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Mari Geary, Matt Hartmann, Trevor Otterstein, Heidi Trautman, Erica Kuestersteffen, Cue Wright

Fostering the growth of Jayhawks

KUltivators

Table of Contents

Exhibits

Alumni

Incoming

Enrolled

Executive Summary

Back To Beginning I-1Next Generation to Campus I-2Congratulations! I-3Communicate Like a Jayhawk I-4All we are is Red and Blue I-5

Right Outside the Front Door E-1SnapKU E-2One Job, One Focus E-3Hawk Talk Across Cultures E-4Master Mentors E-5Reach Out E-6Open Door, Open Call E-7Professors Need to Eat too! E-8Late Night at the Union E-9Make Connections E-10

Last Night in The Phog A-1Jayhawk Mentors A-2Jayhawk Generations A-3Fresh off the Hill A-4

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Team Picture X-1Hawk Pack X-2Poster for SnapKU X-3 Flier for Clubs on Daisy Hill X-4Schedule for Hawk Talk Across Cultures X-5Poster for Jayhawk Generations X-6Master Mentor Nomination Form X-7

ExecutiveSum

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Executive Summary

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KUltivate: Fostering the growth of Jayhawks KUltivators

Objective: The KUltivate campaign brings the University of Kansas together as one and seeks to define what KU students and alumni value. This campaign highlights fostering the growth of Jayhawks through each of their three phases of affiliation with the university. The Jayhawk Commission has requested help with these three main questions:

WHAT DO JAYHAWKS VALUE? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A JAYHAWK? WHAT MAKES THE JAYHAWK EXPERIENCE UNIQUE?

Phase 1 (Incoming): The focus of phase one is to strengthen the connection with the next generations of Jayhawks. Approaches to do this include bringing high school and middle school students to campus earlier, making them feel like a part of the university before attending and mentoring young students in the college process.

Phase 2 (Enrolled): Phase two is developed to pave a path for students to grow while enrolled. Helping students to get involved, giving them the highest quality of advising and celebrating those who help students succeed are the main aspects.

Phase 3 (Alumni): Phase three focuses on ensuring beneficial post-graduate connections within the university community. Making the connection between The University of Kansas and alumni stronger, as well as connecting students to alumni are at the forefront of phase three of the KUltivate campaign.

As a result, the Jayhawk Commission will see a focus on strengthening the connection with the next generation of Jayhawks, paving a path for students to grow and ensuring beneficial post-graduate connections within the KU community. It explains to students that even though everyone has a different journey here at KU, in the end we stand together and aspire to be something great—a Jayhawk.

Incoming

Phase One

Dig a Hole Plant a Seed Water the Ground

Dig a Hole

Back to the BeginningThe transition from high school to college is an important one and speaking with students who have already gone through that transition can be a valuable resource. Having students return to their old high school to speak about their college experience would excite high school students about their own future experience. KU students who return to their old high schools would be able to add a personal touch to their discussions with the students.

Current KU student speaking at their old high school and discussing the advantages to being a Jayhawk.

Once a semester, the University of Kansas would have a group of students return to their old high schools during their college breaks. These volunteers would speak with the stu-dents at their former high school about their time at KU. This would provide a chance for KU students to spark high school students interest in applying to KU and/or coming for a visit.

Before the school break, student volunteers will attend a training session that will provide them with basic information about the university, application process, etc. After the training session, these students will be provided with Hawk Packs. This Hawk Pack would consist of information about the University of Kansas including application information, campus visit times, opportunites at KU, and more.

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Dig a Hole

Next Generation to Campus

The best place to learn about KU is on campus. Bringing middle school students and high school freshmen/sophomores to campus would give them an early looks at what it’s like to be a Jayhawk. This campus visit would give KU the chance to impress the students before they start making decisions about college as well as get them excited about their future as a Jayhawk.

Future Jayhawks experiencing campus for the first time.

