黑洞社区

University Faculty Awards will be announced May 8

The University Faculty Awards will be announced on Friday, May 8. Follow 黑洞社区 Today and Wichita State social media to acknowledge and congratulate the honorees.

Excellence in Teaching

Leadership in the Advancement of Teaching

Young Faculty Scholar

Academy for Effective Teaching

Excellence in Research

Excellence Award for Community Research

Faculty Risk Taker

Young Faculty Risk Taker

Excellence in Accessibility Award

Excellence in Online

GRASP 2020 self-enroll is open

The Graduate School would like to invite you to view graduate student research projects at the 16th Annual Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects Symposium to be held tomorrow (Friday, May 1) on Blackboard. To view posters, you will need to self-enroll: just log into Blackboard, visit the GRASP 2020 Blackboard Organization page, and click the 鈥�+Enroll鈥� button. If you volunteered to judge, you are already enrolled!

KMUW podcast presents 鈥楬indsight: Looking Back at 100 Years of Women鈥檚 Suffrage鈥�

鈥淗indsight: Looking Back at 100 Years of Women鈥檚 Suffrage鈥� is a year-long podcast series from KMUW, hosted by 黑洞社区's Dr. Robin Henry. A blend of historical context and conversations with scholars, politicians, and activists, Hindsight aims to educate, entertain, and help listeners gain a better understanding of women鈥檚 diverse voices and roles in US history. Episode 2: Conflict & Compromise is out now. Listen at kmuw.org and wherever you get your podcasts.

TM1 Budget System is open for FY21 requests

The TM1 Budget System is now open for FY21 changes. A training video for the budget system called 鈥淭M1 Training Video鈥� is posted in the Employee Toolbox in my黑洞社区, under the heading "University Budget." You will not need to sign up for a class to access the training video, rather the video will be available on an ongoing basis.

The training guide is also available in the Employee Toolbox for your reference under 鈥淭M1 Training Guide鈥� along with the link to access the budget system "TM1 Fiscal Year Budget System." Please note, in order to access the TM1 system off-campus, you need an active VPN connection.

Hand sanitizer now available at Central Services

Central Services has received a large delivery of hand sanitizer now available for purchase. You may place an order via the online store at wsucentralservices.com, or in person at the Central Services service window.

Please note that the service window is open between 9-11 a.m. Monday through Friday. Please call 978-3545 for questions.

TIAA virtual meetings are available

TIAA Financial Consultants are available to help 黑洞社区 participants in the Kansas Board of Regents Retirement Plan with virtual meetings to confirm they are on track for retirement, discuss market volatility and consider recommendations on how to invest their funds.   

These virtual meetings are private and secure, with only the employee and the Financial Consultant joining the virtual meeting. Through a computer or tablet, participants are able to see the Financial Consultant as they talk, and the consultant can share information on their screen to create an experience very similar to a traditional face-to- face meeting. to schedule an appointment.

Please email Jeremy Kohn, TIAA Financial Consultant, at jeremy.kohn@tiaa.org if you have problems setting an appointment and need assistance. 

RH: Don Hall provided voice to Wichita State's actions on court

A good arena announcer becomes part of the game, without hogging the spotlight or missing the moment. 

For 36 years, Don Hall provided the narration for Wichita State men's basketball games with his voice a constant part of the experience. 

He delighted in hometown introductions 鈥� calling "from right here in Wichita, Kansas," for Shockers such as Samajae Haynes-Jones. He started games by exhorting fans to "put your hands together." He elongated "Shockerrr" before the crowd finished with "threeee" and occasionally slipped in ad-libs during timeout promotions.
 
"He knew the team so well," said Mercy Crisp, a former neighbor of Hall's and a basketball season ticket-holder for 42 years. "He's just an indelible part of the university. Don Hall never, ever missed a beat. You just knew he was always there and he was correct and he was professional."

Hall, 70, died Wednesday morning in a car accident, according to multiple report.
 
He was on his way to his morning radio show on KEYN at Entercom Communications offices at 9111 E. Douglas.

