Students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and community invited to share feedback on presidential search
The WSU Presidential Search Committee is gathering opinions to help shape the position description.
Whatever your relationship to the university, the committee would like your opinions on a short group of questions.
Please share your feedback through a voluntary, anonymous online survey.
Fill out the surveyWSU lab takes virtual reality to a whole new level
Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research houses a virtual reality center, known as the Cave, which stands for computer-aided virtual environment.
Providing a different way to view technology for the nation’s aviation industry as well as non-aviation industries, the Cave is providing students with the opportunity to use newer technologies to work with certification agencies and help when design issues arise.
Virtual reality lab manager Jeff Fisher works with freshman engineering major Jacob Cromly in the Cave to visit different environments and products. Students like Jacob are learning just how useful virtual reality is on a production-based level and how it is changing different industries.
Engineering students place in top 10 in NASA rocket launch competition
Four Wichita State University aerospace engineering students have placed seventh in NASA’s Student Launch Initiative (SLI) competition. The team designed, built and launched a rocket to complete a simulated Moon mission.
Entering and competing the SLI program is incredibly competitive. Universities across the United States propose designs to meet strict altitude and payload requirements. NASA vets all of the designs and eliminates all but the best.
Save the date for the Kansas Economic Outlook Conference
The Center for Economic Development and Business Research (CEDBR), part of the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University, is hosting the 40th Annual Kansas Economic Outlook Conference on from 7:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Century II Convention Center, 225 W. Douglas.
Experts will deliver insights on the economy, which will consist of state and local industry-level employment projections, real estate forecasts, small business economic conditions and an aerospace update.
Speakers will include:
- Holly Wade, director of National Federation of Independent Business
- Tom Kim, senior vice president of commercial real estate finance at Mortgage Bankers Association
- Tom Gentile, CEO at Spirit AeroSystems
- Stan Longhofer, director of the Center for Real Estate at WSU
- Jeremy Hill, director of the CEDBR.
WSU Summer Choir rehearsals start June 3
If you would like to be part of Summer Choir, read on!
The WSU Summer choir rehearses in June. We practice Monday and Wednesday from 5-6:50 p.m. Our first rehearsal is Monday, June 3, and the concert will be on Tuesday, June 25. Choir rehearsals are in C-107 Duerksen Fine Arts building. Hope you can join us for singing and fellowship! It is always a great time and some pretty good music as well.
Contact director Tom Wine with questions at 978-6125. Please pass along the invitation to sing. The more the merrier.
More information and a link to register is available below.
The most important information includes:
- Rehearsals begin on Monday, June 3 in room C-107 Duerksen Fine Arts Center
- Rehearsals are Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-6:50 p.m.
- The concert date is Tuesday, June 25 at Wichita State University.
- Teachers may enroll for college graduate credit, but it is not required for participation.
- Registration is $50 with discounts: $25 for Students, $35 for WSU faculty and staff.
Pre-register here. www.wichita.edu/mktcfai
- There are no auditions. Come and sing!
See you in June!
Tom Wine
Share your vision of the future with architects from around the state
The American Institute of Architects Kansas Chapter is pleased to host its annual conference in Wichita Sept. 12-13. Our theme, “Embracing Disruption,” has been selected as an acknowledgement of the rapidly transforming natural and built environment we are to face in upcoming decades due to advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.
We recognize that in order to design for a future that works for everyone, it is important to gather ideas and visions now from the technological innovators and researchers who will guide where our future is headed. Therefore, we are excited to extend an invitation to the Wichita State University community to present your thoughts and ideas of what our future could look like, and how architects and city planners in our community might be able to prepare for this future. Presentation formats range from 1-hour feature presentations to as short as 15-minute nano-presentations, including round table or panel discussions.
If you are interested in being a presenter, sitting on a panel, or hosting part of an on-campus building tour, click here. The deadline to submit for presentations is Friday, May 31. Please contact Jessica Wederski at 785.230.8026 or by email at jessica@aiaks.org for more information or questions regarding this event.
ICYMI: The May 23 Weekly Briefing
News about KHEDF scholarships, summer classes, presidential search and more were presented during the Weekly Briefing university update on Thursday, May 23.
