Building dedication in honor of Dr. Bardo at Sip & See 2019
Come "Sip and See" Wichita State's newly renamed John Bardo Center on the Innovation Campus during Open House Weekend!
The building, formerly named the Experiential Engineering Building, will be rededicated at 6 p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 4) in Dr. Bardo's honor. Speaking at the dedication will be Sen. Jerry Moran and Interim President Andy Tompkins.
The 13th president of Wichita State, Bardo was an innovator, nationally recognized scholar and deep believer in the value of public research universities. In his nearly seven years leading WSU, Bardo strategically and physically transformed the university and set us on an exciting course of innovation and creativity.
Enjoy events, food and fun at WSU’s Open House
Join Shocker Nation for three days of events, food and fun for the whole community—today (Friday, Oct. 4) through Sunday, Oct. 6.
Test your skill in our Cornhole tournament at Sip & See on Friday. Cheer on Shocker Athletics with a basketball scrimmage or softball game on Saturday. Take in some art at the Ulrich Museum on Sunday. Check back regularly, events added often!
WSU Open House Weekend Information
Post Office to close early today (Friday, Oct. 4)
University postal services will close at 2 p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 4) so that postal services employees can attend the retirement reception of their manager of 22 years.
Join WSU’s largest volunteer opportunity!
Are you looking for a way to make a big impact in your community and have fun? Sign up for WSU’s largest volunteer event, Wu’s Big Event from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 5).
Join the Community Service Board and 250 of your fellow classmates and community members for a morning of volunteering with local nonprofits. T-shirt, lunch and transportation to volunteer sites provided.
Preregister here for Wu's Big Event.
For questions, email CSB@wichita.edu.
WSU enrollment exceeds 16,000; highest student credit hours in university history
For the first time in nearly 30 years, more than 16,000 students have enrolled for fall classes at Wichita State University. The total headcount at WSU for fall 2019 is 16,058 students, an increase of 274 students, or 1.7%, over fall 2018.
Total student course credit hours are 165,903 for fall 2019, an increase of 1% compared to fall 2018 and the highest in WSU history.
As reported today by the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR), KBOR's defined full time equivalent (FTE) students for WSU is 11,397, an increase of 1% over last fall's 11,285. For KBOR reporting purposes, full time is considered to be 15 hours for undergraduates and 12 hours for graduate students per semester.
Read complete fall enrollment story
Costa Rica Study Abroad - Sustainability
Take advantage of this opportunity to travel and learn more about sustainability and culture in a country with high biodiversity and wilderness conservation. This tour will last nine days during the summer pre-session of 2020, and you can select your choice of geology, Honors College or Spanish courses for one or three credit hours. The tour will be organized by EF College Study Tours.
To learn more, attend the information session by tour leader Glyn Rimmington at 4:30 p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 4) in 216 Geology Building.
For more information, contact glyn.rimmington@wichita.edu or call 978-6140 Geology Department, or email ann.burger@wichita.edu or call 978-5374, Study Abroad Office.
Mentalist Eric Dittelman to present show today (Friday, Oct. 4)
Have you ever wanted to know what someone is thinking or what their next move is going to be? If that’s you, then come join SAC and the mentalist Eric Dittelman at 8 p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 4) in the CAC Theater.
Dittelman has been reading minds at theatres, colleges, and comedy clubs across the country, combining his amazing mind reading ability with stand-up and improv comedy.
He has been featured on Ellen, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and was a semi-finalist and judge favorite on America’s Got Talent,
Come get your mind blown, but be careful ... he’ll know what you’re thinking!
Admission is free to WSU students with Shocker ID, $3 faculty/staff; $5 families and general admission and $1 for kids 12 and under.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. No advance ticket sales. Cash or check only accepted at the door. For more information about SAC-sponsored events, go to wichita.edu/sac or contact us at sac@wichita.edu.
Garba Night 2019 on Oct. 5 in RSC Shirley Beggs Ballroom
Come, dance the Indian way from 7-11:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, in the RSC third floor Shirley Beggs Ballroom. Admission is free.
