Wichita State University holiday hours
Wichita State University’s holiday hours will begin Monday, Dec. 23, and go through Wednesday, Jan. 1. Some hours will vary by department.
Wichita State Men's Basketball - Holiday ticket offer
The Wichita State Athletic Department would like to extend a Christmas holiday offer to all faculty, and employees on the Innovation Campus. The offer will include the following men’s basketball games: Sunday, Dec. 29 against Abilene Christian ($10), Wednesday, Jan. 1 against ECU ($10), and Saturday, Jan. 4 versus Ole’ Miss ($20).
To redeem this offer, go to GoShockers.com, click on the tickets tab, click buy tickets, click on promotions tab (top bar on screen), and type in promotion code: HOLIDAY.
Alumnus Brenton D. Myers makes $1.25 million gift to College of Engineering
A $1.25 million gift from the estate of Wichita State University alumnus Brenton D. Myers will support the WSU College of Engineering, where Myers earned the degree that helped him build a lifelong career in engineering and airport planning.
Mr. Myers was a staunch champion of the College of Engineering, endowing the Brenton D. Myers Engineering Scholarship in 2011 and the Brenton D. Myers Innovation in Engineering Education Award in 2015. The award is used to help faculty develop innovative ways to teach students to be better engineers.
Mr. Myers’ estate gift will be divided among three areas: supplementing his scholarship to produce larger awards; increasing the faculty award to make a greater impact; and providing discretionary funds to the dean to strengthen the College of Engineering.
Read complete story on $1.25 million gift.
Tompkins' warm personality, dedication to WSU will be remembered
Andy Tompkins pauses and waves his hands to punctuate the point he is about to make.
“I don’t want to be remembered for anything,” he said, in the final moments of an interview about his nine-month tenure as Wichita State University’s interim president.
The people who work with Tompkins, however, won’t let him decide that, no matter how nicely he asks before he returns to retired life, his volunteer work at his church and a hospital in Topeka, reading novels and attending movies.
In nine months, Tompkins impressed everyone by putting a full-time effort into a temporary job, walking the campus almost every morning, touring every building, learning names and backgrounds and using his avuncular personality to put people at ease during a time of transition.
Read entire story on Andy Tompkins .
Meet a Shocker: Fall 2019 graduates
More than 1,100 Wichita State students were eligible for fall 2019 graduation. Hear what some of them have to say about their time as Shockers and what their futures hold.
Invitation to the Governor’s budget listening session
Gov. Laura Kelly is hosting the Governor’s Kansan to Kansan Budget Listening Session from 5:30-7:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, Dec. 17), at the Hughes Metropolitan Complete. The public is invited to attend.
Weekly Briefing university update
At last Thursday’s Weekly Briefing, the following information was shared as part of the university update.
KANSAS GOVERNOR VISITS WSU ON BUDGET LISTENING TOUR
Governor Laura Kelly will visit communities across the state on her Kansan to Kansan budget listening tour. She will be at the WSU Metropolitan Complex from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17.
The Governor wants to hear from Kansans about what their priorities are for the coming year's Kansas state budget. Following a brief presentation about the budget from Governor Kelly, attendees will be divided into groups to discuss their budget priorities.
FINAL FIVE FOR BUSINESS COMPETITION
Five teams of Wichita State students are finalists in the Koch Innovation Challenge.
The business pitch competition, sponsored by Koch Industries, is an annual competition supporting the WSU College of Engineering in fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and teamwork among students.
Cross-disciplinary teams of new freshmen and transfer students studying engineering, art and design, business and other disciplines compete for funding and scholarships to invent products and technologies via a freshman introductory course.
Some of the pitches are: a mobile app that allows users to vote on what’s for family dinner, a bicycle security device and a magnetic device that makes pulling wires through walls easier.
The final round in May will determine the overall champion team, which will be awarded a travel grant to attend the National Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization Conference and compete in the Global Pitch Competition in 2020.
FAIRMOUNT COLLEGE INDUCTS THREE INTO HALL OF FAME
Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences inducted Judy Bell, Robert D. Blackwill and Donna Sweet into its Hall of Fame on Friday.
Induction into the Fairmount College Hall of Fame is the highest recognition of outstanding alumni who have had a significant impact on the region, nation and world.
Bell began her golf career at the 1950 U.S. Open at the age of 14 and was the first woman to head the U.S. Golf Association.
Blackwill is the former ambassador to Vienna. He has also served as ambassador to India, presidential envoy to Iraq and deputy national security advisor.
Sweet is one of Kansas’s top HIV-positive and AIDS specialists and a noted national and international speaker on the subject.
GIFT OF $1.25 MILLION STRENGTHENS ENGINEERING PROGRAM
A $1.25 million gift from the estate of Wichita State University alumnus Brenton D. Myers will support the WSU College of Engineering, where Myers earned the degree that helped him build a lifelong career in engineering and airport planning.
Mr. Myers endowed the Brenton D. Myers Engineering Scholarship in 2011 and the Brenton D. Myers Innovation in Engineering Education Award in 2015. The award is used to help faculty develop innovative ways to teach students to be better engineers.
Mr. Myers’ estate gift will be divided among three areas: supplementing his scholarship to produce larger awards; increasing the faculty award to make a greater impact; and providing discretionary funds to the dean to strengthen the College of Engineering.
NEW INNOVATION FELLOWS PROJECTS
Molly Carlson, Savannah Redfern and Jacob Burns are Wichita State’s new University Innovation Fellows.
Carlson’s UIF project is to plan a WSU Open Streets events on April 5 that will combine innovation, entrepreneurship and the arts. Redfern is working on a project-based Living and Learning Community for students. Burns plans to create a buddy system for international students to increase the sense of community between international students and others students at WSU.
