCE — After eight weeks of rehearsal, dancers in the University of Kansas Dance Company are eager to perform at the Spring Concert March 25-27. Students working alongside professional choreographers will showcase the artistry and energy of the Department of Theatre & Dance at this repertoire concert, staged in Murphy Hall’s Crafton-Preyer Theatre and open to the public.
Choreographers examine the notion of insider/outsider. Their modern/contemporary, hip-hop and ballet works explore the complexities of how the binary of inclusion and exclusion is constructed and the ways it shapes lives. Performances are 7:30 p.m. March 25-26 and 2:30 p.m. March 27. Tickets are available on dance.ku.edu, by calling 785-864-3982 or in person at the box office from noon to 5 p.m. weekdays or one hour prior to showtime. The performances on March 25 and 27 will be available to view via livestream. Tickets are required to stream; details at dance.ku.edu/streaming.
Headlining the concert is Gabrielle Lamb’s work, “Tessellations,” a contemporary dance set to playful, Parisian café music. A Guggenheim Fellow (2020) and Princess Grace Award winner (2014,) Lamb is a New York City-based choreographer and founder of Pigeonwing Dance. Lamb served as a guest Choreographic Fellow in residency with the department earlier this semester. After training at the Boston Ballet School and joining the Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal in 2000, Lamb earned her soloist promotion in 2003. She moved to New York City in 2009 to join Christopher Wheeldon’s company Morphoses. She began choreographing in 2005, winning numerous awards. See www.pigeonwingdance.com/gabrielle.
Ashley Brittingham, a KU lecturer in dance, will present “Behind Closed Doors,” a contemporary ballet exploring invisible struggles dancers face, as well as fear and insecurity, set to music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In addition to being a choreographer and educator, Brittingham also has danced as a professional ballerina in works by the world’s leading choreographers.
Tristian Griffin, a KU assistant professor of the practice, will present “AT THE TABLE,” a work that relies on body language to relate the honesty and vulnerability of his dancers. A former member of Garth Fagan Dance Company, he’s danced in metropolitan cities, and as a choreographer, his works have been commissioned regionally. He founded Tristian Griffin Dance Company.
Maya Tillman-Rayton, a KU lecturer in dance, will present “The Red Shoes,” an up-tempo, ensemble-based hip-hop work that will be part of a full-length show titled “Stingy Lulu’s Jumping Juke Joint,” a co-creation with her husband, Tyrone Rayton. Many of her works have been shown at KC Fringe Fest and National Dance Week KC. She’s a co-founder of House of Dragons.
Webster McDonald, a KU theatre & dance doctoral student and artist-scholar, will present “An Encounter with Blackness,” which examines one critical question: What happens when non-Black bodies are granted permission to embody an aspect of Blackness? This piece uses Afro-Jamaican folk dance forms. McDonald is a Jamaican theatre practitioner, educator and GTA in the department.
The scenic designer for the UDC Spring Concert is Dave Wanner, a longtime staff member and the department’s Scene Shop manager. The costume designer is Jamie Urban, a freelance designer and the department’s Costume Shop manager. The lighting designer is Colin Neukirch, a freelance designer and recent KU Theatre graduate.
Kansas cast members for the UDC Spring Concert are included here, with the full cast list available online: McKenna Bizal, a freshman from Overland Park; Tara Burgat, a senior from Spring Hill; Johnny Dinh Phan, a junior from Overland Park; Sydney Ebner, a sophomore from Shawnee; Lucie Lane, a freshman from Overland Park; Erin Latimer, a senior from Independence; Mira Pawlewicz, a senior from Overland Park; Hayley Robinson, a sophomore from Overland Park; and Anna Shelton, a freshman from Hesston. Many of these cast members will perform in multiple works.
The University Dance Company’s Spring 2022 Concert is supported in part by KU Student Senate. The University Dance Company is a production wing of KU’s Department of Theatre & Dance. For more information about the University Dance Company, visit dance.ku.edu.
