Featured Stories
What you need to know about COP31
BRISBANE, Australia, Nov. 9 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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What you need to know about COP31
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This week in Turkiye, more than 190 countries will come together to discuss global action on addressing climate change. So what's on the table, what's at stake and what will be Australia's role?
The state of play
COP31 is the 31st iteration of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was established in 1992.
Since then, countries have met regularly to make commitments and discuss progress on reducing
... Show Full Article
BRISBANE, Australia, Nov. 9 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
* * *
What you need to know about COP31
*
This week in Turkiye, more than 190 countries will come together to discuss global action on addressing climate change. So what's on the table, what's at stake and what will be Australia's role?
The state of play
COP31 is the 31st iteration of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was established in 1992.
Since then, countries have met regularly to make commitments and discuss progress on reducingemissions and adapting to the effects of climate change.
Climate finance is also frequently discussed, which refers to the transfer of funds from rich to poor countries to help reduce emissions, support adaptation or compensate for the unavoidable costs of climate change.
The central treaty arising from UNFCCC talks was the 2015 Paris Agreement. As part of the Paris Agreement, countries committed to individual emissions reduction targets with a goal to limit warming to no more than 2degC, ideally 1.5degC.
The Paris Agreement has helped reduce global emissions beyond 'business as usual' practice and has encouraged global investment in renewable energy.
However, despite these efforts, global action has been insufficient to prevent climate change and analysis suggests keeping warming at 1.5 degrees is increasingly improbable.
There is now a sense of genuine urgency for sustained global action on climate change given the harms of sea level rise, heat waves, natural disasters, ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, disease and even population displacement or armed conflict.
A challenging position
Australia will be fulfilling a role never seen before this COP.
After a failed attempt to host the conference jointly with Pacific island nations, Australia agreed to Turkiye acting as physical hosts while Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen acts in the newly established President of Negotiations role.
As part of this compromise, a pre-COP meeting took place in the Pacific in Fiji and Tuvalu last month.
Australia is in a challenging position. While working closely with Turkish hosts and advancing the interests of Pacific countries, Australia's negotiating team will[MB1] also be looking to secure international agreement while advancing the nation's interests.
Some of these interests, like continuing to profit from fossil fuel exports, don't align with what Pacific countries in particular are hoping to see from Australia.
This is the elephant in the room for Australia and will require careful diplomatic maneouvering in Turkiye.
Recent rulings from the International Court of Justice and Australian High Court have pointed to the need for countries and fossil fuel companies to consider emissions arising from fossil fuel development and exports. But for now, the Paris Agreement only requires countries to account for emissions produced within the country itself
Time to deliver
COP31 is widely seen as an 'implementation COP', where the focus is how to deliver on past promises made rather than new commitments to action.
As Turkiye's environment minister Murat Kurum put it, 'what the world needs today is not another round of promises, it needs to see existing commitments delivered'.
The headline goal of COP31 is a target associated with electrification. The conference hosts will attempt to secure support for the goal of 35 per cent of energy use from renewable electricity by 2035, known as the 35 by 35 goal.
The rationale for this goal is electricity production is easier to facilitate through renewable sources than other forms of energy use.
Other COP31 agenda items include significantly reducing the growing amount of waste, cutting energy intensity in the building sector, enhancing marine ecosystem resilience and transforming agriculture.
What isn't on the table is a timetable for transitioning away from fossil fuels. At COP30 in Brazil, more than 80 countries signed on to the Belem Declaration to Transition from Fossil Fuels. This time around, co-hosts Turkiye, a major fossil fuel importer, and Australia, a major fossil fuel exporter, have resisted calls to put this on the table.
A leadership void?
The decision of the Trump administration to withdraw from the UNFCCC clearly undermines momentum for international climate action, especially given its relative wealth and significant contribution to the problem itself.
The US contributes at least 12 per cent of global emissions.