Invite middle school and high school freshmen/sophomore students to campus for a day to give them the chance to experience the Jayhawk atmosphere. During this Next Generation visit, students will learn about different majors, meet with advisors, take a campus tour and be treated as if they were already enrolling for college to help make a lasting imression. During this time they will also participate in enriched traditions, win prizes and snap photos with their future mascot.

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Plant a Seed

Congratulations!

We are pleased to inform you that you are going to be a Jayhawk Graduate of ____!

Success is in the mind. When someone believes they can succeed they are more likely to accomplish their goal. Providing students with the belief that they will do well at the University of Kansas will help them feel more welcome and prepared for their time here at KU.

A piece of motivation for new students.

Upon acceptance into KU students should receive a token with their acceptance letter from the school. This token could take the form of a tassel, a keychain, etc. and will state the year of their graduating class. This token will be something they can keep with them over the following years in school to inspire them to continue working hard toward their goal of graduation.

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Water the Ground

Communicate like a Jayhawk

Social media is the way to connect with the younger generations. High school and middle school students will react to social media quicker than paper mail or even email. Typically, the first point of contact for many of the younger generation include social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Students getting connected.

When students are accepted and placed into residence halls, the Resident Assistant of their floor will take the inititative to add them to their “Class of ____” Facebook page. This is where they can meet some of their classmates and stay up-to-date with important information, such as clubs, organizations and tips to a successful Freshman year.

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Water the Ground

All we are is Red and Blue

Multicultural students can gain a positive outlook on their college years as a Jayhawk be-fore they arrive. Reaching out to these students early can make them feel like they are a part of campus and the Jayhawk community. By putting more emphasis on our multicultural community we can increase our connection and interaction with multicultural groups.

Connect with multicultural students in high schools by creating a mentorship program between the SMRC, the Multicultural Recruitment Team and high schools. This mentorship program can help multicultural students identify with the university while still in high school and give them someone to speak with when they begin the college application process.

KU Student works to encourage students of color to attend college

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Enrolled

Phase Two

Stake the Tree Nurture the Growth Stand on its Own

Stake the Tree

Right Outside the Front Door

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Students live busy lives and in today’s world people are constantly looking for ways to make life easier. While joining a club or organization may seem like a good idea to students, mak-ing the extra effort to join may present a problem to some. Bringing these opportunities closer to Daisy Hill will help those hesitant to engage.

Students learn about the variety of clubs available to them

Hawk Week should utilize the courtyard space coming with the new dorms to table for clubs and organizations instead of the traditional location at the Union. Club liasons should also take the chance to start discussions about their club in public areas of the residence halls.

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In today’s ever-changing world of media there are numerous ways to reach your target demographic, but finding the right medium can be a challenge. Some of the roadblocks involved in reaching KU students include targeting the most effective forms of media. Social media’s ability to reaching students can’t be underutilized, as it’s the fastest growing form of digital communication.

Students stay up-to-date by seeing what is happening around campus with SnapKU

Snap KU will showcase daily life on campus and provide the opportunity for visiting stu-dents to show their experience to fellow visitors and the KU community. Through other forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, KU social media accounts that take the initiative to connect with students first will make progress in fostering these meaningful connections. This will open the door for more fluid communication to the student population.

Stake the Tree

SnapKU

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Nurture the Growth

One Job, One FocusAdvisors have a responsibility to provide the best advice aimed at making the studentexperience as productive as possible for moving their education forward. Heavy advisor course load and teachers taking on advisor roles can lead to strained student-advisor relations and semesters with less benefit.

An advisor helps a student figure out their next semester schedule

Appointing more professionals with the sole responsibility of advising will help reduce current advisor course load and offer a more personable, effective method of student education planning. Our research highlighted that students seek more time with advisors that are looking to talk about their education so they can better place them in beneficial courses. This will keep the teachers focused on class, advisors focused on the student, and students focused on learning.

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Nurture the Growth

Hawk Talk Across CulturesWith the world-wide reach of the University there is a need to make the world a smaller place on campus by making students more understanding of different cultures.This cultural acceptance by students will make KU more multicultural-friendly and could make it easier for international students to transition into life in America. This will also encourage the feeling that even though people have different cultural backgrounds everyone comes together as Jayhawks.