KHEDF scholarships
To start today’s briefing, we’d like to congratulate this year’s Kansas Hispanic Education and Development Foundation’s scholarship recipients. On Monday, the university was proud to host the KHEDF’s annual Scholars and Recognition Dinner, an event that has, over the past 12 years, honored 470 college-bound Hispanic students from the Wichita metro area who have benefitted from more than $865,000 in scholarships.
The KHEDF’s scholarship program mirrors our own commitment to empowering students from diverse backgrounds. That said, we’re pleased to announce that out of this year’s 50 recipients, 25 have chosen to attend Wichita State the fall.
We look forward to welcoming them to campus this August.
Summer classes start June 3
With the summer session starting June 3, we want to let you know that there’s still time for you to enroll and take advantage of our two- four- or eight-week summer classes, which can help keep you on track to graduating in four years.
As a summer Shocker, you’ll also benefit from an expanded variety of courses, free parking—and have the option to apply financial aid toward your summer tuition.
For a list of courses, and to enroll, visit wichita.edu/summer.
Presidential search committee
Last Thursday, the Kansas Board of Regents announced its presidential search committee, search firm and chair. We’re pleased to note that the 20 committee members KBOR selected bring a diverse range of experience and perspectives to the search process. The committee includes students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members.
In addition, the board named Steve Clark of Wichita as chair of the search committee. Clark, a former Regent, is chairman of Clark Investment Group. He previously chaired the search committee that advised the board in the hiring of former WSU president Dr. John Bardo.
Although this is a closed presidential search, there are several ways faculty, staff, students and the community can contribute to, and learn about, the search process. From June 3-10, everyone will be able to fill out a short survey as well as leave feedback. We’ll release more details about the survey as they become available.
On June 6, the search committee will host four public forums in the RSC, Room 142, to gather input which will be used in building a presidential profile.
We also encourage everyone to learn more about the process and to contact committee members to ask questions or provide feedback as the process unfolds. For more information, including committee members’ bios, visit wichita.edu/presidentialsearch.
You can also email comments and questions to president.search@wichita.edu.
State of Kansas employee pay raise
As many of you have likely heard, the Legislature recently adopted a pay raise for State of Kansas employees. For state universities, this means each received a pool of funds to distribute to employees at their discretion. WSU’s pool for this purpose is $1.5 million.
We want to thank the Legislature for recognizing, and rewarding, the valuable contribution of public higher education employees. And we’d also like to thank our own employees for their hard work and dedication to furthering WSU’s mission and vision.
For additional details, check out the news story in today’s WSU Today. If you have questions, please contact your supervisor.
A SculpTour Affair – The biennial benefit event for the Ulrich Museum of Art
“A SculpTour Affair” celebrates the renowned Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection, considered to be one of the top 10 collections on university campuses across the United States. This year’s gala event from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, June 30, at the Ulrich Museum of Art will feature three new acquisitions by nationally and internationally recognized artists: “The Celestial Mechanic” by Randy Regier; “Font” by Elyn Zimmerman; and “Shockers” by Tom Otterness.
Join us for a late-afternoon stroll with friends and art lovers, cocktails, delicious food, music, and a bit of the unexpected at our next “A SculpTour Affair” this June.
To purchase tickets or become a sponsor, call 978-3664 or purchase online at SculpTour.
For more information, contact Carolyn Copple at Carolyn.copple@wichita.edu or call 978-6646.
New hours for Shocker Store in the RSC
Starting this week, the Shocker Store in the RSC location will have new hours of operation.
They will be open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-3
p.m. Saturday. Hours will be extended beyond those during peak university seasons.
Our Braeburn Square location hours will remain the same.
Join a WSU Heart Walk team
Heart disease is the #1 killer in the nation and stroke is #5. Everyone knows someone who has been impacted by one of these. Help support the American Heart Association by signing up as a Heart Walk Coach for the Wichita State University team.
The Heart Walk will be held Saturday, June 8 on the Wichita State campus. Join an existing team here. If you have any questions, contact Trish Gandu at trish.gandu@wichita.edu.
Patriotic Shocker shirts on sale at Shocker Store
For the upcoming Independence Day holiday, make sure to grab the new patriotic shirt from the Shocker Store! It’s $29.99, and available in sizes small-2XL. The shirt is available at both the Rhatigan Student Center and Braeburn Square locations.