WSU Today: May 24, 2019

KHEDF scholarships

To start today’s briefing, we’d like to congratulate this year’s Kansas Hispanic Education and Development Foundation’s scholarship recipients. On Monday, the university was proud to host the KHEDF’s annual Scholars and Recognition Dinner, an event that has, over the past 12 years, honored 470 college-bound Hispanic students from the Wichita metro area who have benefitted from more than $865,000 in scholarships.

The KHEDF’s scholarship program mirrors our own commitment to empowering students from diverse backgrounds. That said, we’re pleased to announce that out of this year’s 50 recipients, 25 have chosen to attend Wichita State the fall.

We look forward to welcoming them to campus this August.

 

Summer classes start June 3

With the summer session starting June 3, we want to let you know that there’s still time for you to enroll and take advantage of our two- four- or eight-week summer classes, which can help keep you on track to graduating in four years.

As a summer Shocker, you’ll also benefit from an expanded variety of courses, free parking—and have the option to apply financial aid toward your summer tuition.

For a list of courses, and to enroll, visit wichita.edu/summer.

 

Presidential search committee

Last Thursday, the Kansas Board of Regents announced its presidential search committee, search firm and chair. We’re pleased to note that the 20 committee members KBOR selected bring a diverse range of experience and perspectives to the search process. The committee includes students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members.

In addition, the board named Steve Clark of Wichita as chair of the search committee. Clark, a former Regent, is chairman of Clark Investment Group. He previously chaired the search committee that advised the board in the hiring of former WSU president Dr. John Bardo.

Although this is a closed presidential search, there are several ways faculty, staff, students and the community can contribute to, and learn about, the search process. From June 3-10, everyone will be able to fill out a short survey as well as leave feedback. We’ll release more details about the survey as they become available.  

On June 6, the search committee will host four public forums in the RSC, Room 142, to gather input which will be used in building a presidential profile.

We also encourage everyone to learn more about the process and to contact committee members to ask questions or provide feedback as the process unfolds. For more information, including committee members’ bios, visit wichita.edu/presidentialsearch.

You can also email comments and questions to president.search@wichita.edu.

 

State of Kansas employee pay raise

As many of you have likely heard, the Legislature recently adopted a pay raise for State of Kansas employees. For state universities, this means each received a pool of funds to distribute to employees at their discretion. WSU’s pool for this purpose is $1.5 million.

We want to thank the Legislature for recognizing, and rewarding, the valuable contribution of public higher education employees. And we’d also like to thank our own employees for their hard work and dedication to furthering WSU’s mission and vision.

For additional details, check out the news story in today’s WSU Today. If you have questions, please contact your supervisor.

 

Baseball/Kansas State Track and Field Championships

Finally, if you like high school athletics, this is a great weekend to be on campus. Today (Thursday, May 23) and Friday, May 24, Eck Stadium hosts Class 5A baseball as part of the 2019 Baseball State Championship.

Also, the annual Kansas State Track and Field Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, May 24-25 at Cessna Stadium.

We want to welcome every athlete and supporter to Shocker Nation and encourage them to take advantage of all the amenities our campus offers. We also want to encourage everyone to come out in support of these outstanding high school athletes.

To help visitors navigate campus—including where to park, eat, shop and more—we’ve set up an interactive map at wichita.edu/statetrack. We wish all of the athletes the best of luck and look forward to seeing them compete.