Flashes of vivid colors, sounds of wooden sticks hitting each other rhythmically, laughter, dancers whirling around keeping pace with the energetic music, this is what you will experience.
AHINSA brings you “Garba Night,” an interactive, participatory Indian folk dance festival. The event is free, all are welcome and no experience is needed. Introductory lessons will be provided.
What is Garba? Garba or Dandiya Raas (with sticks), is a fun, high-energy folk dance for both men and women that originated in the state of Gujarat, India. This event will have a DJ playing traditional music with a Bollywood (modern) twist – strong, rhythmic beats gradually increasing in pace and intensity, challenging us to dance.
Come paint your stress away at this year's Shocker Paint Night!
Whether you’re the next Picasso or if you’ve never touched a paint brush in your life, anyone can paint a masterpiece! (Van) Gogh have a wonderful time creating Shocker-themed pieces of art with the Student Activities Council during this stress free, step by step tutorial from 5:30-7 p.m. or 7:30-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, in 142 RSC.
Don’t brush off the chance to have a night filled with laughter, snacks and self-expression. $10 for WSU students with Shocker ID, $18 faculty/staff; $20 families and the general public.
Pre-registration is required. Register online at wichita.edu/PaintNight.
For more information about SAC-sponsored events, go to wichita.edu/sac or contact us at sac@wichita.edu.
ISME Colloquium today (Friday, Oct. 4)
Suvagata Chakraborty, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student at WSU, will present "Cyber Power System: Reliability Challenges and Possible Solutions," from 11 a.m.-noon today (Friday, Oct. 4) in 214 Clinton Hall.
Talk Abstract: The introduction of smart sensors and intelligent electronic devices allow cyber infrastructure to penetrate different levels of power system. Thus, the effective operation of a cyber-physical power system will be affected by cyber network reliability. Communication failure based on different infrastructure also impacts the overall reliability of the system. Hence technique adopted for reliability evaluation addressing the worst-case communication failure of a cyber-enabled distribution system is important. The talk focuses on how to analyze the reliability of a cyber-physical power system using the concept of three-layered system approach- Power, Communication and Decision. This presentation will highlight how to integrate the interdependency of the communication and decision layer into power system planning and operations.
‘Real-Time Control of a Powered Wheelchair using Neural Network Trained Hybrid Human-Machine Interface Technology’
Jaydip Desai
The next Mechanical Engineering Seminar will be held from 3:30-4:30 p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 4) in 128 Jabara Hall. Jaydip Desai, assistant professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Neuro-Robotics Lab at Wichita State, will present “Real-Time Control of a Powered Wheelchair using Neural Network Trained Hybrid Human-Machine Interface Technology.”
Wheelchair provides mobility to users suffering from muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, and cerebral palsy. These patients often require human assistance in moving a manual wheelchair or fine control of their fingers to navigate a powered wheelchair-using joystick. Due to severity of the injury or disease progression, these patients sometimes lose fine control of their fingers, which restricts them to use joystick-based controller.
This research project aimed to design a human-centered artificial neural network trained myoelectric controller that identifies human intent through hand gestures, detect objects in front of powered wheelchair, and safely navigate a powered wheelchair across objects. An institutional review board application was approved to recruit participants without muscular disability between 18 to 50 years of age to evaluate the proposed controller in real-time.
Each participants’ surface electromyography signals from their forearm acquired at 200 Hz sampling frequency followed by artificial neural network training and validation prior to human subject testing.
Results showed that the Bayesian Regularization artificial neural network architecture was the most accurate at 98.70% across all subjects and hidden layers compared with Levenberg Marquardt at 97.91% and Scaled Conjugate Gradient at 96.66%. Each participant was successfully able to control a powered wheelchair using the neural network trained hybrid human-machine technology with an average of 2.87 obstacles touched.
