Livesay named new dean of WSU College of Engineering
Dennis Livesay, dean of the Graduate School, associate vice president for Research and Technology Transfer, and professor of chemistry at Wichita State University, has been named the new dean of WSU's College of Engineering, effective Jan. 1.
In making the announcement, Wichita State Provost Rick Muma said, “We are excited that Dennis will become the next dean of the College of Engineering. His unique background and training in physical chemistry, computing, informatics and protein engineering will allow the college and university to grow our traditional engineering programs, but also seize opportunities that increasingly rely on data and technology to solve some of our most pressing societal issues. Dennis' background will also allow the college and university to more fully embrace interdisciplinary opportunities in the classroom, research spaces and in the community.”
Livesay follows Royce Bowden, who resigned as dean on June 30. Bowden was appointed dean in 2014.
“The College of Engineering is critically important to Wichita State and our community,” Livesay says. “I am excited to work with everyone to help keep moving the college forward and create new opportunities for all. In particular, we will continue to focus on student success, diversity and research growth.”
Calling all first-in-family graduates
The number of first-generation students (students whose parents have not earned a bachelor's degree) at Wichita State University has increased by 55 percent since 2006. One best practice in service is to develop a university-wide awareness and celebratory culture for students who are first-in-their-family to attend college.
In an effort to continue our support of these first-generation students at WSU, the First Generation Coordinating Council is working to create a culture that acknowledges and celebrates the rich diversity that #FirstGen students bring to our campus.
You can help! Faculty and staff members who share this important designation can register with the council as a proud first-generation college graduate. Registrants will receive a button and sticker that identifies their successful college completion.
Gathered information will not be shared, however, it will used to invite participation in campus-wide First-Gen Celebrations.
Spring 2019 Tuition assistance now open
The HR Total Rewards team is now accepting Tuition Assistance applications for the Spring 2019 semester for benefits-eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Because the Dec. 1 deadline is not a university business day, applications will be accepted by email through 11:59 p.m. CT Monday, Dec. 3. Applications received after this deadline will be automatically denied. There will be no exceptions.
The Tuition Assistance for Spouses and Dependent Children policy has been revised to reflect an updated definition of dependent children. The revised definition removes the requirement for the child to be covered as a dependent for income tax purposes and increases the age limit from age 25 to age 26. This definition more closely aligns with the FAFSA requirements, which is more appropriate as tuition assistance is applied as a scholarship to the student's account through Financial Aid and will result in access for a greater number of dependent children.
Several procedures in the application process have been updated this semester to improve processing times. The Total Rewards team asks all applicants, new and returning, to thoroughly review the new website pages at Tuition Assistance for application guidelines, FAQs and a fillable PDF of the recently updated application.
WSU Madrigals and Women's Glee Club to present fall concert
Join the WSU Women's Glee Club and Madrigal Singers for the first concert of the academic year at 7:30 p.m. today (Thursday, Oct. 18) in Wiedemann Concert Hall.
Women's Glee Club will perform a program titled "Circle Songs," and Madrigal Singers will present a set of music called "Stories in Song." The concert will feature special guests, the Rose Hill High School Rocketaires.
Don't miss what promises to be an enjoyable concert! For tickets, call 978-3233 or go to concert tickets.
Strategic Communications announces promotion and new appointment
Shelly Coleman-Martins, associate vice president of Strategic Communications, announced that Lainie Mazzullo has been promoted to co-director of news and media relations, and Tyler Pennick has joined the team as a video producer.
Mazzullo has worked in communications for 18 years, including the past 11 years at Wichita State. She will serve as co-director of news and media relations along with Joe Kleinsasser.
Kleinsasser, who is starting his 33rd year at WSU, will continue in his role of being the university's primary contact for the news media, in addition to writing and editing WSU's internal newsletters.
Mazzullo will be responsible for expanding WSU's public relations efforts, supporting the university's social media efforts and supervising student assistants, while continuing to work with Kleinsasser on media relations and internal newsletters.
Pennick's duties include developing video content for social media purposes, internal usage and marketing efforts for the Office of Strategic Communications.
He replaces Kelly Johnson, who moved to a teaching role at Shocker Studios this fall.
Pennick earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from WSU in May 2015, and a Master's in Communications from WSU in May 2017.
WSU Geology Department presents two events this week
You are invited to a presentation by Monte Markley - head Wichita branch of SCS Engineers, who will discuss “Careers and Ethics in Environmental Geology,” at 3:30 p.m. today (Thursday, Oct. 18) in 101 Geology Building.
SCS specializes in energy - including alternative energy, solid waste management, and environmental monitoring and compliance. SCS Engineers is comprised of specialized divisions in design, monitoring, permitting, construction, operation and maintenance of sustainable environmental solutions in many business sectors.
Anyone interested in a future working to solve environmental issues is invited to attend.
