Thanksgiving Holiday Box Lunch on Tuesday, Nov. 24; RSVP by today!
Interim President Rick Muma and the executive team cordially invite you to a grab-and-go box lunch from noon-1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24. Please wear your face covering and respect social distancing. Please select your meal choice by today (Wednesday, Nov. 18), along with the location you will pick up your meal, by going to the RSVP link.
WSU Foundation 2020 Requisition Holiday Schedule
Thanksgiving:
WSU Foundation will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 23, for the Thanksgiving holiday. Please have all requisitions submitted by noon Monday, Nov. 23. Checks will be processed by Tuesday, Nov. 24.
Christmas:
WSU Foundation will be closed Thursday, Dec. 24 and Friday, Dec. 25. Please have all requisitions submitted by noon Monday, Dec. 21. Requisitions will be processed on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
New Year’s:
WSU Foundation will be closed Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Please have all requisitions submitted by noon Tuesday, Dec. 29. Requisitions will be processed on Thursday, Dec. 31.
Activating the University Strategic Plan
Is your unit/department helping to move the university’s mission and resulting strategic plan forward? Has your team engaged in work that drives education, culture, or economic outcomes? If so, report your activity to the Strategic Planning Committee through TeamDynamix. The newly revised form is easier to complete and takes less time. This information is compiled for the annual reporting on the strategic plan and university priorities.
The 2020 service recognition events will be moved to a virtual format
Due to rising COVID-19 numbers in Sedgwick County and upon recommendation of the University’s Health and Safety Committee, the employee recognition events will be moved to a virtual format. This was a very difficult decision and was made after much deliberation, keeping our employee’s health and safety at the forefront of our thoughts and in alignment with other large gatherings hosted by Wichita State.
The virtual ceremony will be conducted via a live stream at the designated event time on Thursday, Nov. 19:
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. event celebrating honorees with 5-20 years of service
- 3:30-5 p.m. event celebrating those with 25-50 years of service, Bender of Twigs, and retirees
The event will be broadcast live online; the media link will be available on the service recognition website.
All those being honored for a service milestone should watch the ceremony as it is live streamed at the designated event time. All honorees will be individually recognized during the virtual ceremony. Friends, family, and co-workers can also watch the ceremonies via the live stream.
This is a very unique time for everyone. The university values the dedicated service of our honorees and we want to make these milestone accomplishments a special occasion in a new virtual way.
Campus event policy updated
Wichita State University’s top priority remains the health, safety and well-being of our entire Shocker community. Face-to face events hosted by Wichita State units and organizations must be conducted in a safe and healthy manner. The following guidance is intended to supplement university-wide policies and procedures, and federal, state and local public health and governmental guidance.
See the updated policy regarding campus events.
Banner 9 faculty grade entry training offered today
Looking for a quick refresher on Banner 9 Faculty Grade Entry? In this session from 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, we will navigate the Banner 9 grade entry screen, pulling a class list in Banner Self Service and reviewing WSU Reporting for faculty.
Sign up for this remote training session in myTraining.
Information on Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs from the WSU Fire Safety Office
The COVID-19 Pandemic has caused an increased use of Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs (ABHR’s) also known as Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer. ABHR’s are considered flammable liquids and therefore their use and storage are governed by the International Fire Code (IFC) and various National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes.
The definition of alcohol-based hand rubs is an alcohol-containing preparation designed for the application to the hands for reducing the number of viable microorganisms on the hands and containing ethanol or isopropanol in an amount not exceeding 95 percent by volume.
The use of dispensers containing ABHR’s shall meet the following criteria:
- The maximum capacity of each dispenser shall be 68 ounces.
- Dispensers shall be a minimum of 48 inches apart.
- Dispensers shall not be placed directly adjacent to, directly above or below an electrical receptacle, switch, appliance, device or other ignition source. The space between the dispenser and the floor shall remain clear and unobstructed.
- Dispensers shall be mounted so that the bottom of the dispenser is a minimum of 42 inches and a maximum of 48 inches above the finished floor.
- Dispensers shall not release their contents except when the dispenser is manually
activated. Facilities shall be permitted to install and use automatically activated
“touch free” alcohol-based hand rub dispensing devices with the following requirements:
5a. The facility or persons responsible for the dispensers shall test the dispensers each time a new refill is installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s care and use instructions.
5b. Dispensers shall be designed and must operate in a manner that ensures accidental or malicious activations of the dispensing device are minimized. At a minimum, all devices subject to or used in accordance with this section shall have the following safety features:
- Any activation of the dispenser shall only occur when an object is placed within 4 inches of the sensing device.
