Today’s News from the University of Kansas
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LAWRENCE — The questions of which Americans are gun owners and why are examined in extraordinary depth in a University of Kansas professor’s new study. Margaret Kelley’s research explores patterns and correlations of such ownership in the United States, with an emphasis on differentiating those who will never own a firearm (“nevers”) and those who are open to ownership in the future (“maybes”). The study is published in this month’s issue of Sociological Inquiry.
Spencer Museum opens Feb. 20 with exhibitions about the human body
LAWRENCE —The Spencer Museum of Art will reopen to the public Feb. 20 with two new exhibitions that explore the human body throughout history and across cultures. “Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body” includes works ranging from ancient to contemporary that demonstrate how understandings of the body and its many complexities have changed over time. “The Aorta of an Archivist,” an immersive sound and video installation, explores three “firsts” in the history of recording.
KU Law student awarded competitive labor law fellowship
LAWRENCE — Second-year University of Kansas law student Heddy Pierce-Armstrong, of El Dorado, will serve as a Peggy Browning Fellow this summer. Peggy Browning Fellowships provide first- and second-year law students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences fighting for social justice and advancing workers’ rights.
Vice provost announces reorganization of the Office of First-Year Experience
LAWRENCE — The Office of First-Year Experience (FYE) is being restructured in order to provide incoming University of Kansas students a more comprehensive and intentional transition. The changes, which will not result in staff reductions, strengthen the two functional areas within FYE: Academic Programs and Orientation/Welcome Programs.
Full stories below.
Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
Survey reveals diverse motives behind American gun ownership
LAWRENCE — It is expected that 2020 will denote the biggest year of gun sales in U.S. history.
“Not only is this significant in how many people bought guns, it is also a banner year for the diverse types of people doing the purchasing,” said Margaret Kelley, associate professor of American studies at the University of Kansas.
The question of who and why these people are making this choice gets examined in extraordinary depth in Kelley’s article titled “Who Might Buy a Gun? Results from the Guns in American Life Survey.” Her research explores patterns and correlations of such ownership in the United States, with an emphasis on differentiating those who will never own a firearm (“nevers”) and those who are open to ownership in the future (“maybes”). It is published in this month’s issue of Sociological Inquiry.
“Previous work has focused on traditional ways of thinking ‘maybe’ owners must be very similar to owners. We tried to complicate that a bit and show they aren’t just ‘gun owners lite,’ they are a wholly different category,” she said.
With co-author Christopher Ellison of the University of Texas at San Antonio, Kelley launched the Guns in American Life Survey (collected in September 2018 as a collaborative involving UTSA and KU) to explore the role of several classes of factors in shaping experiences and attitudes. These included socialization, fear/victimization, ideology and preparedness.
Kelley said, “We approach the topic thinking this is binary: You own a gun or you don’t, and people have characteristics that go with one of those categories. But it is not that straightforward. For example, there’s evidence that 20% of gun owners are liberals. That goes against our expectations of who might own a gun.”
Among the most common assumptions about gun owners is they gravitate toward the weapon out of fear.
“This is an overgeneralization that people buy guns because they’re afraid,” she said. “That’s part of it. But that’s not all of it.”
Instead, Kelley also delves into the positive aspects of ownership, which she terms “gun gratifications.” She found these are frequently divided by gender, with men feeling more empowered by guns, while women are motivated by the sense of protection granted. (The survey collected responses from more than 3,100 individuals, offering a strong representative data set of the U.S. public.)
On the other end of those studied are persons who claim they will never own a gun. This is mainly populated by respondents wrestling with an ideological issue. Many don’t believe guns are a part of “the good society.”
“Also factoring in is the fear of violence,” Kelley added. “In many studies, guns are specifically equated with violence. In fact, the vast majority of guns will never be involved in a negative outcome. Yet it is hard to disassociate that connection, given the very severe violence that does happen and the fear that is generated by mass shootings and things.”
Much of “Who Might Buy a Gun?” deals with society’s move toward what’s termed Gun Culture 2.0. This shift has fundamentally changed the central reasons for possessing a weapon.
“Our original gun culture is very different than what our current one looks like,” Kelley said.
“It used to be that guns were owned primarily for hunting and recreation. Just a generation before us, people kept shotguns and hunting rifles in their cars. They only had them around the home because they needed them for protection against animals. Since the 1960s, this culture of guns has been changing, and it is in large part an increase in handguns that are owned for personal protection. It is becoming the self-defense culture in a way.”
