Author: Caelin Bragg

Wichita State University’s Amanda Schmalzried has won the 2024 Bela Kiralyfalvi Student Playwriting Competition for her play, “The Angel of Death.”

Schmalzried’s play was among 29 scripts submitted from 24 colleges and universities across the nation. She is the seventh Wichita State student who has won the competition in its 49-year history.

“The Angel of Death” will be presented as a staged reading in March 2025 at the Welsbacher Theatre in the WSU Hughes Metroplex.

Last night Wichita State Police officers were able to investigate and clear a non-credible bomb threat within a few short hours, restoring campus to normal operations.

The call indicated the presence of an explosive device at Wallace Hall and the 21st Street Starbucks. While police quickly suspected the threat was not real, immediate action was taken by our emergency response team, in coordination with local law enforcement agencies, to ensure that there was no credible danger to our community.

The WSU campus community was alerted of the reported threat through the RAVE system. All individuals were asked to evacuate and avoid these areas.

The all-clear was issued at 12:45 a.m. on Friday morning.

As operations return to normal, now is a good reminder that false threats like these are a crime and tax the time and resources of many people, including our first responders.

The safety and security of our campus community are of the utmost priority. Though there is no threat to campus, diligence is always important.

Remember, if you see something, say something by calling 978-3450 or 911.

In the event of inclement weather and/or an emergency event, the university shall take all reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of students, faculty and staff.

Should such an event occur, the university may implement a temporary adjustment to its class and/or operations, including late start and moving class instruction and non-critical operations to remote delivery, where possible. Critical campus operations will continue to operate on-campus to the fullest extent possible.

In order to facilitate the university’s decision making and communication process, and to recognize potential childcare challenges faced by university students and employees, the university will typically align with USD 259 in closing campus facilities or moving to remote learning/operations due to inclement weather or national, state or local emergencies.

See the full WSU inclement weather guidelines. In the event of a weather emergency, refer to the list of tornado shelters on campus.

Please take a moment to read how you will be informed of changes to normal on-campus operations:

• We strongly encourage you to sign up for the ShockerAlert System, which will send weather and class alerts to your phone and email.
• In the event of a change to normal on-campus operations, you will also receive a message to your WSU email account.
• The Wichita State website will be updated with a warning message during a inclement weather or emergency situation that impacts classes or activities on campus.
• WSU’s official X account and Facebook page will be updated with pertinent information.

For more information about the weather outlook at any time, consult the National Weather Service forecast for Wichita.

Shocker baseball will face Tulane April 26 though 28 at Eck Stadium, and each day is a special event for fans:

• Friday night is for the kids. All kids wearing their Youth League uniform receive admission to the game at no additional charge, and additional family and friends can purchase tickets for only $5.
• It’s Bark in the Park at Eck Stadium Saturday, April 27. Bring your dog and enjoy the game from Coleman Hill. First pitch is at 2 p.m.
• Sunday, April 28 is National Superhero Day at Eck Stadium. Shocker baseball supports local heroes with admission for all military, police, fire, EMS and health care workers at no additional charge. Kids can receive a WuShock superhero coloring book before the game and run the bases after the game. First pitch is at 1 p.m.

Are you interested in a career that will allow you to make a positive impact in your community? Join the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs for a Master of Public Administration (MPA) information session at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 25 via Zoom, and learn how an MPA prepares you for positions of leadership in government and nonprofit organizations.

Presenters will provide an overview of the MPA program, its admissions requirements and application process, and discuss career paths for MPA graduates such as city or county manager, executive director or development director of a nonprofit, financial analyst, policy analyst, or director of economic development. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

Students of any major are eligible to apply for the Master in Public Administration program and a graduate record examination (GRE) is not required for admission consideration.

For more information, to sign up for the Zoom session or to schedule a one-on-one meeting, contact Bethany Kennedy, student program coordinator, at bethany.kennedy@wichita.edu.

Three Wichita State University students have secured the prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation — an award worth $159,000 over three years.  

