If 2007 was a tumultuous, yet productive, year for Kansas University, 2008 is shaping up to be a bit more productive and perhaps a bit less tumultuous.

KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway has said curing cancer is the university’s top priority. To do that, KU leaders said they needed a new affiliation agreement with KU Hospital and broader affiliations with other hospitals, such as St. Luke’s in Kansas City, Mo.

That affiliation process finally came to an end last month with the approval of the new KU Hospital-KU Medical Center agreement. But that conclusion brings KU to 2008 with a major challenge: implementation.

“I think we’ll really be able to build stronger, better clinical and research programs together,” KUMC Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara Atkinson said.

In addition to getting more money for research from both KU Hospital and St. Luke’s, KUMC and KU Hospital will embark on construction of a medical office building. With groundbreaking scheduled no later than Jan. 1, 2009, 2008 will be filled with site prep and planning for the new building.

Atkinson had said getting that building was her first priority when she became dean of the School of Medicine five years ago.

While the hospitals provide a good portion of the funds for KUMC, the state Legislature still provides a large chunk of the funds for KU as a whole. And KU, along with the other state universities, has an ambitious request for more money before the Legislature.

All told, the state higher education sector is seeking $150 million more in 2008 than in 2007.

Last year, the state universities secured a down payment on the $600-million-plus backlog of building maintenance projects. However, 2008 will see the universities looking to take another bite out of the backlog.

Additionally, the universities are asking for an overall increase in legislative funding equal to the rate of inflation plus 1.6 percent. That money would be used to defray future tuition increases, while still bringing up faculty pay and other expenses in line with peer institutions.

“In talking to several legislators, they’re very concerned at the increase in tuition,” regent Dan Lykins said. “It’s greater than the cost of living.”

KU also was successful in getting two new programs on the regents’ list of programs worthy of state investment: U Kan Teach, which produces secondary math and science teachers, and an expansion of the School of Pharmacy.

If funding for those projects is approved by the Legislature in 2008, pharmacy expansion could begin midyear, when the university’s new budget year starts. The U Kan Teach program already has started with funding from private sources, but would be benefited by more state money.

In addition to those major projects, KU expects to have a new strategic plan during 2008.

“In my estimate, we must create a universitywide strategic plan that includes all our campuses,” Hemenway said. “We want to have a plan by spring semester’s end.”