By Roy Jensen, MD, Vice Chancellor and Director, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
I am thrilled to announce that The University of Kansas Cancer Center has achieved the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) most prestigious designation: Comprehensive. This designation puts KU Cancer Center in the same league as our nation’s most elite cancer centers.
Over the past three years, JCERT-funded programs at KU Edwards Campus and K-State Olathe have grown by 105%, running counter to enrollment declines occurring in higher education.
Demand for JCERT-funded programs is on the rise at K-State Olathe and the KU Edwards Campus despite challenges in higher education because both universities continue to provide educational offerings to meet career opportunities.
The KU Clinical Research Center, supported by JCERT funding, offers cutting-edge clinical trials which lead to new cancer therapies every day.
Kenneth Willard wasn’t even aware of a lump on his neck until his co-worker asked him about it. “I don’t know how he spotted the lump,” Willard recalled. “But I knew it needed to be checked out.” A visit with his primary doctor and an ear, nose and throat specialist followed. Biopsies revealed a diagnosis Willard never expected: At 55 years old, he had stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.
Jana Meyers credits her M.S. in Adult Learning and Leadership from K-State Olathe with taking her understanding of corporate learning programs to
a whole new level.
Jana Meyers has a talent for identifying potential in every individual and a passion for growing leaders and growing as a leader herself. This desire to continually improve and help others improve explains why she enrolled in the Adult Learning and Leadership master’s degree program at K-State Olathe, even though she already had one master’s degree and significant training and leadership experience.
Phyllis Greenquist is learning how scientists may one day be able to engineer replacement organs for people like her who are in need of a lung transplant.
Pursuing KU’s JCERT-supported online Bachelor of Health Sciences degree at the Edwards Campus (KUEC) in Overland Park more than 35 years after her high school graduation, Kansas City native Phyllis Greenquist exemplifies resilience.
CiCi Rojas, president of Tico Productions, and a cancer survivor and former clinical trial participant, is helping lead a multicultural campaign in partnership with the KU Cancer Center to encourage clinical trial participation in minorities across the region.
Minority populations suffer from cancer disproportionately, yet current clinical research data for minorities is scarce. According to 2020 Food and Drug Administration data, 73% of clinical trial participants were white, 14% Asian, 6% Hispanic and 5% Black.
K-State Olathe is offering four Digital Skills Bootcamps as alternative learning pathways for local professionals to access future-focused education for a tech-driven business world.
Digital Skills Bootcamps at K-State Olathe are helping local professionals quickly transition to in-demand tech careers, while addressing the demand for thousands of unfilled jobs in Greater Kansas City.
JCERT funding for KUEC is specifically earmarked for business, engineering, science and technology programs.
The latest KU Edwards Campus (KUEC) enrollment news reveals a 12.4% increase in year-over-year student credit hours in degree and certificate programs supported by the Johnson County Education Research Triangle.
New assistant vice-chancellor of KU Cancer Center’s Clinical Trials Office, Natalie Streeter, discusses the latest in breakthrough clinical trials and cancer research.
At any given time, The University of Kansas Cancer Center is managing about 600 clinical trials across the cancer continuum, with approximately 250 of those trials actively enrolling participants.
Ariana Englehart was motivated to go back to school to provide a better future for her children, and, as a working single parent, the flexibility of KUEC’s JCERT-supported BBA program allowed her to balance her responsibilities while pursuing her education.
