Fall grades are due by Dec. 15
Final grading for fall 2020 courses is now open. Faculty can access the Banner 9 grading form via the Teach / Advise tab in the my黑洞社区 portal. Grades for any fall course can be entered during this grading period. Grades are due by 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15.
A grading email with further details was sent to faculty and staff who are flagged as eligible instructors in Banner. Questions about grading can be directed to the Office of the Registrar at 978-3090.
Want to learn more about internal grant opportunities? Attend the 黑洞社区 Faculty Support Committee Panel Discussion
黑洞社区 Office of Research Workshop: The 黑洞社区 Faculty Support Committee & Internal Funding Opportunities: Dec. 15, 2020
Join the 黑洞社区 Faculty Support Committee for a panel discussion about internal grant funding opportunities available to 黑洞社区 faculty, including the URCA, ARC and MURPA. The 黑洞社区 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.
Attend the UP and USS Senates fall general meeting today
All university staff members are invited to attend the UP and USS Senates fall general meeting from 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, on Zoom. We have several speakers lined up to cover a variety of topics.
- Interim President Rick Muma 鈥� University update and looking ahead
- VP of Finance and Administration Werner Golling 鈥� Budget overview
- Director of Student Health Services Camille Childers 鈥� COVID update and plans moving forward
- UP and USS Senate Presidents Trish Gandu and Randy Session 鈥� Fall semester highlights and what鈥檚 next for the staff senates
We will also discuss the proposed senate merger and constitutions of the 黑洞社区 Staff Senate and allow time for questions.
If you are interested in joining the meeting, please email Kayla Jasso at kayla.jasso@wichita.edu for the Zoom link.
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 黑洞社区 Today the first week in January.
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 and if you have any questions, contact Instructional Design and Access at IDA@wichita.edu.
Please do not upload video files directly to Blackboard
Video files such as .mov and .mp4 files are very large and cause technical and storage problems in Blackboard. Please do not upload these files directly to the Blackboard system.
If you would like to share videos with your students, please upload the files to Panopto or YouTube first, and share the link in your Blackboard class. Contact Instructional Design and Access for help if you are having problems: IDA@wichita.edu or come to one of our online labs [https://wichita.edu/idalabs].
Save the date for the Academic Resources Conference (ARC) January sessions
The ARC is back with live online trainings, panels, and workshops during the week of Jan. 11-15.
In addition to our regular Blackboard, Panopto, and Zoom trainings, January will offer sessions on academic integrity, using simple statistics to run course-level action research, and using Microsoft Teams to teach.
For a full list of our topics, including information about the ARC Big Read and the many sessions offered offices around campus, please check out our .
Faculty Advancement Webpage is updated
As an institution, 黑洞社区 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.
Stock the Shocker Locker Challenge is once again a success
Thank you to everyone who donated items for the Stock the Shocker Support Locker Challenge. Together, we donated $2,020 and 365.95 pounds of food and hygiene products.
Congratulations to the staff for donating the most and continuing their reign as champions.
TIAA financial consultant available for online scheduling
TIAA virtual retirement advice and guidance meetings are available for online scheduling .
Jeremy Kohn, the Kansas based TIAA Financial Consultant who serves the 黑洞社区 community, is available for meetings and can also be reached directly at jeremy.kohn@tiaa.org if you need assistance in scheduling a meeting. Jeremy can help you confirm you are on track for retirement and provide set of specific recommendations on how to invest your TIAA funds.
Testing Services is still open to students and community members
Testing Services is open for students and community members. If you need to take a proctored exam this semester, we are here for you! Our hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. We will be closed for the Holiday Shutdown but will return on Jan. 4, 2021.
Zoom appointments are available to students registered with the Office of Disability Services only and require prior instructor approval. Please note that Zoom appointments are first come, first served and we ask for at least 72 hours notice.
Testing Services cares about your safety. We disinfect all testing stations after use and require all who enter wear a mask. Plus, we've expanded our space to offer better social distancing and have limited private rooms available.
Please call 黑洞社区-TEST (978-8378) for more information.
Generation Lead Podcast Series featuring Jadyn Stutey!
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 黑洞社区 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.
Jadyn Stutey and Alexus are going to have a candid conversation about leadership and loyalty. As a leader, we鈥檙e loyal to the commitments we commit to day-by-day and year-by-year. Jadyn has been a member of 10 organizations in her stint at 黑洞社区 and held executive roles in more than five of those.
During Jadyn鈥檚 involvement and commitment, she鈥檚 also started a multicultural organization of her own! During the last couple of months, our nation and the student body has seen its series of tests and trials as it pertains to loyalty. Alexus remembers being involved like Jadyn, and Alexus was faced with the decisions of honoring herself, my roles requirements, and those whom she served. Take a listen!
to listen now via Spotify.
