ڶ Today: April 26, 2019

 

Graduate School dean candidate to visit April 29-30

Jardine Hall

Rajalingam Dakshinamurthy, Interim Director, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Austin Peay State University, will visit ڶ as a dean candidate for the Graduate School on Monday, April 29 and Tuesday, April 30. 

Faculty, staff and students are invited to a public forum at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in 319 Rhatigan Student Center.  Information is also available on the Academic Affairs website.


Openings posted for fall 2019 Recruitment Faculty Fellows

The Office of Admissions has openings for Recruitment Faculty Fellows for fall 2019, faculty who desire to be more engaged in the recruitment process. The fellows will work in partnership with the Office of Admissions to recruit undergraduate domestic students during the 2019-20 academic year, for students to enroll at Wichita State.

Nine awards are available at $2,500 apiece. The application deadline is Friday, May 17, and the notification date is Friday, May 31. Questions about applying should be directed to Aaron Hamilton at 978-3631 or aaron.hamilton@wichita.edu.

Submit applications to Carolyn Shaw at carolyn.shaw@wichita.edu.

See position description.


Sixteen teams to advance to Shocker New Venture Competition Trade Show

The Center for Entrepreneurship’s Shocker New Venture Competition (SNVC) is underway and will award start-up capital to aid competitors in the launch of their new ventures.

The Trade Show will take place from 2-6 p.m. today (Friday, April 26), at Charles Koch Arena, where these teams will set up displays and pitch their business concepts to more than 100 business leaders. The public is welcome and encouraged to come out and witness this next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.

Read full story

Sponsors of this year’s competition include Foulston Siefkin, High Touch Technologies, IMA Financial Group, INTRUST Bank, Lubrication Engineers, NetWork Kansas, Riverside Health Foundation, Jeff & Kelley DeGraffenreid.

This week wrapped up the judging of the 10-page business plan round. The result is the movement of 16 teams into the trade show round of the competition. Selection was based upon market viability, the likelihood to launch and financial projections.

The 16 teams advancing to the Trade Show are:

  • Bionic6
  • Boost Hoop
  • DUO Health
  • ERC
  • HandiLift
  • Liberty Limbs Prosthetics
  • Nuria
  • PARROT
  • Phantom Technologies
  • Safety Headphones
  • Senior Design Spirit
  • Shiver
  • Smart Warehouse Advanced Technologies
  • TableTop
  • Team Ascenseur
  • TechHead

The six teams with the most “investments” by the judges will advance to the final round which takes place on May 3. The final round will take place from 1-4 p.m. in 107 Devlin Hall. An awards ceremony will follow at 5 p.m. in Devlin Hall. The public is encouraged to attend the final round presentations and the award ceremony.


In case you missed it

In case you missed the Weekly Briefing on Thursday, here’s the university update from that briefing.

Read full story

ڶ Tech embedded training

ڶ Tech was recently recognized for its beneficial embedded training support partnership with Spirit AeroSystems in the areas of new hire onboarding, certification training and recertification for skilled workers in production.

ڶ Tech has a longstanding relationship with business and industry to support skilled training needs by offering a customized approach that yields notable impact to their bottom lines. In a recent client survey, Spirit reported the following stats in favor of their partnership and services provided through ڶ Tech, including:

  • $19.8 million in opportunities for increased sales
  • $13.2 million in retained revenue
  • 2,305 jobs retained as a result of training skilled workers and upskilling workforce
  • $87,300 in cost savings that would have otherwise been spent
  • And a Net Promoter Score of 10 out of 10, meaning Spirit is very likely to continue this project with ڶ Tech.

We applaud ڶ Tech’s efforts to make a positive impact on our workforce and economy.

 

Applied learning update

With applied learning and research at the center of everything we do, Shockers in every academic program have unmatched opportunities to gain the valuable real-world experience needed to achieve their career goals.

Recent numbers from the Career Development Center illustrate the positive impact the university’s commitment to applied learning has on our students.

In 2017-18, more than 1,100 ڶ students earned $4.9 million in co-op internship wages and gained more than 370,000 hours in professional experience, all while working with nearly 500 different employers.

NIAR programs for Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems and other aviation and manufacturing organizations around the world have led to a 30 percent increase (240 total) in student employment at NIAR and in the Applied Learning Program. NIAR is hiring 60 more students per year than in 2016.

The presence and demonstrated commitments of ڶ collaboration with industry and DoD has provided millions of dollars in new funding for advanced research programs. These partnerships are the reason Wichita State ranks first in the nation in industry-financed aeronautical research and development. To put it simply, no other university in the country employs more students in aerospace R&D. And we need more student employees – NIAR is hiring.