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Buchanan chaired the Induced Seismicity State Task Force and served as secretary of the Association of American State Geologists. He's also the co-author of “Roadside Kansas: A Traveler's Guide to Its Geology and Landmarks” as well as editor of “Kansas Geology: An Introduction to Landscapes, Rocks, Minerals and Fossils.”
Shocker Rowing gets new home in downtown Wichita
Wichita State University's Shocker Rowing team will soon have a new home in the downtown River Vista development.
River Vista, 150 N. McLean, is a new apartment complex with 202 apartment units, upscale amenities and 120 feet of riverfront improvements, including bike paths, benches, art, landscaping and a 240 foot custom-designed floating dock.
A key feature is Boats & Bikes, which will serve as the Shocker Rowing team's new home.
The public is invited to a grand opening of River Vista from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. As part of the grand opening, there will be a dedication of Shocker Rowing's racing shells at 4 p.m.
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.
Ulrich Museum of Art announces upcoming October events
There are a number of events coming in late October at the Ulrich Museum of Art.
A program, “Burnt Generation: Azadeh Akhlaghi and Gohar Dashti,” will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the museum.
A reading and book signing, “B.A. Shapiro: The Collector's Apprentice” will be featured at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24,
The Ulrich Museum will also host a Writing Now/Reading Now: Whitney Terrell presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25.
Bring the whole family for an afternoon of gallery exploration, games, and hands-on art making activities inspired by the artists, ideas and materials featured in our fall exhibitions at Family Fun Day from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27.
Learn more about these and other events
Harpool featured in WalletHub story about rewards credit cards
Dorothy Harpool
Dorothy Harpool, senior educator in the Department of Marketing, W. Frank Barton School of Business, was featured recently in WalletHub's piece about rewards credit cards. See Harpool's comments at WalletHub.
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.
‘Women in the Professoriate' presentation coming Nov. 2
Women faculty in STEM fields on average receive lower pay, are less likely to be promoted, and are more likely to leave academia than their male counterparts. Come for a presentation by Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 2, in the Ulrich Museum, second floor, Beren Gallery.
Lorden will present “Dear Colleague: The Ups and Downs of Institutional Transformation.” Lorden will share her perspective on the successes and failures of the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program, and the challenges of changing the anatomy and physiology of an institution.
Robots to take center stage at WSU's Koch Arena
The 20th Annual Kansas BEST robotics competition, designed to inspire and motivate high school students toward careers in engineering, science and technology, will be held from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, in Charles Koch Arena on the campus of Wichita State University.
Kansas BEST is sponsored by WSU's College of Engineering. Admission is free.
The BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) competition challenges students to build a remote-controlled robot that accomplishes a defined task within a competitive setting. Professional engineers and school teachers volunteer to coach teams through the engineering design process.
Twenty-eight schools from Kansas will compete in the Kansas event. This year's game is called "Current Events,” and the theme is a recycling.
Cheer on Shocker Bowling at their only home tournament
Join the RSC in cheering on our Shocker Bowling teams at their only in-town tournament of the year, MidStates! The tournament is from about 1:30-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, and about 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct, 21, with exciting bracket play starting around 12:30 p.m. that day.
The women's team will bowl at West Acres Bowl and the men's team will bowl at Northrock Lanes. Tickets are $5 for the whole weekend at the door, cash only. Join us in cheering on these student athletes. Go Shockers!
Do your students need accessibility training?
Do your students provide any course-related instruction in your classes? If you are not sure, check out this short explanation on accessibility training.
Wichita State is working to provide training for them to help ensure their instruction is accessible. At this time, students can be trained in accessible face-to-face presentation by going to https://ksarn.org/student-training/ and clicking on “Accessible Face-to-face presentations.” They will need to make a free account to access the training. The full course will take about one hour to complete and has a outcomes-based quiz at the end.
Students who successfully complete this training will receive a digital credential from Credly.com and will have the opportunity to print a completion certificate as well. Students can provide this digital credential to you as proof of training. More student-facing accessibility training is coming soon. If you have questions or requests for training you would like to see, please contact IDA@wichita.edu.
DSI observers – We need your help
The Distinguished Scholarship Invitational (DSI) is quickly approaching and will be
held on Saturday, Nov. 17. The $64,000 Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships are awarded
through the DSI process to three high school seniors to attend Wichita State in the
fall of 2019, and we need your help in selecting the next Gore Scholars!
Observers are WSU faculty, staff and community members and are present in each room
to score the student participants in two activities - an interview and a consensus-building
activity.
There are two times observers can choose from – a morning session from 7:30-10:30
a.m., and an afternoon session from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Of course, you can always volunteer
for both!
If you're interested in serving as an observer, please go to wichita.edu/dsiobserver for more information. Contact Mandy Harmon, associate director in admissions, at mandy.harmon@wichita.edu with questions.
Dining Services invites you to take guest satisfaction survey
Tell us how you really feel! Take our “Voice to Vision” survey to share your opinion on everything from Shocker Dining to Freddy's in the RSC. Surveys are available until Wednesday, Oct. 31.