Lindley Hall is getting a major renovation. The Tombaugh Observatory sits atop the roof and I hope they will keep that (and maybe update it as well). I used to go there as a kid and it fueled my in interest in space and astronomy.
I entered KU in 1983 with a dream of pursuing Astrophysics but detoured after Calc 1&2 kicked my ass. (My rural Kansas public school education did not prepare me well in Math.)
But, more to the topic: I was not at all surprised when Pluto was re-categorized as a dwarf planet — and not disappointed.
As a kid, I thought its eccentric orbit (it crosses paths with Neptune and is occasionally closer to Sun than Neptune) and irregular elliptical suggested that it was exogenous to our solar system. Astronomers didn't have any good explanations for these irregularities, and I felt it was most easily explained by a scenario where our sun drifted close enough to another star to pull a distant satellite away.
So, even though Pluto doesn't have planetary status, I think it should be recognized as unique gift to our solar system.
