WSU hires new Chief Information Officer
Ken Harmon has been hired as the new Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Wichita State, effective July 12.
He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the CIO position, having served
in various information technology leadership roles, most recently at Koch Industries
Inc. Harmon’s experience as an IT leader and his willingness and excitement to transition
to higher education will assist Wichita State to move forward on its strategic goals.
He will take over the position from University Budget Officer David Miller, who has
generously served as interim CIO.
Criminal justice professor fights for prisoners' families
Dr. Breanna Boppre, assistant professor of criminal justice (seen above as a child with her father), grew up with both of her parents incarcerated. She brings that experience into her classroom and focuses her research on families of those who are incarcerated.
No. 1 transfer destination nine years running
For the ninth consecutive year Wichita State has claimed the #1 transfer destination title, according to data reported by the Kansas Board of Regents. Since 2010, WSU has had more transfer students from community colleges than any other institution in Kansas. The total number of transfer students reported for the three Division I universities in the state for the 2018-19 academic year (the most up-to-date information available) included:
- Wichita State University - 955 students
- Kansas State University - 740 students
- University of Kansas - 683 students
Butler Community College (459 students), Hutchinson Community College (167 students) and Cowley College (145 students) remained the three largest feeders for community college students coming to Wichita State. When including data for transfer students from any institution, WSU Tech (118 students) and Kansas State (65 students) rounded out the top five feeder schools for incoming transfers.
Blackboard to be inaccessible on July 4-5
Blackboard will go down at 1 p.m. July 4, and will be inaccessible until after 5 a.m. July 5. During this time, Blackboard will go through a major update, and it's possible this update will cause some technical problems and disturbances throughout the day on July 5. If you are working on anything in Blackboard, make sure it's saved to the system no later than July 3 to avoid losing your work.
SPSS now available for remote work by faculty and students
Wichita State has long provided access to IBM SPSS (and Amos) to staff/faculty/students; that access will continue in the future. But as we learned this spring, the traditional method of access (via WSU desktop or lab) does not work for those who are working remotely and could not access their WSU desktop, or students who could not access a lab.
Thankfully IBM provided free online access for a temporarily basis. For fall (actually starting July 1), we had IBM adjust our contract to include the online access option for those who cannot access the software from their WSU desktop or lab. ITS will be working on instructions for how staff/faculty/students can get online access in the near future.
During the transition period, users may see a warning displayed saying that the license will or has expired. This can be ignored as our grace period covers the transition to the new contract.
Summer library hours
University Libraries has been working diligently to create a safe, welcoming experience for our students, staff, and faculty, while maintaining safety protocols found in the Shockers United plan. While we are staffing the Libraries in order to provide service hours to the Shocker community, please note that many Libraries employees will continue working remotely.
Dell Technologies invites WSU researchers to webinar
Dell Technologies will host a webinar University Research & HPC: Urgent Against COVID-19, Crucial for Discovery & Innovation at 1 p.m. today (Thursday, June 25).
Join our panel of experts at top US research university high performance computing (HPC) centers to learn how the interdependence and impact of HPC and academic research continues to grow.
University research programs are fundamental in the advancement of human knowledge in fields of inquiry from the natural sciences and engineering to the humanities and liberal arts. The use of powerful computing and digital technologies is an increasingly important tool for academic research across disciplines, including HPC systems. HPC enables researchers to ask questions and attack complex problems through techniques such as simulation and data analytics in order to understand, discover, and predict.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for rapid understanding and development of solutions, the role of HPC is becoming prominent as researchers around the world depend on HPC systems to model the pandemic, understand the nature of the virus, and develop treatments and vaccines. HPC is crucial in advancing human understanding and addressing societal problems in many other areas as well, with academic researchers often leading the way.
Panel:
- Ruth Marinshaw, CTO for Research Computing, Stanford University
- Dan Stanzione, Executive Director, Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), University of Texas Austin
- Kiran Keshav, Executive Director, Yale Center for Research Computing, Yale University
Moderator:
- Jay Boisseau, Ph.D., AI & HPC Technology Strategist, Dell Technologies
We look forward to seeing you!
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).
Reminder of workplace injury procedures
Student Health Services and the HR Total Rewards team would like to remind all employees and supervisors of the process for workplace injuries. Student Health Services is unable to provide treatment for work-related injuries or illnesses, including for student employees who are injured at work. For non-emergency workplace injuries, treatment must be authorized by the State Self Insurance Fund (SSIF) before the employee reports for treatment.
In all cases, the employee should send a completed Accident or Illness Report as soon as possible, and no later than three business days following the injury. The employee’s supervisor must also call SSIF at 785-296-2364 to make a first report of injury, even if medical treatment is not required. Remember, all employees are subject to workers compensation protections, including student and temporary employees.
A handy quick-reference guide is available online, and supervisors are encouraged to keep this posted in work areas.
To the Stars with OER
You are invited to attend To the Stars with OER, a systemwide online conference for higher education faculty and staff members who are interested in Open Educational Resources (OER). Sessions will be available for individuals with all levels of OER experience from novice to expert. Learn more and support our own Open Access Textbooks (OAT) initiative on campus on Friday, Sept. 18. The cost is free.
Call for Presentation Proposals:
Share your OER expertise, best practices, and success stories by being a conference presenter! Specifically, presentations that align with the following tracks are requested: Introduction to OERs, Practices and Application, and Instructional Support and Advocacy.
Submit your proposal by Wednesday, July 15.
Enjoy lunch at the food truck plaza!
Looking for lunch? Join Funky Monkey Munchies and Brown Box Bakery for lunch and dessert today from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Thursday, June 25), at the WSU Food Truck Plaza (located directly east of NIAR on the Innovation Campus). Want to sweeten the deal? Funky Monkey will give a free hand crafted drink with entree purchase!