Student Government Association bi-weekly Town Hall for students today

SGA will continue to host bi-weekly Virtual Town Halls, as we know there are probably still so many questions about how 黑洞社区 is handling these times.

Join the Student Government Association as we host a Virtual Town Hall live on YouTube at 2 p.m. today (Thursday, April 30), moderated for the first time by Student Body President Rija Khan. The panel will include University President Dr. Jay Golden, Provost Dr. Muma, Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Teri Hall and Dr. Carolyn Speer, manager, Instructional Design And Access.

The Town Hall will be hosted on the .

We will accepting question live during the Virtual Town Hall but to submit a question ahead of time, .

State Employee Health Plan updates in response to COVID-19

Gov. Laura Kelly announced four provisions on March 13, that are effective immediately and for the next 60 days for employees and dependents enrolled in medical insurance through the State Employee Health Plan.

1. 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.
3. 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鈥檚 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.

IDA will assist with new online and remote class Blackboard setups

Instructional Design and Access would like to help instructors in the shift to remote classes for summer, so starting immediately, we are offering a new service.

If you would like IDA to do the initial setup of your remote or new online course in Blackboard, simply provide the necessary information .

As part of our service, we will upload your syllabus, set up discussion and assignment links, and upload a course banner. There are various options you can choose from to ensure the course setup you receive reflects your personality and supports your content.

Questions? Contact us by email at IDA@wichita.edu.

ITS Applications Training: Online sessions now available

Did you know that ITS Applications training is offering remote training sessions online? That's right, you can now take Banner or Microsoft trainings remotely from your home! Sign up for remote sessions in myTraining, right where you found the in-person sessions. The location will be listed as "remote." We hope to see you (virtually) soon!

OU (Omni Update) Virtual Open Labs

Having website trouble? The MRC Web Team will host live Zoom meetings from 1-3 p.m. Thursdays to help you with issues you might have with the OU Campus content management system.

Visit  for more information. 

Help shape Wichita State by taking brand survey

Help us better serve you by letting us know what you think through our new Wichita State University brand survey. 

Your thoughts are important in this time of change. Help us make the right decisions to ensure everyone finds value in Wichita State and feels welcome in the Shocker community. 

Your next few minutes will make an important difference! Share your thoughts on our survey at . A Spanish-language version of the survey is available at . 

SHOCK DOC: Tram Ngo, a business school graduate

Tram Ngo is a recent graduate of the W. Frank Barton School of Business and former Student Ambassador. She now works in the Community Advancement Department at the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. Tram built strong connections during her time at Wichita State and says her internships helped her realize exactly what she wanted to do following graduation. Hear what else Tram has to say about her experience post-graduation through our latest Shock Doc!

Virtual Finals Prep Workshop at 11 a.m. May 1

Please encourage students to join the 黑洞社区 Office of Diversity and Inclusion for our virtual finals prep workshop from 11 a.m.-noon tomorrow (Friday, May 1)! This will be a secured Zoom session, so please RSVP at the link on our graphic above.

Thank you to TRIO Disability Support Services and 黑洞社区 Counseling and Prevention Services for joining us.

This workshop is open to all students. Please email diversity@wichita.edu with questions.

BME grad student wins second in student written paper contest

Congratulations to Fadi Gerges, BME graduate student working in the Neuro-Robotics Lab, for winning the second-place award for Student Written Paper Contest at RMBS 2020.

Gerges, who was working in the Neuro-Robotics Lab under the direction of Dr. Jaydip Desai, won the award at the 57th Annual Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Symposium (RMBS), originally scheduled for April 23-25, at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie, but canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His research with Dr. Desai focuses on design and development of a soft-robotic glove to improve hand rehabilitative tasks for stroke patients. His six-page peer-reviewed paper on 鈥淒esign of a Low Pressure Pneumatically Actuated Soft-Robotic Glove for Stroke Rehabilitation,鈥� will also be published in the Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation journal.

Neuro-Robotics Lab

See Fadi鈥檚 work in the .