2026 Graduate Student Fall Fundraiser

The Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Organization (EEB GSO) is seeking your generous support to help our student biologists pursue opportunities for professional development and engage our local Kansas communities in scientific programming.

By making a gift to EEB GSO, you are directly impacting student success by helping to provide the opportunity for a student to learn, share research, and grow as a scientist. Thank you for your support! Donate Here: https://launchku.org/campaigns/2026-ku-ecology-and-evolutionary-biology-graduate-student-fundraiser-1

Mon, 11/02/2026

Sharon Renee Suppes

The Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Organization (EEB GSO) is seeking your generous support to help our student biologists pursue opportunities for professional development and engage our local Kansas communities in scientific programming. The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas is one of the most renowned in the nation, and the success of its students is one of the primary reasons.

The primary goal of the EEB GSO is to advance the interests of our graduate students by building bridges for professional development, social engagement, scientific outreach, and organizational representation. We represent students at departmental and university-wide meetings, ensuring that graduate student voices are heard. We lead award winning outreach initiatives to provide students with opportunities to share their scientific research with broader communities in Kansas and beyond. We organize regular social events to foster community and support among graduate students and their peers. We invest in the professional development of our students by organizing annual symposiums and funding their travel to regional, national, and international conferences. However, none of these initiatives would be possible without the generous support of members of the broader KU EEB Community.

Especially in light of recent cuts to state and federal funding, we depend on donations from faculty, alumni, and community connections to support our students and ensure that they have access to opportunities that are critical to their development as scientists. Your donation will directly fund the award-winning programs that have made KU EEB such a respected program, locally, nationally, and internationally.

Why are donations necessary?

This year, your donations are needed for two primary purposes:

1. Professional Development Awards: As student biologists, we aim to share our research with the broader scientific community, learn and practice new skills, and network with a diversity of peers, collaborators, and potential future employers. The high cost of travel associated with pursuing these important opportunities, however, is often prohibitive. To support student biologists in these endeavors, the EEB GSO awards 2–10 Professional Development Awards annually to help fund national and international travel to summer courses, research expeditions, and scientific conferences.

2. Award-Winning Science Programming in Kansas Communities: As an organization, we are dedicated to sharing our knowledge with the broader Kansas community and sparking excitement for biology in people of all ages through scientific programming. We organize both long-term projects and one-day events, including scientific demonstrations, hands-on activities, and formal and informal presentations to groups throughout the Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City areas. The EEB GSO is a proud community partner of local Title 1 elementary schools, 4-H of Douglas County, and the Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri.

These programs have reached hundreds of people of all ages, and while they certainly benefit our community, they also allow us to develop the crucial skill of communicating science to a broad and diverse audience. A variety of consumable materials are necessary for these programs to be successful, including crafting supplies for making nature journals, salt and soap for looking at DNA, and invertebrate specimens for teaching Kansas students about marine biology, to name but a few. By making a gift to support our award-winning scientific programming, you are promoting continued science outreach efforts in local Kansas communities by allowing the students who lead them to obtain the supplies needed to make these efforts a success.

Donate Here: https://launchku.org/campaigns/2026-ku-ecology-and-evolutionary-biology-graduate-student-fundraiser-1

Learn more about the EEB GSO: https://eeb.ku.edu/graduate-student-organization-gso

Learn more about our award-winning outreach efforts: https://outreachkueeb.wordpress.com/