Fleming-Randle, Espinoza to lead efforts to diversify and develop our workforce
The work done this past year by the Diversity, Human Resources and Professional Development Task Force has affirmed Wichita State’s commitment to diversify the university’s workforce. As part of the work that came from that task force, a recommendation was made to hire a vice president for Workforce Diversity, Human Resources and Professional Development.
After conducting an national search, evaluating the top candidates, considering input received from the candidate interviews, and our need to direct limited resources to advance this work, I believe it is in the best interest of the university to utilize our existing talent and resources to achieve the objectives of growing, retaining and developing a diverse workforce.
Specifically, we will not move forward with the planned vice president position, and the Human Resources department will remain under the supervision of Werner Golling.
Judy Espinoza will continue as Executive Director of Human Resources, and Dr. Marche Fleming-Randle will continue as Chief Diversity Officer. Together, they will collaborate to prepare a comprehensive workforce diversity plan that captures the recommendations made by the task force, as well as anything else that would advance this work. In addition, Human Resources will continue its professional development efforts and will develop a plan in which we can most effectively develop, grow and retain our workforce talent.
I will oversee these initiatives with the assistance of Werner Golling and Anna Clark.
I agree with the fundamental findings of the task force – that we need to devote more time, attention and resources to increasing and retaining a diverse workforce. It is crucial that we continue to advance this university-wide strategic focus to build a culture of transparency, accountability and communication around issues of diversity and inclusion.
And as an educational institution, it is essential that each member of our community – faculty, staff and students – gets a chance to fully thrive in their environment.
Thank you for your continued support.
Rick Muma,
Interim President
Wichita State mitigates spread of COVID-19 through digital transformation
Wichita State’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) is digitally transforming the COVID-19 landscape, combining medical laboratory sciences, advanced robotics, and automation to process thousands of tests for Kansas communities each week.
“When so many of our Kansas communities are suffering from the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wichita State is working to mitigate the spread of the virus,” said Dr. Rick Muma, interim president of Wichita State. “Not only is this an opportunity to serve the people of our state, but it’s also part of our mission as the state’s top urban research university.”
Less than two months after its opening, the MDL is serving close to 400 organizations in 16 Kansas counties. The lab is currently testing about 1,500 tests per day with a 24-hour turnaround on results, but it has the capacity to process about 3,000 additional tests on a daily basis. More equipment and staff can be added if testing needs grow beyond the lab’s current capacity.
As you know, Blackboard goes down Thursday night and will not be back up for several days. When it comes back, it will be very different in some ways, but not in many ways that you will notice. What will change?
- The Visual Student Roster will be gone. This is unavoidable as the code that delivered the VSR is so old that it can't run in the new Blackboard software environment. We are looking for a replacement for the VSR and will let you know when one is available.
- The software that drives Blackboard will be entirely different and much more stable. This will make Blackboard less "buggy" and easier to use.
- The way Blackboard is delivered will change in a way that makes it easy to keep it up-to-date without service interruption. We will always be on the most up-to-date version of Blackboard's code.
- The only time we have service interruptions will be when Blackboard itself (the company) has a problem (for example, if it suffers an attack).
- The text editor inside Blackboard will have some slight differences: it will have a different "look" and the way you will insert image files will be different. We will provide you with training for that change.
NOTE: this is not yet a move to the product called "Blackboard Ultra," although it is a necessary step to get Wichita State to Ultra. When we begin our move to Ultra, which if all goes well will be right at the end of the spring 2021 term, we will see a major change in look-and-feel for our landing pages, but even then, our classes will look like "old Blackboard" until each professor makes the decision to make the change to Ultra or until the end of 2022, whichever comes first.
Faculty Advancement Webpage is updated
As an institution, Wichita State University aims to support all faculty in their roles as teachers, researchers, and citizens of the university. Multiple units across campus offer services and resources to facilitate faculty as engaged scholars. Sometimes it's hard to locate the faculty development resources on the webpage, however. We've pulled these all together on the newly updated Faculty Advancement webpage.
The page includes links to:
frequently used forms (FAR and T & P), syllabus template, academic integrity reports, first year seminar materials, IRB forms, various grant opportunities, faculty awards, and faculty in the news among others. Bookmark the page or find a link on the main webpage for the Office of Academic Affairs.
December Teaching Today now available
The December, "Winter Wonderland" issue of Teaching Today is now available! In it you will be reminded of the upcoming Blackboard shutdown (winter is coming for Blackboard between 11 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 and approximately Tuesday, Dec. 22, so be prepared), and you will also be reminded how to export a copy of your Blackboard class to your own computer.
But the bulk of the issue is made up of information from University Libraries. You need to act soon if you would like to take advantage of some great leisure reading as you might want to get a free library card for the State of Kansas Library.
Read more about how in the newsletter.
Nominations now open for 2021 Distinguished Service Awards
Do you know an Unclassified Professional (UP) or University Support Staff (USS) employee who deserves special recognition for their contributions to WSU? Nominate them for the 2021 Distinguished Service Awards!
