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Faculty / Staff Town Hall planned for Thursday, Nov. 1
“The Value of a Liberal Arts Education” will be the topic of a Town Hall from 3-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in the CAC Theater. A wine and cheese social will follow in the CAC lobby.
Last Flu Shot Clinic is today (Thursday, Oct. 11) with extended hours!
Today (Thursday, Oct. 11) is the last on-site flu shot clinic of the year, hosted by the WSU HR Total Rewards team. The clinic will be held from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. in 142 RSC. Vaccinations are available to State of Kansas employees currently enrolled in medical insurance Plans A, J, Q, C or N, as well as their covered spouse.
In response to high demand at our clinics earlier this fall, hours have been extended. A limited number of walk-in appointments will be available in the morning, and noon-2 p.m. has been reserved on walk-in status only, for those who were unable to schedule an appointment.
Note: Those over age 65 can safely receive this dosage of the vaccination, but may wish to contact their primary care provider first, to determine if they will need a higher-dose flu vaccine, which will not be available at this clinic.
Phishing email safety tips
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and it's a good opportunity to refresh and reinforce best practices with respect to suspicious email messages. In particular “phishing” (for credentials – ID and password) is very common now and becoming very increasingly sophisticated in terms of spoofing legitimate email addresses, including genuine company logos, purporting to be urgent, and appearing to be sent from a legitimate senior executive in our organization, like President Bardo, for instance.
Why does this matter?
Your myWSU ID and password in the hands of vandals not only exposes access to your email account in order to send spam, etc., but also provides access to many other WSU systems, including particularly your salary direct deposit information in Banner. Remain aware that it is a best practice to have completely unique passwords for your personal and work systems. If you manually make them all the same or very similar, as some users are tempted do for their convenience, that potentially exposes you to even greater damages in the event that any of your accounts become successfully compromised.
What Can You Do?
Patterson
For detailed information regarding how to recognize email messages as hazardous and what to do about them, please visit the Phishing Email Safety link by logging in to myWSU, under Faculty/Staff tab, Employee Toolbox, Technology Help Desk, (see screen image at right).
If you are uncertain about a particular email message or feel that you may have responded to a phishing scheme and unintentionally provided someone your WSU credentials, you should immediately change your WSU password. To do that go to myWSU and click in the top right on “Manage your password.” Please forward questionable emails to spamreport@wichita.edu. You can also contact the ITS help desk at helpdesk@wichita.edu or 316-978-4357 if you need additional assistance with changing your password.
Best Regards,
WSU Information Technology Services
Faculty and staff training opportunity: Supporting the success of first-generation students
About 45 percent of our undergraduate degree-seeking students and a significant amount of graduate students at Wichita State identify as first-generation students. Faculty and staff are invited to participate in a series of informational sessions to help better understand the needs of the students we serve and teach every day.
Join us in partnership with the Ad Astra Conference and CollegeNET from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, to hear about how you can help contribute to the success of our first-generation students. Space is limited, so sign up now in myTraining.
Housing and Residence Life Office will be closed during move
The Housing and Residence Life (HRL) Office will be closed Friday, Oct. 12, while staff move to the new HRL offices in Shocker Hall. The information desks at both Shocker Hall and The Flats will remain open and maintain their regular hours of operation.
Starting Monday, Oct. 15, the Housing & Residence Life main office will be officially located in Shocker Hall A Building. Thank you for your patience during this transition!
Accessibility Training: An in-person session
Instructional Design and Access will offer the first of several in-person accessibility training opportunities for instructors from 1-3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, in the RSC. This training will meet the accessibility training discussed by the Provost on Oct. 10.
If you are interested in receiving this training in-person, please sign up to attend. To sign up, go to MyWSU and then go to myTraining. The session can be found on the training calendar for Oct. 15. If you can't make it, don't worry. There is an online training available as well, and additional in-person training opportunities will be offered in December.
Graduate School Professional Development Series workshop set for Oct. 18
Fran Cook from the Office of Research will present “Clear, Concise and Successful Proposals” from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in 301 Rhatigan Student Center. This workshop will provide grant-writing tips and resources. Funders and their reviewers want proposals that are clear, concise and consistent. Learn some hands-on approaches to improving your grant-writing skills and helpful strategies for responding to a variety of funders and funding opportunities.
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 Open Enrollment is in progress!
Log in to the Member Administration Portal at to make your elections, even if you don't plan to make any changes from 2018. All benefits-eligible state employees must make their 2019 elections by the deadline on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Those who do not will be defaulted into medical Plan N with a use-it-or-lose-it HRA and all other coverage types waived effective Jan. 1. If you waived all coverage or only had vision or supplemental options in 2018, those elections will carry over into 2019. Otherwise, you must make your 2019 elections during Open Enrollment.
We've developed many ways to learn about 2019 plan changes and get help completing your online enrollment! See how we can help you get enrolled for 2019.
In addition to online resources, in-person presentations, webinars and lab sessions are all in full swing this week!
- Registration is required for KDHE webinars. Register online
- Registration is required for HR lab sessions. Register in myTraining at myWSU.wichita.edu.
- For a full listing of Open Enrollment events and resources, see the Open Enrollment website.
