Wichita State University President John Bardo dies
John William Bardo, 13th president of Wichita State University, died March 12, 2019 at Wesley Medical Center. He was 70 years old.
Dr. Bardo was an innovator, nationally recognized scholar and deep believer in the value of public research universities.
Dr. Bardo first entered the hospital in late November 2018, suffering complications from a chronic lung condition. After spending several weeks in rehabilitation and at home, he returned to Wesley last weekend.
He is survived by Deborah Bardo, his wife of 44 years, and their son, Christopher.
A message from Richard Muma, Provost and Acting President
President Bardo had a profound positive impact on Wichita State and the community. Future generations of students will benefit from his foresight and leadership. He will be greatly missed. In coming days, the university will schedule a memorial event to honor him.
Even during his illness these last few months, Dr. Bardo remained keenly interested in the work of the university. The strategy, vision, mission and goals developed under his leadership will continue to guide us as we move forward, together.
Our thoughts are with John’s wife, Deborah, and their son Christopher.
The university is collecting tributes to Dr. Bardo. If you have thoughts or recollections to share, please send them to president@wichita.edu.
Statement from KBOR Chair on the passing of Wichita State University President John Bardo
Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) Chair Dennis Mullin issued the following statement on the passing of Wichita State University President John Bardo:
I am deeply saddened by the loss of President John Bardo. On behalf of the Kansas Board of Regents, I extend our deepest condolences to Deborah Bardo and the rest of John’s family.
John had a unique and transformational vision for Wichita State University. He led the development of Innovation Campus, which brought new buildings and improvements to Wichita State that are remarkable. However, even more important are the opportunities for students that he worked so hard to create. His action positioned the university as an economic driver and a leader in applied learning.
John also loved Wichita. During his updates to the Board, he frequently spoke of Wichita
State’s location as a major strength. He saw the city and university’s relationship
as mutually beneficial, with Wichita State helping to drive economic growth and prosperity
in the region.
Even now, Wichita State University will continue to benefit from John’s leadership
as the team he put in place leads the university through this period of transition.
The Board is confident that Acting President Rick Muma and the rest of Wichita State’s
leadership team will continue to handle the management and operations of the university
during this time. We will make announcements about the search for a permanent replacement
at the appropriate time.
Along with the Wichita State community, the Regents mourn John’s passing. We will miss him as a leader and a person and are thankful for the opportunity to have worked with him. Wichita State University, the city of Wichita, and the state of Kansas are better places because of John Bardo.
Nationally known speaker to lead three events at WSU this month
Anne Krook is a nationally known speaker who helps students transition from the academy (university) to the workplace, using the language that employers expect from applicants.
Krook herself left academia (she was an assistant professor of English at the University of Michigan) to work for a small startup in Seattle … Amazon (!), where she enjoyed many roles both abroad and in the United States. She then went on to become VP of Operations at another startup, Mindbloom, and then VP of Operations at Synapse.
She now specializes in helping graduate students transition to non-academic workplaces and undergraduate humanities majors translate their skills into jobs. In addition to her consulting work, Krook currently chairs the Board of Directors of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Krook will speak at WSU three different events later this month. Read on to learn more about these wonderful opportunities!
* Entering the Job Market with a Humanities or Arts Degree: A Talk with Anne Krook, Ph.D.
Wondering how to get a job with a liberal arts degree? Talk to someone who knows: Anne Krook, Ph.D., a former academic who transitioned successfully to the corporate and nonprofit workplaces, will share her story and advice from 4-5 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in 261 RSC. Hear about how you can identify and market the skills that make you an asset to many different jobs. All students and faculty welcome. Cosponsored by Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College, Graduate School, and Career Development. Visit Dr. Krook’s LinkedIn profile.
* Women and Men in the Workplace: Colleagues & Allies
What are the economic, social, and cultural factors that influence how men and women see and treat each other in the workplace? Students (UG and GR) and faculty are invited to join consultant Anne Krook, Ph.D., for lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, March 29, in 156A Corbin Hall for a discussion that offers two models for making those relations work better: collegiality and allyship, and discusses why those well-known ideals sometimes fall short at work. Finally, it offers tactics for making those models more effective in your workplace. Visit Krook’s LinkedIn profile. Event cosponsors are Graduate School & Career Development Center. Students register here to log into Handshake with your WSUID and password and click “Join Event.” An email confirmation will be sent to your "shockers.wichita.edu" email address.
* Marketing Yourself After Graduate School: A Talk with Anne Krook, Ph.D.
Join nationally known speaker and consultant Anne Krook, Ph.D. for practical advice for graduate students who want industry jobs outside of academia. We will meet from 2-5 p.m. Friday, March 29 in 305 RSC East Shirley Beggs Ballroom to learn from her how to identify your skills, craft a resume, and how to use the language that employers expect from applicants! Snacks served. Visit Krook’s LinkedIn profile. Cosponsors of event are the Graduate School & Career Development Center. All are welcome. Students register here to log into Handshake with your WSUID and password and click “Join Event.” An email confirmation will be sent to your "shockers.wichita.edu" email address.