The ڶ Office of Undergraduate Admissions will now play a larger role of linking newly admitted students to our brand of applied learning, where every student has an experience leading to employment upon graduation. Two offices will be integrated in this approach, Admissions and Career Development. By creating this link, we make our promise of an applied learning experience for every student even more explicit at the moment of being admitted.

 

Strategic Planning town hall – May 2

As the university continues working toward fulfilling its vision and mission, we want to thank all of the faculty, staff, students and community members who help steer the university toward success by volunteering on ڶ’s strategic planning activation teams.

These teams form the foundation of the strategic planning process by reviewing the university’s Strategic Plan and ongoing goals—to help it better fulfill its mission to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good.

The teams have engaged more than 160 individuals from campus and the broader Wichita community. On average, 55 persons have attended each of the activation teams’ Tuesday sessions. 

Each team, led by a chair and a co-chair, works through a playbook, provided by the steering committee, which leads the team through guided conversations around critical issues facing the university and higher education. Additionally, the playbook outlines a SWOT analysis format that each team goes through together over the semester.

With the spring semester nearly finished, we’re inviting everyone to a Strategic Planning town hall at 3 p.m., on May 2, in the RSC Beggs Ballroom, where the activation team leaders will share the results of their meetings and make recommendations.

 

Community events

We hope that everyone enjoyed all of the fun campus events at last Saturday’s Family Fun Day. There are two more can’t-miss events we want to let you know about.

The Multicultural Greek Council will host its annual Shock the Yard Step Show at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in Charles Koch Arena. Now in its 10th year, the show has grown to become one of the most creative, entertaining and competitive events on campus—and a reflection of the rich diversity found in ڶ’s student body and campus culture.

Shock the Yard was started by some of the university’s historically black fraternities and sororities. It features performers from a wide variety of campus organizations, in addition to drawing participants from across the region. Teams compete in group dance routines where performers’ bodies are used as instruments to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word and hand claps.

We encourage the community to come out and attend this high-energy event. Tickets are available for $10 through goshockers.com. They can also be purchased for $15 at the door.  

Also, this Saturday is the Kansas Optimist Club’s oratorical scholarship competition at 1 p.m. in 100 Lindquist Hall. The competition gives younger students the opportunity to gain experience in public speaking while competing for multiple college scholarships. Winners advance to the world championships with a chance to compete for a scholarship worth more than $22,000. The topic for this year’s event is “Is there a fine line between optimism and reality?”

We’re honored to support this competition and other events and initiatives that inspire and enable excellence in our community’s youth. We wish the competitors the best of luck—and we hope to see all of you there.

 

Dean search

On Wednesday, we were happy to have welcomed the first of three graduate school dean finalists to campus. Dr. Coleen Pugh is a professor in the Department of Polymer Science at the University of Akron. Two more candidates are scheduled to visit campus on April 29-30 and May 6-7. The second candidate’s public forum will be held at 3:30 p.m., April 29, in the RSC, room 319. The third’s will at 3:30 p.m. on May 6 in Clinton Hall, room 204. We look forward to having them on campus, and we’ll release more information when it becomes available.


IME Seminar presentation today (Friday, April 26)

IME Seminar April 26, 2019

Griffin Chodak

Griffin Chodak, Process Engineering Group Lead at the Aircraft Completion Center with Textron Aviation, will give a talk on aircraft manufacturing from 11 a.m.-noon today (Friday, April 26) in 211 Engineering Building.

Read abstract.


Future Now at the Ulrich today (Friday, April 26)

FUN Now at the Ulrich April 26, 2019

FUN/Future Now at the Ulrich is a series of pechakucha-style presentations featuring campus-wide research. The next event will be from 4-5 p.m. today (Friday, April 26), at the Ulrich Museum, with a reception to follow. Admission is free.

The program is an extension of Solving for X – a series of exhibitions organized by the Ulrich Museum of Art in collaboration with university scholars across campus. The objective is to explore the potential for the museum, as a ڶ public access point for the community, to make accessible the fascinating and essential research taking place on campus.


Wichita State Theatre film project showing this weekend

A Long Story Short

ڶ Theatre students and faculty members produced a feature-length film, “A Long Story Short,” as part of the ڶ Theatre season this year. The movie is written and directed by Director of Media Arts at ڶ, Bret Jones. 

The film will be shown at 7:30 p.m. today (Friday, April 26), and Saturday, April 27, in The Welsbacher Theatre, Hughes Metropolitan Complex. For tickets, call 978-3233 or click on .

“A Long Story Short” is a mystery / suspense film following a small town book club who find messages crying out for help written in library books. The group decides to investigate to see if it’s a hoax, or if there is someone out there needing saving.


