Wichita State University to receive $8.7 million from higher education relief fund
The U.S. Department of Education released its official allocations yesterday (Thursday, April 9) for the newly passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Wichita State University will receive nearly $8.8 million. Half of the funds – nearly $4.4 million – will be allocated as emergency financial aid grants to students.
The CARES Act provides institutions with discretion on how to award this emergency aid to students.
WSU will be working diligently to put together a plan on how to administer the student funds and use the remainder of the money.
“We’re incredibly appreciative to receive this critical financial assistance,” says Wichita State President Jay Golden. “We are studying the guidelines now to discover how best to use these funds for the benefit of our students and university.”
Learn more about the CARES Act.
Ad Astra Coalition created to help in the fight against COVID-19
A coalition of businesses and government partners, the Ad Astra Coalition has joined together to answer some of the challenges being created in Wichita and Kansas by the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition is co-led by Airbus Americas Engineering, Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation, Wichita State University and WSU Tech.
The coalition is using a two-phased approach:
For phase one, the coalition will focus on creating and distributing critical personal protective equipment (PPE) for the medical community and first responders. It is hoped the PPE will help address the shortages being experienced throughout the state of Kansas, including Sedgwick County.
Examples of PPE currently being considered include temporary face shields and disposable stethoscopes. The coalition is also exploring the possibility of providing disposable barrier gowns and intubation boxes.
The second phase will focus on the recovery efforts after the pandemic subsides. Once social distancing efforts are no longer required, everyone will experience a transition period to return to a sense of normalcy. The coalition will seek to aid the people of Sedgwick County and south-central Kansas as these communities resume their daily activities.
We need to be #ShockersAtHome!
Wichita State University's response to the novel Coronavirus pandemic is being followed closely by Shockers around the world, with many now facing similar challenges where they live. In this video, we hear how social distancing is important and why you should be participate in being #ShockersAtHome.
Join us on Facebook and use the #ShockersAtHome profile picture frame to show that you support social distancing!
For more information and updates about COVID-19, go to wichita.edu/covid19news.
Virtual Town Hall meeting with updates on the design for Woolsey Hall
The design for Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall, the new building to house the W. Frank Barton School of Business, is underway! The architectural team, GastingerWalker out of Kansas City & Gensler Chicago, will hold a virtual town hall meeting to update the campus on the progress of the building.
The virtual town hall meeting for faculty / staff/ students is scheduled for 10-11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 14, by zoom meeting, to present the site plan, floor plans, exterior design, and project schedule for the new building. The chat function will be enabled if anyone has questions during the town hall.
Meeting ID: 272 836 871
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Meeting ID: 272 836 871
Parking lot closing on west side of campus
The Wichita Police Department has requested to use all of lot 1 on the east side of Hillside from Alumni Drive to Memorial Drive for car stop training Monday, April 13 to Thursday, April 16.
The lots will be coned off on Sunday afternoon April 12. If you have a car in that lot, it will need to be moved.
Town Hall scheduled for Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students
Dean Hippisley is interested in hearing how Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students are handling the move to remote and online learning. Please join him for a town hall for Fairmount College students at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 15. During this meeting students will be able to ask questions and share concerns.
Check your shockers.wichita.edu email for information about the meeting and how to join by Zoom. You will need to enter a password.
Talk with Toby coming to your home today
Hangout with Toby and Andy at 11 a.m. (today) Friday, April 10. Learn more about how the human body uses food to power life and movement.
Bachelor of Social Work Program and Practicum Orientations
The School of Social Work is having online Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Program Orientation and Practicum Orientation. Attendance to a BSW Program Orientation is a requirement for admission to the BSW Program. The BSW Practicum Orientation is required before you can be in practicum. You can view the online orientations here.
Live chat offers direct connection with university librarians
University Libraries live chat is available from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. at http://libraries.wichita.edu. Find what you need through our friendly librarians manning the virtual reference desk.
BeoShock training via Zoom by KSU expert Kyle Hutson!
Kyle Hutson is looking at the week of April 20, planning on two hours for this BeoShock training.
The first hour will be an introduction to Linux and HPC in general. It will be mostly show-and-tell, discussing overarching concepts. This will be particularly useful for people coming to BeoShock from a Windows or Mac background.
The second hour will be more hands-on. We will discuss BeoShock in particular, how to submit a job, request specific resources, etc. Have your computer ready to log in. We won't get into the complexities of writing multi-node code, but we will talk about using some of them.
Please use the Doodle poll link below to set your available times if you plan to attend. Note that there is overlap between time choices. By next week at this time, Hutson plans to have a date and time set. Feel free to forward this to anybody you think might be interested.
