Year: 2024

The Kansas Small Business Development Center at Wichita State is celebrating National Small Business Week in a big way.

On Thursday, May 2, the Kansas SBDC at WSU is hosting a conference designed to help established small businesses grow sustainably, a pop-up market to support local vendors and an awards ceremony honoring the success of local small business leaders.

For more than 60 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated National Small Business Week (NSBW), a time set aside to acknowledge the critical contributions of America’s small businesses. This year, NSBW takes place April 28 through May 4. The SBDC joins SBA and SCORE to officially recognize the hard work, ingenuity, and dedication of entrepreneurs and small business owners, including their contributions to the economy.

The Kansas Small Business Development Center at Wichita State University is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Next week, around April 15, summer classes will populate in Blackboard. The summer Blackboard course shells will all be in Ultra Course Format. Blackboard Classic Format will no longer be available at Wichita State as of the end of the spring 2024 term. If you are going to teach this summer, you can improve your Ultra Course Format experience by adapting your original courses in the following ways:

• Review your “tests” area and delete any old test banks that you don’t use.
• Check your “grade center” area and make sure you don’t have any hidden columns. If you do have hidden columns, unhide them.
• Do not “convert” your original course to an Ultra course. Instead, wait for the Ultra course shell, go to that shell area and copy your content from original into the Ultra course.

For other advice about how to prepare and then copy an original course to an Ultra course shell, check out the information in the “Ultra Training for Instructors” Blackboard course. If you don’t have access to that course, contact the Office of Instructional Resources at OIR@wichita.edu.

Suspenders4Hope, a program developed at Wichita State University, is highlighting different departments and individuals on campus who are advocates for mental health in hopes that their stories will inspire others to continue supporting one another in the community.

The WSU School of Social Work (SSW) is being recognized for its support of the mental health of students, faculty, staff and health care professionals.

Graduating Shockers can order their spring 2024 commencement T-shirt now.

Your name will be listed on the back with all the other spring 2024 graduating students. They are only available by ordering online.

Shirts will be available for pickup at commencement.

Study Abroad is excited to announce that WSU has a new exchange partner university in Chile available for study abroad programs.

Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI) has two campuses located in Viña del Mar and Santiago. WSU students can study abroad at UAI for a semester, yearlong or summer programs.

Exchange partnerships allow students to pay their regular WSU tuition fees while on exchange. They offer some courses taught in English as well as many programs in Spanish and Spanish-language courses.

The new partnership officially begins for spring 2025. The deadline to apply for spring study abroad programs will be Sept. 15.

For questions, contact Study Abroad at studyabroad@wichita.edu.

Parking Services has completed its move into the former Campus Credit Union building and is now operational in the new location.

Lobby and drive thru hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Temporary parking for visitors to the department is located on the south side of the building.

Join the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Shocker Career Accelerator in this professional panel geared toward WSU’s LGBTQ community from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 23 in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail Room.

This is an opportunity to network and learn more about the unique experience that those in the community have. Listen to the panel discuss their experiences and afterwards, enjoy refreshments and get to know those both supporting and in the LGBTQ Community in the professional world.

Visit the Shocker Store at Riverfront Stadium on the main concourse when Shocker baseball faces Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 9.

Health, Outreach, Prevention and Education (HOPE) Services presents DCCCA’s one-hour naloxone administration course to the campus community to equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and respond to an overdose crisis using naloxone and other resources.

Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids — including heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid medications. Upon completion of the training, each participant will receive a free naloxone kit.

Sign up for the training happening from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 17 in 256 Rhatigan Student Center, Edmiston Room.

• Students can fill out the online form to register.
• Staff and faculty can register on myTraining through myWSU.

It’s Wellness Week. Join HOPE Services for the free Mental Health and Movement Class from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. Thursday April 11 in the Steve Clark YMCA, where safe spaces are created for people to explore movement, the benefits of moving their bodies and how to use the resources at the YMCA.

The weekly class is open to anyone and sponsored by the YMCA and HOPE Services. Wear whatever clothing you prefer for this activity. Each week will have a different focus, and attendees can come to any or all.

• 12:30 p.m. April 11: Group movement class
• 12:30 p.m. April 18: Mini-personal trainer session with equipment
• 12:30 p.m. April 25: Circuit training, Y 360 and keeping moving