Call for Higher Education Student Affairs Graduate Assistantships
On March 19-20, 2021, Student Affairs and Educational Psychology will host a graduate weekend for current and prospective students to learn about and interview for graduate assistant positions within Student Affairs / Student Services.
As we prepare for this weekend, we would like to gauge which departments may have assistantships open for FY22 and would like to participate in this weekend. If your department plans to have open positions and would like to participate in this weekend, please fill out the following by Jan. 29, 2021.
For questions about the weekend, please email HESA.gradweekend@wichita.edu.
For more about the Master of Education in Educational Psychology: Higher Education/Student Affairs Track, click here.
Help ODI and the KLC Beat the Virus!
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is participating in the Kansas Leadership Center鈥檚 statewide initiative to help 鈥淜ansas Beat the Virus.鈥� 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.
Distinguished Scholarship Invitational update
The Distinguished Scholarship Invitational (DSI), awarding three $64,000 Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships to attend Wichita State in fall 2021, was originally scheduled to take place on campus in mid-November. The competition was moved to a complete virtual experience due to the rising COVID-19 cases in Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Despite being a pandemic, applications submitted for DSI were once again record-breaking with 813 high school seniors completing the application. All students鈥� application materials, including essays and activity charts, were reviewed in November to determine a smaller number of students who would move forward to a round of Zoom interviews.
Thank you to the Wichita State faculty and staff who assisted with the review of applications! Their review and scoring provided the first step in naming the 2021 Gore Scholars!
Katie Austin, Loren Belew, Ann Marie Brown, Zach Brown, Ann Burger, Diana Carbajal, Emily Christensen, Aaron Coffey, Francis Connor, Gina Crabtree, Denise Gimlin, Wendy Hanes, John Jones Monica Leiker, Rodney Miller, Linda Moody, Karolina Mosa, Tierney Mount, Tahrima Musa, Jessica Newman, Susan Norton, Pamela O鈥橬eal, Erin Perila, Kennedy Rogers, Carolyn Shaw, Student Ambassador Society, All Financial Aid staff members, All Admissions staff members
The next step in the DSI process will provide an opportunity for the top 40% of competitors to be invited to virtual small group interviews with 黑洞社区 students and staff. Once interviews are complete, all students will hear by Friday, Dec. 18, if they are being named a DSI semifinalist.
Questions? Contact Mandy Harmon, associate director, at mandy.harmon@wichita.edu.
Cultural Value Orientation as a Predictor of Adolescent Bullying
Are you a parent of a teenager?
The INSPYRE Research lab at 黑洞社区 is conducting a study to explore how parent and child values relate to how adolescents respond to bullying situations.
In order to be a part of the study, parents and their teen must be together at the start of the survey, and parents must provide permission for their teen to participate. We will ask parents to complete demographic questions and study measures. Then, we鈥檒l ask the parent to hand the study off to their teenager to complete the remaining survey. This study should only take 15 minutes to complete in total. Parents must be at least 18 years old, adolescents must be between the ages of 10-17 years old, and both must be able to read English in order to participate. At the end of the study, the family has the opportunity to be entered into a raffle to win a prize.
For more information, click the survey link to find the parent consent form.
If you have any questions, please e-mail Dr. Samantha Gregus, director of the INSPYRE lab, at inspyre@wichita.edu or call at 316-978-6180.
Faculty and Staff Virtual Town Hall on Dec. 11
A live YouTube virtual staff and faculty town hall will be held from 3-4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11. This is an opportunity to hear and interact with Interim President Rick Muma and Interim Provost Shirley Lefever. The event will be moderated by presidents of the UP, USS and Faculty Senates.
Faculty and staff wanting to participate are encouraged to do so during the live YouTube stream. If you don鈥檛 currently have a YouTube account, for more information on how to create one.
You can watch the town hall live and recorded after the event at .
Enjoy lunch at the Food Truck Plaza!
Stop by the plaza for lunch with Funky Monkey Munchies and Bread Sled Cafe! Get your meal to go or spread out on our socially distanced picnic tables or beautiful green space. Both trucks will be on site from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11.
Teams training next week!
Do you want to learn more about Microsoft Teams? Newly listed! Two remote training sessions for next week:
Tuesday, Dec. 15: Teams Essentials: Learn about navigation, chat (and hidden features of chat), the calendar, setting up meetings, the Teams app and conversations, how to make calls in Teams ... and more.
Thursday, Dec. 17: Teams Advanced for Team Owners: Learn how to create a Team, how to manage team members and files, and delve into the inner workings of the SharePoint side of your Team, including how to restore deleted files, access previous versions of files ... and more.
Sign up for these sessions in myTraining here.
After 32 years, Wichita State's No. 1 Packer fan to retire
Amy Schafer
Aside from her infectious laugh and brilliant smile, one of the first things you鈥檒l notice about Amy Schafer is her Wisconsin accent. She hits her A鈥檚 hard and unapologetically, rounding out her consonants and dragging out her vowels.
