Author: Caelin Bragg

WSU Fire Safety will conduct required annual fire alarm testing during October. Testing will be accomplished between the hours of 7 p.m. and 3 a.m. for most campus buildings. Buildings with evening classes will be tested after 10 p.m.

Persons utilizing any evening study spaces may be interrupted by fire alarms. No testing will be done in any residence hall, Rhatigan Student Center, CAC Theater, partnership buildings or Braeburn Square facilities.

Any questions or concerns can be emailed to scott.murray@wichita.edu.

This is once again an active enrollment, meaning that all covered state employees must participate or be enrolled in a default plan. 

Events this week:

Sunday, Oct. 1: SEHP will begin opening enrollment portals throughout the day. All benefit-eligible employees should have access to their benefits open enrollment portal by close of business on Oct. 1^.

Please take advantage of the scheduled virtual and in-person presentations, as well as on-demand options.  For additional information visit the open enrollment website. Any questions should be directed to TotalRewards@wichita.edu.

Join Campus Recreation for its annual 5K Pumpkin Run starting at 9 a.m. Oct. 21 at the Shocker Hall Plaza. The campus community can register to participate at a discounted rate for a limited time.

When registering, use discount code “Shocktoberfest” to get $10 off the 5K registration fee. The discount is only available through Thursday, Oct. 5.

All participants receive a Pumpkin Run T-shirt and medal while supplies last, and awards will be handed to the top finishers of each age group. When registering, participants will receive a referral link for friends, family and coworkers to sign up with. If five people sign up using your referral link, you will get an additional $15 off.

Also available are the Little Pumpkin Fun Run 1K and the Virtual 5K events:

• Children 12 years old and younger can sign up for the Little Pumpkin Run 1K, which starts at 10:21 a.m.
• Everyone is welcome to sign up to run in the Virtual 5K from anywhere and receive the same benefits.

For additional information, call the race director at 316-978-5870 or email cr.pumpkinrun@wichita.edu.

WSU Math Circle resumes meetings for the fall semester. The next meeting is at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1 in 101 Lindquist Hall. Math Circle is a program for middle school students. Sunday’s speaker is Dr. Mai Dao, who will discuss the innerworkings of QR and bar codes, along with guiding students on how to make their own during the discussion.

Math Circles are education enrichment and outreach groups that bring mathematicians and mathematical scientists into direct contact with pre-college students. These students meet with math professionals in an informal setting, after school or on weekends, to work on interesting problems or topics in mathematics. The goal is to get the students excited and passionate about mathematics.

Middle school students should bring a completed registration and consent form from the website.

Kansas home values will continue to appreciate in the coming year, according to the 2024 Kansas Housing Markets Forecast series published by the Wichita State University Center for Real Estate.

“The inventory of homes available for sale is very limited,” said Dr. Stan Longhofer, director of the WSU Center for Real Estate. “As a result, the market still favors sellers despite the softening of demand due to higher mortgage rates.” 

Longhofer will present the forecast at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Kansas Association of Realtors Annual Conference at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan. He will be available for interviews after his presentation at about 11:30 a.m.

Wichita State University’s efforts to transform the educational experience for students and redefine the role of a university to foster statewide economic growth have yielded remarkable results: the highest enrollment in its 128-year history.  

Combined enrollment by headcount across all Wichita State University locations for fall 2023 is 23,203, according to the annual data released today by the Kansas Board of Regents.   

For the Wichita State campus, the numbers represent an increase of 3.7% in fall student headcount from 16,921 in 2022 to 17,548 in 2023. That’s the largest number of students ever choosing to enroll at Wichita State.  

At WSU Tech, student headcount increased 12.6% from 5,021 last year to 5,655 this year — also the highest headcount ever for WSU Tech. 

Shockers should schedule an appointment with their academic advisors to plan their schedule of courses for the spring 2024 semester.

The spring 2024 course schedule will be available starting Wednesday, Oct. 4. Students can discuss what courses they should take with their academic advisor and be ready to register for their classes when spring 2024 registration begins the week of Nov. 13.

President Rick Muma spoke at the annual ICT Summit, “Downtown: A Vision for Our City’s Core,” Sept. 21. Three sets of panelists discussed the history of downtown Wichita, the developments currently underway and the future of downtown.

President Muma spoke about the upcoming Wichita Biomedical Campus in downtown Wichita, which will house the College of Health Professions and WSU Tech’s Health Professions program, and the vision of creating a health care corridor to strengthen learning, collaboration and research for the Wichita community.

Shockers can enjoy a special deal on a meal from Jersey Mike’s at Braeburn Square. Bring your Shocker ID with you and receive any regular size sub, chip and drink for $12.95.

The offer is only available at the Braeburn Square location at 4521 E. 21st Street North.

Jersey Mike’s at Braeburn Square is offering a deal during happy hour for Shockers with their Shocker ID through the end of October.

Stop by Jersey Mike’s from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays until Oct. 30 for $2 off any regular or giant sub by presenting your Shocker ID at checkout.

The offer is only available at the Braeburn Square location at 4521 E. 21st Street North.