First candidate to be interviewed for Health Professions dean position today
The Office of Academic Affairs will virtually interview four dean candidates for the
College of Health Professions. Anyone is welcome to participate in virtual public
forums with each candidate, streamed live on YouTube.
Phillip Funk, Ph.D.; associate dean for Health Programs and Initiatives; associate professor of
Biology, College of Science and Health, DePaul University. Monday, June 1, and Tuesday,
June 2. Faculty and staff are invited to participate in a virtual public forum at
3 p.m. today (Monday, June 1). Watch live here.
Sathees Chandra, Gregory Hand, and Kimberly McDowall Long will be interviewed June 3, 5 and 9 respectively.
See additional information regarding the candidates on the Academic Affairs website
Virtual support offered by university subject librarians
University Librarians are here (virtually) to support instruction.
As Wichita State faculty plan summer and fall classes, remember librarians can help you every step of the way. Let your subject librarian:
- Make custom research guides for your classes
- Help you redesign research assignments to better fit the hybrid learning environment
- Locate electronic course materials (e-books, articles, or streaming audio and video) and embed them directly into your Blackboard course shell
- Support your students as an embedded librarian in Blackboard by answering questions, participating in discussions, providing point of need announcements, linking to electronic resources, and providing feedback on research assignments
- Provide synchronous or asynchronous virtual instruction for your classes (at least two weeks advance notice is preferred)
Contact subject librarians at libraries.wichita.edu/subjectlibrarians.
Sign up now for the June 8-12 Academic Resources Conference events
The first half of the new and improved Academic Resources Conference will take place online via Zoom during the week of June 8. Sign up for trainings now via myTraining.
The Academic Resources Conference is Wichita State's largest instructor training event, and this year is greatly expanded and available fully online. All instructors of any rank, student facing staff, and faculty support staff are likely to benefit from this event. If you are interested, you are invited! Zoom events will run the week of June 8 and the week of Aug. 10, and online / on-demand events will be available all summer through the ARC website.
You can see a full list of June events here or browse by topic here.
The June events include:
1) Best practices for online instruction
2) Protecting your mental health
3) Library services and resources
4) Technical training in Blackboard, Panopto, Zoom, and Respondus
5) Tips for creating instructional video
We miss your face! So, this year we are also offering fun, social events each evening from 6-6:50 p.m. These "Cocktail Hour" events include opportunities to discuss classroom engagement, demonstrations of fun online games (yes, attendees will play), and on Friday night a murder mystery night. Sign up for Cocktail Hour events early as their caps are low. No alcohol required for Cocktail Hour, of course.
Sign up for all events through myTraining found in the myWSU portal. Know an adjunct or new GTA who doesn't have myTraining access? Encourage them to come, and we will handle their sign-up. Just email IDA@wichita.edu.
Stay up-to-date with University Libraries
Keep up-to-date on when, where and how to use library resources on our website. For questions, send us an e-mail at librarystaff@wichita.edu or call us at 316-978-3481.
Have questions for the Career Development Center?
Need help with your resume? Want to talk about possible careers? Looking to do a quick mock interview? Have questions about the Career Development Center? All of these and more can be done during drop in hours with me! No need for an appointment time, just drop in and wait your turn on Zoom! We have three available times this week:
Virtual Q&A Drop-In Session with Maggie Slack
1-3 p.m. Tuesday, June 2
Virtual Q&A Drop-in Session with Margarita Baez
9-11 a.m. Wednesday, June 3
Virtual Q&A Drop-In Session with Sarah Rupp
9-10 a.m. Thursday, June 4
Career Development Center events
Shocker Store curbside service moved
Now that the Rhatigan Student Center and the Shocker Store are open, curbside service has moved inside to the front of the RSC store, rather than off the parking lot. Both are open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Within the store, guests are expected to wear masks and maintain six feet of social distancing.
Continued need to share reliable health information with students during COVID-19 pandemic
Research by Amy Chesser, Amy Drassen Ham and Nikki Keene Woods in the Department of Public Health Sciences was published in Health Education & Behavior titled “Assessment of COVID-19 Knowledge among University Students: Implications for Future Risk Communication Strategies.”
The researchers investigated WSU students’ knowledge and beliefs about COVID-19, current social media usage and gaps in understanding the health crises. More than 1,100 WSU students participated in the survey, and results highlight the need for an increased public health presence on social media and an urgent need to remain diligent in educating community members about COVID-19 myths.
Pictured above from l-r: Amy Chesser, Amy Drassen Ham and Nikki Keene Woods
Summer 2020 E-Launch
E-Launch has been developed to foster entrepreneurial activity that will lead to the commercialization of ideas. This summer training will be held June through July. For more information and registration go to wichita.edu/elaunch.
Tuesday Talk with SHS will discuss ‘Transgender Health & The Real You’
For the Tuesday Talk on June 2, join Sandy Hill, DNP, APRN, and Nurse Heather for a discussion about “Transgender Health and the Real You.” Tune in to Facebook Live at 2 p.m. and learn about the transgender process and one student's story in Part I of our Pride Month series.
June HealthQuest upcoming events
Employees enrolled in 2020 coverage through the State Employee Health Plan can earn a premium discount worth $480 annually, and HSA/HRA rewards dollars up to $500 per year for each employee and covered spouse, just by participating and logging healthy activities throughout the year!
In June, there is one event currently scheduled, worth up to one point total! There are also a variety of on-demand or online options, with up to 46 points available!
- 11 a.m.-noon Wednesday, June 17, “Managing Worry and Anxiety” EAP webinar. Register online. (1 point)
Now is good time to take advantage of some of the On-Demand and online options to earn HealthQuest points.