These awards recognize the dedication and excellence of UP / USS employees who have provided exemplary, dedicated and caring service to the WSU community that is beyond the expectations of the duties and responsibilities of their position. Selected honorees are recognized at the annual Shocker Pride Celebration.
Submit a nomination by 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, at Distinguished Service Awards.
President’s Distinguished Service Awards
Spread the joy with the WSU Foundation
The Wichita State University Foundation was looking for a fun way to celebrate the holiday season and spread joy, so they had six students share their holiday traditions and recipes. We hope that Shockers will try out some of the recipes and share their thoughts/reviews with the WSU Foundation via social platforms.
The first holiday recipe post went up last week on the WSU Foundation Facebook page and two more are scheduled through the remainder of the year. The WSU Foundation invites you to create your own content and link to the holiday recipes page. Or, simply share the WSU Foundation’s posts with your friends and family. Finally, try out one of the recipes and comment on the Foundation social pages.
Happy Holidays!
Help ODI and the KLC Beat the Virus!
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is participating in the Kansas Leadership Center’s statewide initiative to help “Kansas Beat the Virus.” We are tasked with convening and facilitating 20 virtual meetings of 8-12 people to come up with action ideas that will help Kansans stop the spread of Covid-19.
If you are able to help convene a group of your staff, students and friends, please reach out to Alicia Sanchez at alicia.sanchez@wichita.edu to schedule a meeting. The meetings must take place before Monday, Dec. 21.
Koplik scholarship helps Raehpour continue her healthcare studies
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Dawna Raehpour credits the support of Wichita State faculty with showing her a career path in health care.
Dawna Raehpour
- Raehpour is the recipient of the Stanley Z. Koplik Memorial Scholarship and will use it to help fund her final semester at Wichita State.
- Raehpour's experiences with her family motivate her to pursue a career in public health.
Spring OAT deadline is Feb. 12
The Open / Alternative Textbook (OAT) initiative is designed to promote, incentivize, and grow the use of freely available resources in WSU classes to reduce the economic impact of textbook costs for students.
Faculty who design courses that provide instructional resources at no cost to students are eligible for an OAT course designation. Students pay a flat $10 course fee, with these funds being split between the department offering the course and the Open / Alternative Textbook grant program (which funds faculty to develop more OAT courses/materials).
Learn more about Open Education Resources at the Academic Resources Conference (ARC) Jan 11-15, or contact Maria Sclafani or Victoria Koger in the Library for assistance in finding no-cost resources.
Toner replenishment program update
The toner replenishment program is now fully in place. All printers with a DEX MPS tag on the printer will receive an auto-replenishment of toner when your printer gets down to 30% toner life. If your printer was below 30% when the program went into effect, it will not auto-replenish. If this is the case for your printer, please call the phone number on the tag and tell the operator that you need toner; this will be a one-time process, all future orders will be automatic. The operator will need the Equipment ID # on the label.
The program also covers service and parts such as drum kits, fuser kits and toner collection units. When your printer notifies you that you need one of these parts, call the number on the label and order the part. At the end of each monthly cycle, you will receive an invoice from Central Services detailing your toner use for the month. You are only billed for toner use, nothing else. The detailed usage and rate per printer will give you the data you need to determine which printers should be replaced or taken out of service.
Please contact Ellen Abbey if you have any questions regarding this program or if you need assistance in ordering supplies, ellen.abbey@wichita.edu.
Want to learn more about internal grant opportunities? Attend today's WSU Faculty Support Committee Panel Discussion
WSU Office of Research Workshop: The WSU Faculty Support Committee & Internal Funding Opportunities: Dec. 15, 2020
Join the WSU Faculty Support Committee for a panel discussion about internal grant funding opportunities available to WSU faculty, including the URCA, ARC and MURPA. The WSU Faculty Support committee will describe each funding opportunity, the rating criteria that is used to evaluate applications and how to improve your likelihood of receiving this internal funding. The workshop will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Please sign up through myTraining or by emailing proposals@wichita.edu.
Kansas NASA EPSCoR Program is requesting proposals for a Seed Research Initiation Grant opportunity
A jurisdiction of the NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program, the Kansas NASA EPSCoR Program (KNEP) is managed through the NASA in Kansas office. The goal of NASA EPSCoR is to provide seed funding that will enable jurisdictions to develop an academic research enterprise directed toward long-term, self-sustaining, nationally competitive capabilities in aerospace and aerospace-related research. This capability will, in turn, contribute to the jurisdiction’s economic viability and expand the nation’s base for aerospace research and development.
The Partnership Development Grant (PDG) opportunity recipient is expected to initiate, develop, and formalize a meaningful professional relationship with a NASA researcher. Given this expectation, it is vital investigators and students travel to a NASA center if selected for an award.
UP & USS joint senate meeting today
The UP and USS Senates joint meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, via Zoom. All meetings are open to the campus community. If you are interested in joining the meeting, please contact Kayla Jasso at kayla.jasso@wichita.edu for the Zoom link.
View meeting dates, agendas and minutes here.