But so far, the US is the only country to withdraw from the UNFCCC and global action is continuing, including unprecedented investment in renewable energy. This gives some hope for minimising the harms of climate change.
The problem, however, is here and now. We are seeing effects of climate change play out all over the world, and funding commitments to enable energy transition or adaptation programs in the developing world are woefully inadequate and difficult to access.
The fact COP31 is likely to be an 'implementation COP' should make international agreement on the agenda items noted more possible.
But it will be fascinating to see whether states try to fill the leadership void left by the US or are emboldened by its withdrawal. It will also be interesting to assess whether momentum builds for climate action or the issue is crowded out by international instability, nationalism and global cost of living concerns.
Lastly, COP31 will show us whether momentum is building for a timetable to phase out fossil fuels, a development that could concern Australian negotiators.
Matt McDonald is Professor of International Relations in the School of Political Science and International Studies. His research examines the global politics of climate change. On behalf of the UQ Climate Change network he will be leading the delegation of UQ staff observing COP31 talks in Turkiye and providing commentary from the ground in Antalya.
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Original text here: https://news.uq.edu.au/2026-11-what-you-need-know-about-cop31
Tracing bloodlines and fencelines: Poet Megan Fowlie wins Phoenix Prize
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Nov. 9 -- The University of Auckland issued the following news:
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Tracing bloodlines and fencelines: Poet Megan Fowlie wins Phoenix Prize
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A collection of poems, "part treasure hunt, part horror," has won the 2026 University of Auckland Phoenix Prize in Creative Writing for poet Megan Fowlie.
A powerful collection of poems telling a story both "personal and political" has won the Phoenix Prize in Creative Writing for poet Megan Fowlie.
Awarded each year to the most promising portfolio of work from a master of creative writing student at the University of Auckland,
... Show Full Article
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Nov. 9 -- The University of Auckland issued the following news:
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Tracing bloodlines and fencelines: Poet Megan Fowlie wins Phoenix Prize
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A collection of poems, "part treasure hunt, part horror," has won the 2026 University of Auckland Phoenix Prize in Creative Writing for poet Megan Fowlie.
A powerful collection of poems telling a story both "personal and political" has won the Phoenix Prize in Creative Writing for poet Megan Fowlie.
Awarded each year to the most promising portfolio of work from a master of creative writing student at the University of Auckland,the prize comes with a $3,500 stipend to be put towards getting a creative project to publishing stage.
Fowlie says she's very humbled to win this year's prize for her manuscript Blindfolds & Bleach, and to be acknowledged and supported by the strong alum community of authors, novelists and poets.
Blindfolds & Bleach, she says, explores a world where information, people and places have been selectively erased or wilfully covered up.
"Wayfaring is disrupted and it takes a while, maybe a lifetime, to become aware of that. Enlightenment is haphazard at best, and then it's blinding and shakes the world upside down."
When she entered the masters programme, she says, she was "tossing around the idea of liminality, the state where the line between two worlds becomes thin, unpredictable and dangerous, and where normal rules are suspended".
"I wanted to investigate and capture the experience of being in those sorts of blurred spaces. I didn't know where it would lead me."
Home seemed a good place to start.
"Our family were newcomers on the last farm at the edge of the county ward in Puahue in the Waipa [in the Waikato region of the North Island]. We were at the end of the power exchange, on a dead-end road on a segment of the Aukati line."
This line drew the southern boundary of extensive lands that the Crown forcibly confiscated in the 1860s.
"In town, Te Awamutu, people didn't seem to know that Puahue existed. This area was a flashpoint of tension during the New Zealand Land Wars and decades after, but the collection is not about colonial settler history."
Blood & Blindfolds begins with the words of celebrated Maori chief Rewi Maniapoto to the Native Land Minister of the time, Donald McLean:
"Other days will be coming. Let the sun shine and the rain fall on the words now spoken. Only a pinpoint of light is visible, but like the dawn, it will spread."