- The dispenser shall not dispense more than the amount required for hand hygiene consistent with label instructions and regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).
- An object placed within the activation zone and left in place will cause only one activation.
6. Storage and use of ABHR’s shall be in accordance with the International Fire Code.
7. Dispensers installed over carpeted floors shall only be allowed in areas equipped with a fire sprinkler system.
ABHR’s installed in corridors shall be in accordance with the following:
- The maximum capacity of each dispenser shall be 41 ounces.
- The maximum quantity allowed in a corridor per floor shall be 10 gallons.
- The minimum corridor width shall be 72 inches.
Any questions regarding the placement or storage of ABHRs can be directed to the WSU Fire Safety Office at 978-5803 or 978-5531.
Holiday greeting requests for ITS Telecommunications
The Thanksgiving holiday is from Wednesday, Nov. 25 through Friday, Nov. 27, and most departments on campus will be closed. Now is the time to submit your request if your department needs a holiday greeting activated on your calling-tree or call distribution number.
Please submit the request at www.wichita.edu/services/telecom. Choose “Telephone Request” as the requested service, then choose “Programming” as the telephone service. Please ensure to include all details in the description.
Only requests received via this method will be processed. Please email telecomservices@wichita.edu or call 978-3535 if you have any questions or need any assistance.
Kansas population predicted to grow by 28.8% by 2070
Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development and Business Research has released its Kansas population forecast for the state and all 105 counties. Kansas’ total population is expected to grow by 28.8% to approximately 3.76 million residents by 2070, with growth primarily concentrated in the metropolitan areas and among older age demographics.
CEDBR has created six data visualizations to help policymakers, businesses, and economic developers across Kansas understand the expected population shifts by age cohort during the next 50 years. These visualizations help display the trends in population growth and decline throughout the state as well as variation by age and geography.
The customizable infographics allow for in-depth comparisons across counties, regions, and age cohorts. The tools include a state summary, regional forecasts, metropolitan and micropolitan comparisons, rural and urban comparisons, age group comparisons, and a detailed county-level lookup.
College of Engineering crash course
The latest college crash course video, spotlighting the College of Engineering, is
complete. Prospective engineering students will receive an email with the link to
the video and can access it on the Office of Admissions social media sites and Future
Shocker YouTube page. Feel free to share on your own social media pages!
Thanks to the College of Engineering for their partnership on this project!
Click these links to view the crash course videos for the College of Applied Studies or the W. Frank Barton School of Business. Next on the crash course video production list is the Fairmount College of Liberal
Arts & Sciences.
All call for The Wheat Shock Leadership Society judges
The Wheat Shock Leadership Society is formerly known as WSU Student of the Year. Student Involvement has rebranded this scholarship competition to become a society in order to increase the prestige and will continue to be a competitive and prestigious opportunity for students who have proven exemplary leadership, involvement, and service both to the WSU and Wichita communities.
Applications and nominations for both graduate and undergraduate students are open for students who wish to participate. We are calling for judges to serve throughout the selection process. The dates and details for each round are below. We are looking for three different sets of judges, so upon indicating interest, please include which round you would be most interested in serving, as well as your second choice.
Round 1: Application Review – Completed by Jan. 11, 2021
- This process would be going through the qualified applicants and meeting to decide on which students move to the next round. We have seen an increase, so we could be sifting through 80-90 applications depending on how many students apply.
Round 2: Interviews – Feb. 4-5, 2021
- Our judges' panel will sit through a series of interviews of those selected to move on through the application round. Deliberation and decision on the final court of 10 undergraduate students and five graduate students and will follow the interviews.
Round 3: Presentations – Feb. 18-19, 2021
- This panel will serve as an audience to our 15 finalists as they present and showcase why they should be a part of The Wheat Shock Leadership Society and receive a scholarship, in addition to induction into the Society. There will be two overall winners this year, one in graduate and one at the undergraduate level.
Please send which round you would like to serve on or any questions to Maggi Hole at lead.grad@wichita.edu or 316-978-3022.
Shocker Support Locker Holiday Care Packages
For the upcoming holiday break, the Shocker Support Locker is providing Holiday Care Packages to those who will be needing food and other items during the Thanksgiving Break and upcoming Holiday Closedown. The locker will be packing boxes at a higher item limit for those needing the care package. You will be able to select items they are needing for the care package to get them through the holiday breaks.
