To the editor:

The political ineptness of the current administration at Kansas University astounds me.

The university recently hired state Sen. David Adkins as head of external affairs at the KU Medical Center. Among Adkins’ responsibilities will be lobbying the Kansas Legislature.

Despite his considerable talents, Adkins is detested by many of the conservatives who now dominate the Legislature because of his liberal views on many issues. Given that political reality, I can’t see how he will be an effective advocate in Topeka for the medical center and KU in general.

Now, according to the Sept. 16 Journal-World, KU intends to downplay Moses-burning bush imagery of the university seal. That is also certain to enflame many conservatives who will — correctly? — interpret the action as an assault by the state’s flagship university on the Judeo-Christian heritage.

The trashing of the Moses icon comes from a study by a Massachusetts firm hired to improve the university’s marketing. It’s telling that KU officials must go to New England for help to tout the virtues of a Kansas university to Kansans.

To me, it suggests a university administration totally out of touch with many of the people of Kansas and wholly ignorant of the current political dynamics in the state. While the university pleads poverty, it pays Adkins a six-figure salary and gives an out-of-state company a hefty fee to help persuade Kansans to increase the school’s budget.

KU supporters should not be optimistic about the university’s fate in the 2005 Legislature.

David Awbrey,

Springfield, Mo.