To the editor:

Being true Jayhawks, we all take considerable pride in the outstanding performance of our basketball teams and are thankful for another memorable home season.

At the same time, we appreciate that the essential work of KU is not basketball but education — teaching by highly qualified faculty and learning by motivated, talented students. Accordingly, we should also take pride in knowing that, under the leadership of Lew Perkins, we have an athletic department that is fully committed not only to success on the court and but also to advancing the academic interests of our student-athletes and to benefiting the university as a whole.

One clear indication of that commitment is the recent decision by the KU Athletic Department to dedicate some of the many time-out breaks during home games to recognizing the academic achievements of KU faculty, staff and students who, unlike the basketball players, labor in relative anonymity. Notable among the honorees have been faculty members who have earned Kemper awards for teaching excellence, the 29 KU student-athletes across all sports who have attained 4.0 grade-point averages, KU’s most recent Pulitzer Prize-winner and KU’s 25th Rhodes Scholar.

Congratulations to all the stars of KU.

Paul L. Carttar,

KU executive vice chancellor for external affairs