Author: Caelin Bragg

The Human Resources Office will be closed from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4. The office will reopen at 8 a.m. the following day, Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Student Health Services (SHS) is hosting its next Pee for Pizza event. It will take place noon-4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the Student Wellness Center in the Steve Clark YMCA.

Pee for Pizza is a sexual health awareness event that allows participants to test for sexually transmitted illnesses such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and hepatitis C and know their status at no additional charge. Pizza is also provided to participants.

Co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Positive Direction and Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes, Pee for Pizza is by reservation only. No walk-ins will be accepted. Participants must not use the restroom at least one hour before testing.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact SHS at 316-978-4792. Other testing is available upon request.

The eighth annual Strategic Communications marketing and communications seminar for faculty and staff will be held from 10 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Jan. 25 on the third floor of the Rhatigan Student Center.

Attendees may choose to attend up to two sessions. Gain additional insights, tools and tips to help you improve your marketing and communication efforts.

RSVP information coming soon.

Wichita State congratulates Randy Sessions, technology specialist for the University Police Department, on his retirement after serving WSU for 38 years.

Before joining the UPD, Sessions worked in the College of Engineering for over 22 years starting in 1985 and in the university’s ITS Telecommunications department for eight years. While working at WSU, Sessions was an active participant in the university’s Staff Senate, serving as president three times, and chaired the Alternative Service Committee that looked at and facilitated the move from Classified Staff to University Support Staff. He also sat on multiple search committees, including the Presidential Search Committee in December 2020, and he currently serves as a member of the WSU Retiree Association Organizing Committee.

For his service to the university, Sessions received the President’s Distinguished Service Award in 2016, and he was honored as a Bender of Twigs in 2011.

Wichita State thanks Sessions for his years of service to the university and wishes him well on his retirement. If you would like to send Sessions congratulations, you can email randy.sessions@shockers.wichita.edu.

Wichita State University is home to nearly 5,000 first-generation students, individuals whose caregivers weren’t able to complete a college degree and who lack the firsthand experience to tackle college life. To help with their transition, Wichita State offers a number of resources to first-gen students to support them during their time in college, including F1RST GEN SHOCKERS.

Hear from Kristy Pacheco, a current first-gen student at Wichita State, about her first-gen experience.

The first Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in Kansas is slated to be located at Wichita State University, improving internet performance, affordability and reliability for WSU, Innovation Campus and Shocker Neighborhood users and for users across much of Kansas.

The announcement was made Nov. 29 by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, whose administration has awarded a $5 million grant to fund the construction of the facility. It will be owned and operated by Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (CNIXP) LLC, a joint venture between Kentucky-based nonprofit Connected Nation and carrier hotel pioneer Hunter Newby.

Dear WSU Faculty:

As you’ve likely heard, Emmy Award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell will be our guest for the 2024 Craig W. Barton Speaker Series on March 21, 2024. O’Donnell is anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News. She also anchors all CBS News’ Election Specials and is a “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent. She has covered six presidential elections and interviewed every living U.S. president.

This will be an incredible opportunity for students from across campus to hear about and learn from O’Donnell’s decades of experiences covering events around the globe and conducting news-making interviews with world leaders.

I strongly encourage you to include O’Donnell’s visit as part of your curriculum for your spring 2024 classes, as she’s sure to offer our students valuable and evocative insight and advice about current and political affairs from around the world.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series, which was established in 2021, is an annual event that aims to expose students to differing points of view and encourage critical thinking and conversation.

There are two opportunities for students to engage with O’Donnell during her visit to Wichita State:

• At 3 p.m. on March 21, there will be a moderated Q & A with students led by SGA President Iris Okere with opening remarks by Dr. Jeff Jarman, director for the Elliott School of Communication. A link for students to sign up for the afternoon event will be provided to faculty for their curriculum and distributed through Shocker Blast.
• At 6 p.m. on March 21, O’Donnell will deliver a keynote address in Miller Concert Hall followed by a moderated discussion. This event is open to the public, and students are welcome and encouraged to attend. Access to tickets will be available Feb. 1, 2024.

Both events will offer distinct experiences for our students, and they both promise to be informative, enriching, and entertaining.

For more information about the Barton Speaker Series visit wichita.edu/bartonseries or call Carmen Hytche at 316-978-3142.

Sincerely,

Shirley Lefever
Executive Vice President & Provost

COVID-19 testing remains available at the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (MDL), 4174 S. Oliver, building 174H, for all students, faculty, staff and the general public at no cost.

Need a test? Self-scheduled appointments are available Monday through Thursday 7 a.m.-4 p.m. or Friday 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Guaranteed results within 24 hours of receiving the test.

Preston Schroeder, formerly the assistant director in the Office of Civil Rights, Title IX & ADA Compliance (CTAC), has been promoted to director of investigations to reflect his increased scope managing the university’s investigations and informal resolution processes pursuant to equal opportunity, affirmative action, ADA/Section 504 and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972.

Preston recently joined WSU after 13 years of service with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office. While with the sheriff’s office, Preston served as a detective in the Exploited and Missing Child Unit’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Preston later served as a sergeant in both the Investigations Division and Professional Standards Unit.

Wichita State University is home to nearly 5,000 first-generation students, individuals whose caregivers weren’t able to complete a college degree and who lack the firsthand experience to tackle college life. To help with their transition, Wichita State offers a number of resources to first-gen students to support them during their time in college, including F1RST GEN SHOCKERS.

Hear from Dr. Shirley Lefever, provost and executive vice president at Wichita State, who went to college as a first-gen student.