Volunteers needed for Fall Commencement
The 2019 Fall Commencement ceremony will be held Sunday, Dec. 15. The Commencement Office is looking for individuals who are available to work from approximately noon to 5:30 p.m. that day. If you are interested in assisting, please visit the commencement website and sign up. If you have questions about assisting with commencement please contact the commencement office at commencement@wichita.edu.
Sign up for an upcoming Preventing Suicide Training by CAPS
Join Counseling and Prevention Services for our Preventing Suicide Training on Thursday, Oct. 17, in the RSC. Each training lasts an hour and helps provide tools to provide assistance for someone in need.
Please sign up thought myTrainings for staff or faculty. Students and community members, sign up at Wichita.edu/SuicidePrevention.
Engage ICT and 1A Across America present Women in Politics & The GOP
KMUW's Engage ICT and 1A Across America present Women in Politics & The GOP. Joshua Johnson, host of the national radio program 1A, will guest host this conversation at Crown Uptown Theatre at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Things have changed a lot for women over the last hundred years, from winning the right to vote to holding more seats in Congress than ever before. Democratic women swept the 2018 midterms, and now a record number of Republican women are planning to run for office in 2020.
We’ll hear from two women on why they ran, how they serve, and why they chose the party they did. We’re taking your questions, too. What do you want to know about how 2020 is shaping up for women in politics? This event is free to attend and open to all. Visit KMUW.org to learn more.
WSU Cyber League team leads region in national rankings
WSU leads the central region in rankings of 419 teams competing in the National Cyber League (NCL), the league has announced.
NCL is a nonprofit cybersecurity competition for high school and college students that measures their ability to perform real-world cybersecurity tasks, like identifying hackers from forensic data, breaking into vulnerable websites, recovering from ransomware, and more. It has seen participation from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. WSU also ranked 14th overall nationally. Rankings are based on performance in the spring 2019 competition.
WSU’s team is comprised of members of the Wichita State Linux Users Group, known as WuLug. This was WuLug’s first competition. The group plans to compete again in the fall and welcomes new members to join.
“You don't need to be experienced with cybersecurity to join our team, as we are open to people of all backgrounds. You can join us officially by contacting us at wulug@wichita.edu,” said Dexter Gerig, a WSU computer science major who serves as WuLUG secretary.
National Cyber League Rankings
Basketball scrimmage, garage sale set for Oct. 5
It's out with the old and in with the new on Saturday, Oct. 5 when Wichita State hosts
its annual athletic department garage sale followed by the 2019 Black & Yellow Scrimmage.
From 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Shocker fans will get their first look at the 2019-20 men's and
women's basketball teams during an intrasquad doubleheader. The women take the court
first, followed by the men.
Fans are also invited to stop by the garage sale that morning from 7-9:45 a.m. inside
the Aetna Multi-Purpose Gym (enter through the exterior doors on the east side of
Charles Koch Arena). Items are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and
include jerseys and uniforms, assorted apparel, bags, and equipment. Prices listed
are non-negotiable. Customers are encouraged to pay with cash, however, credit cards
will also be accepted.
More information on the basketball scrimmage.
Empty Bowls Chili Cook-off Oct. 5 brings community together to fight hunger in Kansas
It’s that time of year again when Wichitans can fill their bowls—and their bellies—with delicious chili while helping a good cause: fighting hunger in Kansas.
This year’s Empty Bowls Wichita Chili Cook-off will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the building previously named the Experiential Engineering Building, and now named the John Bardo Center / Go Create on the Wichita State University campus.
For just $25, guests will get to select a one-of-a-kind handmade ceramic bowl to keep, fill their bowl with chili or soup made by competing local chefs and restaurants, and eat to their heart’s content. All proceeds from the event go to the Kansas Food Bank.
The cook-off, now in its sixth year, is part of the Empty Bowls Project, an international grassroots movement to help raise awareness about hunger.
