Naismith Hall evacuated after fire breaks out

A hallway fire that caused the evacuation of Naismith Hall early Saturday morning is under investigation by Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.

No one was injured in what Deputy Chief Mark Bradford described as a small fire in a fourth-floor hallway that was extinguished by hall security personnel by the time firefighters arrived.

Firefighters were alerted at 4:44 a.m. by an automatic alarm and 911 call as Kansas University students were evacuated from the 10-floor, private residence hall at 1800 Naismith Drive.

Bradford declined to say whether investigators thought the fire was intentionally set or accidental. Damage from the fire was estimated at $1,000.

Graduate studies

KU joins national study on dissertation criteria

Ten Kansas University graduate departments will be included in a national study examining standards for evaluating dissertations.

Barbara Lovitts, a research scientist at the University of Maryland, is conducting “Making the Implicit Explicit: An Approach for Assessing the Outcomes of Doctoral Education.” The project’s premise is that there often are no written standards or criteria for evaluating dissertations, though most faculty assume certain standards or criteria.

KU faculty members in biology, physics, mathematics, economics, psychology, sociology, English, history, philosophy and electrical engineering will serve on focus groups led by Lisa Wolf-Wendel, associate professor of teaching and leadership.

Diana Carlin, dean of the Graduate School and international programs, will coordinate the effort at KU.

Health

KU Hospital to open expanded Cancer Center

Officials at the University of Kansas Hospital will gather Tuesday to open their new outpatient Cancer Center.

The opening event will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the hospital at 39th and Cambridge streets in Kansas City, Kan.

The expanded center provides nearly 30,000 square feet for cancer diagnosis and treatment. It has 12 new examination rooms, 19 private treatment rooms and a pharmacy.