Items such as cheese, sandwich meat, bread, eggs, rice (white & brown), Ramen, Instant Oatmeal, hygiene items and many more items will be available. The Shocker Support Locker is wanting to make sure that we can still provide the Shocker Support Locker items to you during the shutdown of campus for the holidays.
Orders for the Holiday Care Packages will start on Nov. 18.
To place your order, go to wichita.edu/sslorder. Please email sga.supportlocker@wichita.edu with any questions.
WSU offers Spanish course for Shockers who grew up speaking Spanish with family
SPAN 321, WSU's Spanish course for heritage speakers, will be offered again in spring 2021. The course offers bilingual Shockers an opportunity to develop their Spanish reading and writing skills, while exploring topics related to Spanish-speaking communities in Kansas.
Are you a parent of a teenager?
Are you a parent of a teenager? If so, this may be a great opportunity for your child to experience what it is like being a part of an online research study.
The INSPYRE Research lab at Wichita State University is conducting a study to explore what makes relationships healthy or unhealthy in teens. The survey will only take about 20 minutes to complete, and a small prize will be given for participation.
Teens must be between the ages of 13-19 and be fluent in English. For easy access, teens can complete this study online, but they need their parent’s permission first.
For more information, click the following link to find the Parent Permission (Consent) Form.
If you have any questions, email Dr. Samantha Gregus, director of the INSPYRE lab at inspyre@wichita.edu, or give them a call at 316-978-6180.
Call for graduate student abstracts for CGRS 2021
Do you have a student working on research that benefits the State of Kansas? Encourage them to submit an abstract to represent Wichita State University at the 18th Annual Capital Graduate Research Summit (CGRS). Abstract submission for WSU consideration closes Nov. 20.
The Capital Graduate Research Summit is a research competition and showcase for Kansas Board of Regents universities to raise awareness of graduate students conducting research impacting Kansas and provide an opportunity to share their work with graduate students and faculty from other Kansas universities, the Kansas Legislature, and the general public.
This year’s summit will take place online with video presentations going live on Feb. 18.
F45 Playoffs canceled for the fall semester
Unfortunately, the F45 Playoffs for the fall semester have been canceled due to the rise in COVID cases. We hope to see you all still in our F45 classes and hopefully, we can hold the F45 Playoffs in the spring. Starting Nov. 30, we will offer one F45 class at noon and another one at 5:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information on class availabilities download the FitDegree app.
Learn about intellectual property and trademarks at virtual SCORE workshops
Get expert advice from the library's Information Services and Research Assistant Jessica Torres in upcoming SCORE Workshops! Contact jessica.torres@wichita.edu or go to libraries.wichita.edu/ptrc.
Thursday, Nov. 19, Intellectual Property Basics - Inventions, designs, original works of authorship, and trade secrets can provide you with economic benefits. Learn the basics of intellectual property protection.
Thursday, Dec. 3, Trademark Basics: Protect Your Business Name - Discover the difference between a trademark, service mark, and registered mark. Then, learn how to search for existing marks and logos and walk through the online trademark application process.
Meeting to explore a possible Wichita State University Amateur Radio Club
A Zoom meeting will be held from 7-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, about starting a Wichita State University Amateur Radio Club. Students, faculty and staff are welcome.
Amateur radio is a relevant and important way to communicate over very large distances, even many foreign countries or in local emergencies. The Wichita State University Amateur Radio Club will help you get your FCC license through short training sessions, and with the help of the Wichita Amateur Radio Club conduct an FCC examination.
The club will also participate in long-distance radio communications with other clubs, to the International Space Station, and get involved with upcoming projects such as Cube-Sat communications.
All are welcome to attend at the Zoom room 938 6695 1797 password HAMRadio.
If you have questions, contact nick.solomey@wichita.edu.
Wednesdays in Wiedemann Annual Christmas Organ Concert
Please join us for the Wednesdays in Wiedemann Annual Christmas Organ Concert at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, on the great Marcussen organ in Wiedemann Hall.
Two guest student organists and a lovely soprano, also a student at WSU, will perform. We will have carol-singing by the audience, and as usual, one favorite, and lively, joyful works performed on the organ by Lynne Davis, Robert L. Town Distinguished Professor of Organ.
Free admission. You may attend in person (social distancing and masks required) or watch the live stream on the WSU School of Music Facebook page.
Generation Lead podcast series available for streaming now!
Current graduate student Alexus Scott and Student Involvement has partnered together to conduct and produce a podcast series focusing on the development of our next generation's leaders. The podcast series is called Generation Lead and features voices from current WSU students, staff, faculty, and community partners.