An adaptation of Camus's The Fall, with dance sequences, comes to campus on Oct. 8
French theater company Caravague presents an adaptation of “La Chute” (The Fall) by Nobel Prize-winning author Albert Camus at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, in the CAC Theater. The performance will be in French with above-stage titles. This event, sponsored by Modern and Classical Languages and the WSU Foundation, is free and open to the public.
One student's coffee review: Fairmount Coffee Co.
If you’re ever feeling uninspired, bored or overwhelmed and you need a little kick to keep you moving throughout the day, I have just the solution for you: Fairmount Coffee Co.’s Aztec mocha.
It ain’t healthy, but it sure is good.
It’s not a typical mocha, so I’m cheating just a little bit given my original rules, but it was recommended to me by a friend. I can’t turn down a challenge.
Shock Doc: Healing Kansas, a special initiative by WSU students
Wichita State psychology major Ngoc Vuong started Healing Kansas as an effort to heighten
mental health discussions in the Wichita community. Described as a grassroots initiative,
Healing Kansas seeks to bring creatives together and raise awareness on local mental
health problems by telling stories about addiction and substance abuse.
With the help of media arts major Masara Al-Sharieh, the two students have been working
to produce a short film focusing on how children are affected by the substance abuse
of a family member, and hope to submit it to film festivals after its completion.
Ultimately, Ngoc's goal for Healing Kansas is to branch out into more short films
and documentary pieces, as well as eventually establish a scholarship to promote the
next generation of filmmakers, graphics designers, and artists who have a passion
for mental health advocacy. To view additional Shock Docs, click here.
Here’s this week’s university update
If you missed Thursday’s Weekly Briefing, the university update included information on WSU / WSU Tech enrollment, U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s visit, and open house weekend.
WSU/WSU Tech enrollment numbers
For the first time in nearly 30 years, more than 16,000 students have enrolled for
fall classes at Wichita State. The total headcount at WSU for fall 2019 is 16,058
students, an increase of 274 students, or 1.7%.
Total student course credit hours are 165,903, an increase of 1%, which is the highest
in WSU’s history.
The university’s continued focus on its strategic enrollment management plan has also
led to increases in the following categories:
• undergraduate full-time enrollment
• underrepresented minorities
• undergraduate Hispanic students
• out-of-state students
• undergraduates from the I-35 corridor
• online majors
• and students choosing to live on campus
WSU Tech has achieved the highest enrollment in its history with a headcount of 4,920, a gain of 324 students or an increase of 7%. WSU Tech also reported 43,525 credit hours, which is 1,834 more credit hours than last year for an increase of 4.4%.
Moving forward, WSU and WSU Tech will continue looking for, and implementing, strategies that recruit, retain and graduate more students to better meet industry workforce needs, the needs of our community—and to boost our region’s economy.
For more information on our enrollment numbers, visit wsu.news/enrollment2019.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr visit
On Wednesday, the university was pleased to welcome U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Senator Jerry Moran to Shocker Nation. Attorney General Barr was here to tour the Law Enforcement Training Center and, specifically, the Gun Crime Intelligence Center, which is a collaboration between the U.S. government, WSU and local law enforcement.
There were also roundtable discussions involving representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police and others.
This visit, and the underlying investment of federal and local resources into our campus to address crime prevention, highlight the value of the growing number of partnerships LETC continues to generate.
Open House Weekend
And, finally, a quick reminder that WSU’s Open House Weekend happens Friday through Sunday, starting with tomorrow’s signature event, Sip and See, at 5:30 p.m. and a 6 p.m. dedication of the John Bardo Center—with remarks by President Tompkins and Senator Jerry Moran.
We hope everyone comes out and enjoys the events, activities and amenities that campus offers. For a full list of events, visit wichita.edu/openhouse.
WSU Concert Chorale, A Cappella Choir and special guest Andover Central H.S. choirs in concert!
The WSU Concert Chorale, A Cappella Choir and Andover Central High School choirs will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, in Wiedemann Hall.
Directed by Ryan Beeken, the Wichita State Concert Chorale is the premiere choral ensemble at WSU. The choir performs a wide variety of significant choral literature from Renaissance to present.
