Author: Caelin Bragg

Students with their Shocker IDs can get free access to the Gridiron sketch comedy show at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 at Roxy’s Downtown, 412 E. Douglas Ave.

The show consists of multiple satirical acts that look at current events. The theme this year is “Wickedly Funny,” which is a spinoff of the new movie “Wicked.”

Annually, the Gridiron show is created by local journalists. They write the scripts and perform on stage to raise funds for journalism scholarships distributed by the Society of Professional Journalists, Kansas Pro Chapter. 

For more information, visit the Gridiron website or contact info@wichitagridiron.com.

The Office of Human Resources would like to welcome Triniece Robertson to Wichita State as its new director of HR operations and Total Rewards. Triniece started in her role in February.

With her 10 years of experience in human resources, including most recently as the director of human resources from the city of Newton, Triniece will provide leadership and oversight on compensation, benefits, leave/ADA, HRMS and the HR Service Center teams as a member of WSU’s HR office.

She graduated from WSU with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and from the University of Phoenix with a master’s degree in human resource management. She is also a SHRM-CP and is president-elect for the Kansas PSHRA (Public Sector HR Association).

The College of Engineering has named the latest group of high school seniors to join the Wallace Scholar program.

• Emilia Bustamante – Lincoln Northeast High School in Nebraska; mechanical engineering
• Tyllor Childers – Wichita Northwest High School; aerospace engineering
• Hudson Coffman – Blanchard High School in Oklahoma; aerospace engineering
• Lexi Grimm – Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita; aerospace engineering
• Connor Maul – J.J. Pearce High School in Dallas; aerospace engineering
• Sean McDermott – Eisenhower High School in Goddard, Kansas; cybersecurity
• Luke Osburn – Andover High School in Kansas; aerospace engineering
• Molly Patterson – Miami Yoder Preparatory Academy in Peyton, Colorado; aerospace engineering
• Madison Sohm – Russell Junior-Senior High School in Russell, Kansas; industrial engineering
• John Vonder Bruegge – Kirkwood High School in Missouri; mechanical engineering

Each of the 10 Wallace Scholarship recipients will receive $30,500 to attend WSU for four years.

Wallace Scholars comprise a community of more than 45 College of Engineering students, representing every class and almost every major in the college. Wallace Scholars are involved in the College of Engineering, across the WSU campus and throughout the greater Wichita community.

Wichita State is expanding its impact on community mental wellness through a new partnership with OneRise, a leading advocate for behavioral health innovation. This collaboration will enhance the reach of the Suspenders4Hope program, providing critical mental health education and resources to communities across Kansas, particularly in underserved areas and among priority groups such as veterans, medical professionals, construction workers and hospitality industry employees. 

“Wichita State University has been a pioneer in community mental health through initiatives like the Suspenders4Hope program. Now, with the partnership between WSU and OneRise, we’re poised to expand this movement across Kansas and beyond,” said Dr. Jessica Provines, wellness AVP and co-founder of Suspenders4Hope. “Our mission is to bring hope to people in moments of despair by uniting all sectors–education, business, healthcare and others in this effort. This collaboration will enhance mental health services for everyone while driving innovation in how our communities address mental health challenges.”

The Suspenders4Hope program, developed at WSU, is a movement built on research and created in partnership with mental health professionals. The program offers free online training, workplace wellness resources and a community-driven approach to preventing suicide and overdose. In joining forces with OneRise, WSU aims to strengthen Kansas’ behavioral health network by training more advocates, equipping workplaces and breaking down barriers to care.

“We believe that mental well-being is crucial for a thriving community,” said OneRise president Matthew Tannehill “We are proud to partner with Wichita State University to support the Suspenders4Hope program and contribute to the positive mental health of our friends and neighbors in the region. Suspenders4Hope empowers individuals with a simple but powerful method to support mental wellness: Share, Ask, Support. It’s like the ’stop, drop and roll’ training we all learned as kids, but a lot more likely to be a skill we need to draw on at different points in our life.”

These steps foster hope, connection and action — creating a stronger, healthier Kansas one conversation at a time. Suspenders4Hope offers free online mental health training for individuals and workplaces. Whether you’re an employer looking to improve workplace culture or simply someone who wants to help a friend in need, this training provides practical skills to recognize and respond to mental health concerns in your own life and the lives of others.

