Author: Caelin Bragg

The open enrollment window to submit 2025 benefits elections is now more than halfway over. Supervisors will begin receiving email updates this week if members of their team have not submitted 2025 elections. The HR Total Rewards team is asking all supervisors to help spread the word to all staff and faculty that open enrollment is mandatory.

Reminder: All benefits-eligible state employees must make their 2025 elections by the deadline of Oct. 31. Employees currently enrolled in medical coverage who do not complete an open enrollment election will be defaulted into medical Plan N with a use-it-or-lose-it HRA effective Jan. 1, 2025. Employees should log in to the Member Administration Portal to make their elections, even if they don’t plan to make any changes from their current 2024 coverage.

There are many resources available to employees on the open enrollment website, including open enrollment presentations as well as an on-demand webinar.

And watch SEHP’s on-demand webinar.

All benefits-eligible state employees must participate in open enrollment. Log in to the Member Administration Portal to make your elections.

Events occurring next week:

• 10-11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 21, online

Take advantage of the scheduled virtual and in-person presentations, as well as on-demand options. To add meeting reminders to your calendar or for additional information visit the open enrollment website. Any questions should be directed to TotalRewards@wichita.edu.

Jennifer Miranda, junior electrical engineering major, is completing her internship with NASA this semester and will be featured on NASA’s “Launch Your Future” internship webinar at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17.

Join the Shocker Career Accelerator at its new home in the Milly Marcus Annex at the Marcus Welcome Center from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22 with remarks at 4 p.m.

Explore the new Shocker Experience Walkway, which guides students from Admissions through their college journey, leading to the Shocker Career Accelerator and onto the main campus.

The come-and-go event is open to students, faculty, staff and employers. It’s an excellent opportunity to tour the office, hear about services and learn about the renewed focus on applied learning. Enjoy light refreshments and meet the team.

Wichita State University’s Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (MDL), a vital resource during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now leveraging its expertise to explore new frontiers. By addressing critical gaps in the health care system, the lab is also offering invaluable hands-on training for students, shaping the future of health care.

Building on its pandemic-era success, MDL is now expanding its reach in three significant areas:

• Microbiology services – Collaborating with small, rural hospitals to process their microbiology specimens, ensuring these communities have access to essential and timely diagnostic services.
• Technical consulting and professional services – Offering technical consultancy and professional services to help small hospitals and clinics maintain and achieve certification, empowering them to establish and operate their own laboratories.
• Pathology partnership – MDL secured a contract with Southcentral Pathology, bringing its technical work under Wichita State’s purview.

All benefits-eligible state employees must participate in open enrollment. Log in to the Member Administration Portal to make your elections.

Events occurring this week:

• 9-10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 in person in 258 Rhatigan Student Center, Smoky Hills Room
• 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, online, attend the Online Open Enrollment Presentation. Registration is not required.

Take advantage of the scheduled virtual and in-person presentations, as well as on-demand options. To add meeting reminders to your calendar or for additional information visit the Open Enrollment Website. Any questions should be directed to TotalRewards@wichita.edu.

Dr. Yumi Suzuki, associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, recently published her research in the FBI: Law Enforcement Bulletin (LEB) on investigating money mules.

The article — “Insights on money mule cases,” published Sept. 9 — explores investigative challenges in money mule cases where money is moved from victims to other criminals who are often overseas. Based on a survey from financial crime investigators in law enforcement and financial institutions, the article discusses the role of cryptocurrency, shared databases and transnational organized crime on these investigations.

Earlier this year, Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP received a seven-year, $3.5 million dollar per year grant that will serve 2,500 students in foster care across the state of Kansas.

Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP has been hosted by Wichita State since 2002. In August 2023, the project learned its proposal for another seven-year grant was tied with another state in the grant competition and was subsequently awarded to the other state.

In May of this year, with permission from Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Deltha Colvin, associate vice president for College Readiness and Retention Programs; and Corinne Nilsen, executive director of Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP collaborated to write a new grant proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, which was approved.

Since 1999, GEAR UP projects across the nation have been instrumental in transforming the lives of students, families and communities. By providing invaluable resources, mentorship and support, GEAR UP plays a pivotal role in expanding opportunities for students from underserved backgrounds.

Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP goals:

• Ensure students in foster care enrolled in secondary school are on track for graduation
• Improve high school graduation and college enrollment rates for students in foster care
• Increase the number of seniors in foster care who complete and submit the FAFSA application

GEAR UP brings together middle and high schools, colleges and universities, state agencies, and community organizations in pursuit of the same mission. Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP will continue its impact for another seven years to help students in foster care complete high school and go to college, thanks to the new grant.

Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP by the numbers:

• 20,059 students served across the State of Kansas (2002-2023)
• 369 schools attended by KKGU students in 2022-2023
• $79 million dollars from the U. S. Department of Education (including the new grant 2024-2031)
• Over $54 million dollars in matching non-federal funds from partners, school district and community donations (as of October 2023)
• For the 2022-2023 academic year, KKGU served 399 seniors in high school. Of those, 301 graduated (75.44%) and 203 completed a college application (67.44%)

All benefits-eligible state employees must participate in open enrollment. Log in to the Member Administration Portal to make your elections.

Events occurring this week:

• 9-10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 in person in 258 Rhatigan Student Center, Smoky Hills Room
• 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, online, attend the Online Open Enrollment Presentation. Registration is not required.

Take advantage of the scheduled virtual and in-person presentations, as well as on-demand options. To add meeting reminders to your calendar or for additional information visit the Open Enrollment Website. Any questions should be directed to TotalRewards@wichita.edu.

Join Shocker volleyball for its Dig Pink game against Memphis at 7 p.m. Oct. 25 in Charles Koch Arena and make sure to grab your official T-shirt beforehand. For every tee sold, the Shocker Store will donate $1 to the Side-Out Foundation.

Shirts are available at the Koch Arena store and shockerstore.com.