WSU announces Innovation Award recipients
The university community is invited to attend the fourth annual Wichita State University Innovation Awards at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22.
The Innovation Awards, hosted by WSU Ventures and WSU Strategic Initiatives, recognize students, faculty, staff and partners who execute programs and initiatives that greatly impact achievement of the university mission and vision.
The event will be held in the Beggs Ballroom. It is free and open to the public. Please RSVP.
Recipients of the 2018 WSU Ventures Innovation Awards include:
- Ambassador Karen Davis
- Community Partner Envision
- Creative Works Gerardo Olivares
- First Dollar Billy Martin
- Innovation Partner Spirit AeroSystems
- Patents Gerardo Olivares, Hyuck Kwon, Jie Yang, Khanh Pham, Vis Madhavan, John Tomblin, Brian Brown, Lamia Salah, Jibo He, Barbara Chaparro, Matthew Hannon, Zhiquan Ren, Ramazan Asmatulu, Heath Misak, Shang-You Yang, Paul Wooley, Vamsidhar Patlolla, Chandana K. K. Jayasooriya, Yang-Ki Hong, Ryan Syslo
- Philanthropy WSU Foundation
- Pioneer Vinod Namboodiri
- President’s Innovation Award Jeremy Patterson, Masters of Innovation Design program and students
- SBIR Brandon Hunt
- Shocker Innovation Corps Breakout Heidi Bell
- Shocker Innovation Corps Fellows Wei Wei, James Steck, Ernie Condon, Joel White, Nicole Stahl, Matt Goertz, Heidi Bell, David Hunsicker, Rui Ni, Bhisham Sharma, Li Yao, Scott Miller, Sergio Salinas, Ali Eslami, Vinod Namboodiri, Darren DeFrain
- Shocker Innovation Corps Guru Gaylen Chandler, Chris Broberg
- Trailblazer David Hunsicker
- Visionary WSU Tech
- Bright Future Tyler Levesque, Kyle Kopecky, Holli Steiner, Ryan Becker, Seyed Ali Cheraghi, Amy Lightfoot, Dany Diaz-Sustaita, Jared Goering, Alejandro Arias-Esparza
WSU honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Wichita State University will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events on campus and throughout the city.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday honors a man who brought hope and healing to America.
This monthlong celebration begins Thursday, Jan. 17, and will last until Thursday, Jan. 24, through citywide collaboration with organizations such as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., The Kansas African American Museum, Christian Faith Centre, and the Greater Wichita Ministerial League.
Medicaid expansion is topic of next Engage ICT event
KMUW invites you to Engage ICT: Democracy on Tap at 5:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, Jan. 15) at Roxy’s downtown, 412 ½ E. Douglas.
Engage ICT: Democracy on Tap is a monthly community conversation featuring a panel of local experts and topics that touch your daily life. Our January discussion is on Medicaid expansion. Come find out where Kansas now stands, how the topic will play out in Topeka this legislative session, and what major health care changes might be in store if expansion is approved. It’s free, and so are the appetizers. Learn more at EngageICT.org.
Contact info@kmuw.org or call 978-6789.
WSU releases 2019 employment forecasts
Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development and Business Research has released updated employment forecasts for Kansas, Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City.
Upcoming Office of Diversity and Inclusion events
Almost every day of the year, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosts opportunities for our students, faculty, staff and community members to meet, experience and engage with people of various cultures, identities, perspectives and experiences. As the work of our office in partnership with programs, units and individuals across campus continues, we are hopeful that you will take time out of your busy schedule to join us at one of our upcoming events. Go to http://wichita.edu/odievents for a full list of events.
Watch the latest episode of ‘In Focus’
Take a closer look at the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on the latest episode of “In Focus.” On this episode, we took a trip to Skeleton Acres where anthropology professor Peer Moore-Jansen and his students use forensic anthropology methods to study mock crime scenes, spoke with physics professor Nick Solomey about working with NASA to send a neutrino detector to the sun, and check out a popular first-year seminar where students get a taste of culture by sampling foods from other countries.
“In Focus” is a video series that features a different college within the university each episode, highlighting the amazing students, faculty, staff members and history of Wichita State University.
For more episodes, check out WSUTV on YouTube.
KMUW selected to continue Wichitalks Series
Wichitalks has found a new home.
KMUW 89.1 FM will now oversee the popular "lightning talks" series, which began in 2016 and has since taken on a vibrant local life.
Wichitalks founder Kevin Falting is relocating to South Korea for his role in the Air Force. He says he chose KMUW to lead the project because of the organization's success hosting other events.
"[KMUW does] great work," Falting says. "I can't transfer my vision to [them] totally, but that's kind of the point. I want it to grow. I encourage [KMUW] to test the limits."
Wichitalks brings together creative minds and compelling stories that add value to the local community. At each event, 10 handpicked individuals share a five-minute presentation on a subject they're passionate about. With just 20 slides, each auto-progressing every 15 seconds, presentations are fast-paced, insightful and fun.
"We are thrilled to carry the torch of Wichitalks into the future," says Sarah Jane Crespo, director of community engagement at KMUW. "It has been a gem in this community and we want to see it continue at the level of professionalism and creativity that it achieved under Kevin's leadership. It's a great fit for KMUW and an event that Wichita needs to see continue."
Falting credits Michelle Frikken, Lucy Petroucheva, Seth Etter, Jennifer White, Todd Ramsey, Sheona Sleiman, and Andrea Primm for their roles in helping to make Wichitalks successful.
This year's event will be held at Roxy's Downtown.
