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By Cynthia Annett | September 4, 2003
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The Saturday Column (J-W, Aug. 30) asked why Kansas University is
losing ground. The U.S. News rankings include objective criteria such
as student retention, graduation, academic achievements of faculty,
etc. These factors reflect how much a university values its human
resources. They are not things that are easily bought and sold, unlike
new athletic facilities.
The best students and faculty are successfully recruited and retained
by those institutions that make it known that quality people are
appropriately valued and will be provided with an atmosphere conducive
to their individual growth and productivity. In contrast, the KU
administration has repeatedly sent the message that it does not value
all members of the campus community.
The decision of the KU administration to abandon affirmative action is
an example. Michigan, ranked at No. 3, fought all the way to the
Supreme Court to maintain its affirmative action program. Even during
the tumultuous time leading up to the recent Supreme Court decision,
Michigan maintained that top ranking. During the same period, KU
gambled against affirmative action, fought against the civil rights of
it employees, and fell to 44th.
KU clearly showed that it did not value all members of its campus
community. Michigan showed that it did and was willing to fight on
their behalf. These attitudes affect recruitment, retention,
achievement, and most important, quality.
Look carefully at the way in which human capital has been squandered by
the KU administration; it's no surprise that this has resulted in a
fall in its prestige, reputation and rankings.
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Originally published by the Lawrence Journal-World.
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