Due to the recent virtual change in in-person programming, the podcast series provides high impact dialogue that empowers, challenges, and motivates a generation to lead and take space in their personal capacities with great measure. You can check out previous and upcoming episodes via streaming platforms like Anchor, Spotify, Breaker, and Google Podcasts.
Click here to listen now via Spotify.
$14 sweatpants from the Shocker Store today
Join us this week for the Shocker Store’s next one-day-only sale! Starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, the Shocker Store will have two styles of sweatpants for $14 each, while supplies last. Sale is in store at the RSC location and online at shockerstore.com. Limit five sweatpants per person. Offer not valid with other discounts or promotions and all sales are final. Stay up-to-date on the Facebook event page.
Student Organization advisors needed
We are in search of full-time faculty and staff who are interested in serving as an advisor for student organizations here on campus.
A little about our community of Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) here on campus -- there are 300 student organizations ranging anywhere from academic to political to special interest to cultural / international. With more than 5,000 students participating, if you are interested in this role or want more information, please reach out to Maggi Hole at student.orgs@wichita.edu.
Guidelines for staying safe when decorating offices, rooms this holiday season
Holiday safety is an issue that burns brightest from late November to mid-January, when faculty, staff and students gather for holiday parties and decorate their offices or rooms. Decorating is one of the best ways to get into the holiday spirit, but fires and injuries caused by improper use of electrical decorations, such as lights or the use of candles or other open flame items, injure or kill many people each year. Take some basic precautions to ensure we all remains safe and injury-free throughout the season.
Decorations of all types shall be either non-combustible or adequately treated to render them fire resistant. Decorations are allowed 14 calendar days before the holiday or event. All decorations are expected to be removed no later than seven calendar days after the holiday or event. Artificial wrapped presents kept on the floor are limited to lobby areas. Keep wrapping paper on artwork to a minimum (i.e., less than 10% of the wall). The use of trees or wreaths shall be restricted to artificial types containing a UL or FM tag or seal indicating satisfactory fire resistance. No live or cut trees or wreaths are allowed. Do not use strings of lights on metal trees.
Streamers, garlands, lights and other decorations shall not run along or across halls, obstruct or restrict aisles, passageways, or corridors; be hung from smoke detectors or sprinkler heads or obstruct exits signs, fire extinguishers or other fire equipment. Holiday lighting strings must be double insulated or grounded and have an approval rating from either UL or FM. A maximum of three strands may be connected together. No extension cords shall be used to light strings of lights, only a circuit breaker protected power strip shall be used.
- Decorations may not be attached to doors, walls, or painted surfaces by any methods which would damage the surface or leave behind adhesive residue (i.e., low adhesive masking tape is preferred). Any costs associated with damage caused by installation or removal of decorative materials will be the responsibility of the department.
- Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, the following list:
- Latex balloons, silly-string, bubbles, glitter, confetti, rice, birdseed.
- Fireworks (including sparklers) or weapons of any kind.
- Live animals (except for those assisting individuals with disabilities).
- Any item with an open flame, such as candles or incense.
- Decorative materials may not be placed on fire doors, smoke doors, light fixtures, electrical equipment, electrical outlets, circuit breaker panels, etc.
- Cut trees, tree branches, pinecones, wreaths, mistletoe, and live potted plants. Artificial trees, wreaths, and other seasonal decorations must be fire/flame-retardant. It is the department’s responsibility to save packaging material as proof to the fire marshal that decorative materials have received flame-retardant treatment.
The following list of materials may not be used for decorations under any circumstances because they are inherently combustible or cannot be flame proofed:
- Bamboo
- Cedar Trees or Branches
- Corn Stalks or Shucks
- Cotton or Confetti (loose, in large quantities)
- Dry Moss or Leaves
- Flammable Powders or Liquids
- Hay or Straw (loose or baled)
- Paper Streamers (serpentine)
- Plastic Sheeting or Pellets
- Sawdust
- Tumbleweeds
- Wood Bark or Shavings
If you have questions, please contact the WSU Fire & Safety Office at 978-5803 or 978-5531.
WSU Fire & Safety wishes you a safe and happy holiday season.
Undergraduate STEM majors are encouraged to apply for the Goldwater Scholarship
Sophomores and juniors with a strong commitment to a research career in the sciences, mathematics and/or engineering are encouraged to apply to the competitive and prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. Visit the Goldwater Scholarship website for more information about the application and who is eligible to apply.
Students interested in applying must notify Dean Coleen Pugh by Monday, Nov. 23. Questions? Email coleen.pugh@wichita.edu.