Author: Caelin Bragg

At our annual fall address in August, President Muma shared one of our priorities is to identify funding for employee compensation – something that impacts each and every one of us. Recognizing we cannot depend solely on the state to solve this funding gap for us, we have established a cross-functional committee called Project Bridge.

The Project Bridge committee is exploring recommendations for how to fund our employee compensation gap, and we’d like your input. We invite you to share your thoughts and recommendations on ways we, as a university, can either:

• Increase revenues while still meeting our affordability priorities or
• Decrease/reallocate expenses to free up existing dollars for employee compensation.

We are looking for ideas that can be implemented immediately, as well as those that may take time.

To share a suggestion, please click here to visit the Budget Advisory Committee’s Idea Generator system.

A partnership between Wichita State and the University of Kansas is designed to help new mothers improve their mental health and prevent suicide.

For more than a year, HOPE kits, from WSU’s Health Outreach Prevention and Education Services, have helped people deal with mental health crises. Wichita State is taking that successful program and adapting it to the perinatal population with Growing HOPE kits, in coordination with the Center for Research for Infant Birth and Survival (CRIBS) at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

“We’re really excited to partner with Wichita State,” said Dr. Cari Schmidt, director of CRIBS. “We know that mental health challenges during pregnancy are one of the top complications that we see. Finding support for our families through this partnership and being able to provide our Growing HOPE kits is crucial to supporting their mental wellness and connecting them to resources.”

Al Tompkins will speak at Wichita State on the rise of artificial intelligence and its applications in communication fields. Tompkins, a senior faculty for broadcast and online at the Poynter Institute in Florida, will present during the Elliott School of Communication Comm Week 2024.

Tompkins will cover AI in three sessions at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and then a recap of the first two sessions from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23 in 264 Rhatigan Student Center, Spencer Room. All sessions are open to the public.

“This technology has moved so fast, and I believe it will become so ubiquitous that it will be like the internet,” said Tompkins. “It will become such an integral part of our everyday life, I believe that our best shot at minimizing harm from disruption is education and promoting literacy.”

His visit is co-sponsored by the Wichita Journalism Collaborative.

Monica Lounsbery — dean of the College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Long Beach — is the second candidate for Wichita State’s senior executive vice president and provost. She will be on campus for a public forum at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21 in 141 Woolsey Hall, Fidelity Bank Ballroom.

The third candidate for senior executive vice president and provost will be on campus for an open forum 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 in 110 Woolsey Hall, Boettger Auditorium. Stay tuned for more information on the candidate.

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.

When is the training deadline?
Jan. 10, 2025

How do I access the training?
Log into myWSU and click on the “Home” tab at the top. You should see the training link on the bottom left side of the screen. If you have trouble accessing the training, contact the Office of Civil Rights, Title IX & ADA Compliance (CTAC) at ctac@wichita.edu or call 316-978-3186.

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

The open enrollment window to submit 2025 benefits elections is now more than halfway over. Supervisors will begin receiving email updates this week if members of their team have not submitted 2025 elections. The HR Total Rewards team is asking all supervisors to help spread the word to all staff and faculty that open enrollment is mandatory.

Reminder: All benefits-eligible state employees must make their 2025 elections by the deadline of Oct. 31. Employees currently enrolled in medical coverage who do not complete an open enrollment election will be defaulted into medical Plan N with a use-it-or-lose-it HRA effective Jan. 1, 2025. Employees should log in to the Member Administration Portal to make their elections, even if they don’t plan to make any changes from their current 2024 coverage.

There are many resources available to employees on the open enrollment website, including open enrollment presentations as well as an on-demand webinar.

And watch SEHP’s on-demand webinar.

All benefits-eligible state employees must participate in open enrollment. Log in to the Member Administration Portal to make your elections.

Events occurring next week:

• 10-11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 21, online

Take advantage of the scheduled virtual and in-person presentations, as well as on-demand options. To add meeting reminders to your calendar or for additional information visit the open enrollment website. Any questions should be directed to TotalRewards@wichita.edu.

Jennifer Miranda, junior electrical engineering major, is completing her internship with NASA this semester and will be featured on NASA’s “Launch Your Future” internship webinar at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17.

Join the Shocker Career Accelerator at its new home in the Milly Marcus Annex at the Marcus Welcome Center from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22 with remarks at 4 p.m.

Explore the new Shocker Experience Walkway, which guides students from Admissions through their college journey, leading to the Shocker Career Accelerator and onto the main campus.

The come-and-go event is open to students, faculty, staff and employers. It’s an excellent opportunity to tour the office, hear about services and learn about the renewed focus on applied learning. Enjoy light refreshments and meet the team.

Wichita State University’s Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (MDL), a vital resource during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now leveraging its expertise to explore new frontiers. By addressing critical gaps in the health care system, the lab is also offering invaluable hands-on training for students, shaping the future of health care.

Building on its pandemic-era success, MDL is now expanding its reach in three significant areas:

• Microbiology services – Collaborating with small, rural hospitals to process their microbiology specimens, ensuring these communities have access to essential and timely diagnostic services.
• Technical consulting and professional services – Offering technical consultancy and professional services to help small hospitals and clinics maintain and achieve certification, empowering them to establish and operate their own laboratories.
• Pathology partnership – MDL secured a contract with Southcentral Pathology, bringing its technical work under Wichita State’s purview.