The HPC cluster is available to all WSU constituents, and also those outside of WSU who are KBOR constituents. It is jointly administered between WSU, KanREN (Kansas Research and Education Network), and Kansas State.
In order to obtain an account on BeoShock, new users (students and faculty) can request access at HPC New. The system is “bring your own software,” although we do have a few typical software packages already installed.
Terrance Figy (terrance.figy@wichita.edu), an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics, is currently the “campus champion” for this system. As “campus champion,” Figy can offer some assistance during the initial stages of projects. However, anybody who is willing to contribute to assisting new users can serve as “campus champion” of BeoShock.
Planning, teamwork helped Wichita State adjust to remote learning
- The COVID-19 pandemic forced Wichita State University to move around 16,000 students and 900 instructors to remote learning.
- The Media Resources Center began planning for remote learning in late February and adjusted as the threat grew into March.
- The MRC's Instructional Design and Access department developed a 10-step process to help instructors with remote learning.
Resources available to support students, staff, and community during this challenging time
We are living and working in a time of change and disruption. Not only disruption of what we do and how we do it, but disruptions in relationships integral to our personal and professional lives. As a result of these circumstances, we may experience anxiety, stress, sadness, loneliness, grief, and so on. Connecting with people who share similar experiences during this time can be critical for our physical and emotional health.
To help you navigate these changing times, the WSU Community Engagement Institute has added a list of resources to the Kansas Support Groups Website. This includes information on resources related to physical and mental health, self-care, safety, and more.
The website also houses an online database with information on various local, state and national support groups and resources. This database is available year-round and is searchable by county or topic.
Find resources related to COVID-19 and others at http://supportgroupsinkansas.org/coronavirus or email supportgroups@wichita.edu for more information.
Apply for the TikTok Talent Show!
WSU Student Involvement and SAC are looking for Shockers to show off their TikTok skills. Students can apply and create a TikTok video to compete in the categories of TikTok Challenges, Comedy, Drama, or Original Audio. Each category will have a first-place prize during the live premier showing, and there will be an overall winner from the most likes on TikTok.
Applications are due by noon Wednesday, April 15. Fill out the entire application and submit your video. The live premier show is at 2 p.m. Friday, April 17. Viewers and judges will complete a poll to determine each category winner, and those winners will be announced at the end of the show. Then, videos will be posted to TikTok and given until Thursday, April 23 to get as many likes as possible. The overall winner will be announced at noon Friday, April 24.
For more information details, visit www.wichita.edu/virtualevents or email traditions@wichita.edu.
Participants wanted for a study on self-advocacy
I hope to learn whether students who participate in college TRIO programs at WSU are more likely to self-advocate than their non-TRIO participating peers.
You can complete a questionnaire called the College Student Mentoring Survey (CSMS), which will ask questions related to your mentoring experiences at WSU and the General Self-Efficacy Scale, which will be used to examine your self-decision making. The questionnaires will take between 20-35 minutes.
If you are interested in a follow-up for advocacy scenarios, you will be able to continue the survey and respond to the scenarios; otherwise, at the end of the questionnaire when it asks if you would like to complete the scenarios, you may select “no.” The scenarios will take between 5-10 minutes and will consist of problem-based scenarios where you will be asked to create a solution to the problem.
To be eligible to participate:
Must have a fluent understanding of English
Must be an undergraduate at WSU
Contact: If you are interested in participating in this study or have any concerns, contact Mercedes Lubbers at mercedes.lubbers@wichita.edu or my faculty advisor, Mara Alagic, at mara.alagic@wichita.edu.
You may click this link to access the CSMS and the GSES questionnaire.
Curbside Services now being offered through Student Health Services
Student Health Services is now offering Curbside Services! Pick up refilled prescriptions or get your TB test read without having to leave your car. Offered during normal hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Changes to GRASP
Given current recommendations, the in-person Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) Symposium has been canceled. However, in order to provide an opportunity to showcase graduate research and scholarly projects, we will be moving GRASP online. We’re still working on logistics and will announce details later.
Aren't familiar with GRASP? Please visit our website to learn more about our annual symposium at wichita.edu/grasp.
Apply to be on Student Activities Council's Executive Board
Have you ever wanted to have a leadership position in Student Activities Council? Now's your chance! The application for our 2020-21 executive board is open.
Having a leadership position in SAC provides several opportunities for you to grow as a person and as a leader. Applications close at noon Wednesday, April 15.
$7 color tees online at the Shocker Store
From now to Sunday, April 12, you can grab our popular color tees for just $7 each at shockerstore.com. There are eight colors to choose from! Plus, enjoy free shipping on orders over $25, or choose our curbside pick-up option. Not valid with other discounts or promotions, some exclusions apply.