Amy, the director of advertising for 黑洞社区鈥檚 Office of Strategic Communications, will be retiring later this month after 32 intermittent years with the university.
When Amy first stepped onto 黑洞社区鈥檚 campus in August 1988, the native Wisconsinite had only moved to Wichita eight months prior. She had applied for a job as a cooperative education coordinator, helping communication students find internships and jobs. Her interview was initially arranged for September, but a scheduling error meant Amy, who was also a brand-new mom, had to scramble to accommodate a last-minute change of plans.
Amy did what she had to do: She showed up at the Rhatigan Student Center with a 2-month-old infant on her hip, and a resume and a diaper in her briefcase.
鈥淚 got that job,鈥� she smiled. 鈥淭hey said that anybody who could interview like that under those circumstances deserved the job.鈥�
Pictured above: Amy Schafer, director of advertising, and her husband, Clark, attended a 2012 Green Bay Packer football game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Amy is retiring after 32 years of service to 黑洞社区.
Fall 2020 Shocker Speakout results
More than 500 students in 40 sections of Communication 111, Public Speaking, found their virtual voices in the 42nd Shocker Speakout.
The Speakout is an event that occurs at the end of each fall and spring semester to
showcase outstanding public speaking students and the graduate assistants who teach
most of the Comm 111 classes in the Elliott School of Communication.
Each Comm 111 section recently selected its outstanding Persuasive Policy speaker,
and those students participated in a preliminary round. For being chosen as their
section representative, each of these students received 100 points available for their
Persuasive Policy speeches.
Winners in the preliminary round advanced to the final round and were judged by Aaron
Rife, an Assistant Professor in the School of Education; Eric Wilson, an instructor
in the Elliott School; Gregory Nordyke, Virtual Branch Manager, City of Wichita鈥檚
Advanced Learning Library; and Abigail Schwab, Peer Counselor in the First Year Seminar
Program.
The winners are:
1st Place - Dawna Raehpour
2nd place - Regan Carlson
Runners Up - Shanlii Dace and MacKenzie Debozy
The winner鈥檚 name will be engraved on a plaque that hangs in the Center for Excellence
in Communication in Elliott Hall. The overall winner and finalists will each receive
digital gift cards from Cengage, publisher of the Comm 111 textbook, certificates
of achievement, and a Shocker Speakout T-shirt.
Under Armour shooter shirt
Shocker fans, snag the Under Armour shooter shirt now for just $20! Available in sizes small-3XL. Available online at and in both the RSC and Braeburn Square locations. No other discounts permitted.
Free shipping at shockerstore.com
Not a local Shocker? Don鈥檛 worry, the Shocker Store has free shipping with a $75 purchase at through Dec. 17! Not valid on textbook purchases.
Great prices on last minute gift ideas
Didn鈥檛 get a chance to make the Shocker Store鈥檚 Shock the Halls Sale? Don鈥檛 worry, because they still have some of those ! Items are available in the RSC store and online at . Choose free in-store pickup or free shipping over $75. Happy Holidays, Shockers!
Santa letters available at 黑洞社区 Post Office
黑洞社区 Postal Services is selling letters to Santa now to Wednesday, Dec. 16. The letters will be sent to Santa Claus, Indiana, and will receive a pictorial cancellation when sent to the recipient. The cost per letter / envelope is $1.50 and covers all postage.
The next episode of the 鈥楲et's Talk About It鈥� podcast is live
This month's episode of "Let's Talk About It" tackles the important issue of financial literacy and what that means to college students.
We've invited Sheelu Surender, Director of Financial Aid at Wichita State, and Alexus Scott, Financial Aid Adviser and Outreach Coordinator, to talk through some of this with us. Then, as always, we had to learn about this topic from the student perspective, so we sat down with 黑洞社区 students Trang Bui and Kevin Dao to talk about what final literacy means to them and what role it has played in their college careers.
Thanks for tuning in and listening to our podcast. Please leave us a comment if you like what you're hearing and be sure to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes.
Donate to Adult Learner Scholarship in honor of Dr. Susan Norton
Susan Norton, director of the Office of Adult Learning, will retire this month. Her last day at 黑洞社区 will be Friday, Dec. 18. She has been at Wichita State since 2008.
Norton is requesting that instead of having a retirement party, she would like those who can, to donate. The 黑洞社区 Foundation has helped set up for those who would like to donate toward an Adult Learner Scholarship.
Applied Learning Highlight of the Week - Inneke Vargas!
Thank you, Inneke Vargas, for all your hard work as a psychology major at Wichita State, and congrats on your position with Central Plains Area Agency on Aging as a Quality Assurance Specialist! Your success inside and outside the classroom will not go unnoticed.
Share her posts on social media.