Author: Caelin Bragg

Norah O’Donnell, anchor for the CBS Evening News and “60 Minutes” contributor, headlined Wichita State’s 2024 Craig W. Barton Speaker Series March 21.

O’Donnell spoke to attendees at Miller Concert Hall in Duerksen Fine Arts Center and answered questions from the audience. Earlier in the day, she met with students in the Rhatigan Student Center during her visit to WSU.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series is an annual Wichita State event established to expose students and the community to differing points of view and encourage critical thinking and conversation. Previous speakers include Robert Gates, 22nd United States secretary of defense (2006-2011), and Cody Keenan, former White House director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama.

Details for the 2025 Craig W. Barton Speaker Series event will be announced at a later date.

Jolynn Dowling, Faculty Senate president and Kennedy Rogers, Staff Senate president, invite faculty and staff to watch the virtual spring 2024 university town hall with university leadership at 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 1 via YouTube.

Want to better get to know the president and provost of Wichita State? Connect with President Rick Muma and Provost Shirley Lefever on social media.

See how they engage with students, participate in events and give back to the campus community.

President Muma:

• Instagram
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• LinkedIn

Provost Lefever:

• Instagram
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• LinkedIn

Lot 41, the parking lot near Woolsey Hall, will be closed Thursday, March 21 and starting at 2 p.m. Friday, March 22 for events in the building. Faculty and staff that typically park in this lot will need to park in other yellow lots during this time. The YMCA lot is not available for faculty, staff or event guest parking and could result in a citation.

The purpose of lot reservations is to help accommodate large groups of guests visiting campus for events or the event itself. Lot reservations are not to be used for WSU affiliates. Remember, visitors to campus can park without an ePermit up to three times each semester.

Red reserved and ADA stalls are not subject to lot closures and proper use is permitted during this time.

Visit NetApp on the Innovation Campus for its quarterly campus-wide e-waste and shredding event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, April 19 in the NetApp parking lot, lot 44S.

The following are items that can be disposed of during the event:

• Personal documents accepted for secure shredding.
• All personal electronics accepted, including appliances.
  • Note: old tube TVs must be taken to the Waste Connections Transfer Station, 2745 N. Ohio St.
• Secure data destruction for e-waste (hard drive shredder).
• On-site assistance available for larger loads.

The event is sponsored by the NetApp Green Team.

Join Zach Gearhart, chief of staff and executive director of government relations, for updates on the Kansas legislature relevant to Wichita State. The next meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, March 22 in 101 Morrison Hall.

The meeting is open to all faculty, staff and students and is held every other Friday in Morrison Hall following each legislative session.

This year, Japanese-language students from Wichita State competed in the annual Heart of America Japan-America Society’s Japanese Contest held March 9 at Johnson County Community College.

The Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (MCLL) and Japanese program congratulates the winners:

• Caleb Buhler won first prize for the speech competition and second for the JLPT N5 Grammar and Vocabulary Quiz
• Quyen Tran placed first and Sheridan Peterson came in second for their Japanese-language tanka poem
• Eve Moore placed second in the culture quiz
• Julia Gonzalez won first place for her 4-panel manga
• Ricardo Castillo took first place and Sean Hall third in the English-language tanka poetry competition

The MCLL department thanks all of the students who entered and the hard work they put into their entries.

All Wichita State students are invited to an informal Q&A, free snacks and an opportunity to meet Norah O’Donnell, anchor for the CBS Evening News and “60 Minutes” contributor.

The event is at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 21 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room.

Capacity is limited.

RSVP now

O’Donnell is a multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist with nearly three decades of experience covering the biggest stories in the world and conducting impactful, newsmaking interviews. She is currently the only woman anchoring an evening news broadcast. During her career, she has covered six presidential elections and interviewed every living president of the United States.

Summer and fall course schedules are now available online. Students are encouraged to choose their classes before registration begins Monday, April 1.

Why should students take summer classes? Summer classes are a great way to catch up on credits and graduate sooner.​

• Financial aid is available for those who qualify.​
• Courses are available in two-, four- or eight-week schedules with online, hybrid and in-person formats​

Be sure to reach out to your academic advisor with any questions about scheduling your summer and fall classes.​

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member through the initiative, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.