Service-Learning Spring 2019 Showcase results

Service-Learning Spring 2019 Showcase results

The Service-Learning Showcase is a unique opportunity for students who participate in service-learning through applied learning opportunities to showcase their experience through a research or reflective poster about the application of their course work to current community issues. The showcase is an open forum for students to interact with faculty / staff, community partners and other students to engage in conversation about ڶ's commitment to the public good.

See results.


Strategic Planning Town Hall Update coming May 2

Strategic Planning Town Hall update May 2, 2019

Come one, come all to hear the greatest and latest on the ڶ Strategic Plan coming to you from 3-4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2, in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom, third floor, RSC. *Speakers*Updates*Activities* with dessert and beverages following.


Sign-up for CourseLeaf Training (CIM) Training

An additional training session has been added for the new CourseLeaf Curriculum (CIM) system. CIM is the new online curriculum change system replacing the current paper curriculum change forms. Any faculty, staff and administrators involved in the curriculum change process, submitting and approving curriculum change forms, etc., are encouraged to attend training.

A session will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 1. The training covers all content need for using CIM.

Go to myTraining on the Faculty/Staff tab in myڶ to register. Questions can be directed to michelle.haetten@wichita.edu.


Special Physics Seminar to be held Monday, April 29

 

Physics Seminar April 29, 2019

A special Physics Seminar will feature ڶ alum Ron Barnes at 2 p.m. Monday, April 29, in 128 Jabara Hall. Refreshments and discussion will follow.

The presentation will be “From ڶ to NASA, Working on Apollo, Skylab and the Space Shuttle Programs.”

More information


Photo exhibit to open Monday at the Lowell Holmes Museum of Anthropology

Holmes Museum exhibit opens April 29, 2019

The ڶ community is invited to opening of the upcoming photo exhibit “Reimagining Aleppo through Peace and Pain: A City in Syria’s War,” from 2-5 p.m. Monday, April 29, on the second floor of Neff Hall. Organized by Rachelle Meinecke, director of the Lowell Holmes Museum of Anthropology, and Jens Kreinath, associate professor at the Department of Anthropology at ڶ, this exhibit was made possible through the generous funding of the David and Sally Jackman Foundation at Wichita State. The project was finalized with the dedicated work of undergraduate student assistants Bailey Fimreite and Jeff Leddy.

The discussion following the opening at 5 p.m. in 117 Neff Hall is intended to elaborate on the idea behind this exhibit. This discussion will include some further background for hosting the exhibit within the context of ongoing research. Please note that some images might be quite disturbing, but they have been purposely chosen to disclose the poignant reality of the situation in Aleppo, Syria.

Read full story

The exhibit features “A Time of Peace” with photographs taken by Dr. Jens Kreinath during a day trip to Aleppo on May 29, 2010. This selection of pictures conveys a tranquil atmosphere and is contrasted directly with photographs by the world-renowned war photojournalist Narciso Contreras. The collection of photos by Contreras—named “A Journey of Pain” and taken in the fall of 2012—are from the very frontline of the battlefield and capture unfiltered moments of utter despair as experienced by the inhabitants of the once-glorious city that is now drawn into the fray of Syria’s merciless war.

A further small exhibit “Remembrance—From Antakya to Aleppo” displays only nine photographs that capture cheerful moments during Dr. Kreinath’s two brief encounters with Boulos Yazigi, the Metropolitan Bishop of Aleppo at the celebrations of the city-wide festival on the Day of St. Peter and Paul in Antakya (formerly known as Antioch) in 2010 and 2012. Yazigi and his companion, Bishop John Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church, were abducted on their return trip from Antakya on April 22, 2013. With their location being unknown, the Greek Orthodox community in Antakya continues to commemorate its cherished leader and still mourns his ineffable loss.

Looking forward to welcoming you for the occasion of the opening! As we host this exhibit during the next five years, we will organize various events all thematically related to research on the cultural heritage of Aleppo and the interreligious relations in the surrounding areas of the Northern Levant–including Turkey, Iraq, and Lebanon. If you are interested to receive notifications about upcoming events or research projects, contact Jens.Kreinath@wichita.edu.


Alternative Spring Break: A photo story of reflection reception

Alternative Spring Break 2019

Please join us from 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in the Cadman Art Gallery, first floor, Rhatigan Student Center, for the Alternative Spring Break Photo Reflection Reception. 

Alternative Spring Break will expose ڶ students to complex social and cultural issues through community visits, experiential learning, direct service, group discussion, common readings and reflection activities. This show will feature photos and reflections from this year’s trip participants as a way of sharing our experiences through service-learning. Refreshments will be served.

