¢ The first black graduate of the KU School of Medicine has died. Edward V. Williams died Sunday in Muskegon, Mich., the Muskegon Chronicle reports._Williams was admitted to the University of Kansas in the late 1930s for medical school under the condition that he would transfer after the first two years. Williams was denied admission to the last two clinical years of the program because the dean did not want a black doctor treating white patients._¢ Kansas University’s new emphasis on teaching students about China – and particularly the Chinese language – through its new Confucius Institute is part of a story in today’s Christian Science Monitor. The story explores why the Chinese government wants Americans to learn Chinese._But as CIs in the US start up, some university faculty members remain skeptical of their presence on college campuses, raising concerns about the potential for political interference from the Chinese government.__”Of course, using the language to create a positive feeling toward China is political. There’s no getting around that,” says Elaine Gerbert, director of the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Kansas._¢ A paper co-written by a Kansas University researcher shows there is an “older, craggier face of Mars buried beneath the surface,” according to the National Air & Space Museum._The project is the first-ever exploration of a planet by sounding radar. The paper’s lead author, MARSIS science team member Thomas R. Watters of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, describes the work as “almost like having X-ray vision. Besides finding previously unknown impact basins, we’ve also confirmed that some of the subtle, roughly circular topographic depressions in the lowlands are related to impact features.”_¢ Lawrence R. Velvel, a former KU law professor now dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, blogs about “What the Media Have Not Said Upon Ford’s Passing” at OpEdNews.com. Velvel met Ford twice, once when he spoke at KU._ The passing of Gerald Ford has generally been met, one thinks, with the same kind of balanced assessment as was Reagan’s. At least this seems true as I write, on Friday, December 29th. Yet there are two points which give pause, one of which was passed over very lightly in the media, the other of which has been the subject of extensive discussion._¢ A KU Medical Center professor is questioning the importance of a European research study that found that age-related hearing loss in lower frequencies could be related to inadequate levels of folic acid._ “The effect is on low frequency hearing, but most older folks have a problem with high frequency hearing,” said Dr. Hinrich Staecker, an associate professor in the department of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center.__Staecker also noted that the study authors didn’t look at the ability of the participants to hear speech clearly. “It’s easier to make stuff louder, but it’s not easy to make stuff clearer,” he said._¢ The World Company’s new Web site, BoomerGirl.com, is getting national attention. The Web site for Editor & Publisher magazine makes mention of the site today._”Women in this age bracket are busy. They don’t have a lot of time to sit and surf the Internet,” BoomerGirl director, Cathy Hamilton said in a statement. “Our goal is to make BoomerGirl.com the one-stop shop for the relevant content our readers really want and need.”_¢ Longtime basketball official Rusty Bell, who is retiring, was asked by the Columbia Tribune to name the best college basketball player he’d watched. His answer? JoJo White from KU.