"Maniapoto knew this land and fought for it. My childhood-self, standing on this land in Puahue, is my pinpoint. It isn't the story, it's a viewing platform."
There is a lot of "listening and looking across" in her poems, says Fowlie.
"The need to be attentive about who is present, what's happening for various reasons: to learn rules and rituals, to make maps, to decode the nuances of language, to understand your place as an insider or an outsider, and to keep safe.
"Not all the answers arrive when you want them, or are comprehensible when they do, there are gaps and redactions, an entire inland sea goes missing. Violence is persistent, but so is care."
External examiner Anne Kennedy, an award-winning poet and novelist, says Blindfolds & Bleach explores the ambitious area of Pakeha settledom - a rare topic for imaginative writing - with depth and vision.
Fowlie says once you start following bloodlines and fencelines, decoding and filling in the gaps, the world looks very different and connections become "as fantastical as Alice in Wonderland".
A selection of her poems is on display alongside artist Jo Dalgety's solo exhibition, Restless Ground, at Pukorokoro (Miranda) Gallery until the end of November.
"I like this idea of collaboration, bringing together creative forms," she says.
"Before I began the masters, I didn't think I had a book in me, now my mind is brimming."
"It shows a deep commitment to telling a story that is both personal and political."
Master of Creative Writing convenor Associate Professor Paula Morris, who co-supervised Fowlie's manuscript, alongside former Poet Laureate Professor Selina Tusitala Marsh and Dr Ruby Porter, says this is a rich collection, well-deserving of the Phoenix Prize.
"Megan is a thoughtful and imaginative poet deeply interested in New Zealand history as well as contemporary life."
Previous University of Auckland creative writing prize winners have gone on to have, or continued having, successful writing careers. They include Angelique Kasmara, Amy McDaid, Karen Holdom, Rachel Paris, Gavin Strawhan and Cian Dennan.
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Original text here: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026/11/09/poet-megan-fowlie-wins-phoenix-prize.html
Smoking linked to higher risk of dementia, Curtin-led research finds
PERTH, Australia, Nov. 9 -- Curtin University posted the following news release:
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Smoking linked to higher risk of dementia, Curtin-led research finds
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A major review of more than two million people has found current smokers face a higher risk of dementia, with researchers calling for brain health to feature more prominently in anti-smoking campaigns.
Led by Curtin University researchers, the study examined the link between smoking and three forms of dementia, including all cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, providing the most comprehensive update to the evidence
... Show Full Article
PERTH, Australia, Nov. 9 -- Curtin University posted the following news release:
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Smoking linked to higher risk of dementia, Curtin-led research finds
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A major review of more than two million people has found current smokers face a higher risk of dementia, with researchers calling for brain health to feature more prominently in anti-smoking campaigns.
Led by Curtin University researchers, the study examined the link between smoking and three forms of dementia, including all cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, providing the most comprehensive update to the evidencein more than a decade.
The systematic review and meta-analysis examined 61 studies involving about 2.8 million people.
Researchers found people who currently smoke had a 31 per cent higher risk of developing dementia, a 40 per cent higher risk of Alzheimer's disease and a 52 per cent higher risk of vascular dementia than people who had never smoked.
The study also found the risk of dementia increased with the number of cigarettes smoked.
People smoking 10 cigarettes a day had a 16 per cent higher risk of dementia, while those smoking 20 a day had a 34 per cent higher risk, compared with people who had never smoked.
Lead researcher Professor Mario Siervo, from the Dementia Centre of Excellence at Curtin's enAble Institute and School of Population Health, said the findings highlighted the importance of looking beyond the well-known links between smoking, cancer and heart disease.
"We know smoking can cause serious harm to our health, but its impact on brain health also deserves attention," Professor Siervo said.
"Our findings show current smoking is linked to a higher risk of dementia, and that risk increases as people smoke more."