That includes owners welcoming the empowerment associated with the weapons, which is becoming a less passive condition.
“For people involved in having one for self-defense, it is something you think about when you get up in the morning. You have to ‘dress around the gun.’ You have to know which stores you can go into and which ones you can’t,” she said.
Entering her sixth year at KU, Kelley developed her research in partnership with a parallel ethnographic study examining women and firearms. She’s turning this into a larger book project specifically focusing on the average woman shooter in middle America.
“We don’t know the broader impact of changes in gun culture on social trust in a democratic society,” Kelley said.
“But it is timely for us to recognize who is open to gun ownership. KU research has shown that those who own guns are more politically involved and might influence the future of politics. It is important to know the reasons that lead to owning – or not owning – a gun.”
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Contact: Elizabeth Kanost, Spencer Museum of Art, 785-864-0142, [email protected], @SpencerMuseum
Spencer Museum opens Feb. 20 with exhibitions about the human body
LAWRENCE —The Spencer Museum of Art will reopen to the public Feb. 20 with two new exhibitions that explore the human body throughout history and across cultures.
Public gallery hours will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Visitors can make a free reservation to explore the galleries, which will have reduced capacity in accordance with public health and safety guidelines.
“Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body” includes works ranging from ancient to contemporary that demonstrate how understandings of the body and its many complexities have changed over time. The exhibition includes two sound sculptures by Canadian artist Ingrid Bachmann titled “Embrace.” Bachmann’s work is a site-specific installation intended to help viewers calm and center their bodies.
“The Aorta of an Archivist,” an immersive sound and video installation by Houston-based artist Dario Robleto, explores three “firsts” in the history of recording: the first time live music was recorded, the first time brain waves were recorded in a dream state, and the first time a pulse was recorded while the subject listened to music. Robleto’s work humanizes abstract data and prompts viewers to consider what we can and can’t know about our bodies.
Curator Cassandra Mesick Braun said that, together, these two exhibitions examine the tensions between the universality of having a body and the individuality of everyday experience.
“Both of these exhibitions explore how artists can forge connection and community through the works of art they create, which seems particularly relevant during this time of heightened awareness of public health and physical isolation,” Mesick Braun said.
The Spencer Museum commissioned works by Robleto and Bachmann because of their backgrounds collaborating with medical professionals and scholars in other disciplines. Although these projects were planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, Mesick Braun said the current global health crisis informed their work in interesting and unexpected ways.
“Both of these artists work at the intersection of art and medicine, and a goal for these shows was to demonstrate the way that artistic practice can contribute to research and dialogue about health and the human body,” Mesick Braun said.
The public can experience both exhibitions beginning Saturday, along with the rest of the Spencer Museum’s permanent collection galleries. Visitors are highly encouraged to make advance reservations as well as review the museum’s health and safety guidelines. For questions or assistance making a reservation, please contact the Spencer Museum of Art at 785-864-4710.
“Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body” and “The Aorta of An Archivist” are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, Mid-America Arts Alliance, the International Artist-in-Residence Fund, the Linda Inman Bailey Exhibitions Fund, Anne and Charles Rhoades, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, KU Student Senate, KU Research Investment Council, Spencer Museum of Art Marilyn Stokstad Directorship Fund, Olin K. and Mary Ruth Petefish Museum of Art Fund, Mary P. Lipman Children’s Education Fund, the Judith M. Cooke Native American Art Fund, and the Friends of the Art Museum. Ingrid Bachmann received individual support from Canada Council for the commission “Embrace.”
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Contact: Ashley Golledge, School of Law, [email protected], @kulawschool
KU Law student awarded competitive labor law fellowship
LAWRENCE — Second-year University of Kansas law student Heddy Pierce-Armstrong, of El Dorado, will serve as a Peggy Browning Fellow this summer. Peggy Browning Fellowships provide first- and second-year law students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences fighting for social justice and advancing workers’ rights.
Heddy Pierce-Armstrong and her mother attend the 2015 International Association of Machinists (IAM) Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
“I have a strong commitment to the Midwest. I value labor and production in our state, and I know Midwestern workers,” Pierce-Armstrong said. “It’s exciting that someone from our school would be chosen for the fellowship.”
