Author: Caelin Bragg

At WSU, we believe in the importance of creating a safe and healthy environment for all of our community members. To that end, we have partnered with Catharsis to provide Title IX & Civil Rights Training. This training is highly interactive and engaging, and is based on research around best practices for healthy communities. As you complete your training, we invite you to reach out to the many referenced resources in order to join the larger discussion of these topics on our campus.

What is the duration of the training?
The duration of the training is approximately 40 minutes for employees, 40 minutes for graduate students and athletes and approximately 45 minutes for undergraduate students.

When is the training deadline?
Feb. 28, 2025

How do I access the training?
If you do not see the notification in your myWSU profile under the Faculty/Staff or Home tabs, you can access the training through the Office of Civil Rights, Title IX & ADA Compliance (CTAC) website (wichita.edu/ctac). Scroll down to 2024-2025 Title IX & Civil Rights Compliance Training and select your training. Only select the training that applies to you.

How do I know if I’ve completed the training?
In myWSU, got to the “Home” tab and look under “Title IX Training.” If you have completed the training already, it should tell you your completion time and date.

Thank you for your participation and for helping us to build the best campus possible. The CTAC office is now located in 017 Shocker Success Center.

For more information or if you have any questions or issues accessing the training, contact CTAC at 316-978-3186 or ctac@wichita.edu.

Connie Morris, retired Elliott School of Communication faculty member, passed away Feb. 4. Morris was with Wichita State for more than 35 years before retiring in 2012, but she continued to teach until 2017.

A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10 at College Hill United Methodist Church, 2930 E. 1st St. N.

The University Staff Senate invites the Wichita State community to submit nominations for outstanding university staff for the 2025 President’s Award for Distinguished Service and the newly established Staff Excellence Awards. These awards recognize the dedication and excellence of Wichita State staff who have provided exemplary, dedicated and caring service to the WSU community that is beyond the expectations of the duties and responsibilities of their position. Selected honorees are recognized at the annual Shocker Pride Celebration. Nominations can be submitted by anyone from within the Wichita State community.

To nominate a deserving staff member, visit the nomination webpage to learn more.

Nomination materials must be received by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14. Send your nomination electronically to Gabriel Fonseca at gabriel.fonseca@wichita.edu

Researchers at NASA have begun studying samples from the asteroid Bennu following the success mission of the OSIRIS-REx probe, giving more insight into where life came from in the solar system.

Mark Schneegurt, professor of biological sciences in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was approached to provide context to the findings. His take: “There could hardly be any study more important to our understanding of the origins of life in the solar system.”

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) recently published an article discussing the best practices shared by a number of universities in response to the question “How is your school preparing culturally intelligent students who can navigate diverse markets and international collaborations that drive business success?”

Business schools from universities across the world shared their perspectives and how they help prepare their students, and the Barton School of Business was one of them.

Dotty Harpool, executive director of engagement and prominence in the Barton School, shared the Barton-Berlin partnership with the Berlin School of Economics and Law, where MBA students from both schools collaborate on projects for both Kansas and Berlin companies.

Sean Johnson is one of many former Shockers who succeeded in professional baseball after their time at Eck Stadium. None rose higher in the front-office ranks than Johnson, who was promoted to assistant general manager of the Minnesota Twins in January.

“I’ve always loved working for this organization from the day I started,” he said. “I’m around a lot of tremendous people who have poured into me. I’m at that time in my career now when I’m trying to pay that forward.”

Johnson started with the Twins in 2002 as an area scout and was previously vice president of amateur scouting, where he led the club’s work in the player draft. He played catcher at Wichita State from 1996-98 and served as the team’s director of operations from 2000-2001.

Recent reports of datasets no longer accessible from public websites, such as data.gov, have prompted questions and some concerns among the academic community. It is important to note that this is not a new phenomenon. Public data sets, including the 300,000 datasets hosted or linked on data.gov, are constantly evolving. Access to data sets can be compromised for a variety of reasons. Sometimes links are removed from government websites by government officials, but in other cases, because the government website is only an aggregator, the underlying dataset source may be corrupt or unavailable. 

