Author: Caelin Bragg

The Wichita Eagle has announced the winners of its annual Best of Wichita competition, and Wichita State was voted gold in best college/university in Wichita. This is the third year in a row where Wichita State has been named the best college/university.

We thank Shocker Nation for their participation in the voting process.

The Wichita State University Craig W. Barton Speaker Series cordially invites you to save the date for an evening with Ben Stein, economist, lawyer, actor and prolific author, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at Miller Concert Hall in Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

Ticket reservations will be available on Jan. 21.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series is an annual event established to expose students and the community to differing points of view and encourage critical thinking and conversation.

Electronic 2024 W-2 forms will be ready for employees to access through Employee Self-Service the second week of January 2025. If you haven’t already, consent to receive your 2024 W-2 electronically.

To consent to receive your 2024 W-2 virtually:

• Sign in to State of Kansas Employee Self-Service*, which can be accessed through your myWSU under: Faculty/Staff -> “Employee Self-Service” -> “State of Kansas Employee Self-Service”
• Select “My System Profile”
• Select “W-2: Consent, Reissue Forms”

If you are logging into State of Kansas Employee Self-Service for the first time, you will need to contact the State of Kansas Employee Self Service Help Desk at 785-296-1900 or 866-999-3001 and identify yourself as a Wichita State University employee to get your password for your initial login.   

For employees who do not consent to receiving electronic W-2 statements, the forms will be mailed and postmarked by the IRS deadline of Jan. 31, 2025.

*To find your State of KS user ID, click on the “Click to reveal ID” within the “SHaRP ID” box directly below “Employee Self Service” on myWSU.

The table below is to assist instructors with certain dates regarding CES. The dates shown are for the spring 2025 semester. The first column includes the various start/end (part-of-term) dates for spring semester courses. The second column includes dates meant for instructors. This is the timeframe when instructors will receive emails about the CES process and procedures that they should complete. Instructors will receive additional emails during and after the student CES access dates. The last column includes the dates that CES will be available for the students to complete course evaluations.

If your course is in bold, then your spring 2025 CES evaluation process will start soon. Review the start/end dates in each column so you know when your access to the CES system will start and end.

Financial Services and Payroll in 201/210 Jardine Hall will be closed from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13. The offices will re-open at normal business hours Monday, Dec. 16.

The Graduate School will be closed from 11:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16 for a staff event. Items to be dropped off can be left in the locked drop box next to the office’s front door.

Opportunities, connections and love — Dimitri Seneviratne found it all at Wichita State. While majoring in product design and manufacturing engineering, Dimitri found many opportunities to expand his horizons outside of the classroom at places like GoCreate, National Institute for Aviation Research and the Marcus Welcome Center.

Jaymes Squires worked hard to juggle a full-time job and a growing family while pursuing his academic ambitions. His perseverance paid off, and Jaymes will graduate from Wichita State with a bachelor’s degree in general studies in December. 

For Diego Vargas-Ruiz, college life was trying to find a balance between academe, friends and personal health, but instead of trying to fight it, he took the challenge as an opportunity to optimize his responsibilities until he found his rhythm.

Following time at another university, Lilith Samples realized her hometown of Wichita was where she belonged and is now the first in her family to graduate from college. While at Wichita State University, she was able to work at the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology in Neff Hall and hopes to continue in the profession after graduating.