People bowl and socialize at the Jaybowl during the 1950s. Photo courtesy of Spencer Research Library, Kansas University Libraries.

As the Journal-World’s Kansas University reporter, I was busy this year. Numerous KU happenings made national news, and some will have lasting impact on the university. There were high-profile visitors, buildings going up and coming down, an alumnus’ ashes rocketing through space and controversies over race, sexual assault and donations from Koch Industry affiliates.

Here are my picks for the top KU news stories of 2015, some of which you’ll also find in the Journal-World’s overall top stories of the year feature on Friday. It wasn’t easy, but I’ve pared my list down to a baker’s dozen.

13 — Jaybowl closes for good

After 62 years, bowling at the Kansas Union ended in May. Citing declining popularity and loss of revenue, KU shut down Jaybowl and replaced it with an event space.

People bowl and socialize at the Jaybowl during the 1950s. Photo courtesy of Spencer Research Library, Kansas University Libraries.

12 — University Daily Kansan slashes print production

The Kansan, KU’s 111-year-old student newspaper, cut back this fall to printing just two days a week. Editors announced the change as a move toward “digital-first” journalism.

11 — Professor who said n-word in class placed on leave

This story got more clicks than anything I wrote all year, thanks in part to being picked up by numerous national news websites and blogs, including the Drudge Report. Students filed a discrimination complaint against Andrea Quenette, assistant professor of communication studies, after she used the n-word during a class discussion on race. Quenette said she meant no harm but was using the word in the context of a discussion about racism. She’s on paid leave until KU completes its investigation.

10 — KU prof discovers only known audio recording of James Naismith

Associate professor Michael Zogry, while researching for a book, unearthed the only known recording of the voice of James Naismith himself — inventor of basketball and former KU basketball coach. The 1939 radio show clip is now online for all to hear.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Michael Zogry, KU associate professor in the department of religious studies, who discovered the only known audio recording of James Naismith, talks about some of the many items in his Naismith collection.

9 — KU takes action on sexual assault

In May the chancellor’s Sexual Assault Task Force delivered 27 recommendations for change in how KU handles campus rape. KU is implementing some suggestions, including creating a Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center. Others aren’t happening, including requiring freshman fraternity members to live in dorms.

8 — Teacher with Koch ties settles lawsuit against university

The case of KU School of Business teacher and Center for Applied Economics director Art Hall v. KU was settled out of court in August. A student group paid $1,800 for an open records request hoped to reveal more about Hall’s ties to Koch Industries, but Hall sued and the students only received some of the documents.

7 — KU basketball team moves into new apartment building

Another viral story. (And I bet some of the people clicking on it were Kentucky fans trying to see if their basketball dorm has been outdone — pretty sure it has.) The Jayhawks moved into the posh new McCarthy Hall apartment building in October. It’s classy, not to mention accommodating of exceedingly tall people.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Brandmeyer Family Court, a half-court basketball facility, is one of the highlights of the new 1.2 million McCarthy Hall, which houses the Kansas men's basketball team.

6 — Racial tensions flare on campus

After high-profile protests at Mizzou, KU scheduled a town hall forum to talk about race in November. About 1,000 attended, including a group of mostly black student protesters calling themselves Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk. The following weeks saw an effort to oust Student Senate execs, a new task force to address diversity problems and a protest in the chancellor’s office.

photo by: Mike Yoder

E. Nathan Thomas III, Kansas University Vice Provost for Diversity and Equity, right, speaks to a group of student protesters gathered inside the administration offices at Strong Hall, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015.

5 — $4.2 million river study exploring effects of climate change, development

This was the highest-dollar research grant story I wrote all year. A KU professor is lead investigator on this pioneering collaborative project spanning two continents, 18 rivers and eight other universities.

4 — Pluto’s ‘heart’ named for KU grad who discovered planet

The world’s eyes were on the sky in July, when NASA’s New Horizon spacecraft snapped unprecedented close-up photos of Pluto. Aboard New Horizon were the ashes of the KU grad who discovered Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh, and NASA announced that a prominent heart-shaped feature on Pluto’s surface was being named for him.

This July 13, 2015, image provided by NASA shows Pluto from the New Horizons spacecraft.

3 — KU kicks off massive Central District redevelopment project

In November the Kansas Board of Regents OK’d KU’s $350 million Central District redevelopment plan, including a novel “public-private partnership” funding mechanism to pay for it. KU will build a new science building, residence hall, apartment building, student union to replace the Burge, parking garage and utility plant — all within the next three years. That’s on top of the neighborhood’s privately funded new McCarthy Hall, DeBruce Center and Capitol Federal Hall, as well as the already completed LEEP2 engineering building and Oswald and Self halls on Daisy Hill. To reiterate, Central District redevelopment is a massive and transformational project for campus.

2 — McCollum Hall comes tumbling down

The most dramatic piece of the aforementioned redevelopment project was without a doubt the spectacle of McCollum Hall imploding on Nov. 25. What’s probably Douglas County’s largest building square-footage-wise, home to 50 years of memories for an estimated 43,000 KU students echoed with dynamite blasts and crumbled in a matter of seconds.

1 — President Barack Obama visits KU

Obama’s Jan. 22 address on “middle class economics” wasn’t exactly historic, politically speaking. But the man is a mega-star, and [KU greeted him as such][22]. In a whirlwind couple of days, KU announced Obama’s visit, worked with Secret Service and law enforcement on myriad logistics, doled out coveted tickets and even arranged live music. The atmosphere inside Anschutz Sports Pavilion was electric, and many KU students and community members called the chance to see the sitting president a highlight of their lives.

photo by: Nick Krug

President Barack Obama gives remarks on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015 at Anschutz Pavilion on the campus of Kansas University in Lawrence, Kan. President Obama visited Lawrence to outline some of his themes delivered during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

• What did I miss? Share your opinions on the year’s top KU stories in the comments below (did I mention this was really hard to narrow down?). As always, reach me by email at sshepherd@ljworld.com, by phone at 832-7187, on Twitter @saramarieshep or via Facebook at Facebook.com/SaraShepherdNews.

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[14]: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/dec/09/student-protestors-pack-ku-chancellors-office-voic/