Author: Caelin Bragg

Dr. H. Edward Flentje, professor emeritus and former director of the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs, and Dr. Chase Billingham, associate professor and graduate program coordinator in the Department of Sociology in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, recently cowrote a new foreword for Dr. Flentje’s 1984 article, “The Political Roots of City Managers in Kansas,” which was featured in the fall 2024 Kansas History.

The original article from Dr. Flentje researched the origins of the manager form of government in cities across Kansas, including Wichita, in the early 1900s. The implementation of the manager plan, despite its promise of nonpartisanship, became highly politicized and faced substantial resistance. The new foreword from Drs. Flentje and Billingham provides further context to the research and how it fits in with the greater understanding of urban historical scholarship in Kansas.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Electronic 2024 W-2 forms are now available for employees to access through Employee Self-Service. If you haven’t already, consent to receive your 2024 W-2 electronically. 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.

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”

*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.

Please note: If you are logging into the 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. Identify yourself as a Wichita State University employee to get your password for your initial login. WSU HR does not have access to provide this information.

If you have not yet consented to receive your W-2 electronically but would like to, it’s not too late. Instructions can be found on payroll’s website.

Even while the main campus was closed for the winter closedown, construction continued on Phase 1 of the upcoming Wichita Biomedical Campus, a $300 million, 471,000-square-foot joint health sciences center between Wichita State, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas.

Over the break, workers completed the central elevator pit walls, and work began on the clinic elevator pits. Work halted during the severe winter weather, but the site has been cleared and work continues.

And starting in mid-January, the City of Wichita will make changes to traffic patterns as construction continues on the Wichita Biomedical Campus. The City of Wichita expects these changes to be in place through 2026:

• William Street will be one-way westbound.
• Broadway remains two-way, but narrowed to one lane in each direction.
• English Street will be one-way eastbound. 
• Topeka Street will be one-way southbound. When it is converted to a two-way street, it will be northbound.

In a few weeks, the tower crane will be installed and the Wichita Biomedical Campus will begin taking shape as steel is placed on the site.

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

Join Zach Gearhart, chief of staff and executive director of government relations, for updates on the Kansas legislature relevant to Wichita State. The first meeting of 2025 is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17 in 101 Morrison Hall.

The meeting is open to all faculty, staff and students and will focus on the governor’s State of the State and recommended budget as the legislative session concludes its first week.

Legislative updates are held every other Friday in Morrison Hall following each legislative session.