The students — Anthony Ciletti, a senior in mechanical engineering; Reilly Jensen, who is pursuing a master’s degree in biomedical engineering; and Max Proctor, a second-year master’s student studying biological sciences — were chosen among more than 12,000 students nationwide who applied for the fellowship.  

Wichita State University has offered the traditional educational pathways for over 125 years, typically ending at the point of graduation, but the need for learning continues throughout a person’s lifetime.

In a rapidly changing world, continuing education has never been more important. More and more jobs require skill-based certification of learning, which includes the attainment of validated durable and technical skills. To meet those needs, WSU was the first in Kansas to create badge courses for non-degree seeking students in 2015, after approval from the Kansas Board of Regents.

Financial Operations will be closed starting at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 26 and will reopen during normal business hours Monday, April 29.

The search for the next vice president of finance and administration position has started, and a search committee has been assembled with representatives from university stakeholders.

The search committee members:

Search chair:

• Zach Gearhart, chief of staff and executive director of government relations

Faculty senate:

• Adam Lynch, associate teaching professor of applied engineering

Staff senate:

• Jacob Mendez, interim assistant dean for student success in the College of Engineering

Student representation:

• Matthew Phan, student body vice president

Industry and Defense Programs:

• David Miller, associate vice president for finance and operations

Facilities Services:

• Eason Bryer, executive director

Information Technology Services:

• Ken Harmon, chief information officer

President’s Executive Team:

• Andy Schlapp, vice president of strategy and government relations
• Vicki Whisenhant, chief human resources officer

Finance and Administration:

• Lisa Pappas, executive assistant to the finance and administration divisional officer, providing administrative support to the committee

Isaacson, Miller (IM), an executive search firm, has been engaged to assist WSU with the search. Jackie Mildner, partner with IM who joined in 2005 and helped presidential searches for a number of universities, will lead the IM team.

Timeline of upcoming search milestones:

• Scoping sessions with stakeholders to inform position profile will be held throughout April
• The position profile will be finalized by the end of April
• Semi-finalist interviews will start in early June
• Finalist interviews, including campus visits and public forums, will be held mid to late June
• Final selection is planned in July

The search for Wichita State’s new executive vice president and provost position is under way. A search committee with shared governance representation from Academic Affairs and other constituencies has been formed.

The search committee members:

Search chair:

• Shelly Coleman-Martins, vice president of strategic communications and marketing

Deans:

• Dr. Jennifer Friend, dean, College of Applied Studies
• Dr. Larisa Genin, dean, Barton School of Business

Faculty Senate:

• Jolynn Dowling, president, Faculty Senate, associate educator in the School of Nursing
• Dr. Mathew Muether, president-elect, Faculty Senate, associate professor of physics

Faculty representation:

• Shirlene Small, senior educator of sociology
• Timothy Shade, director of the School of Music
• Patricia Bradley, associate educator in the Barton School of Business

Staff Senate:

• Kennedy Rogers, president, Staff Senate, director of ShockerStrengths
• Krissy Archambeau, director of operations and processing in Admissions

Student representation:

• Kylee Hower, student body president
• John Kirk, president of the Graduate Student Council

Provost Office:

• Dr. Ashlie Jack, senior associate vice president of Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Enrollment Management

WSU Tech:

• Dr. Sheree Utash, president, WSU Tech and vice president of workforce development for WSU

President’s Executive Team:

• Marché Fleming-Randle, vice president for military and veterans affairs, chief diversity officer
• John Tomblin, senior vice president for Industry Defense Programs and executive director of NIAR

Isaacson, Miller (IM), an executive search firm, has been engaged to assist WSU with the search. Robin Dougherty, managing associate who joined IM in 2018 with almost 25 years of experience in higher education, will lead the IM team.

The search committee will hold its kick-off meeting at a later date, with President Rick Muma joining the meeting to give the committee its charge.

Dougherty and the IM team will meet with the search committee via Zoom to discuss various aspects of the search and search process.

IM will conduct its work and present candidates for the search committee to review in early September. The goal is for the new executive vice president and provost to be named in November, with a starting date no later than January 2025.