Author: Caelin Bragg

Paul Mills walked on the court at Charles Koch Arena as head coach of the Shockers for the first time on Thursday. He is well acquainted with the building, however, and how Wichita State fans can fill seats and affect games.

“Having been here a few times, I understand the decibel levels that it gets,” he said. “Because I was on the wrong side of those levels, and the people here, the passionate fanbase, the rich history, the winning tradition made this a no-brainer for my family.”

All spring and summer 2023 eligible graduates must RSVP for commencement by Sunday, April 16. Spring 2023 commencement will take place on Saturday, May 13.

Students with an application for degree on file should have received an email from Marching Order instructing them on how to RSVP.

Leanne Caret — former president of Boeing Defense, Space & Security and the 2023 engineer in residence for the College of Engineering — is visiting Wichita State on Monday, March 27. Caret will be featured at two speaking events that students, staff, faculty, alumni and industry partners are welcome to attend.

The first speaking event, “How To Navigate Your Way to the Top,” will be a Q&A session hosted by Dr. Anthony Muscat, the dean of the College of Engineering. The session will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in 301 Rhatigan Student Center. Donuts and coffee will be served.

The second speaking event, “A Conversation With Leanne Caret,” will be another Q&A session hosted by Grace Peterson, a junior mechanical engineering major and the president of the Society of Women Engineers student organization. The session will be from 4 to 5 p.m. in 128 Jabara Hall. Cookies and iced tea will be served.

The Department of Public Health Sciences is co-hosting a series of film fests for the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) Big Read: Wichita alongside the Wichita Public Library and Tallgrass Film Association. The next event is a screening of the movie, “The Farewell” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30 in the Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. 2nd St. N.

Food and popcorn sponsors are Good Shepherd Hospice and Larksfield Place. After the screening, join a discussion of the film at The Monarch at 579 W. Douglas Ave. with guest moderator Lily Wu from KWCH 12. Food and beverage discounts are offered with a ticket stub.

Each week will feature a new film that, like “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” by Roz Chast, the book chosen for this year’s NEA Big Read: Wichita, explores caregiving and the universal challenges experienced as one cares for someone with a chronic illness, injury, medical trauma or nearing end of life.

The Wichita State Opera Theatre, under the direction of Alan Held, professor of voice and director of opera studies, will present its final production of the academic year, “Handelmania,” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31 and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 2 in the Miller Concert Hall of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

The performances will be accompanied by the WSU Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Mark Laycock, professor and director of orchestra. The performances are presented in honor of Dr. Pina Mozzani, who will be retiring after 18 years of teaching in the School of Music. A reception for Mozzani will be held following the April 2 performance.

“Handelmania” is a unique presentation of George Frideric Handel’s opera, “Acis and Galatea.” A new and entertaining concept has been developed for these performances that will make the story come alive in a contemporary manner. The short opera, with added arias, was first performed in 1718, but it is rarely performed in its entirety.

Tickets for the performances may be purchased at the Duerksen Fine Arts Box Office, by visiting the box office website or by calling 316-978-3233.

Wichita State students are cordially invited to meet Cody Keenan, director of speechwriting to former President Barack Obama, at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 30 in the Beggs Ballroom at the Rhatigan Student Center for an informal meet-and-greet.

Students attending the meeting with Keenan will receive a copy of his book, “Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America.”

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.

Keenan rose from a campaign intern to become chief speechwriter at the White House and Obama’s post-presidential collaborator. Together, Keenan and Obama’s efforts resulted in what have been called some of the most unforgettable addresses of our time.

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.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering within the College of Engineering is hosting Dr. Theresa Locascio and Dr. Jonathan Ashley, scientists from Catalent Pharma Solutions, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 28 in 134 Woolsey Hall or via Zoom.

The seminar, “Development of Oral Solid Dosage Forms,” is open to students, faculty and staff.

Those who cannot attend in person can join via Zoom. The password is BME760D.

Join the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics for Dr. Atri Dutta’s talk, “How to fly a spacecraft,” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 28 in 301 Rhatigan Student Center.

The determination of the optimal trajectory of a spacecraft can be complex, especially when the spacecraft uses a low-thrust propulsion system or when it operates in a challenging dynamical environment. The talk will provide an overview of astrodynamics research being conducted at WSU’s Astronautics Laboratory to address some of those challenges. Specific examples of research conducted will include all-electric spacecraft, hurricane monitoring constellations, NuSol probe and the CubeSat being developed to validate a neutrino detector in space.

Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ next Perspectives series will focus on pedagogy. This week’s Perspectives is on “Being an Ally in the Classroom.”

Occasionally students can make a statement or ask a question in class that is insensitive to classmates’ personal experiences. Panelists will discuss how to address such incidents in the classroom and include positive and negative examples. Dr. Andrew Hippisley, dean of the Fairmount College, will host, and Jean Griffith, associate professor of English and associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, will moderate the panel.

Each episode in the Perspectives series will be presented at 2 p.m. Tuesdays, through April 11 via Zoom. Recordings will be made available afterwards on the Fairmount College YouTube channel.

The Department of Biological Sciences’ Seminar Series continues at 4 p.m. Monday, March 27 in 231 Hubbard Hall or via Zoom with Dr. Sarah Wallace, a space microbiologist at the NASA Johnson Space Center.

Wallace will present a technical talk over “Spaceflight microbiology: Beyond the cultures.” As always, seminars are open to the public and undergraduate students are encouraged to attend.

The Zoom ID for the session is 977 7689 8339 and the password is 574212.