Total Rewards is hosting an in-person presentation at 9 a.m. today (Thursday, Oct. 11) in 256 RSC. There also is a KDHE webinar scheduled at 9 a.m. today (Tuesday, Oct. 11).
2018 Ad Astra Film Studies Conference coming Oct. 17
The 2018 As Astra Film Studies Conference (AAFSC) is being held from 8:15 a.m.-4:20 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 17, in 261 and 256 Rhatigan Student Center. The book signing by keynote speaker Laura Kirk is at 11:30 a.m.
AAFSC coincides with the start of the 16th Annual Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, and Communications Week, sponsored by the Elliott School of Communication at WSU.
Conference themes include film criticism, film in education and filmmaking/makers.
AAFSC welcomes students, faculty, staff and members of the local community.
Registration is recommended, but no fee is required. Entry is on a first-come, first-admitted basis.
Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance to host event in RSC
The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance will host The Consortium of Title IX and Equity Officers in Higher Ed on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 22-23, in the Rhatigan Student Center.
The theme is “Accountability, Advocacy and Action: The Role of an Equity Officer.” Speakers will include attorneys from the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office, Martin Pringle Law Firm, Husch Blackwell and Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service in Washington, D.C.
Various universities will be represented. Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to attend. Sessions are free and open to everyone. Food will be provided.
Please see Featured Links section at www.wichita.edu/oiec to register and obtain more information about the consortium.
Nominate students by Oct. 31 for next year's Transition Mentor staff
Student Success: First-Year Programs is seeking nominations for next year's Transition Mentor staff! We are looking for exceptional students who are passionate about WSU and want to help welcome new students to our campus. Transition Mentors are responsible for transitioning students to WSU beginning in the summer with Orientation and mentoring new freshmen through the fall semester.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to make nominations now through Wednesday, Oct. 31, at www.wichita.edu/TM or email Shareika Fisher at shareika.fisher@wichita.edu.
Three items to watch this week
Wichita State volleyball starts its longest home-friendly stretch on Friday (7 p.m.) against East Carolina at Koch Arena. If the Shockers (8-8, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) are going to make a run toward repeating as American champions, this is a critical weekend.
Wichita State cross country gets its first big road test of the season when it competes in Pre-National Invitational in Madison, Wis., on Saturday. The Shocker women face 10 ranked teams, including No. 1 Colorado and No. 4 Oregon. Nine ranked teams are in the men's field, led by No. 2 BYU and No. 4 Portland.
Wichita State softball wraps up its fall scrimmages with the 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, game at Kansas.
Kansas Family Business Forum to present educational seminar on Nov. 13
Save the date for an educational seminar featuring Bruce Tulgan, renowned author of 19 management books and widely regarded as the leading global authority on generational diversity in the workplace and managing young talent.
Tulgan will present “The Great Generational Shift” from 1-5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the Hyatt Regency.
Doctoral students need participants for their research projects
Two WSU graduate students (Doctor of Audiology and Doctor of Philosophy) need participants for their research projects. They are studying an existing and a newly developed clinical technique for evaluating function of the middle ear.
Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 35, have normal hearing, have not had an ear infection in the past three months, nor had a cold or flu in the past two weeks.
Participants will receive a free comprehensive hearing evaluation and ear examination prior to testing. The testing will take about an hour. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Devon Holt at deholt2@shockers.wichita.edu or 586-747-3774 or Professor Xiao-MingSun at xiao-ming.sun@wichita.edu.
Fall break cosmic bowling
The Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes has a great deal for anyone hanging around for fall break! Go cosmic bowling for just $1 per game with free rental shoes! The special is valid from 5-9 p.m. daily Friday, Oct. 12 through Tuesday, Oct. 16. Availability may vary due to special events or group reservations. Offer is not valid for group reservations. This offer is open to the public!
Anthropology Symposium to be held on Saturday, Oct. 20
You're invited to attend an Anthropology Symposium featuring Distinguished Jackman Lecturer Thomas A. Crist from 1-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, in 208 Hubbard Hall. Crist is the Harold T. Clark Jr. Professor of Anthropology and Anatomy and Professor of Physical Therapy Director of Utica College's Forensic Field School in Albania and Romania Bioarchaeologist and Forensic Physical Anthropologist.
Feel free to bring family and friends who are interested in anthropology. The event is open to the public and admission is free. If you have questions, contact anthropology@wichita.edu or call 978-3195.
Get your team together and support breast cancer research
Get your team together for this national fundraiser for breast cancer research. The event is a blast and it funds a great cause. This is a one day tournament begins at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at the Heskett Center Gymnasium.
Grab your friends, create some costumes (not required) and play volleyball with our four-foot pink volleyballs. Sign up at Big Pink Volleyball
Think Pink
For the first time, the WSU Black Student Union is offering Think Pink T-shirts for only $12! The shirts will be worn on Friday, Oct. 26, at our Balloons for a Cure event during our Think Pink Week.
Join the Black Student Union for our Think Pink T-shirt sale in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Contact our treasurer, Arina Ross, at 816-728-9464 if you'd like to purchase a shirt, by Tuesday, Oct. 16. If you want to just buy a shirt to support and not go to the event that is fine, too. This is a community event, friends and family can buy shirts as well.