Your daily dose of news, notes and links from around Kansas University.

• Here’s a great post from a blog I’ve linked to before in this space.

Kansas Athletics photographer Jeff Jacobsen talked recently about his experiences in “The White Room,” where all of KU’s various athletes go to get their official mugshots taken each year.

Jacobsen describes the process he goes through hundreds of times each year — to be prepared for three photos and imploring them not to miss the sign-in sheet.

And then answering the inevitable questions that will come up.

“They want to know if there’s a mirror,” he said.

Some athletes, he writes, will seem to become more “sour” over the years because of boyfriends, girlfriends, grades, injuries or burnout.

But the “vast majority,” he wrote, are “absolute delights.”

Here’s a taste:

“Even the most self-assured freshman men’s basketball player uses bravado to mask the reality that they still do not know how all this will work out,” he wrote. “How wonderful it is to see each grow and mature over the four to five years I photograph them.”

It’s worth your while to read the entire post (with, of course, some good photos).

• KU has honored its “Women of Distinction” for this academic year.

The program began in response to a “Women of KU” calendar that featured scantily clad KU students.

The “Women of Distinction” calendar was born in 2003, and has since taken on a life of its own.

Pictured this year are six individuals and six groups.

The individuals are: Amy Linnen, a 2007 KU alumna and former track athlete; Sarafina Kankam, a senior studying human biology; Lauren Lacey, a senior studying mechanical engineering; Lorraine Haricombe, dean of libraries; Yolanda Jackson, associate professor of psychology and applied behavioral science; and Alice Lieberman, professor and bachelor’s program director in the School of Social Welfare.

The groups include:

• “Committed to Service,” including Emily Lamb, a senior in American studies; Stephanie Jian, a senior in cognitive psychology; Julia Barnard, a senior in history; and Sarah Shier, a senior in political science and history.

• “Leading for Change,” including Megan Ritter, a senior in philosophy and international studies; Amber Jackson, a senior in journalism; Meredith Pavicic, a senior in women, gender and sexuality studies; and Libby Johnson, a senior in psychology.

• “Involved Engineers,” including Megan Ketchum, Cindy Vu and Nancy Liang, all in the chemical engineering program. Ketchum and Vu are seniors and Liang graduated in 2011.

• “Outstanding Administrators Who Make a Difference,” including Mary Burg, executive assistant to the chancellor; and Deb Teeter, director of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.

• “Breaking Barriers for LGBT Equity,” including Lori Messinger, associate professor in the School of Social Welfare; and Tami Albin, librarian for undergraduate instruction and outreach and women, gender and sexuality studies.

• “Graduate Students for Social Advocacy,” including Jillian Fitzsimmons, a 2011 master’s of social welfare graduate; Jennie Guthrie, a doctoral student in communication studies; and Susana Mariscal, a doctoral student in social welfare.

Congrats to all the winners.

• Though I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, I have it on good authority that there’s an amusing sign in Malott 2049 that reads, “Caution: Nothing you do here will fix anything!”

• I’m not sure if anything you do here will fix anything either, but the only way we’ll find out is if you submit tips for Heard on the Hill to ahyland@ljworld.com.