The A Cappella Choir under the direction of Tom Wine, is a mixed choir that performs the Renaissance contemporary style.
Joining the WSU choir ensembles will be the Andover Central Chorale.
Admission is free for students with a current WSU ID. Click here for ticket information.
LGBTQ+ research volunteers needed!
Volunteers are needed for a research study. Students from the WSU Physician Assistant Program want to identify health care barriers faced by the LGBTQ+ community so we can educate providers on how to address and overcome these barriers.
This will be an anonymous online survey that should take approximately 15-20 minutes.
Participants must be 18 years or older and identify as LGBTQ+.
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact PA Faculty Research Advisor Ronda Hanneman at 316-978-3011.
Research group by WSU PA students on Facebook
Volunteers needed for the Pumpkin Run
The 24th annual Pumpkin Run 5K and 1K is less than four weeks away! Each year Campus Recreation hosts WSU's largest 5K bringing about 1,000 students, staff, and community members to campus promoting fun, fitness, and fundraising.
This year's proceeds will help support ICT SOS, a Wichita-based organization that fights against human sex trafficking.
Events of this size simply can't succeed without the help and support of volunteers, so if you have a free schedule please use the link below to sign up. Duties range from fruit cutting to pumpkin painting, result tables to cheer groups. All volunteers will be supplied with free breakfast on the morning of the race.
This year's race will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19. Volunteers are asked to be available from 8-11 a.m. Sign up at bit.ly/volunteerpumpkinrun.
Get ready for this year's Trunk or Treat!
Looking for a spooktacular and safe alternative to trick or treating? Have an unboolievably good time with trick or treating, crafts, concessions, a costume contest, and more exciting interactive activities! This fangtastic Halloween-themed event is open to everyone.
WSU Women’s Basketball in need of graduate assistant
Wichita State Women's Basketball is in need of a graduate assistant with emphasis in graphic design and video coordination.
Duties will include, but are not limited to: (1) Support the digital, graphic design and photography needs of women’s basketball. (2) Collaborate with women’s basketball staff and team managers on practice and game film. (3) Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned. A scholarship will be offered to the candidate chosen.
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Adaptive design eye and skill.
- Proficient in the use of Adobe Creative Suite (i.e. Photoshop) and Microsoft Office products
- Ability to design marketing skills.
- Preferred skills in graphic design, videography and photography.
- Exceptional teamwork and communication skills to collaborate daily with women’s basketball staff and team managers.
- Creative, self-motivated individual who takes initiative and has strong determination to work through difficult challenges.
- Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Capable of working a flexible schedule and extended hours including but not limited to working early mornings, nights, weekends, and holidays.
- Must be admitted to a graduate program at WSU.
Please send cover letter, resume and samples to Erica Yancey at eyancey@goshockers.com.
Register today for Big Pink Volleyball
Get your team together for a national fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research and win points for Shocktoberfest! This event is a blast and it funds a great cause.
This fun one-day event tournament begins at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, in the Heskett Center gymnasium, so grab your friends, create some costumes (not required), and play volleyball with our four-foot pink volleyballs. All the money raised goes to breast cancer research.
Register today at bit.ly/bigpinkwsu.
The Fourth Annual Ad Astra Conference for first-generation students is scheduled for Oct. 25-26
This conference is a two-day event where first-generation college students across the state meet each other, share common challenges and opportunities and get information about how to better understand the college experience and society.
This year's conference will focus on topics such as imposter syndrome, using your strengths for success, developing soft skills, and the importance of the advising relationship, among others. It will include a game night, fashion show and other interactive networking sessions.
Shocker Quidditch to host Shocker Quidditch Cup
Wichita State's Shocker Quidditch Club will host a tournament on Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex. Action is set to begin sometime between 8-10 a.m., and end in the afternoon. T-shirts will be available for purchase, and a food truck will be on hand to provide lunch. The tournament will include four teams from around the Midwest.