Thousands Gather to Honor KU School of Engineering Class of 2026

It was a party-like atmosphere inside Allen Fieldhouse as friends and family gathered to celebrate nearly 550 engineering students on hand for the School’s recognition ceremony on May 16.

The School is on track to award more than 550 undergraduate and 175 graduate degrees this year. This marks the fourth straight year KU Engineering has stayed at near-record levels in degrees awarded — again topping 600.

During the ceremony, numerous awards are handed out.

Sarah Walsh in chemical engineering was recognized with the Locke Award for outstanding senior in the School. Jeffrey Xu in aerospace engineering won the outstanding doctoral researcher award. Andrew Dodge, also in aerospace engineering, won the outstanding master’s researcher award.

Two faculty members were also honored with awards selected by undergraduates. Matt O’Reilly won the Gould Award for undergraduate engineering education and Beth Ward won the Gould Award for undergraduate engineering mentoring.