New advising resource to be available in quarterly newsletter
TAN (The Advising Network) is excited to announce a new quarterly newsletter as a resource to keep WSU advising colleagues informed and connected by sharing news about all things advising at WSU. Does your department have anything to share with the WSU advising community? Examples: new faces to WSU advising, location changes, accomplishments, etc.
Have you attended a conference or hosted an event? Please share! We’d also like to feature photos of advisors in action. Your photo submissions are encouraged. Please include names of those pictured, the department, and event name.
If you have any other news or best practice information you’d like to share with your advising colleagues, please email items for consideration to Julie.Holmes@wichita.edu.
In memory of Beverly Jean Alexander
Beverly Jean Alexander
Beverly Jean Alexander, employed at Wichita State since 1971, died March 5. She was 75. The funeral service was held Monday, March 11 at Downing & Lahey West.
Alexander started working in the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Office in 2000. Most recently she was the office receptionist.
Alexander enjoyed her job and had a knack for decorating the office on major holidays. She loved reading when she had spare time, spending time with her seven grandchildren and collecting teddy bears.
Memorials should be sent to the WSU Foundation.
Wichita State invites students to consider new higher education program
Are you interested in pursuing a career in higher education? Beginning in fall 2019, Wichita State will offer a Master of Education in Educational Psychology: Higher Education / Student Affairs track.
To help kick off this exciting new program, WSU is hosting a Graduate Assistant weekend Friday and Saturday, March 22-23. During this weekend perspective students will learn more about the program and interview for graduate assistantships, including those in Housing and Residence Life, Student Involvement, Student Success and the Career Development Center.
For more information about these assistantships, go to Student Affairs Assistantships.
To apply to attend the graduate weekend, click on Graduate Weekend.
For more information, contact the Vice President of Student Affairs at VPStudentAffaris@wichita.edu or call 316-978-3021.
WSU professors and students recognized for innovative research
Three Wichita State University researchers and a student group have been awarded the John A. See Innovation Award.
The faculty winners are Wei Wei, Shuang Gu, and Davood Askari.
Wei Wei, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, won for her research project, “Direct conversion of CO2 to Graphene for solar energy applications.”
Shuang Gu is an assistant professor the department of mechanical engineering. His winning research project is titled “Redox-mediated ammonia synthesis with ultrahigh efficiency and low cost for sustainable fuels.”
Also from mechanical engineering, assistant professor Askari won for his project, “High-performance multifunctional nanocomposites reinforced with highly interlocked and chemically functionalized helical carbon nanotube.”
Students were also recognized for their venture-based projects. Jason DeGarmo, from chemistry won for his project titled “Boost Hoop – Boost your game.”
The John A. See Awards began in 2014 after See donated $1 million to provide prizes to WSU faculty and students conducting outstanding research or producing other significant work.
See was director of flight test and prototype development at Boeing until his retirement in 1985. Although not a Wichita State alumnus, he has been a generous WSU supporter who values the importance of higher education and believes in WSU’s commitment to growth and pioneering work.
WSU Graduate Student of the Year competition results
This year’s competition started with 48 applications. Ten were selected to move forward to the second round, which included a presentation and interview. Among these, six emerged as our finalists for this year’s competition. We had a remarkable pool of candidates this year.
Congratulations to Alisha Prince as our 2019 WSU Graduate Student of the Year winner. She is pursuing a MS degree in Biological Sciences.
We would also like to recognize our five finalists:
Randy Barbour, Ph.D. in Community Psychology
Imran Musaji, Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Pamela O’Neal, Ph.D. in Educational Leadership
Rheanna Pierce, MSW in Social Work
Aaron Rodriguez, MFA in Creative Writing and Poetry
Our finalists were recognized and our winner announced on March 7 at an awards luncheon.
Save the date - URCAF 2019
The annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum (URCAF) will be held on Friday, April 19, in the Rhatigan Student Center. The forum provides an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students at Wichita State to present their scholarly and creative activity to a faculty, student and community audience, while competing for cash awards. Abstract submissions are due by Friday, April 5. For more information, go to URCAF 2019.
Graduate School Professional Development Series – ‘The Struggle is Real: Manage Your Classroom Like a Pro’
Effective tips for how to manage common issues that arise in the classroom will be presented by Marche Fleming-Randle, vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement from noon-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, in 142 RSC. Lunch will be available for the first 30. RSVP to jenny.stauffer@wichita.edu.
Scenarios will be enacted in real-time to illustrate best practices in pedagogy. If you teach or think you might teach, this workshop is for you.
Sponsors needed for 10th Annual Shock the Yard Step Show
The Multicultural Greek Council is seeking sponsors for the 10th Annual Shock the Yard Step Show, at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in Charles Koch Arena. This event allows organizations around the Midwest to show off their ability to step and grants them the opportunity to be named the best step team in the Midwest.
We hope that you will consider sponsoring our show. You can find more information on our website or by emailing Rani Somers, coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life, at rani.somers@wichita.edu.
Dondlinger awarded contract for Phase V
Construction on Phase V of the Eck Stadium project will begin later this month by General Contractor Dondlinger Construction of Wichita, director of athletics Darron Boatright announced yesterday (Tuesday, March 12). An official groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, at the construction site.