Although loss of datasets on public websites like data.gov will always be an issue, keep in mind that the dataset may exist elsewhere on federal government websites or they may be re-hosted elsewhere. Datasets are also frequently downloaded by researchers and students before they are removed. Federal publications, including datasets, are generally not protected by copyright. Because of this, there are nonprofit organizations that work to archive datasets. WSU Libraries is a member of one such organization: ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research), which archives and makes available political and social science research data. Federal agencies have also deposited datasets directly with ICPSR. Because ICPSR is managed by the University of Michigan, changes to data.gov won’t affect existing datasets ICPSR. ICPSR can be accessed from WSU Libraries’ A-Z databases webpage.

Have additional questions or need help with a government dataset that is no longer available? Contact your discipline’s subject librarian or Ginger Williams, the WSU Libraries’ collections strategist, for assistance.

As the federal administration transition unfolds, new executive orders and policy changes are shaping federal research funding, compliance requirements and other areas affecting our university community. To help navigate these changes, the university has established a “Federal Administration Transition – Guidance for Researchers” webpage, which will provide up-to-date information on how new federal directives may impact research, funding and compliance.

This webpage will serve as a central resource for faculty, researchers and staff to stay informed about key developments, including:

• Executive orders affecting federally funded research
• Changes in federal agency priorities and compliance requirements
• Guidance on hiring and award management in light of potential funding shifts

We encourage you to check the webpage regularly, as updates will be posted as soon as information becomes available. Keep in mind that federal agencies are still interpreting new policies, so there may be a delay in full implementation and university-specific guidance. We appreciate your patience as we work to provide the most accurate and timely information possible.

For specific questions or concerns, contact the responsible Office of Research:

• If your award is supported by the Academic Office of Research, reach out to postaward@wichita.edu.
• If your award is supported by the IDP Office of Research, reach out to contracts@idp.wichita.edu.
• If you are not sure, feel free to reach out to either office for additional guidance on which office supports your award.

To help promote mental health and wellbeing, Wichita State is hosting a “Suspenders4Hope Day at WSU” Wednesday, Feb. 12 to spread awareness to the community.

The day will be filled with events to help the community learn more and engage with the mental health resources on campus as well as recognize the Mental Health Advocates who have helped elevate the Suspenders4Hope message. And be sure to wear your Suspenders4Hope T-shirt throughout the day to help show your support.

The events of the day:

• Head over to the Rhatigan Student Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Suspenders4Hope tables where prevention ambassadors and the WSU cheer team will hand out tickets to the Shocker men’s basketball game later that day and other Suspenders4Hope resources.
• From 1 to 3 p.m., there will be a free Suspenders4Hope Preventing Suicide in the LGBTQ+ Community training session hosted by HOPE Services. Sign up ahead of time online.
• Hear from a panel of experts on mental health from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in 305/306 Rhatigan Student Center, Beggs Ballroom. The panel will be hosted by the specialized advisor team to talk through common mental health issues, what to listen for from students and provide an overview of services available to students.
• Finish the day off by blacking out mental health stigma in Charles Koch Arena as the men’s basketball team takes on UTSA starting at 6:30 p.m. as the team recognizes the Mental Health Advocates on campus. The first 1,000 attendees will receive a free Suspenders4Hope T-shirt, and the first 100 attendees who show up in their own Suspenders4Hope shirts will receive a free bracelet. And don’t forget, students can get a ticket to the game at no additional charge with their Shocker IDs. $20 discounted tickets are also available at goshockers.com using the special promo code “SUSPENDERS”

Make it a Shocker sports day and show your support for your fellow classmates on the men’s and women’s tennis teams as they both host matches Friday, Feb. 7. Both matches have free admission to attend.

• Men’s tennis will host Texas Tech at 1 p.m. Feb. 7 at Genesis Health Club, 1551 N. Rock Rd.
• Enjoy free food and drinks as the women’s tennis team takes on Kentucky at 5 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Wichita Country Club, 8501 E. 13th St. N.