Students learn about different cultures during Hawk Week

By having students attend a cultural session or a meeting at the beginning of semesters, it will foster a greater understanding about the different cultures around the world. These meetings would include international and multicultural students talking about their lives and backgrounds. Games would also be used to add some fun and encourage interaction amongst Jayhawks.

Nurture the Growth

Master MentorsThe University of Kansas is recognized as the flagship university of Kansas, a major public research and teaching institution. Most instructors and professors teach hundreds of students daily, on top of research requirements.

The University should develop a program to celebrate professors who go the extra mile to help students in their success at KU. Recognized by their students, this “Master Mentor” should receive a plaque commemorating their nomination and giving them the opportunity to proudly showcase what kind of instructor they are.

A Master Mentor going the distance to help a student grow

Arrange a Master Mentor program that will highlight different Master Mentors around the KU Campus and will be awarded each semester. This program will encourage other professors/faculty to take the extra step in mentoring students on campus. This will also help students seek mentors that they might want or need.

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Nurture the Growth

Reach Out

A majority of Multicultural students feel as if they are clumped together as one. Multicultural students enter the University with a cultural disadvantage as the minority and students have expressed that they would like professors to reach out for extra support in classes. The majority of the minority feels strongly that fostering this support will improve experiences for the next generation of multicultural Jayhawks and bring even more diversity to the University of Kansas.

A student discusses his or her multicultural viewpoint with a knowledgable member of campus

Professors should go through a cultural learning class similar to what students attend at the beginning of the year. Here they can learn about the cultural differences amongst stu-dents and have the chance to learn how to tackle challenging social issues in the classroom. Giving professors this opportunity will implement a feeling of better understanding between multicultural students and professors and in turn provide a more welcoming learning environment.

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Stand on its Own

Open Door, Open Call

College life can be busy. Students who have work and school often don’t have time to meet during professor’s office hours. Having professors available for a phone meeting(with discretion) will provide many students with another alternative to talking with professors outside of class.

A student talks with a professor about a concern in class during his break at work

Create open call hours for professors in the morning and afternoon where they can be available, by phone, to their students. By allowing phone meetings students can discuss their problems in real time even when they cannot get to campus. Research shows that professors with open door policies fostered a healthy mentality about student-professor relationships and lead to a more comforting learning experience.

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Stand on its Own

Professors Need to Eat Too!

Creating a relationship with a professor outside of class is beneficial, both to the student and the professor. Student’s can become more successful through getting to know their professor and they create a valuable connection with that teacher.

Take your Professor to Lunch is a program that is already developed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on the KU campus. Expanding this program into the other schools of the University of Kansas will allow more students and more professor’s to get to know each other and build a stronger relationship between student and teacher.

A student builds connections

Start the Take Your Professor to Lunch program in the individual schools on campus and highlight the benefits of this program. Offer $15 cards that can be used in the dining loca-tions around campus, like the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences does, for the students to take their professors out to lunch.

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Stand on its Own

Late Night at the Union

The Union is a place for students to have social gatherings, study sessions and organization meetings, so it is a vital part of the educational experience. Having the Union open later will provide students with another place to study and meet with groups at their leisure. This will also be benenficial in bringing more people to the Union. With the late night activity in the Union there will be the need to keep the Hawk Shop open later to fuel students late night studying. This will help provide more jobs to students and make more profit for the Union.

A new late-night study space for students

Have the Union open until midnight, similar to Watkins. However, advertise it as the perfect place for group projects. The open space on the 3rd and 4th floor of the Union can be utilized for group projects and, without the worry of disturbing individual studiers, groups can work on their projects stress-free.

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Stand on its Own

Make ConnectionsIn todays career market it can be difficult to find opportunities for jobs. This is especially ture for someone looking in a city or state they are not familiar with or have not had the chance to network in for a few years. The University does a great job of recruiting out-of-state high schoolers and many of these students plan to return to the states they originally left.