Staying local: Wichita colleges feeding the local talent pipeline
The following Wichita Business Journal story was written by reporter Daniel McCoy.
Local leaders continually say that keeping Wichita’s homegrown talent close to home will be a major factor in the city meeting its growing workforce demand.
And on that front, Wichita appears to be ahead of the curve.
According to a recent alumni migration study of more than 440 colleges and universities, labor-market research firm Emsi found that among state university graduates, 40 percent nationally wind up living and working within 50 miles of their alma mater.
While the study’s data for Wichita State University shows pockets of Shockers all across the country — 500 can be found in Maricopa County, Ariz., for example — Sedgwick County is far away the top county for alumni residents.
The university has found the same in its own graduate surveys, with respondents pointing to a potentially even higher local retention rate.
According to the Wichita State University Career Development Center, 85 percent of graduate respondents in 2018 said they were employed within the state of Kansas.
That included 65.5 percent that said they were working in Wichita.
While only comprehensive of those who responded to the survey, Austin says the results indicate that a majority WSU graduates are able and willing to stay close to home for work after college.
Other local institutions are doing the same, as the Emsi study also found Sedgwick County as the residence winner for alumni of both Friends University and Newman University by a wide margin.
And that has very real implications for local employers.
Brian Sikes is the head of Cargill Inc.’s protein and salt business and the leader of the company’s new protein division headquarters in downtown Wichita.
He says that WSU is the top school for alumni at its Wichita facility, with Kansas State University in second, and that the company’s plans for continued growth makes having a local pipeline of talent vital to its success.
And don’t underestimate the impact that a single graduate can have.
During a recent tour of Cargill’s new $70-million building with Sen. Jerry Moran, Sikes recounted that the entire idea for it came from one highly-qualified job candidate from Kansas who years ago questioned whether they wanted to work in the dated buildings that previously housed its local operations.
That opened the company’s eyes to what it might need to do in the future to retain the talent its leadership knew it would need and was the genesis for the new building.
“We want to make sure people enjoy coming to work here,” Sikes says.
Ulrich Museum of Art spring exhibitions / programs / events
The Ulrich Museum of Art has announced its spring 2019 exhibitions, programs and events.
The exhibitions “In the Wake” and “Solving For X = Sustainability” will run from Thursday, Jan. 24-Sunday, March 31. The Frederick Judd Waugh: “Waterscapes” will run now through Sunday, March 31.
The spring exhibition party will be held from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Ulrich Museum.
Ulrich Museum spring exhibitions / programs / events
Get a New Year’s membership with Campus Recreation
Join Campus Recreation! Achieve your fitness resolution! Membership benefits include access to all ShockerFit classes, access to intramural sport participation, access to F45 classes, and more. Click on Campus Recreation for more information and to join us.
Teacher Appreciation event coming to Charles Koch Arena
The women’s basketball team will host the Houston Cougars at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, in Charles Koch Arena. Admission is free for all teachers, professors, and faculty and staff with school ID.
Our goal is to support as many local teachers as possible by collecting school supplies throughout the game (hand sanitizer, Kleenex, crayons, glue, pencils, etc.)
General admission tickets are $4. There will be a free one-hour mini-camp for kids from K-8 following the game.
League coaches pick Shockers to finish second
Coming off an NCAA Regional appearance a season ago, the Wichita State softball team
was picked to finish second in the 2019 American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll,
it was announced last week.
Wichita State picked up three first place votes and 43 total points from league coaches,
just two points behind USF. The Bulls are the preseason favorites after going 39-23
in 2018 and falling in the American Athletic Conference Championship game to Tulsa.
Wichita State names new coordinator for Esports
Matthew “Tyler” Levesque has been named the coordinator for Esports at Wichita State
University. Levesque completed his Bachelor’s in Government at the University of Texas
and recently earned his Master’s in Sport Management from Wichita State.
Starting this spring, WSU will have competitive varsity Esports teams and will compete
in intercollegiate play through the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE).
Wichita State will compete against schools ranging from division 1 institutions to
NAIA affiliated schools, including Miami, Boise State, Georgia Southern University,
University of North Texas, and hundreds of others belonging to NACE. An Esports Café
is being added in the Heskett Center, room 109 and will serve as the home for varsity
teams along with gamers from all over Wichita State’s campus.
For more information on Esports at WSU, go to wichita.edu/esports.
A challenge to give blood and save lives
January is National Blood Donor Month, declared by President Richard Nixon in 1970, to pay tribute to voluntary blood donors and increase donation by others. Winter weather and illness can make it difficult for the American Red Cross to maintain a sufficient blood supply this time of year. Healthy, eligible donors are urged to give now!
All presenting donors will receive a free T-shirt.
Upcoming Blood Drive:
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, and Thursday, Jan. 31, in the Heskett Center.
To view available times and to schedule your donation appointment, go to www.redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code: Wichita State.
You can also call 1-800-RedCross to schedule your blood donation appointment. Walk-ins are welcome.
Photo ID or Red Cross Donor Card required.
- Be sure to complete a RapidPass prior to your next blood donation to save time at your next blood drive. RapidPass lets donors complete the pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of donation, from the convenience of a computer at home or work. To get started, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions.
- Blood donors with the most recent version of the Red Cross Blood Donor App can now view their health history information, including blood pressure, hemoglobin levels and pulse rate, on their donor card within the app. The donor card in the app can also be used as a donor’s official form of identification when donating. Download the app by texting “BLOODAPP” to 90999 or searching “American Red Cross” in app stores.