Pierce-Armstrong will work at Pyle Rome Ehrenberg PC, a Boston-based labor and employment law firm, this summer. Through the 10-week fellowship, Pierce-Armstrong will engage in research projects related to ongoing labor law cases and assist in drafting pleadings and briefs. She is one of 91 students selected for the highly competitive program.
Peggy Browning Fellows are distinguished students who have excelled in law school and demonstrated their commitment to workers’ rights through their previous educational, work, volunteer and personal experiences.
Pierce-Armstrong came to law school wanting to practice labor law after attending union rallies as a child with her mother.
“I grew up as a union child,” Pierce-Armstrong said. “Some of my first memories as a child involve her union and striking with her union. When I chose to apply to law school, I knew very specifically that I wanted a career in labor law.”
Pierce-Armstrong decided to study law at KU after earning an undergraduate degree in women, gender & sexuality studies from KU in 2019.
At KU Law, Pierce-Armstrong is the president of OUTLaws and Allies, co-president of KU Law’s student ambassadors and a member of Women in Law, Mock Trial Council, Black Law Students Association and Native American Law Students Association. Pierce-Armstrong is also a member of the NALSA moot court team and was a finalist in the In-House Mock Trial Competition.
“Having a purpose aside from just the coursework really helps me stay connected to the final goal of graduating and being a practicing labor attorney,” Pierce-Armstrong said.
Additionally, Pierce-Armstrong has served as a legal intern at Disability Rights Center of Kansas for the past eight months.
“I have been able to get a lot of really good experience with disability rights on various issues, like voting, employment and accommodation issues,” Pierce-Armstrong said. “That’s really helped me to expand my knowledge about how people operate in the workplace.”
The Peggy Browning Fund is a nonprofit organization established in memory of Margaret Browning, a prominent union-side attorney who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 1994 until 1997. Peggy Browning Fellowship experiences encourage and inspire students to pursue careers in public interest labor law.
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Contact: Millinda Fowles, Career & Experiential Learning, [email protected], @kucareer
Vice provost announces reorganization of the Office of First-Year Experience
LAWRENCE — The Office of First-Year Experience (FYE) is being restructured in order to provide incoming University of Kansas students a more comprehensive and intentional transition, one that extends across their first year at KU. Current FYE programs and staff will be reorganized to better align with the existing units and initiatives in Academic Success.
The goal of this realignment is to provide leadership, resources and support needed to strengthen the two functional areas within FYE: Academic Programs and Orientation/Welcome Programs. No current staff positions will be eliminated with this restructuring.
“This restructuring will provide a more systematic approach to the first-year experience by harnessing the expertise found throughout Academic Success units and extending the responsibility for new Jayhawks across offices,” said Susan Klusmeier, vice provost of academic success.
The reorganization is in response to a recent program review of FYE. The review examined programmatic assessment data, including student surveys and measures of student learning and evaluated feedback from campus partners, stakeholders and FYE staff through individual interviews and surveys. Campus partners and stakeholders communicated an appreciation for the work and dedication of the FYE staff while acknowledging the small staff size limited FYE’s abilities to effectively develop, expand, modify and assess programming. The following changes will occur over the course of the spring semester:
1. The Orientation/Welcome Programs will be renamed the Center for Orientation and Transition Programs. It will retain responsibility for domestic undergraduate student orientation programs, Hawk Week and additional programming that assists students in the transition to KU.
2. A newly created Center for Orientation and Academic Advising Programs will house the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC) and the Center for Orientation and Transition Programs. Abby Coffin will serve as the executive director of the Center for Orientation and Academic Advising Programs.
3. The current FYE staff responsible for Academic Programs, including First-Year Seminars, UNIV 101, the KU Common Book and Learning Communities will join the existing academic programs housed within Academic Success to form the Office of Academic Programs & Experiential Learning. Millinda Fowles will serve as director of this office.
4. The Center for Undergraduate Research, led by Alison Olcott, center director and associate professor of geology, will assist in coordinating faculty outreach and training efforts related to First-Year Seminars and the Common Book.
The reorganization considered the fiscal challenges KU is facing. It allows Academic Success to leverage existing strengths to enhance the support provided to the KU community through programs and initiatives, Klusmeier, and they look forward to continued partnerships with the KU community to collaboratively create an optimized first-year experience that recognizes the diversity of students, their experiences and needs.
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