Author: Caelin Bragg

The C.H.I. scholarship, founded by the Courageous Chi Chapter of the Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas, and partnered with the Student Government Association, was created to help foster youth with limited resources pursue a higher education and to support them throughout their collegiate career. The C.H.I acronym stands for those who exemplify courage, honor and independence by recognizing their strive to better themselves academically.

The Chi Chapter strongly believes that it is crucial to help aid, educate and mentor disadvantaged persons in order to change, challenge and improve society. The chapter’s philanthropy for children in foster care is not only significant for the members of the sorority, but also within Kansas. Numerous foster youth are discouraged to attain a higher education due to the lack of financial support and management. The Chi Chapter will provide financial literacy and mentorship directly to the recipient in order to help combat the systemic challenges they face with being in foster care.

The deadline to apply is July 7.

Eligibility for the scholarship:

• High school foster youth
• Full-time enrollment
• Have a minimum GPA of 2.5

General requirements for the scholarship:

• Unofficial transcript
• One letter of recommendation
• Application must be completed and signed
• One essay or video submission

For any questions, contact chi@lambdapiupsilon.org or SGA@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Lubna Aldulaimi.

Lubna — a senior majoring in exercise science — made her way to Wichita State after graduating from Tomball High School in Tomball, Texas. She is currently a member of the track and field team.

Lubna found it difficult balancing the time required for school, work, track and family, and was worried about asking for the help she needed for fear of it being seen as her making excuses. However, she was able to find support through Kristyn Waits, design educator and communication manager for the College of Innovation and Design, who saw Lubna struggling and offered her an extension in her class.

“I just needed someone to press pause and let me catch back up and Kristyn Waits did that for me. One day, we had a major project due that I was very behind on, but I didn’t want to ask for extra time because I didn’t want my professor to think I was this bum athlete who is just looking to make excuses. She was able to notice me and gave me an extension without me asking for it. Maybe she couldn’t see how drained I was mentally, but that gesture meant so much to me. I really appreciated it so much. We only get to see her once a week, yet that day, I felt the most cared for. That extension on my project gave me the time I needed to breathe and catch back up with life.”

Waits says that faculty need to be aware of what students are dealing with outside of the classroom to better serve their needs and make sure they succeed in their studies.

“I think it’s important to remember that our classes are not the only thing our students are focused on. Many students work, have families, are involved in various organizations, play sports or, in Lubna’s case, all of the above. Having some empathy for students is the least we can do as faculty.”

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, 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.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Meghann Kuhlmann, instruction and research services librarian and associate professor for WSU Libraries.

• What is one small thing any faculty or staff member can do to make a student’s day or let them know they’re cared for?
  “When we interact with students, we can take an extra step beyond the inquiry at hand and ask how their studies are going in general or if there’s anything more they need to feel supported. That can go a long way toward making students feel welcome on campus and help identify issues they might not have thought to bring up initially.”
• How do you promote student success through your campus duties?
  “Students sometimes feel uncomfortable asking questions because of a belief that they ‘should’ already know certain things or be able to figure it out themselves. I try to encourage students to ask questions by letting them know it’s a strength to seek out resources and reminding them that faculty and staff are here to support them every step of the way.”

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, 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.

A veteran leader with nine seasons of head coaching experience, Brian Green was named the fifth head coach in the modern era of Wichita State baseball, Kevin Saal, director of athletics, announced June 5.

Shocker Athletics will introduce Coach Green at a press conference at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 7 in the home locker room at Eck Stadium. The event is open to the public and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Those attending can enter through the baseball offices located on the west side of the facility.

In our ongoing focus on strategic enrollment management and our continued emphasis on prioritizing student success and persistence, the provost’s office has been re-organized to align all Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) offices under Dr. Ashlie Jack, as senior associate vice president for Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Enrollment Management.

This alignment will enable a more coordinated effort among the offices responsible for recruitment and retention focusing on student success throughout their academic journey. 

“Supporting our students’ experience from recruitment to graduation is vital in ensuring every student is successful in accomplishing their academic and career goals,” says Provost Shirley Lefever. “This revised structure will optimize our ability to respond to student needs in a more coordinated fashion.” 

SEM offices reporting to Jack include the following:

• Brett Bruner, assistant vice president of Student Success and Persistence (Retention Initiatives)
• Gina Crabtree, university registrar and director of Enrollment Services
• Sara Mata, HSI executive director
• Vince Altum, executive director of International Education
• Kim Moore, executive director of Workforce, Professional and Community Education
• Bobby Gandu, assistant vice president of Strategic Enrollment Management and director of Admissions
• Sheelu Surender, executive director of Financial Aid and Scholarships
• Aaron Hamilton, program director, One-Stop Student Services

The College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Wichita State University held its 2023 Hall of Fame Gala on May 13. CFA recognized exceptional alumni from the college, patrons who give their time and resources in support of fine arts at WSU, and retired faculty, staff and administrators who have inspired the WSU community.

This year, five recipients were inducted into the hall of fame for their accomplishments and contributions to the College of Fine Arts: Alumni Taurean Everett, Michael Powell and Mary Joan Waid; patron Sam & Rie Bloomfield Foundation; and mentor Mary Sue Foster.

Dr. Elizabeth King, president and CEO of the Wichita State University Foundation and Alumni Engagement, announced today her intention to retire in six months after a national search to fill her position is conducted.

King began her tenure at Wichita State in 1991 as vice president of university advancement and executive director of both the WSU Foundation and the WSU Board of Trustees, as well as serving as the administrative liaison with the WSU Alumni Association. She was the second female vice president in Wichita State’s history at the time. In 2007, she was appointed president and CEO of the Foundation and now serves the recently merged Foundation and Alumni Engagement team in the same position.

Flight problems and customer complaints filed against major U.S. airlines continued to be concerns for travelers in 2022, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating, released today by Wichita State University.
 
All four performance criteria used in the Airline Quality Rating showed a decline for 2022 over 2021, AQR researchers Dr. Dean Headley and Dr. Brent Bowen found. Flight problems, refunds and baggage handling issues continued to be concerns. Overall complaints increased by 55% in 2022. This combination of complaints amounted to nearly 73% of all complaints last year, pushing down overall quality scores for most airlines included in the report.

Facilities Services will begin repainting crosswalks Monday, June 12. The painting will require lane closures across campus from approximately 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and is expected to last until Friday, June 16, weather permitting.

The wichita.edu site search feature is temporarily experiencing technical difficulties with some broken result links. A support ticket has been filed with the vendor, but in the interim, you may need to copy and paste the link into your browser to reach some entries.