Be a mental health advocate with the Share, Ask, Support method.

• Share your own experiences to normalize conversations about mental health and express concern when you notice someone struggling.
• Ask for the help you need and check in on others — talking directly about suicide can save lives.
• Support without judgement, connect to resources and stay in touch.

Visit Suspenders4Hope.com to:

• Take free online training.
• View real stories of hope.
• Explore free wellness resources including instructions on how to build your own Hope Kit.

As the Kansas Legislature is back in session for 2025-26 and we enter a new federal administration, please remember that Wichita State employees, when acting as representatives of the university, should consult with the executive director of government relations, Zach Gearhart — 316-978-3001 or zachary.gearhart@wichita.edu — before engaging with elected local, state or federal officials.

All WSU activities involving federal, state and/or local government officials/staff must also be developed in consultation with Gearhart to ensure WSU’s official position is being properly and appropriately presented.

These guidelines only apply when acting as an official representative of the university and do not apply to employees when acting in their personal capacity, but employees should not use university resources when doing so. For more information on political activities policy, consult Policy 3.17 / Political and Lobbying Activities by Employees.

Following stints of inclement winter weather, workers have made significant progress throughout 2025 on Phase 1 of the upcoming Wichita Biomedical Campus, a $300 million, 471,000-square-foot joint health sciences center between Wichita State, WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech) and the University of Kansas.

On Feb. 26, the 190-foot tower crane was installed, which will start assembling the skeleton of the building. Two of the three storm shelters have concrete walls, marking the first sections of the building that can be walked in. Construction for the remainder of the week will focus on the third storm shelter, with steel work scheduled to begin next week.

If you would like to watch the progress live, you can watch a live broadcast of the construction site online at: bigview.ai/wichitabiomedicalcampusliveview.

Open Streets ICT – WSU & Shocker Neighborhood returns April 13 and university colleges, groups and organizations are encouraged to participate.

From noon to 4 p.m. April 13, Open Streets ICT will take place on 17th Street from Oliver to Volutsia. The almost two-mile stretch is open for biking, walking and running.

The event is free and open to the public.

WSU groups can register for free by putting “on route” on their registration.

In 2024, 90 vendors and 10 food trucks set up on campus and in the neighborhood. Naquela Pack, director of K-12 connections and special projects for Wichita State Connect, expects similar numbers in April.

“We want to take advantage of summer coming up,” Pack said. “Groups can share their services, camps, opportunities they have for young people.”

Pierre Harter, associate vice president of research (interim) and industry engagement, joins President Rick Muma to discuss his role in promoting faculty research and his work with NIAR, including its innovative work in digital transformation.

Watch the episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts or Apple Podcasts (iTunes).

Subscribe to be notified when new episodes are available.

The first candidate for dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — David Eichhorn, interim dean of the Fairmount College at Wichita State — will be on campus March 6-7.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend a public forum at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6 in 208 Hubbard Hall

Additional information regarding the candidate can be found on the Academic Affairs website.

Five undergraduate students from Wichita State were among the 26 students recognized at the 23rd annual Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri.

The WSU students who received an Award of Excellence:

• Yara Abdine, junior in biomedical engineering, gave the poster presentation, “Glycosylation unveiled: Exploring the structure and function of FSH hormone glycoforms”
• Mark White, senior in biochemistry, gave the poster presentation, “Using FRET to Assess Conjugate Binding of Anthrax Toxin’s PA and Antigen Spy0469”

The WSU students who received an Honorable Mention:

• Lauren Hughes, junior in biomedical engineering, gave the poster presentation, “What’s Linker Have to Do With It? Examining the Structure and Stability of Palladin’s Ig3-4 Linker Region”
• Breanna Leach, sophomore in biomedical engineering, gave the poster presentation, “Patterns of brain Ferritin expression in the Drosophila divalent cation transporter mutant Malvolio”
• Julie Tran, senior in chemistry, gave the poster presentation, “Structural Elucidation of the Ig3 Domain of Myopalladin by NMR”