Senior author of the paper Professor Blossom Stephan, also from the Dementia Centre of Excellence at Curtin's enAble Institute, said the findings highlight the importance of considering the wider health impacts of smoking.
"Brain health should be part of the conversation when we talk about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting."
The study also found former smokers had a lower risk of dementia than people who continued to smoke. Overall, former smokers did not have a higher risk of dementia than people who had never smoked.
While the research cannot prove smoking directly causes dementia, the findings add to growing evidence that quitting smoking may be an important part of reducing dementia risk.
Co-author and Dementia Australia Chief Executive Officer Professor Tanya Buchanan said the findings reinforced the importance of helping people understand the modifiable risk factors linked to dementia risk.
"Dementia has a life-changing impact on people, their families and their communities," Professor Buchanan said.
"Research like this helps build our understanding of the modifiable risk factors linked to dementia and highlights the importance of looking after our brain health.
"It is equally as important to understand that dementia risk reduction is a shared responsibility, which is why we need policies and actions from all levels of government, alongside providing information and research, to make it easier for all Australians to look after their brain health."
The researchers also highlighted a gap in Australia's approach to tobacco control.
While smoking has been identified as a risk factor for dementia in three major international reports, dementia and brain health are not directly addressed in Australia's National Tobacco Strategy 2023-2030.
Cancer Prevention and Research Director at Cancer Council WA, Melissa Ledger, said the findings provided another reason to maintain and refresh public health education campaigns and messages about the dangers of smoking.
"We're really proud to have delivered what we believe was the first Australian smoking and brain health campaign earlier this year, to start raising awareness of the link between smoking and dementia, but there is more to say about the harm smoking can cause," Ms Ledger said.
"This research provides an opportunity to talk about the health benefits of quitting smoking in a new way.
"Making sure people understand the full impact of smoking, and the benefits of quitting, is an important part of preventing smoking-related disease."
The researchers said including brain health in anti-smoking campaigns, cigarette packet warnings and quit-smoking programs could help more people understand the long-term risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting.
They said further research was needed to understand how the age at which a person quits, and how long they have been smoke-free, affect dementia risk.
The paper, 'Smoking and Dementia Risk: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 61 Prospective Cohort Studies and Implications for Tobacco Control,' has been published in eClinicalMedicine.
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Original text here: https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/media-release/smoking-linked-to-higher-risk-of-dementia-curtin-led-research-finds/
Researchers Develop First High-Resolution Map of Groundwater Across Brazil
PRINCETON, New Jersey, Nov. 9 -- The High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University posted the following news:
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Researchers Develop First High-Resolution Map of Groundwater Across Brazil
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Princeton researchers used machine learning to construct a map of groundwater levels across the entire 3.29-million-square-mile (8.5 million km2) expanse of Brazil, from its rainforests to its alternately dry and rainy savanna. It is the first national-scale high resolution overview of groundwater depth and could help scientists study the effects of both farmland irrigation and climate
... Show Full Article
PRINCETON, New Jersey, Nov. 9 -- The High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University posted the following news:
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Researchers Develop First High-Resolution Map of Groundwater Across Brazil
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Princeton researchers used machine learning to construct a map of groundwater levels across the entire 3.29-million-square-mile (8.5 million km2) expanse of Brazil, from its rainforests to its alternately dry and rainy savanna. It is the first national-scale high resolution overview of groundwater depth and could help scientists study the effects of both farmland irrigation and climatechange.
The map, detailed in a paper published today in Environmental Research Letters, provides a clear overview of the depth of groundwater in Brazil, which has the largest supply of renewable freshwater resources in the world. Groundwater helps sustain 90% of Brazil's rivers and supplies more than half its municipalities. It supports Brazil's growing agriculture industry with irrigated areas expected to grow by more than 70% by 2040. But monitoring is limited - Brazil is slightly larger than the continental U.S., but is home to fewer than one-fifth as many well observations.
