WSU gets $813,000 grant to boost minority STEM enrollment
Wichita State University has been awarded $813,000 to boost enrollment and retention of students under-represented in science, technology, engineering and math.
The funds are part of a larger $3 million, five-year National Science Foundation grant awarded to Kansas State University, which is sharing grant funds with a statewide coalition of universities and community colleges.
The Kansas Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (KS-LSAMP) program is named for a long-term African American congressman from Ohio. In addition to WSU, participating institutions include Kansas State University, Barton County Community College, Dodge City Community College, Donnelly College, Garden City Community College, Seward County Community College / Area Technical School in Liberal.
The overall goal of the program is to double the number of underrepresented minorities graduating with bachelor's degrees in STEM fields from WSU or KSU within five years of the proposed project. Under-represented minorities include African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.
WSU departments welcome to furniture in Fairmount Towers
WSU departments are invited to Fairmount Towers between 10 a.m.-noon tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 5) to take furniture for their department's use. Please bring paper and tape to tag what items your department would like if you are unable to take them with you at that time.
All items must be collected from Fairmount Towers no later than Friday, Oct. 12. Please contact Daryl Gobin at 978-3693 to arrange a time to pick up your items if you do not take them with you on Oct. 5. You can enter Fairmount Towers at the loading dock south of the commons area.
Pizza Hut Museum leans on many disciplines to revive memories
Out of a room full of recipes, menus, sneakers and old photos came a museum that tells the story of entrepreneurship, restaurants, relationships and Wichita.
The Pizza Hut Museum opened on Wichita State University's campus in April. The students who helped transform the promotional items and scrapbook artifacts – started by a donation of around 300 items from the Carney family - into a coherent story came from several academic disciplines. Their work continues when they talk to visitors about a date at Pizza Hut, show them the 1957 magazine story that helped inspire Wichita State alums Dan and Frank Carney, catalog new items and rotate displays.
Wu's Big Event IX (Saturday, Oct. 6)
Join Community Service Board in a day of service at Wu's Big Event IX on Saturday, Oct. 6. Wu's Big Event is a bi-annual service event geared toward students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university passionate about volunteering.
Volunteers will begin the day with a kick-off breakfast and keynote speaker. After opening events, volunteers will be bussed to one of seven service sites and perform three hours of community service with fellow Shockers. Upon return, volunteers will take part in reflection activities and receive a boxed lunch.
Come join Community Service Board in a fun-filled day of service to the Wichita community! Pre-registration is required at Wu's Big Event.
Take the Lead reception today (Thursday, Oct. 4)
Plan to attend Take the Lead at 6:45 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 4) in 180 Hughes Metropolitan Complex, an event that builds and fosters relationships between Hispanic students, faculty, staff and Wichita community members. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Get connected to the community and learn how to take the lead from our Hispanic Heritage month keynote speaker Maria Hinojosa, anchor and executive producer of Latino USA on National Public Radio, a program devoted to Latino issues.
Learn more about Maria Hinojosa.
This program is cosponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and the Ulrich Museum.
For more information, contact the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at 978-3034.
Join ISU's Interfest for a taste of foods from around the world
Interfest is an international food festival that embraces a diverse range of dishes across the globe. The showcase of food is a gateway that brings the multicultural Shocker community together. Interfest for fall 2018 will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. today (Thursday, Oct. 4) in the Neff Hall courtyard / RSC east patio.
2019 Open Enrollment is here!
2019 Open Enrollment begins today! Log in to the Member Administration Portal at https://sehp.member.hrissuite.com to make your elections. All benefits-eligible state employees must participate in Open Enrollment. For a full listing of HR and KDHE Open Enrollment events and resources, go to Open Enrollment.
Note: Benefits-eligible state employees who do not log in to make 2019 elections by 11:59 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, Oct. 31, will be defaulted into Plan N with an HRA. This election will be irrevocable. Exceptions include those who waived all coverages in 2018, or who enrolled in only vision and/or MetLife supplemental coverages and wish to maintain the same elections in 2019.
KDHE webinars are scheduled for 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. today (Thursday, Oct. 4).
All webinars require registration and download of the GoToWebinar launcher, instructions for which will be sent via email after registering. Registration for all upcoming dates can be found here.
University Libraries hosting Statista webinars during October
Have you heard about Statista? University Libraries is hosting several training webinars in October for the new statistical database, Statista, in 217 Ablah Library:
2-3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8
Noon-1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19
10-11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 25
This exciting new resource provides immediate access to more than one million statistics and facts from over 22,000 sources on over 80,000 topics, including media, business, politics, society, technology, health and education. Ready-made charts and infographics can be downloaded in multiple formats for presentations and research papers or embedded in web pages.
The webinars are open to all faculty, staff and students. Registration is requested, but not required. For more information about Statista and to sign up for one of the October webinars, go here.
‘Critical Thinking and Quality' presentation tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 5)
Jean Garcia
The ISME Colloquium will feature Jean Garcia, quality engineer at CNH Industrial, presenting “Critical Thinking and Quality” at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 5) in 214 Clinton Hall.