The show will be featured in the Cadman Gallery from April 29-May 10.


Senior Honors 2019 selected

Senior Honors 2019

The Class of Senior Honors 2019 at ڶ were honored at a banquet recently in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom. Being named a Senior Honor is one of the most prestigious honors a Wichita State student can receive. Since the program’s inception in 1917, more than 1,060 students have been selected for this honor.

Less than 1% of all Wichita State students receive this distinction. Selection is based on a student’s commitment to academic excellence, their involvement on campus and contribution to the community, academic standing and oral and written communication skills. Ten students have been selected for this year’s honor.

Pictured above from l-r: Kent Dang, Clayton Baughn, Courtney Nichole Grosch, Kyle Kopecky, Amy Lightfoot, Breck Towner and Sam Belsan.

Read full story

The following 2019 Senior Honors were honored at the banquet:

Ashruta Acharya, 2014 graduate of Rato Bangala School, Lalitpur, Nepal

Clayton Baugh, 2015 graduate of Goddard High School, Goddard, Kansas

Samuel Belsan, 2013 graduate of Christian Liberty Academy, Wichita, Kansas

Meghan Carver, 2015 graduate of Mulvane High School, Mulvane, Kansas

Kent Dang, 2014 graduate of Southeast High School, Wichita, Kansas

Courtney Nichole Grosch, 2015 graduate of Newton High School, Newton, Kansas

Kyle Kopecky, 2015 graduate of Blue Valley North High School, Overland Park, Kansas

Amy Lightfoot, 2015 graduate of Rampart High School, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Shelby Rowell, 2015 graduate of El Dorado High School, El Dorado, Kansas

Breck Towner, 2015 graduate of El Dorado High School, El Dorado, Kansas


Tulip giveaway concludes next week

Tulip giveaway

Giving tulips to the ڶ community is a longstanding tradition, so you can have a piece of ڶ in your yard. The tulip giveaway concludes on Monday, April 29. The tulip beds to be pulled are at Morrison Hall, Clinton Hall planters and by the Ablah Library ramp.

If anyone wants to donate canned goods when picking up tulips, we will provide blue containers and deliver to the Food Locker which supports ڶ students, faculty and staff.


Join The Fuse and the College of Applied Studies for ‘Relish the Moment’

Relish the Moment May 2, 2019

Join us for all-you-can-eat hot dogs brought to you by The Fuse and the College of Applied Studies. Try a specialty hotdog named after an academic college, or build your own. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and dinner from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 2 in Corbin Connect (Corbin 156A). Proceeds from the event support Girls on the Run.


Shocker Rowing to host Plains Regional Regatta on May 5

Shocer Rowing hosts Plains Regatta May 5, 2019

Shocker Rowing is proud to host the first annual Plains Regional Regatta on Sunday, May 5. The regatta will hold races for teams in the plains area, providing them with the opportunity to race close to home.

The regatta will take place at Shocker Rowing’s River Vista boathouse and the teams will race on the Big River. Races will start at 8 a.m. and end around 3 p.m. Come and cheer on the Shocks as they race on their home river. See the Plains Regional Regatta website for more information.


Collecting children’s paperback books for students in Paraguay

Children's Book Drive for Paraguay May 2019

The South American Travel Seminar class is collecting children’s books to be taken with them for students in Paraguay. They request the books be at or under a 7th-8th grade reading level, be in English and preferably paperback. The collection of new or good condition paperback children’s books is happening now to Friday, May 10.

Boxes for donations are located in 216 RSC, 114 Neff Hall, GoCreate lobby in the Experiential Engineering Building, Shocker Hall lobby and Garvey International Center lobby.

Your support is appreciated!


Get a discount and experience ‘Space Odyssey’ with Mark Herman

Space Odyssey May 6, 2019

Space Odyssey with Mark Herman is a musical journey through space with the Wichita Wurlitzer. The program at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6, in Exhibition Hall, Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center, will feature a vast range of music, composers, and genres. Herman is one of America’s busiest theatre organists, performing more than 30 concerts and silent film presentations each year across the United States and abroad.

Tickets are available at . ڶ faculty, staff, students and employees on the Innovation Campus can purchase a $20 general admission ticket for $17 by using the code ڶ.


Registration open for Advanced Summer Camp

Softball summer camp 2019

Registration is open for the Wichita State Softball advanced skill summer camp held July 16-17, 2019 at Wilkins Stadium.

Grades: 6-12
Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Lunch provided at Shocker Dining Hall)
Cost: $250 (T-shirt included)

Head coach  will lead the camp alongside assistant coaches  and  and will focus on the fundamentals of offense and defense in an effort to prepare the student-athlete to compete at a high level. The deadline to register is July 15.