First author Maria Fleury ('22, *26), a graduate student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, spent a year assembling data from those wells along with statistics on factors that can affect groundwater such as elevation, slope, proximity to streams, rainfall, temperature, soil composition and hydraulic conductivity, which refers to how easily water moves through soil, rock and other underground materials. She then spent an additional year completing the project, including training, testing and understanding the model using explainable AI techniques.
For Fleury, a native of Rio de Janeiro, doing research on her home country was meaningful enough to make her want to come back to Princeton for her graduate work with Reed Maxwell, her mentor and one of the authors of the study. Maxwell is the William and Edna Macaleer Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton and a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute.
"In my research journey, it's been really important to me to study something that I care about. Staying connected to Brazil has been a key part of that," she said.
The model created a digital map with a resolution of 90 meters, meaning that it divides the map of Brazil into approximately two-acre grids and estimates the groundwater depth for each grid. The end product is made up of more than one billion separate grids.
Researchers used modeling experiments to show that the location of a well can matter more than the number of wells. The map was able to encompass Brazil's widely different climates, from the rainforests with their rich diversity of plants and animals, to the savanna of the Cerrado region, which has both a long dry season and a wet season.
The model found that half of Brazil has groundwater within 39 feet (12 m) of the surface, but estimated depths vary widely with the deepest groundwater estimated at 1,380 feet (420 m). The map uses techniques pioneered by Maxwell's research group. He and other researchers used similar techniques in a January 2026 study of the groundwater of the United States that produced a detailed map. Yueling Ma, a former postdoctoral researcher who worked with Maxwell, was the lead author of the U.S. study and co-author of the Brazil paper.
"Most of the equatorial and subtropical world has very few groundwater measurements, so a technique like this gives us a real path to understanding water availability in places we couldn't before."
Fleury said she plans to continue studying groundwater in Brazil and would like to expand her research. "Understanding the hidden system of groundwater is critical, especially in a changing climate," Fleury said. "As we see more extended dry periods, humans are increasingly relying on groundwater. Having information about how much groundwater there is, and how it is being impacted, is essential if we are to manage it."
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation's Convergence Accelerator Program.
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Original text here: https://environment.princeton.edu/news/researchers-develop-first-high-resolution-map-of-groundwater-across-brazil/
Philosophy Department Presents Spellman Lecture in the History of Philosophy
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas, Nov. 9 -- The University of Arkansas issued the following news:
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Philosophy Department Presents Spellman Lecture in the History of Philosophy
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The U of A Department of Philosophy will welcome Dr. Rusty Jones of the University of Oklahoma for the upcoming Spellman Lecture in the History of Philosophy on Thursday, Nov. 12. Jones will present "A Socratic Account of Law and Justice: Xenophon's Memorabilia 4.4," a lecture exploring the philosophical views of Socrates and their relationship to ancient Greek understandings of law and justice.
The lecture will take place
... Show Full Article
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas, Nov. 9 -- The University of Arkansas issued the following news:
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Philosophy Department Presents Spellman Lecture in the History of Philosophy
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The U of A Department of Philosophy will welcome Dr. Rusty Jones of the University of Oklahoma for the upcoming Spellman Lecture in the History of Philosophy on Thursday, Nov. 12. Jones will present "A Socratic Account of Law and Justice: Xenophon's Memorabilia 4.4," a lecture exploring the philosophical views of Socrates and their relationship to ancient Greek understandings of law and justice.
The lecture will take placefrom 4 to 6 p.m. in room D115 of the Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences (AFLS) Building on the U of A campus. Please note that this lecture is being held on a Thursday and in a different location from the department's usual lecture venue.
The presentation, based on collaborative work by Jones and Ravi Sharma, examines Xenophon's Memorabilia 4.4, a chapter addressing Socrates' views on law and justice. These themes were central not only to Socrates' philosophy but also to his relationship with Athens during the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath.
