Don't let it happen to you!
Open Enrollment for 2019 closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. CDT. If you have not yet submitted your enrollment by that time, you will be enrolled in a default medical plan. Members who waived medical coverage in 2018 will continue to be waived in 2019 if they do not submit an enrollment.
Still need help making your 2019 election decision? Don't worry, just ASK ALEX!
Still need help logging in and completing your online enrollment? The Total Rewards team is hosting their final lab session from 3-5 p.m. today (Wednesday, Oct. 310 in 124 Jabara Hall. For the quickest experience, print and complete an Elections Worksheet to bring with you!
Can't make the lab session work? The Total Rewards team has created multiple instructional documents with images of the portal and step-by-step instructions! Get help with:
Learn about the Wichita Space Initiative at WSU
Did you know that WSU is home to leading, internationally-recognized space exploration researchers hailing from a diverse array of academic departments, including aerospace engineering, physics, biological sciences, human performance studies and philosophy?
The Wichita Space Initiative has been created to advance space exploration and space research at WSU. The WSI provides a platform for highlighting and promoting space research conducted by WSU faculty and students. It is also a resource for current and prospective students to learn more about space at WSU, and contains information about WSU courses on space, scholarship and internship opportunities, as well as space-themed student organizations.
Visit the WSI website (wichita.edu/space) to learn more. You can also follow WSI on Facebook at Wichita Space Initiative.
If you have space-related news to share -- such as presentations, publications and local events -- the WSI would love to hear about it. Email inquiries to james.schwartz@wichita.edu.
WSU Environmental Finance Center to host Midwest Regional Asthma Summit on Nov. 14
WSU Environmental Finance Center will host the 2nd Midwest Regional Asthma Summit in Des Moines on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Elected leaders, health insurance, housing and environmental health professionals from across the region will discuss successes, opportunities and challenges facing home-based asthma interventions.
More than six million children in the United States have asthma, which is more than $50 billion in health care costs and 10.5 million lost school days. Home-based asthma visits by community health workers create the opportunity to provide education and support so that people with asthma can better manage their disease. Evidence shows that in-home asthma education combined with environmental trigger remediation can significantly reduce symptom days, missed school days, health care costs and number of emergency department visits.
This year's summit will focus on the challenges of rental properties and working with landlords from both the perspective of community health workers, and the MCOs and insurers. Also, learn more about out how Missouri Legislature has secured sustainable funding for in-home asthma care through a state plan amendment. The summit will be followed by a Healthy Homes Training on Thursday, Nov. 15 for community health workers.
For the full agenda, registration and more information, visit EFC's website at www.wichita.edu/efc, or contact Leslie Kimble at leslie.kimble@wichita.edu or 978-7460.
Accessibility Training now available for students
All instructional and enrichment content in WSU classes needs to be accessible, and that includes content students present to other students. To address faculty concerns about delivering this necessary training, WSU is now offering accessibility training for students.
Currently training is available in accessible face-to-face presentation and the creation of digital documents. More training is coming soon.
If you have students who will give presentations in class and / or handing out (in person) or posting (online) documents for other students to read, please consider asking them to complete these trainings. They are fully online, take about 30 minutes each, and students can prove to you they took the training by showing you the digital credential they earn, or by printing off a certificate of completion.
These trainings do not expire, so students who complete them for classes this semester will still have viable digital credentials in later semesters. Trainings can be found at Accessibility Training and questions can be directed to Instructional Design and Access at IDA@wichita.edu.
WSU Weekly Briefing to feature presentation on Spirit AeroSystems expanding footprint at Wichita State
The expanding footprint of Spirit AeroSystems in the Partnership 2 building at Wichita State University will be featured in the WSU Weekly Briefing at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 1) in the Marcus Welcome Center.
Kevin Harrison, community engagement coordinator, Diversity and Community Engagement, will give the overall university update.
The briefing will be livestreamed and available later that day at Weekly Briefing. There will be time for questions at the end of the briefing.
Ulrich Museum App receives KMA award
Ulrich Museum App
The KMA (Kansas Museum Association) Awards committee recognized the Ulrich Museum of Art with a Technology Award for the “Ulrich Museum of Art Mobile App” at this year's conference in Independence, Kansas. Award winners will be formally recognized at the awards luncheon on Friday, Nov. 9.
The Ulrich app highlights the extraordinary 76-piece Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection with multimedia self-guided tours and interactive maps for easy navigation of WSU's campus. The app also provides information about exhibitions in Ulrich galleries, events, membership, accessibility, visitor information and a self-guided tour just for families.
The app will be continuously updated with new content, tours and events. Audio tours and Spanish language translation will be available in the coming months.
The Ulrich app was produced by Ulrich Education in collaboration with the assistance of Ulrich staff, Information Technology Services, Media Resource Center, Brittany Lockard, and James Rhatigan.
The Ulrich app is available in App Store and Google Play.
WSU faculty and staff are invited to Join the WSUAA's Mug Club
The Wichita State University Alumni Association is excited to introduce a new Shocker group — the WSUAA Mug Club, dedicated to the idea that great beer and good times should be shared with Shocker alumni, faculty / staff, family and friends.