WU LUG RANKS 9th IN NATIONAL CYBER LEAGUE
Wichita State’s three teams in the National Cyber League combined to place ninth nationally after fall semester competition. WorldWideWheat placed 10th nationally in the Gold Bracket.
National Cyber League is a capture the flag style competition which helps students prepare and test themselves against cybersecurity challenges they are likely to face in the workforce. NCL measures their ability to perform real-world cybersecurity tasks, such as identifying hackers from forensic data, breaking into vulnerable websites, recovering from ransomware, and more.
This season more than 6,000 players and 700 teams around the nation participated in NCL.
WSU’s team is comprised of members of the Wichita State Linux Users Group, known as Wu Lug.
FALL COMMENCEMENT SUNDAY AT CHARLES KOCH ARENA
More than 1,100 students are eligible to participate in the 122nd fall commencement ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, at Charles Koch Arena.
Each one of the graduates has their own story of perseverance and hard work. Here are three examples:
Madison Davis, a criminal justice major, plans to start work on her graduate degree in January while working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and teaching part-time at a local middle and high school.
Gabrielle Owens, who earned her Master of Arts in aging studies, credits tutors and other resources provided by Office of Diversity and Inclusion to help her complete her degree.
Sydney Easterberg, a sociology major, used a planner and daily to-do lists to improve her time management skills. She is working on her master’s in sociology.
Read more about Wichita State’s outstanding December graduates at wsu.news/fallgrads.
PARKINSON HONORED AT COMMENCEMENT ON SUNDAY
Mark Parkinson, who graduated summa cum laude from Wichita State in 1980, will receive an honorary degree on Sunday.
Parkinson was lieutenant governor of Kansas when then-President Obama appointed Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to his cabinet. Parkinson became governor in 2009 and served nearly two years.
In February, the Parkinsons, who live in Washington, D.C., donated $200,000 to launch the Mark and Stacy Parkinson Scholarship for First Generation Immigrant Students.
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE AND EVENTS
While finals end today and university offices close on Dec. 20, several events will take place during the holidays.
Wednesday, KMUW’s Literary Feast, at 121 N. Mead, features the Charles Dicken classic “A Christmas Carol.” Tickets for the meal and discussion are $20.
On Dec. 21, the Shocker men’s basketball team plays VCU at Charles Koch Arena.
University offices open on Jan. 2. Spring semester classes begin on Jan. 21.
New program will help WSU students grow IP skills
A key component in the advancement of innovation is protecting intellectual property. WSU Ventures recently initiated a new program to place Wichita State University students at the forefront of this field.
Designed to advance innovation, the Gateway to IP program will provide students an opportunity to gain important intellectual property skills while fulfilling the university’s mission of being an educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good.
Read complete story on Gateway to IP
WSU graduate student's business makes Most Fundable Company list
Wichita State graduate student Tammy Dorsey and her company, Prenatal Hope, recently reached a No. 11 rank on the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s Most Fundable Companies List.
Prenatal Hope competed against thousands of early-stage U.S. companies with less than $10 million in annual revenue to be named one of the most fundable companies.
Dorsey, founder and CEO of Prenatal Hope, found her passion for reducing infant mortality while earning her Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering at WSU. She is currently a graduate student in WSU’s Master of Innovation Design (MID) program. Dorsey attributes the success of Prenatal Hope to The Institute of Biomedical Entrepreneurship, her team (co-founder and WSU MID graduate James Balman) and Wichita State.
Prenatal Hope is a medical device manufacturer that specializes in prenatal monitoring. The company’s headline product is VivO2, a non-invasive, in-utero testing device that provides pH levels of an unborn baby’s blood, which correlates directly to fetus’ oxygen levels. This data helps reduce the risks associated with oxygen deprivation during childbirth.
Read complete story on Prenatal Hope .
Campus Connection to take break for the Christmas and New Year's holidays
The Campus Connection email newsletter will take a break for the holidays until Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable holiday season!
Faculty, staff and alumni invited to attend Shocker Legacy Day
On Saturday, Jan. 18, the Office of Admissions invites high school and transfer student children of university staff and faculty to Shocker Legacy Day. The event, intended to grow our Shocker Family from within the ranks of our employees and alumni, provides lunch, a campus tour and two tickets to the Shocker men’s basketball game that afternoon.
To RSVP, go to wichita.edu/visit and click on “Admissions Events.” For questions, contact Ellen Nikkel at ellen.nikkel@wichita.edu or 978-3168.
Wi-fi upgrade coming to the RSC
Starting today (Monday, Dec. 16), contractors will upgrade wireless network equipment throughout the Rhatigan Student Center. All wireless service will go offline at the beginning of the project and come back online as new hardware is installed.
This upgrade replaces the wireless equipment installed during the 2012-2014 RSC renovation, which has been failing to support the full client load during times of peak occupancy. The project should be complete by the time students return in January. We apologize for any inconvenience as we upgrade our wi-fi.
Roundhouse podcast with Mike Kennedy, Bob Lutz – Best of the Shocker decade
Mike Kennedy, Bob Lutz and Paul Suellentrop list their top moments, stories and developments for Wichita State athletics in the 2010 era. Topics include the 2013 Final Four, the 2014 perfect regular season, the 2012 volleyball Sweet 16, Aliphine Tuliamuk’s distance running, and the ups and downs of Shocker baseball.
Sales this week at the Shocker Store
This week at the Shocker Store, get ready for the holidays with 20% off WSU ugly sweater tees and all ornaments! Plus, take 20% off blankets and drinkware, always great gift ideas! Sale is at both RSC and Braeburn Square locations.