Scholarly discussions of the chapter have focused on two longstanding interpretive challenges: questions about its internal coherence and its relationship to the surrounding chapters. Much of the debate has centered on whether Socrates should be understood as a legal positivist or a legal idealist. Jones and Sharma argue that this familiar distinction does not fully capture the details of Socrates' arguments. They offer an alternative interpretation that demonstrates the chapter's internal and external coherence while identifying important theoretical connections with Plato's Crito. Their reading also offers insight into the historical Socrates and his philosophical views on law and justice.
The Lynne and James Spellman Lecture in the History of Philosophy was endowed by Lynne Spellman, Professor Emerita and former chair of the Department of Philosophy at the U of A, and her husband, Jim, with the intent of promoting interest in the history of philosophy.
The lecture is free and open to the public. All are welcome.
Event Details
What: Spellman Lecture in the History of Philosophy
Speaker: Dr. Rusty Jones, University of Oklahoma
Lecture: "A Socratic Account of Law and Justice: Xenophon's Memorabilia 4.4"
When: Thursday, Nov. 12, 4-6 p.m.
Where: AFLS D115, Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences Building
Admission: Free and open to the public
Speaker: Dr. Rusty Jones, University of Oklahoma
Lecture: "A Socratic Account of Law and Justice: Xenophon's Memorabilia 4.4"
When: Thursday, Nov. 12, 4-6 p.m.
Where: AFLS D115, Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences Building
Admission: Free and open to the public
Christy Wear, office manager and assistant to the chair
Department of Philosophy
479-575-4174, cswear@uark.edu
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Original text here: https://news.uark.edu/articles/83220/philosophy-department-presents-spellman-lecture-in-the-history-of-philosophy
Instrumental pilot preparation
MANHATTAN, Kansas, Nov. 9 -- Kansas State University issued the following news:
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Instrumental pilot preparation
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Pilot students at Kansas State University Salina can now save time and money while earning one of their flight ratings, as the Federal Aviation Administration has granted the campus self-examining authority to award instrument ratings.
K-State Salina students can now earn their instrument rating after passing an end-of-course test administered by the campus's chief flight instructor or assistant chief flight instructor, rather than a separate practical test with a Designated
... Show Full Article
MANHATTAN, Kansas, Nov. 9 -- Kansas State University issued the following news:
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Instrumental pilot preparation
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Pilot students at Kansas State University Salina can now save time and money while earning one of their flight ratings, as the Federal Aviation Administration has granted the campus self-examining authority to award instrument ratings.
K-State Salina students can now earn their instrument rating after passing an end-of-course test administered by the campus's chief flight instructor or assistant chief flight instructor, rather than a separate practical test with a DesignatedPilot Examiner, or DPE, as in the past.
Self-examining authority means that students gaining their instrument rating will no longer have to wait on DPE availability. Students can test when they are ready, not when an outside examiner has an opening. This means fewer delays and a faster path to the rating.
This designation also helps students save money on fees, since they previously had to pay DPE fees. Students no longer pay for a separate practical test, which in some cases can save each student up to $1,000.
K-State Salina now has FAA self-examining authority for instrument rating and private pilot certification
K-State Salina also has self-examining authority for students earning their private pilot certificate. The campus is one of only a handful of universities across the country to earn self-examining authority from the FAA.
"Examining authority is earned, and this designation is a testament to what we have built at K-State," said Tysen Pina, aviation department head. "Our students have worked so hard to improve every day, and they have demonstrated remarkable knowledge and grit during this process. More than 100 students over the last two years passed the practical exam on their first try. This speaks to the overall excellence of not just our students but their flight instructors and aviation faculty as well."
An instrument rating allows pilots to navigate and operate aircraft using flight instruments rather than outside visual references, enabling flight in a wider range of weather conditions. To advance in the rating, students must complete 35 hours of flight training flying an aircraft using only the plane's instruments before taking the practical test.