- Virtual Health Coaching Sessions: You can earn up to 15 points (max 1 health coaching per day, 1 point each) by scheduling Health Coaching Sessions. You can choose a health coach who is a nurse (RN), a dietitian or a trainer when scheduling sessions.
- Learning Modules: You can earn up to 5 points by completing on-demand learning modules in the HealthQuest portal. There are 18 different topics to choose from.
- EAP On-Demand Trainings: You can earn up to 8 points (max 1 point per day) by completing EAP On-Demand trainings and webinars that you can access through the HealthQuest portal. There are 32 different topics to choose from.
- HealthQuest Financial Wellness Learnings Module: You can earn 5 points by completing this four-week learning module.
- Online Wellness Assessment: You can earn 10 points for completing this assessment.
- 2020 HealthQuest Program Overview Video & Quiz: You can earn 3 points for watching this video and completing the short quiz.
We’ll publish upcoming events each month, but if you’d like to plan in advance, check out all currently scheduled HealthQuest events.
Access the HealthQuest portal here.
Congratulations to KMUW's Stephan Bisaha, recipient of a Regional Murrow Award for excellence in journalism
Stephan Bisaha
KMUW news reporter Stephan Bisaha has received a 2020 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for sports reporting. His winning feature, "Kansas Community College Football Now Has Its Own Stars, Netflix Series and Scandals," can be found at KMUW.org/awards.
Bisaha now advances to the prestigious National Murrow Award competition. The Radio Television Digital News Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971.
Billingham discusses pandemic's effect on cities in Wichita Eagle column
Chase Billingham
Wichita State sociologist Chase Billingham argues that the Covid-19 pandemic will have massive negative effects on budgets of cities like Wichita, and calls for increased federal government support for American cities and towns.
Budget Cuts Are Coming. Washington Must Help.
The staggering economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are just beginning to be understood, not just for individual families and businesses, but also for governments at all levels. Unlike the federal government, state and local governments must find a way to balance their budgets each year. For Wichita and other cities, this poses an enormous challenge. Major sources of city revenue, especially sales taxes, fees for services, and rental income, will face severe shortfalls. Wichita is projecting a deficit of over $11 million for the coming year, and that shortfall is likely to continue for years to come as the national economic downturn persists.
In the face of such perilous circumstances, it has been refreshing to see city leadership in recent weeks respond with immense dedication, concern, and commitment to softening the impact on the city and its residents. Since April, the City Council has held several retreats with City Manager Robert Layton and key staff members to discuss possible budgetary responses to the projected shortfall. The first retreats were largely conceptual, but on Tuesday the discussion became very real, as Layton and City Budget Officer Elizabeth Goltry Wadle presented council members with 90 specific proposals to help close the budget gap.
The proposals ranged from negligible spending adjustments all the way up to substantial reductions of city services and staffing. Some of the necessary savings will come easily—the city anticipates lower expenses on fuel, for instance, since gas prices have dropped drastically in recent months. Other savings will hurt a lot, though. These involve cutbacks to critical services, and they will definitely be noticed by residents. Among other items, there are proposals to reduce the frequency of mowing in city parks and rights-of-way, plant fewer trees, buy fewer books and other materials for city libraries, keep pools and splash pads closed for the 2020 season, privatize the management of Century II, shift city employees to a less generous health insurance plan, draw down on city reserves, freeze employee pay, leave vacant positions unfilled, and lay off staff.
Not all of these proposals will become reality, and the duration of the cuts will vary. Some cuts will be restored when the economy improves, while others might become permanent. Ultimately, though, the Council will have to make difficult decisions.
It is clear, in watching these budget retreat meetings, that city leaders understand the gravity of the situation they face. The amount of care that they have demonstrated in trying to minimize the impact of the forthcoming cuts on people’s livelihoods, and on the quality of life in Wichita, has been commendable. Nevertheless, the cuts that they will be forced to make will have adverse effects on the pocketbooks of city employees and on the lives of Wichitans.
As local leaders begin to make those tough choices, the federal government can help to ease their burden. While the recent CARES Act provided some funding to local governments (including Sedgwick County), none of that money came to the city of Wichita. Moreover, funds for local governments were primarily for public health responses; the CARES Act did not give local governments much flexibility in using the aid to cover revenue shortfalls.
Major additional federal aid to cities and towns, which employ 14 million Americans, is sorely—and immediately—needed. The budgetary challenges facing Wichita are being seen in municipalities across the country. In order for Wichita and other cities to survive the worst of the impending economic crisis, Congress and the President must act now to provide direct municipal relief.
Chase M. Billingham is an associate professor of sociology at Wichita State University.
Extra discount on clearance merchandise at the Shocker Store
This week in the Shocker Store, take an extra 10% off their already-marked-down clearance
items! Sale is in RSC store only. Store hours are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Please use Student Health's main entrance starting today
Starting today (Monday, June 1), please use the main entrance for the Student Wellness Center in the lobby of the Steve Clark YMCA. If you are experiencing fever, cough or other symptoms of illness, please call Student Health at 978-4792 before coming into the center.
Meet a Shocker: Madison McCalla, communication graduate
Madison McCalla knew she could get a great communication degree at Wichita State through the Elliott School of Communication. She made the most of her education by getting involved with a professional student group and stepping out of her comfort zone. And she isn’t going to let COVID-19 get in the way of her career plans.
Madison was one of more than 2,400 students eligible for spring/summer 2020 graduation. Learn more about her time at Wichita State and what is next for the grad.