Real Talk - Intersection Dialogues ‘Debriefing Recent Racial Events’ (2nd Session)
The next Real Talk session will be held from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, June 5), via Zoom. A link will be provided after you RSVP.
The dialogue is co-sponsored with Counseling and Prevention Services.
As we continue to hear more news about the devastating racial events happening in society, our upcoming topic will be "Debriefing the Recent Racial Events." Engage in meaningful dialogues around various topics that impact identity, diversity, inclusion, equity and society. We welcome you to lean into discomfort and join in on the discussion.
Register for the second upcoming event at wichita.edu/odievents. You will receive the Zoom session link and password after you RSVP. For more information, contact the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at 316-978-3034.
Click "Real Talk - Intersection Dialogues (2nd Session)" to access the RSVP form.
NSF I-Corps program at Wichita State helps launch Kansas City biotechnology startup
A Kansas City biotechnology startup company is getting a boost thanks to Wichita State University’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Shocker Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program.
T-Blocks are changing the way primary stem cells are grown. The technology, owned by the Kansas City-based startup, Ronawk LLC and co-founders A.J. Mellott and Heather Decker, is conducting extensive research on stem cells at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
The team participated in last summer’s Shocker Innovation Corps program and went through the required E-Launch training associated with it.
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.
Local newsrooms and community partners launch Wichita Journalism Collaborative
Amy DeVault
To help meet the urgent information needs during this global pandemic and beyond, a partnership of local newsrooms and community institutions is launching the Wichita Journalism Collaborative — a coalition formed to support and enhance quality local journalism.
Journalists have been working around the clock to cover the spread of and responses to COVID-19, as well as the massive economic consequences of the pandemic. Amy DeVault, project manager for the initiative and Wichita State University journalism instructor, said she hopes these local organizations will share resources and work together in covering the challenges people will face in the coming year, as well as the responses by local government, organizations and individuals.
Joe Stumpe, editor of The Active Age, said formal collaboration among news organizations is a fairly new concept.
“We’re usually in competition with each other. But in the current environment, anything that helps us do our job of keeping people informed is worth the effort,” Stumpe said.
Media partners include: The Active Age, The Community Voice, The Journal (Kansas Leadership Center), KMUW, KSN-TV, The Sunflower and The Wichita Eagle. Community partners committed to participating in the initiative include AB&C Bilingual Resources, The Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University and Wichita Public Library.
Rachel Schrag Sommerfeld, news director at KSN, said the station is excited to collaborate with other local journalists to in-depth reporting.
“Wichita already has a strong community of journalists and this opportunity only helps us to broaden our coverage of important issues,” Sommerfeld said.
With a daily newspaper, the local public radio station and a major television station on the mainstream end, DeVault said she thinks the mix of media partners is nearly perfect, with the larger organizations bringing reporting and editing prowess, as well as significant local audiences.
“But just as important, we have four niche publications that serve more specific audiences,” DeVault said. “These editors bring perspectives from their readers into every discussion and have important connections among their audiences. It’s exciting to watch all of them begin putting their strengths and ideas together to try to create something better than any one of them could alone.”
The initiative launches with support from the Wichita Community Foundation and with a $100,000 grant from Solutions Journalism Network, based in New York City. SJN encourages rigorous reporting not only on problems and challenges facing communities, but also on the responses.
“Solutions Journalism Network is very pleased to welcome the Wichita Journalism Collaborative as a member of the Local Media Project, an initiative that seeks to strengthen local media ecosystems through the creation of sustainable reporting collaboratives that address pressing challenges in their community from a solutions perspective,” said Liza Gross, vice president of practice change at SJN. “We are confident the Wichita Collaborative will make a unique contribution to the news landscape in Wichita and engage and inform audiences in innovative and transformational ways.”
Immediate goals for the Wichita Journalism Collaborative (COVID-19 coverage)
- Help partner newsrooms coordinate COVID-19 coverage
- Maximize existing resources through collaboration and co-reporting
- Find and tell important stories — with an emphasis on solutions
- Combat misinformation & encourage media literacy
- Fight for open government & transparency
- Further the reach of important coverage, including to people who do not speak English as a first language
Other important goals
- Strengthen the local journalism ecosystem
- Encourage collaboration among newsrooms
- Facilitate audience engagement initiatives
- Push boundaries of traditional delivery platforms & experiment with new methods
For information about the Wichita Journalism Collaborative, contact Amy DeVault, project manager, at amy@wichitajournalism.com.
Announcing the next Common Read book!
First-Year Programs in Student Success is pleased to announce the 2020-21 Common Read book, “Some Were Paupers, Some Were Kings: Dispatches from Kansas,” by Mark E. McCormick.
We are excited to welcome a new class of students using the themes of this book throughout the year! If you have a program, student organization or course that may be interested in using the book, or have any questions, contact First-Year Programs at 978-5420 or Tahrima Musa at tahrima.musa@wichita.edu. See wichita.edu/commonread for more information.