With a special toast to our partners, Wichita Brewing Company and Credit Union of America, Mug Club members will receive a commemorative branded mug like the one pictured in the photo above, and we promise it will serve you well. For just $25 for WSUAA members, WSU faculty, staff and students, and $50 for other WSU alumni and friends, the Mug Club provides these lifetime* membership perks:
- Your own commemorative branded mug to identify you as a member
- Invitations to WSUAA Happy Hours, brew launch parties at WBC and other events
- A savings of $1 on each WBC beer purchase** at the company's east location at 535 N. Woodlawn Blvd., #375 and on Wichita's west side at 8815 W. 13th Street
- A complimentary first beer*** on us in your Mug Club mug
The official form to join the club is online at Shocker Mug Club.
A kickoff event for Mug Club members is slated for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5, at Wichita Brewing Company's east event venue location. WuShock, members of the WSU cheer squad and WSUAA staffers will be there for the opening festivities.
Proceeds from WSUAA Mug Club memberships will help fund WSUAA scholarships and continued program development.
Questions? Contact Tate Blanton at the WSUAA at tate.blanton@wichita.edu.
*Membership is for the lifetime of the program
**Excludes high gravity beers and other special offers
*** Some restrictions apply
Nov. 1 Town Hall to feature the value of a liberal arts and sciences education
Come to the Town Hall at 3 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 1) in the CAC Theater for Fairmount College's town hall dedicated entirely to discussing the value of a liberal arts and sciences education.
The participants include Robert Litan, a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Institution, as moderator.
Panelists are:
- Jean Griffith, associate professor, department of English, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Debbie Haynes, retired family physician and chair of the WSU Foundation Board
- Eric F. Melgren, United States District Judge, District of Kansas
- Jay Price, professor and chair, Department of History, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The last 15 minutes of the program will be open to audience questions. A wine and cheese reception will take place after the town hall.
Please encourage your students to attend; you might consider awarding extra credit for their attendance. This event is also open to the public.
Alternative Spring Break informational meetings
Alternative Spring Break will expose WSU students to complex social and cultural issues through community visits, experiential learning, direct service, group discussion, common readings and reflection activities.
This year we are offering two trips dedicated to service-learning in two different focuses. The first trip will be to Washington, D.C., exploring hunger and homelessness in our nation's capital.
The second trip will be to Houston, focusing on long term disaster recovery post Hurricane Harvey.
Informational meetings will be held from noon-1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5, in 262 RSC, and 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, in 142 RSC. Pick up an application in person at Student Involvement in 216 Rhatigan Student Center, or go to wichita.edu/springbreak to download a copy. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30.
Physics Seminar Series continues today (Wednesday, Oct. 31)
The Fall 2018 Physics Seminar Series will feature Robert McTaggart from South Dakota State University from 2-3 p.m. today (Wednesday, Oct. 31), in 128 Jabara Hall. His lecture is titled “The Mechanical and Chemical Response of 3-D Printed Poly Lactic Acid to Gamma Irradiation from a Cobalt-6 Sterilizer. Refreshments and discussion will follow the presentation.
Abstract: 3D-printing allows one to design and make replacement parts to exacting specifications when needed. This is particularly helpful for timely stand-alone replacement in industry or biomedical applications. The reliability of these products after irradiation, say in space or after gamma sterilization, is often of interest.
Samples of 3D-printed Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) were subjected with up to 200 kiloGrays of gamma radiation from a Cobalt-60 irradiator. The mechanical responses to destructive testing were successful modeled and may be understood given the underlying chemical changes due to said radiation exposures.
Chemistry Colloquium to feature presentation on purines and spores
The next Chemistry Colloquium at 3:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, Oct. 31) will feature a presentation by Steven Firestine from Wayne State University. His topic will be “Purines and Spores: Adventures in Antimicrobial Drug Discovery.”
‘How Do I Write Papers in APA style?'
University Libraries is holding the workshop “How Do I Write Papers in APA Style?” from noon-1:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, in 217 Ablah Library.
Identify strategies to avoid plagiarism, and learn and practice using the American Psychological Association (APA) 6th edition style to write and format research papers and citation lists in this very helpful workshop!
This is one in a series of Savvy Researcher workshops this semester. The workshops in this series are open to WSU students, faculty and staff.
For more information about this workshop and others in the series, visit Savvy Researcher. To RSVP, go to library event on Nov. 9. Please encourage your students to sign up for workshops in this very helpful series!
‘Intro to Excel' workshop coming Nov. 8
University Libraries is holding the workshop "Intro to Excel” from 2-3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in 217 Ablah Library.
Learn how to create and navigate a basic spreadsheet in MS Excel 2013. Creating new pages and sheets, tool bar navigation, using math operators and formula functions, using many basic tools such as sorting, manipulating rows and columns, and cell formatting will be practiced in this introduction.
This is one in a series of Digital Literacy workshops to be held this semester, and is open to all WSU students, faculty and staff.
For more information about this workshop and others in the series, visit digital workshops. To RSVP, visit library event on Nov. 8. Seats are limited, so sign up today!
Here's the 2017-18 Admissions annual report
In August, the Admissions Office released its 2017-18 Annual Report to the campus community. If you missed it, you can now view the publication by clicking here.
The annual report is a compilation of everything we do throughout the year. Highlights from 2017-18 include:
- Processing 14,770 applications for admission
- A 14.8 percent growth in enrolled students from Wichita-area high schools
- A 73.7 percent growth in admitted students along the I-35 corridor.
- Being selected for the Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll
- Hosting the largest DSI and W-S-YOU programs to date
- Sending more than 1.5 million emails and 362,000 pieces of mail
Questions about the annual report can go to Mandy Harmon, associate director, at mandy.harmon@wichita.edu or Elisha Satterfield, associate director, at elisha.satterfield@wichita.edu.