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October 30, 2009

Telling the KU story in Washington, DC - A case study

KU Federal Relations has a broad mission for KU.  In addition to monitoring legislation and policy issues pending before Congress and accompanying faculty and administrators on meetings with senators and members of Congress from Kansas and important committees, we also seize opportunities to tell the KU story beyond Capitol Hill.

As the flagship research university for Kansas, KU's education, research and service mission should be shared with stakeholders in Washington, DC. Telling the KU story related to a specific research project or school is valuable and worthwhile. It can lead to new research ventures or high profile visits to KU by government leaders.

Last week, KU Federal Relations arranged two days of meetings for the School of Journalism's Bridging the Gap program, which brings together members of the media and military. The program's goal is to jointly train and educate students, journalists, and military personnel about the unique circumstances facing each profession. Army officers attend KU journalism classes for a semester, while in the fall KU hosts a foundation-funded program to bring 18 reporters to Kansas. The reporters spend time at Fort Leavenworth learning more about its unique role in the Army, as well as traveling to another Army post. It is a good professional development program for the Army officers, students and journalists who take part.

Sharing good news and success is welcome in Washington, and the meetings organized to tell this program’s story were no different.  They involved visits to a number of leaders in Washington, including at the Voice of America, with a House committee chairman, and with Army generals in command of significant Army offices.  These meetings also are an opportunity for KU to connect with its alumni, as several of the participants - including one of the generals and two of the senior staff members at the Voice of America - were KU graduates.  All were happy to hear about this KU program.

The other component to telling the KU story in Washington is to see if there are opportunities to enhance or expand the program in question. During the meetings, the Bridging the Gap program was commended and suggestions were made as to how it could be extended and improved.

Telling the KU story is not unique to this one program, nor merely limited to the university’s work with a single agency or department. It can be replicated throughout Washington and across schools and departments with the active support of deans and chairs.  For more information about how you can tell your story in Washington, contact Keith Yehle at (785) 864-7100 or kyehle@ku.edu.

Legislative Update

Health care remains the legislative priority for the House and Senate. The House will soon be voting on health reform legislation and a Senate bill is expected to be introduced soon. Other substantial issues related to climate change or a new federal financial regulatory authority will likely not be considered until next year.

Congress continues to work through the Fiscal Year 2010 budget. Every year, Congress must pass 12 bills that provide the annual funding for government programs and operations. As of Oct. 28, 2009, only four of the 12 bills has become law. Congress will soon approve a short-term funding bill to keep the government operating through late December. This legislative strategy allows Congress to keep working on the funding bills without shutting down significant federal agencies.