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Contact: Christine Metz Howard, International Affairs, [email protected], @KUintlaffairs
2021 Woodyard Award recognizes Kapila Silva for international work
LAWRENCE — Kapila Silva, professor of architecture at the University of Kansas, is the recipient of the 2021 George and Eleanor Woodyard International Educator Award. Silva will give a talk on what it means to be an international educator at the award presentation and reception, which will take place at 3:30 p.m. April 28 at the Kansas Memorial Union in the Malott Room.
The award selection committee was impressed with Silva’s creation of an Asian-focused study abroad program, the introduction of courses that included non-Western perspectives and his mentorship of international students and those doing research with an international context. The committee also highlighted Silva’s research and collaboration with colleagues from around the world, development of international partnerships, engagement with KU International Affairs and the area studies centers, and his co-directorship of the Multicultural Architecture Scholars Program.
“The committee recognized Silva for his sustained and consistent commitment to international education, research, service and internationalization of the curriculum in the School of Architecture & Design,” said Brent Metz, selection committee chair and professor of anthropology. “The number of study abroad programs he has run in several different countries, the 250-plus students he has led abroad and the number of institutional collaborations he has established are extraordinary. His commitment to international education is transformative to the discipline.”
Silva, who is also the associate dean for diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging in the architecture & design school, came to KU in 2007 as a visiting faculty member. In 2008, he received a full-time, tenure-track position.
In 2008, Silva collaborated with colleague Jae Chang to create the school’s first Asia-focused study abroad program, which has taken more than 250 students to China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The program explores historic and contemporary architecture and urbanism in these countries. During the program, Silva works with local universities, professionals, and architecture and construction firms, strengthening connections between KU and its international partners.
At KU, Silva has integrated cultural and historical global perspectives into new courses and programs. For example, one of his courses explores how culture, history and physical location determine how ordinary people create the built environment. Another course on historic preservation theory adds international perspective by discussing the global preservation theories and practices developed by UNESCO for the World Heritage Program.
In the nomination letter, Hui Cai, chair of the architecture department, wrote that Silva’s “study abroad program, studios and courses have not only internationalized our curriculum, but they have also brought in much-needed non-Western perspectives to decolonize and expand our predominantly Eurocentric curriculum.”
Additionally, Silva is a committed mentor to undergraduate and graduate students, working closely with domestic students to engage with architecture and design in an international context and supporting international students as they navigate KU.
Silva’s research also has an international reach, focusing on global heritage conservation and addressing theoretical and pragmatic issues related to UNESCO’s World Heritage Program, specifically in the non-Western and Asia-Pacific region. Collaborating with a network of scholars and contributors from around the world, Silva is the lead editor of a number of publications: The Routledge Handbook on Cultural Landscape Heritage in the Asia‐Pacific (Routledge: 2022), The Routledge Handbook on Historic Urban Landscapes in the Asia‐Pacific (Routledge, 2020), Cultural Landscapes of South Asia: Studies in Heritage Conservation and Management (Routledge, 2017) and Asian Heritage Management: Contexts, Concerns, and Prospects (Routledge: 2013). He is the co-author of “The Tämpiṭavihāras of Sri Lanka: Elevated Image‐houses in Buddhist Architecture” (Anthem Press: 2021).
The Woodyard Award also recognizes Silva’s engagement with internationalization efforts at KU, including his involvement with the University Senate’s International Affairs Committee, International Affairs Council and the American Council on Education’s Internationalization Lab initiative at KU. He has also served on review committees for the Foreign Languages and Studies (FLAS) Travel Awards, Graduate Direct Exchange Program and International Humanities Summer Travel Grants. He gives guest lectures in different academic disciplines throughout the university and is an affiliated faculty member of KU’s Center for Global & International Studies, Center for East Asian Studies, Kansas African Studies Center and Museum Studies Program.
“Silva’s unanimous selection among a strong field of candidates acknowledges his substantial and lasting impact on international education at KU,” Metz said.
The late George Woodyard, the first dean of international studies, and his wife, Eleanor, endowed the award, which KU International Affairs coordinates. The award recognizes faculty on the Lawrence campus who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in strengthening KU’s international reach in such areas as curriculum development, study abroad programs, relationship with international partner institutions and collaboration with international colleagues in significant research and publications. The award includes a $1,000 stipend.
A full list of previous recipients is online.
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