MGC to host Candlelight Vigil - June 5
The Multicultural Greek Council invites all to a candlelight vigil at 8 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, June 5) in the MGC Quad (located in the RSC Courtyard off of the East Entrance).
This is a peaceful time to mourn the loss of Black individuals because of police brutality, and to rally together to support Black individuals. We strongly encourage physical distancing and the use of proper PPE. A limited number of candles will be provided.
We will feature four speakers, including three Wichita State students and one Wichita State staff member. Please contact mgc@wichita.edu for additional questions.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers wide variety of services to employees at no charge
With the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and recent unrest due to injustices that impact our community, we want to remind employees of the availability of EAP services. As an employee of the State, benefits-eligible employees of WSU and their dependents have access to EAP services at no charge. EAP can provide information and connect you with professionals who can help with a wide variety of services and your use of EAP services is completely confidential.
Some services provided are:
- Locating support groups
- Short-term personal counseling services
- Emotional and stress related issues
- Domestic violence
- Family and parenting questions
- Grief and loss
- Connecting with a financial expert for financial related issues and questions
- Legal advice for concerns such as divorce, custody, adoption, real estate, debt, landlord/tenant issues, etc.
- Customized resources and referrals for child and elder care, moving, pet care, home repair, selling a home, college planning and more.
You can find more information online from WSU here and from the State Employee Health Plan (SEHP) here. To check out the EAP services offered visit the EAP Website at www.guidanceresources.com using Company ID: SOKEAP or call EAP at 1-888-275-1205 (option 1).
Additional community resources can be found at www.wichita.edu/CommunityResources.
State Employee Health Plan updates in response to COVID-19
Governor Laura Kelly announced four provisions on March 13, 2020 that have been extended through June 30, 2020 for employees and dependents enrolled in medical insurance through the State Employee Health Plan.
- SEHP will cover medically necessary diagnostic tests that are consistent with CDC guidance related to the COVID-19 at no cost share to member, where it is not covered as part of the Public Health Service response.
2. SEHP will allow early refills on 30- or 90-day prescription medications and/or allow members to use their mail order benefit.
- Given the nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, seeking in person medical care has the potential to further spread the virus. SEHP partners with Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas to provide Telehealth services with a virtual doctor’s office. There is 24/7/365 access to this service. The member cost share will be waived for any Telehealth service. In addition to telehealth services provided by Teledoc or Amwell, the member cost share will also be waived for services from your in-network physician that are billed as telehealth services.
Blue Cross Blue Shield members - Amwell
- For plan participants that reside in the Topeka area, the HealthQuest Health Center available to members enrolled in the health plan, is located at 901 S. Kansas Ave., Topeka
- Phone screening is recommended before going to the center: 785-783-4080
- If a patient walks into the clinic, they will have them put on a mask and clean their hands with hand sanitizer. The health center staff will evaluate the patient’s symptoms and recommend they isolate if the initial findings and/or symptoms present are a positive indicator for the virus.
- Testing is not available at the health center for COVID-19 and the clinic will refer all patients that meet the risk criteria to the local health department for testing and further evaluation.
For all up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 and the WSU campus, go to www.wichita.edu/covid19.
Changes to your HSA/HRA/FSA for 2020 due to CARES Act
Due to the recent CARES Act legislation, there have been some updates to how you can use your HSA, HRA and/or Healthcare FSA funds. Updates include the ability to use funds for over the counter (OTC) medications without a prescription and for menstrual care products. These changes are retroactively effective to Jan. 1, 2020.
Your NueSynergy debit card may not immediately work for purchases of these items as merchants are in the process of updating their systems to accommodate these changes, but you are able to pay out-of-pocket and submit reimbursement requests through the NueSynergy online portal.
You can find more information from NueSynergy here: NueSynergy 2020 CARES Act Update. If you have more specific questions about eligible purchases, you can reach NueSynergy directly at 1-855-750-9440 for further assistance. When calling, identify yourself as a State of Kansas employee, and be prepared to provide your SHaRP ID (found by logging in to myWSU and hovering the mouse over the white box in the “SHaRP ID” channel).
Distribution and return of mifi devices have changed
ITS Telecommunications front office staff is back on campus full-time from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Friday. All mifi distribution and returns will go through our office in 027 Jabara Hall going forward. To return or pick up a requested device, simply visit our office and ring the doorbell. Please remember to wear a mask to keep yourself and our staff as safe as possible.
If you have any questions about this procedure, contact us at 316-978-3535 or telecomservices@wichita.edu. Devices can be mailed to us at WSU ITS Telecommunications, 1845 Fairmount, Box 061, Wichita, KS 67260
We would like to thank the staff of the Media Resources Center for helping us in the last two months get these mifi’s into the hands of students, faculty and staff that needed them.