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.

For the first time, the Center for International Business Advancement (CIBA), the Barton School of Business, the International Business Studies Association (IBSA) and the World Trade Council of Wichita (WTCouncil) welcome the Federal Reserve Bank to Wichita to speak on the Economic Outlook. The program featuring Dr. Nicholas Sly, vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11 at the Wichita Country Club.

Few organizations are better positioned to speak on the Economic Outlook than the Fed. The Federal Reserve System is the United States central bank and promotes the effective operation of the U.S. economy (the largest and most complex in the world) and, more generally, the public interest. The Fed conducts the nation’s monetary policy to promote maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates in the U.S. economy. It also promotes the stability of the financial system and seeks to minimize and contain systemic risks through, among many other activities, active monitoring and engagement in the U.S. and abroad and fostering payments’ and settlements’ safety and efficiency through services to the banking industry and the U.S. government that facilitate U.S.-dollar transactions and payments.

Late registrations after April 8 or walk-ins will not be accepted.

For a quick response, send all questions to wtcouncil@wichita.edu. Learn more about this and other programs on the WTCouncil webpage.

The Smart Factory at Deloitte @ Wichita holds two open house events/tours for WSU leaders, faculty and staff each year. 

The Spring Open House is scheduled from 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 1. If you would like to attend, add your name to the invitation list.

Shielding the Earth from the sun seems like a good idea, in theory, to fight climate change, Wichita State’s Dr. Nickolas Solomey and graduate student Kelly Kabler agree. 

Good ideas, they also agree, must be grounded in science.    

In early February, the New York Times reported that Asher Space Research Institute Physics Professor Yoram Rozen was working on a prototype for a sunshade in space. Other scientists have proposed using dust as a shield. And Amazon has even teamed with researchers to run models on the possibilities for blocking the sun.

Solomey and Kabler, though, aren’t so sure that the popular idea of protecting the planet with a sunshade is as simple as some propose. 

President Rick Muma and First Gentleman Rick Case will be on KMUW starting at 7 a.m. Thursday, March 28 during KMUW’s spring pledge drive. Listen in on 89.1 FM.

They will be matching listener donations. Listeners can make a donation by calling 316-978-6700, using the KMUW smartphone app or visiting the website.

WSU’s Corbin Education Center is temporarily out of service because of flooding caused by a chilled water line break in the basement, causing power, data and HVAC outages throughout the building. Normal operations and scheduled classes will likely not return until Wednesday, March 27 as facilities personnel work on the building.

Students: If you have classes in Corbin, please check Blackboard and/or your email for updates. Your instructors will communicate whether class will be held in another campus location or remotely until Corbin is back open. If you have questions, please reach out to your instructor.

Instructors: If you teach in Corbin, you will need to either request an alternative classroom location by contacting Michele August at michele.august@wichita.edu or move your classes to remote on Monday and Tuesday. You may need to continue with alternative plans for several more days. Please communicate via Blackboard any updates on course delivery so your students know how to access their classes. Though the power is off, the building is secure. You may enter the building to retrieve items you need for the next few days. If you have questions, please reach out to the dean’s office: cas.dean@wichita.edu.

Staff: If you work in Corbin, you will need to work remotely on Monday and Tuesday and may need to continue working remotely for several more days. Further information will be communicated. Though the power is off, the building is secure. You may enter the building to retrieve items you need for the next few days. If you have questions, please reach out to your supervisor.

All students, staff and faculty in Corbin should keep an eye on your WSU email and/or Blackboard for further updates.

We appreciate your patience as work is done to reopen Corbin Education Center as soon as possible.

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
• X
• LinkedIn

Provost Lefever:

• Instagram
• X
• 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.