Year: 2024

Arrive early to the Shocker men’s basketball game against UTSA at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 to learn all the popular cheers and chants featured at Shocker games. Shock Block student leaders, cheer, dance and the WSU pep band will teach students the Alma Mater, Fight Song and other popular Shocker cheers. Pizza and Shocker shirts will be provided while supplies last. Arrive by 5 p.m. to Charles Koch Arena and enter through the ticket office. WSU students can receive a ticket at no additional charge with their Shocker ID.

Cheers & Chants 101 is coordinated by the Student Activities Council, University Athletics and WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement. For questions about this event, call Student Engagement, Advocacy & Leadership at 316-978-3022 or email sac@wichita.edu.

Douglas Emlen, Montana Regents Professor of Biology at the University of Montana, will host a public lecture, “Extreme weapons: A natural history,” at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12 in 231 Hubbard Hall. He will also host a technical lecture, “The evolution of extreme weapons: Lessons from a rhinoceros beetle,” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 in 209 Hubbard Hall

Emlen studies how animal structures evolve to extreme proportions. He focuses on weapons of sexual selection, including antlers and especially the outlandish horns of rhinoceros beetles. His research leads to an exploration of the human military arms races and the most powerful weapons on the planet. Emlen is known for making complex scientific information easy to understand and has been featured in the New York Times and National Public Radio’s Science Friday.

The Watkins Visiting Professorship was created in 1974 by the Watkins Foundation. The grant is now provided through the Watkins fund, a part of the Wichita State Foundation and Alumni Engagement’s endowment. For more information about the lecture series, contact Dr. David Eichhorn, associate dean for faculty development and research, at 316-978-6659.

All Wichita State students are invited to meet Norah O’Donnell, anchor for the CBS Evening News and “60 Minutes” contributor, at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 21 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room, for an informal Q&A.

The event is exclusively for registered WSU students, and refreshments will be served. Capacity is limited, and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis at no charge.

O’Donnell is a multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist with nearly three decades of experience covering the biggest stories in the world and conducting impactful, newsmaking interviews and is currently the only woman anchoring an evening news broadcast. During her career, she has covered six presidential elections and interviewed every living president of the United States.

Additionally, students are invited to attend the Craig W. Barton Speaker Series event featuring O’Donnell later that same day at 6 p.m. at Miller Concert Hall in Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Learn more about the event and how to reserve a seat.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series is an annual WSU event established to expose students and the community to differing points of view and encourage critical thinking and conversation. Previous speakers include Robert Gates, 22nd United States secretary of defense (2006-2011), and Cody Keenan, former White House director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama.

Norah O’Donnell, anchor for the CBS Evening News and “60 Minutes” contributor, will speak at the 2024 Craig W. Barton Speaker Series event at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21 at Miller Concert Hall in Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Seat reservations are required, and the event is free and open to the public.

O’Donnell is a multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist with nearly three decades of experience covering the biggest stories in the world and conducting impactful, newsmaking interviews and is currently the only woman anchoring an evening news broadcast. During her career, she has covered six presidential elections and interviewed every living president of the United States.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series is an annual Wichita State event established to expose students and the community to differing points of view and encourage critical thinking and conversation. Previous speakers include Robert Gates, 22nd United States secretary of defense (2006-2011), and Cody Keenan, former White House director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama.

Construction will begin this week on the west side of Ablah Library to create a new stair and repair a portion of the concrete retaining wall. The new stair will strengthen the connection between the new northeast entry of the Shocker Success Center and Ablah Library.

As part of the construction, a temporary fence will be installed to contain the construction site. Construction is expected to be completed in June.

In compliance with state and federal laws, Wichita State University is moving forward with implementing an E-Verify program for all new employees. Beginning Feb. 1, the university will begin utilizing E-Verify, an internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA), to check an employee’s authorization to work in the United States. The E-Verify system will be utilized for all new hires at WSU or the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (ICAA), including students, graduate assistants, lecturers, and temporary employees. This will mean that any job offers made starting Feb. 1 will include E-Verify as part of the onboarding process for that candidate.

This change comes after a Kansas House Bill was passed last year requiring all state agencies to enroll in and use E-Verify to verify employment eligibility of all new employees on or before July 1, 2024.

Wichita State is currently using E-Verify in a limited capacity for some of its workforce to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and contractual requirements.

E-Verify is a web-based system that requires enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. E-Verify employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees by electronically matching information provided by employees on the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against records available to SSA and DHS.

Human Resources will implement the E-Verify process into the new employee onboarding process. This change will not require the new employee to complete any additional steps during on-boarding. All new WSU and ICAA employees will have E-Verify automatically completed at the time they complete their I-9 document prior to starting work. A new employee must have a Social Security Number to complete the E-Verify process, which is an existing requirement for completing the Form I-9.

For any questions about the process, contact your talent consultant or the Talent Acquisition team at employment@wichita.edu.

Join the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships as it celebrates Financial Aid Awareness Month with a variety of events during the month of February:

• Scholarship Universe Support – 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 6 in 257 RSC, Ashton/Bridges Room
• Love & Money – noon-2 p.m. Feb. 14 in 142 RSC, Harvest Room
• FAFSA Tour:
  • 1-3 p.m. Feb. 15 in 257 RSC
  • 4-6 p.m. Feb. 20 in 340 John Bardo Center 340
  • 4-6 p.m. Feb. 28 in 340 John Bardo Center
• Take the Leap with FinAid – 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Feb. 29 on the first floor RSC.

For questions, contact the Office of Financial Aid at 316-978-3430 or finaid@wichita.edu.

Join the Rhatigan Student Center (RSC) and gear up for the big football showdown with fan freebies to support the Kansas City Chiefs. Swing by starting at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 1 on the first floor of the RSC.

Parking Services recently announced the creation of a parking garage add-on ePermit for the spring semester. Any current ePermit holder is eligible to purchase this add-on for $50. The add-on will allow ePermit holders to park on floor two, the ramp to three, floor three and the ramp to four at anytime in the spring semester without having to pay the hourly rate.

This ePermit is for sale in person at the University Police Department. Payment is to be with cash or check only and a limited amount of these ePermits are still available. You must have a current ePermit on file or you will be required to buy one at the time of the add-on purchase.

This is the first semester the add-on is available. Because this is a pilot program, Parking Services is open to feedback and will look to make any necessary adjustments before offering the add-on again in the fall.

Wednesday, Jan. 31 is the last day for graduate students who would like to present their research in Topeka March 21 at the Capital Graduate Research Summit (CGRS) to submit their research abstracts.

CGRS provides an opportunity for selected graduate students to expose state government, education officials and the public to the quality of graduate research performed in the state of Kansas. CGRS winners receive a certificate and a $500 monetary award.