University programs and schools boast top honors in national polls

The education and law schools at KU leaped in the U.S. News & World Report's recently released "America's Best Graduate Schools" rankings. The law school jumped 16 spots and the School of Education moved five places to 15th in the nation among public universities.

KU's special education program also kept its No. 1 ranking among public universities, and KU retained its No. 3 ranking for paleontology.

KU has 42 nationally ranked programs, 24 in the top 25 in the nation and 11 in the top 10 among public universities. The city management and urban policy program also is ranked No. 1 among public universities.

The School of Education is now tied for 15th among public universities, up from 20th a year ago.

A new top 20 ranking went to the school's secondary education doctoral program, which is tied for 17th among public universities. Also new to the list are geology at 36th and primary care medicine at 38th.

Dean Rick Ginsberg credited high-quality students, faculty, researchers and staff for the education school's jump.

"I have been very impressed with the high quality of our faculty, researchers and students and the incredible breadth of the work being done. Our alumni indicate that their KU experience has served them very well in their professional careers," said Ginsberg, who became dean last summer. "The new rankings are a great external validation of the strength of the graduate programs here."

The law school leaped into a tie for 35th in the nation among public law schools, recovering from a blip in the data that caused its rankings to fall last year from 33rd to 51st. Interim Dean Michael Davis noted that this year the school received a particularly high assessment score from lawyers and judges.

KU's programs in the top 25
    •     City management and urban policy ranks first
    •     Special education ranks first
    •     Community health is tied for second
    •     Paleontology ranks third
    •     Public management administration ranks fourth
    •     Occupational therapy is tied for fourth
    •     Public affairs is tied for fifth
    •     Audiology ranks fifth
    •     Speech-language pathology ranks sixth
    •     Social work is tied for eighth
    •     Physical therapy is tied for 10th
    •     Nursing-midwifery is tied for 12th
    •     Music is tied for 12th
    •     Nursing-anesthesia is tied for 14th
    •     Education ranks 15th
    •     Pharmacy ranks 16th
    •     Public finance and budgeting is tied for 17th
    •     Secondary education is tied for 17th
    •     Health services administration is tied for 18th
    •     Clinical child psychology is tied for 19th
    •     Nursing is tied for 20th
    •     Clinical psychology is tied for 23rd
    •     Drama/theatre is tied for 23rd
    •     History is tied for 24th
Source – U.S. News & World Report

TRUMAN SCHOLAR WINNER: A KU junior from Derby planning a foreign service career has won a 2006 Harry S. Truman Scholarship providing up to $30,000 for college students preparing for leadership in public service.

Michelle Tran, majoring in journalism and Russian and East European studies with a minor in Arabic, becomes the 16th KU student to be named a Truman scholar. Tran is one of 75 scholarship winners selected by the Truman Foundation in Washington, D.C.