KMUW talks with experts about how to cope with social isolation over the holidays
The holiday season looks different this year, as the pandemic is keeping families and friends apart. We’ll discuss how to cope with social isolation during COVID-19 with a group of expert panelists. The conversation will be livestreamed on KMUW's Facebook page and EngageICT.org starting at 5 p.m. today (Tuesday, Dec. 15). To ask a question, email it to info@kmuw.org or comment on the live Facebook video.
Our panelists are:
- Eric Litwiller, Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas
- Alicia Martinez Newell, Wichita State University CARE Team
- Dr. Michelle Vann, Vanntastic Solutions
Save the date: Strategic Communications annual seminar
Save the date for Strategic Communications' annual seminar to be held from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. The seminar will have a virtual format. This year's seminar will focus on the 125 years of education and innovation campaign. An RSVP for the event will be in WSU Today the first week in January.
Have you been impacted by recent changes to full remote learning for school-age children?
As the COVID-19 activity has increased in the community, more local schools are moving to full remote learning. If these changes are causing an interruption in your childcare, there may be paid leave options available to you under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA)
If you are experiencing an interruption in childcare due to school closures, daycare closures, or other sources of childcare no longer available due to COVID-19, please complete the COVID-19 Request Form and submit to totalrewards@wichita.edu to determine whether you are eligible for such leave benefits.
More information about the FFCRA leave benefits can be found in the Employee Leave and Benefits section of the COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
WPCE congratulates and recognizes retiring staff
WPCE would like to congratulate Linda Ambler and thank her for her dedication and unwavering commitment to our department over the past 35 years. Linda began her career at WSU in 1985 and has been organizing and planning the Community Education classes ever since.
Please join us in congratulating Linda on her many years of service to the university by sending her well wishes and cards to Box 136 or email them to her at linda.ambler@wichita.edu through Dec. 17.
Blackboard will be down several days starting the evening of Dec. 17
In an effort to improve Blackboard's performance and stability, and to set the foundation for further improvements in the Blackboard Learn system throughout 2021, WSU will be bringing Blackboard down for several days in December.
Our system will go down at 11 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, and be down for several days. Our current estimate for the system to be restored and fully functional is Tuesday, Dec. 22, although it's possible this down time could extend to Christmas Day.
To prepare for this down time, instructors should:
1) Plan to have all fall 2020 final grades submitted
2) Have any January term classes set up before Dec. 17, or make plans to do so after Dec. 22
3) Notify any students who are working on incompletes or late submissions that Blackboard will not be available during this window.
Once Blackboard service is restored, Instructional Design and Access will run extensive testing on the system. If you notice any technical problems after service is restored, please report those problems through a OneStop Blackboard Help ticket and not by direct emails to IDA staff. It is very important that technical problems can be addressed in a systematic way to ensure a quick resolution.
Available Blackboard templates will speed your course creation
Spring courses are now loaded into Blackboard, and if you would like to speed up your class development, you might want to try one of the two available Blackboard templates now available to you.
Templates make class development easier because they provide structure, organization, and some standardized content for you. Instructional Design and Access has created two templates, one with a "traditional" organizational style using a "Course Materials" menu item containing 16 weekly folders, and one with each week's content linked in as a "main menu" (left-hand) link that goes directly to the week.
You can learn more about templates and download them at https://wichita.edu/bbtemplates and if you have any questions, contact Instructional Design and Access at IDA@wichita.edu.
Great prices on last minute gift ideas
Didn’t get a chance to make the Shocker Store’s Shock the Halls Sale? Don’t worry, because they still have some of those great deals available! Items are available in the RSC store and online at shockerstore.com. Choose free in-store pickup or free shipping over $75. Happy Holidays, Shockers!
Stocking stuffer special at the Heskett Center. Buy 2 get 1 FREE!
Need a stocking stuffer? What about a WSU face mask? Right now you can buy 2 get 1 FREE at the Heskett Center. Visit us at the guest services desk to get yours today! For more information call 316-978-3082.
Save on ornaments and ugly sweaters
Want to get in that Shocker holiday spirit? Take 20% off ornaments and ugly sweaters/tees at the Shocker Store through Dec. 18. Sale is at shockerstore.com and both the RSC and Braeburn Square stores.
RSC Shocker Store closure for winter break
The Rhatigan Student Center location of the Shocker Store will be closed Dec. 19-Jan. 3. Web orders received during this time may experience delays in processing. The Braeburn Square location will still be open during break; see hours here.
Generation Lead Podcast Series featuring Tajahnae Stocker
Current graduate student Alexus Scott and Student Involvement have 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.
The Creator of Change, we’re going to learn and discuss more about the ICT Community Fridge Project. The ICT Community Fridge Project has launched and received an abundance of support from the local Wichita community. This initiative and movement have been giving back in the form of providing mutual aid. The fridge serves as a resource to reduce food insecurity in targeted areas across the city.
Tajahnae Stocker has developed a program that precisely acknowledges the disparities and provides relief to the barriers and challenges that folks are faced with daily. Being a current student, we will explore the creation of her recent idea and discuss what leadership capabilities it’s taken to develop such a viable resource in such a short amount of time