Excellence in K-State Salina aviation program leads to FAA self-examining authority
As one of the premier flight education and training programs in the country, the FAA has entrusted the K-State Salina aviation program with properly examining students gaining their instrument ratings and advancing them on to the next flight rating level once they have become proficient in their flight instruction.
To obtain the self-examination designation from the FAA, K-State Salina needed to teach the instrument course for at least 24 consecutive months and achieve a 90% first-attempt pass rate during the same 24-month period.
In addition to their top-notch education, students in K-State Salina's professional pilot degree program put the skills they learn in the classroom to the test every day by also flying alongside a certified flight instructor inside an aircraft.
As pilots progress through their training, they earn what are called ratings. To become an FAA-certified pilot who is eligible to fly large aircraft for airlines, as well as other types of aircraft and careers, they must pass five different flight ratings and complete 1,000 flight hours, as K-State Salina is a Restricted Airline Transport Pilot, or R-ATP, certified university.
The instrument rating is one of several certifications students earn as they progress through the professional pilot program. K-State Salina students complete a structured sequence of flight ratings and academic coursework before their education and training are complete.
"Our program continues its rich legacy as being one of the best flight programs in the country," Pina said. "We are committed to developing pilots who are truly superb in every aspect of being a pilot. From academics to flight instruction to aspects like safety, students don't just come out of Salina with a degree and the ability to be a pilot. They are qualified, experienced, mature pilots who have learned from their mistakes and are ready to compete for careers in the aviation industry."
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Original text here: https://www.k-state.edu/news/articles/2026/11/pilot-students-save-time-money-with-campus-self-examining-authority-for-instrument-ratings.html
Andy Thompson named interim vice president for academic success and student affairs and dean of students
MANHATTAN, Kansas, Nov. 9 -- Kansas State University issued the following news:
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Andy Thompson named interim vice president for academic success and student affairs and dean of students
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Andy Thompson, assistant vice president and senior associate dean of students, has been named interim vice president for academic success and student affairs and dean of students at Kansas State University following an internal search. Thompson will report to the university president and will begin serving in the interim role immediately.
As interim vice president and dean of students, he will lead the
... Show Full Article
MANHATTAN, Kansas, Nov. 9 -- Kansas State University issued the following news:
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Andy Thompson named interim vice president for academic success and student affairs and dean of students
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Andy Thompson, assistant vice president and senior associate dean of students, has been named interim vice president for academic success and student affairs and dean of students at Kansas State University following an internal search. Thompson will report to the university president and will begin serving in the interim role immediately.
As interim vice president and dean of students, he will lead theDivision of Academic Success and Student Affairs, or DASSA, to foster the university's commitment to student success by actively developing, implementing and maintaining programs and services that enrich student learning, build and maintain a strong sense of community and support the social and personal development of students at K-State.
The division includes the Office of Student Support and Accountability, which oversees the Military Affiliated Resource Center, Center for Advocacy, Response and Education, Student Legal Services and Honor and Integrity. Other areas within the division include Student Belonging; Housing and Dining Services; the K-State Student Union, including Student Programs and Involvement; Recreational Services; Lafene Health Center; Lafene Counseling and Psychological Services; the Career Center; Fraternity and Sorority Life; Academic and Career Engagement; and Parents and Family Programs.
"Students are at the heart of everything we do at K-State, and I'm honored to serve them in this role," Thompson said. "My focus will be on making sure every student feels they belong here and has the support they need to learn, grow and succeed. I look forward to working with colleagues across campus to keep that commitment strong."
Thompson first joined K-State in 2009 and has served in student affairs leadership roles since 2014. He received his bachelor's in recreation administration from Eastern Illinois University and his master's in counselor education and student affairs from Clemson University.
-- Submitted by Division of Communications and Marketing
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Original text here: https://www.k-state.edu/news/articles/2026/11/andy-thompson-named-interim-leader-of-dassa.html (TNSmrp)