The goal of the presentation is to understand some of the biases that rule our thinking. Much of what is remembered and believed is flawed or simply wrong. It is true that the brain is an exceptional tool; however, it can be very deceiving and lead to conclusions that have little to do with reality. By understanding the methods of thinking clearly and critically, common errors can be avoided.
Garcia is a WSU alumni who worked in the Advanced Manufacturing Process Lab under the supervision of Wilfredo Moscoso and Vis Madhavan.
Faculty Senate to meet on Monday, Oct. 8
The Faculty Senate will meet from 3:30-5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, in 126 Clinton Hall. Topics include a Revised Consensual Relationship Policy and a discussion on faculty workload.
Understanding Finance at WSU coming on Oct. 30
Understanding finance at WSU can be a challenge for budget officers and support staff. Lois Tatro will present WSU Finance 101 on Tuesday, Oct. 30. The agenda includes information on GU and RU funding, how to stay on top of departmental finances, processing revenue, expenses, Visa procurement cards and more.
If you have questions for Tatro regarding the finance process you would like her to cover, send them to training@wichita.edu as soon as possible.
To view session details and register, go to myWSU, myTraining; registration is helpful to determine the number of handouts. Call 978-5800 if you need assistance.
2019 Kansas Employment Forecast released
Jeremy Hill
Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development and Business Research has released its 2019 Kansas Employment Forecast.
In 2019, Kansas total nonfarm employment is forecast to increase by 13,891 jobs, with an anticipated growth rate of 1.0 percent.
The majority of the growth is expected to occur in the service sector, which is projected to add more than 8,000 jobs and grow 1.3 percent. The production sector is forecast to add more than 2,800 jobs, for 1.2 percent growth, while the trade, transportation and utilities sector is projected to grow 0.9 percent, adding more than 2,300 jobs. The government sector is predicted to grow 0.1 percent.
Read the full 2019 Kansas Employment Forecast at www.outlook.cedbr.org.
Volunteer or host a trunk at SAC's annual Trunk or Treat!
Trunk or Treat is a family-orientated event welcoming Shockers of all ages from the Wichita and WSU community to campus for a safe alternative to traditional trick-or-treating, and Student Activities Council needs your help!
Register your department or student organization to volunteer at the event or to host a festively decorated trunk!
Trunk or Treat will be held from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, on the south lawn of Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Registration closes on Thursday, Oct. 18.
Contact Randi Beggs at randi.beggs@wichita.edu with any questions about how to get involved with the event.
Halloween decorating safety tips
In order to keep work areas and our residence halls safe from fire this Halloween, please take these simple precautions.
If you have questions about your holiday decorating, contact WSU Fire Safety at 978-5803 or 978-5531 or email scott.murray@wichita.edu or dennis.moore@wichita.edu.
Halloween safety decorating tips
Concert Chorale and A Cappella Choir present fall concert
Join the WSU Concert Chorale and A Cappella Choir as they present their fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Wiedemann Concert Hall. This concert, each choir's inaugural performance of the academic year, features a wide variety of exciting literature.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors / military and $6 for students. WSU students
are admitted free with a WSU ID. For tickets, call 978-3233 or go to https://www.wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.
Concert Chorale will perform a set of music entitled "Night and Day," featuring works
by William Byrd, Samuel Barber, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Cole Porter
and Shawn Kirchner.
A Cappella Choir will perform works by Frank Loesser, Gary Kent Walth, Dan Forrest
and Mark Hayes.
The concert will feature a special guest performance by the Lawrence High School
Bellissima Treble Choir.
Memorial '70 ceremony in review
Wichita State held its annual ceremony honoring the 31 football players, administrators and supporters who died in a 1970 plane crash in the Rocky Mountains on Oct. 2. Here are the video highlights.
Nonconference mini-packs on sale now
The Shocker Ticket Office has 165 men's basketball non-conference mini-packs available for sale this week.
The packages are priced at $275 per seat and offer admission to all six October, November and December home dates at Charles Koch Arena, including the Dec. 1 Baylor game.
Fans may purchase mini-packs in person at the Shocker Ticket Office (located at the south entrance to Charles Koch Arena), by phone (978-FANS) or online (goshockers.com/tickets) while supplies last.
Volunteers needed to help with the Pumpkin Run
It's that time of year again as we prepare for the annual 5K & 1K Pumpkin Run on Saturday, Oct. 20. This event brings close to 1,000 participants to campus for fun, laughter, community and a little exercise.
As you can imagine, an event of this sizes takes considerable planning and teamwork. In efforts to minimize costs, we try to recruit the majority of our on-the-day workforce from volunteers.
A percentage of the funds generated from the event this year will go towards ICTSOS, aiding their efforts in ending human trafficking. So if you know of anyone or groups that would be interested in volunteering for this event, please share this email and the web address bit.ly/volunteerpumpkinrun. This is how all volunteers can see and sign up for the roles available. We are capping volunteers at 100.
If volunteering doesn't sound appealing and you would prefer to run instead, sign up online at bit.ly/PumpkinRun5K.