WSU Today: Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

Shared Governance

Staff Senator Spotlight: Dr. Gabriel Fonseca

Dr. Gabriel Fonseca has been part of Wichita State for eight years, helping shape a more connected and inclusive student experience as executive director of Student Engagement & Belonging. He joined Staff Senate four years ago to ensure young professionals were represented and to help strengthen the staff voice across campus.

Read more of Staff Senator Spotlight: Dr. Gabriel Fonseca

Human Resources

Image description: Step 3, employee self-evaluation, of the annual performance evaluation cycle for non-teaching employees has started and is due January 31. Non-teaching employees can now login to myPerformance, provide input about their job performance and accomplishments for the year, and then save and submit on the summary page.

Employee self-evaluation in myPerformance is due Jan. 31

Non-Teaching Employees, it’s time to complete your self-evaluation in myPerformance. The self-evaluation step in the performance evaluation cycle is your opportunity to provide input on your job performance and accomplishments since the beginning of the current review period that began on March 1, 2025. Go to myPerformance to access and complete your self-evaluation which is due by 11:59 p.m. Jan. 31.

Faculty and Staff Resources

Faculty sit working on laptops at their computers during the January 2026 FARE Research & Writing Sprint.

FARE will continue faculty writing support through the semester with groups starting Feb. 2

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence is partnering with WSU faculty to host weekly faculty writing groups this semester. All groups will begin the first week of February.

Digital Methodologies for Print Culture and Archives workgroup hosts first meeting Feb. 4

All faculty interested in interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration are invited to join this new workgroup. The first orientation meeting will take place 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 202 Rhatigan Student Center, Shocker 70 Room.

News

Labeling data supports proper privacy management

Now that you are familiar with the three most common types of WSU data sensitivity classifications, you can start to be proactive managers of the personal information you interact with. The foundation for achieving suitable privacy management comes from labeling information with the appropriate labels to help drive how it is accessed, stored and used.

Visit the Data Labeling Guide to find more specific information about how to apply labels to documents and emails. Data labeling is currently available to everyone and will be required for staff and faculty by the end of the year. If you have any questions about data labeling, or to request an in-person training for your department, reach out to askinfosec@wichita.edu. If you have any privacy related questions or concerns, reach out to privacy@wichita.edu or call 316-978-4447.

Thank you for being proactive privacy protectors over the information you hold.

Presentations and Talks

Campus community invited to legislative update session in the RSC

Join Zach Gearhart, chief of staff and executive director of government relations, for updates on the legislature relevant to Wichita State. The next meeting for the legislative session is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room. The meeting is open to all faculty, staff and students.

Attend panel on seed grants for behavioral health Jan. 30

This semester, HealthHum and Kansas Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (KBHCoE) are joining forces to co-host an exciting event series on mental and behavioral health.

Join them for their first event, a panel on KBHCoE seed grants, at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30 in 319 Rhatigan Student Center, McKay Room.

Recipients of KBHCoE seed grants from psychology, social work and athletics will share their projects and perspectives. Thomas Skinner, the research director of KBHCoE, will moderate a discussion including Sam Slade, Mohamad Ballout, Mia Ocean, Maddi Defrain and C. Brendan Clark. Refreshments will be served.

Biological sciences seminar begins with Yuanyuan Gao from the Department of Biomedical Engineering Feb. 2

The Department of Biological Sciences’ spring 2026 seminar series begins Monday, Feb. 2. The first seminar is from 4 to 5 p.m. in 218 Hubbard Hall with Dr. Yuanyuan Gao of the biomedical engineering department. She will give a public lecture titled, “Introduction to Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.”

Seminars are open to the public and undergraduates are encouraged to attend. For more information, visit wichita.edu/biology.

Events and Recreation

Wichita State Day at Riverfest with photos of the community engaged with WSU representatives and WuShock.

Help create an unforgettable Shocker experience at FutureFest

Let’s build a high-energy Shocker Zone designed to spark curiosity, celebrate innovation and connect thousands of visitors with the incredible people and programs across WSU at this year’s FutureFest. All colleges, departments and divisions are invited to host an engagement footprint in the Shocker Zone.

For questions or more information, you are invited to attend one two virtual information meetings:

WSU AAUP Chapter hosting update on workload policy and post-tenure review

All faculty and teaching staff are invited to an American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter meeting for updates on campus issues. The meeting will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30 in 266 Rhatigan Student Center, Pike Room.

Bring a friend or two for updates on events around the campus and state. For questions or a password to the zoom remote link, contact George Dehner, AAUP chapter secretary, via email at george.dehner@wichita.edu.

Student Success and Persistence

Encourage your students to sign up and participate in ProjectConnect

Encourage your students to consider joining a ProjectConnect group for the spring semester. These groups are specifically designed to help students build connections and relationships with other students across campus over six intentional sessions.