In order to give these students the greatest potential to earn a job outside of the state of Kansas, the University Career Center and the Alumni Center should team up to develop a program that highlights out of state jobs for students in each respective field. Alumni involved in the Alumni Association can help with notifying the university of job openings in their respective fields and geographical areas.

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The Alumni Association assists students in finding jobs

Phase Three

Branch Out Expand Reach for the Skies

Alum

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Branch Out

Last Night in The PhogAs a freshman, everyone comes together and learns the alma mater, KU sport chants and the overall Jayhawk way. Last Night in The Phog is a celebration for seniors which would bring everyone together one last time to see what they have accomplished over their four years. This event would be hosted by the Student Alumni Association and sponspored by the Alumni Association and Endowment. Having the Alumni Association extend a hand would allow students to feel that personal connection before leaving the University.

The Phog says Goodbye to Seniors

The Alumni Association will play a video showing all of the accomplishments and big moments over the four years that the seniors have experienced at KU. This night will be a moment to celebrate the seniors and it would also be the place for the Alumni Association to showcase the benefits of joining the association. The Alumni Association would also let all of the senior’s know they are automatically signed up for a free year upon graduation.

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Expand

Jayhawk MentorsJayhawk Mentors give students and alumni the time to connect when it is convenient for them. These mentorships will provide students with a chance to connect to a Jayhawk Alumni who are working in the field they are interested in pursuring. This gives the alumni the chance to give back and stay connected to the University.

The Alumni Association can reach out to alumni and find those that are open to having 30 minute skype or face to face meetings with one current student. These meetings will occur between alumni and students from the same professional school. The alumni can then help a current student with any questions they may have about the field or how to get started. A one-on-one conversation takes away the distraction of a group setting and allows for a more focused conversation.

A student speaks with a Jayhawk mentor about after-graduation plans

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Expand

Jayhawk Generations

Jayhawk Generations gives the alumni an opportunity to give back to the University and network with current students. The purpose of Jayhawk Generations is to connect University of Kansas Alumni with students in their professional schools. This program would be similar to the J-School Generations run by the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. It would create a day for students to learn about the kind of work they will one day be involved in and allow them to ask questions of KU Alumni who have found success in their field.

Jayhawks meet with Alumni to make connections and create opportunities.

Each professional school will have one day per school year set-up with activities to allow students to network with alumni, ask questions and possibly find internships or jobs. While the respective professional schools have current networking opportunities, rebranding the program as Jayhawk Generations will make campus networking a consistent experience.

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Reach for the Sky

Fresh off the Hill

Fresh off the Hill allows young alumni the opportunity to network with fellow young alumni in their geographical area. Young alumni tend to be the hardest group to get back involved with University of Kansas. Many young alumni are so busy trying to get their career started and settle into their new life that it is difficult for them to find time for the Alumni Association.

Young alumni meet in their cities and stay in touch with their Jayhawk roots

Back on the Hill is an event located in cities where multiple young alumni live. These would be social events, not involving KU athletics, where young alumni can meet with other young alumni. During this network time they can build their social network in their new geographi-cal area.

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Exhibits

KUltivators

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Mari Geary - Matt Hartmann - Trevor Otterstein - Heidi Trautman - Erica Kuestersteffen - Cue Wright Presentation Research Marketing/Comms Account Planning Creative Director Director Director Coordinator Director Director

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The Hawk Pack bottles will be given out three different stages of a students time with KU. The first bottle is red and given to students in middle and high school. The blue bottle will be given out during orientation. The final bottle, which will be red and blue, will be given out during Last Night in The Phog. These bottles will be filled with important information relevant to the time when they are given.

I.e.: Red contains information about the application process, campus visits, etc.

Blue contians information about clubs, organizations and moving into residence halls.

The final bottle contains information about the Alumni Association.

Hawk Pack

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Poster for SnapKU

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Flier for Clubs on Daisy Hill

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Schedule for Hawk Talk Across Cultures

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Poster for Jayhawk Generations

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Master Mentor Nomination Form