Author: Abigail Klein

All faculty and staff have access to free COVID-19 testing through Student Health Services. You no longer need an appointment to be tested. The Student Wellness Center inside the Steve Clark YMCA is open for walk-in testing 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. See what else you need to know for walk-in testing. You can also see other testing options by visiting the Sedgwick County testing website.

SUPERVISORS: If you are interested in getting trained to provide your department with COVID saliva specimen collection with 24-hour test results from the Wichita State Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, please fill out this form, and you will be contacted with next steps. Testing is strictly voluntary and cannot be required by supervisors.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a grant of $243,922 to a Wichita State University researcher for his work on an app that will allow people who are visually impaired to read comic books, graphic novels and other digitized graphic materials on their devices.

Wichita State University and Kansas Modification Center (KMC) have reached another significant milestone to advance the passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversion of the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft at WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) WERX.

Wichita State’s Student Involvement is now Student Engagement, Advocacy & Leadership (SEAL). SEAL will facilitate an engaged campus culture where students are empowered to maximize their potential by creating opportunities for personal growth and real world-readiness. Please help students be aware of this change.

Like Student Involvement, SEAL will be committed to providing opportunities for students to engage in co-curricular and extracurricular experiences that enhance their collegiate experience at Wichita State. SEAL will also work directly with civic engagement, fraternity and sorority life, leadership, national student exchange and student organizations while providing administrative support to the Student Government Association.

For more information, contact 316-978-3022 or seal@wichita.edu.

Welcome back to Wichita State, Shockers! We’re excited for this semester and are confident that together, we can make it a fulfilling and exciting time for our students and colleagues.

As has been the case since the beginning of this pandemic, our top priority and focus is the health, safety and well-being of our campus community while delivering a high-quality learning environment. Wichita State has been and will continue to closely monitor COVID, its spread and its impact on our campus community.

Below are some reminders regarding COVID-19 safety practices and university operations. See more details on the information below.

• The semester has begun as scheduled as listed in the spring schedule of classes. Faculty are expected to deliver courses in the format assigned to the course in the course catalog. However, we also realize these are extraordinary circumstances and anticipate that there will be situations throughout the semester that will require adaptation and temporary changes. Those situations should be addressed as they arise.
• Masks continue to be required for the entire campus, which includes students, faculty, staff and visitors.
• Vaccinations continue to be the best weapon against COVID-19 as we work together to move past this pandemic. I encourage everyone to get a vaccine, including a booster, if you are able. Vaccines are available through the Sedgwick County Health Department and several pharmacies and clinics. To learn more about vaccine locations, visit the CDC vaccine finder.
• All students, faculty and staff have access to free COVID-19 testing through Student Health Services. You no longer need an appointment and instead can receive a walk-in test from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at Student Health Services. Get more information on walk-in testing. You can also see other testing options by visiting the Sedgwick County testing website.
• WSU is following updated CDC guidance for COVID-19 isolation and quarantine measures for employees and students.

Thank you for your flexibility and grace as we work together during this pandemic.

Dear Shockers,

I’m so happy to have you back on campus for the spring semester. I’m so proud of your hard work, dedication and flexibility through these trying times. Please know you always have my support. I’m excited to see what you accomplish this semester.

Go Shockers,

President Rick Muma

Welcome back for the spring semester. As has been the case since the beginning of this pandemic, our top priority and focus is the health, safety and well-being of our campus community while delivering a high-quality learning environment. Wichita State has been and will continue to closely monitor COVID, its spread and its impact on our campus community.

Below are some reminders regarding COVID-19 safety practices and university operations. See the employee COVID guide for more details.

• The semester has begun as scheduled as listed in the spring schedule of classes. Faculty are expected to deliver courses in the format assigned to the course in the course catalog. However, we also realize these are extraordinary circumstances and anticipate that there will be situations throughout the semester that will require adaptation and temporary changes. Those situations should be addressed as they arise.
• Masks continue to be required for the entire campus, which includes students, faculty, staff and visitors.
• Vaccinations continue to be the best weapon against COVID-19 as we work together to move past this pandemic. I encourage everyone to get a vaccine, including a booster, if you are able. Vaccines are available through the Sedgwick County Health Department and several pharmacies and clinics. To learn more about vaccine locations, visit the CDC vaccine finder.
• All students, faculty and staff have access to free COVID-19 testing through Student Health Services. You no longer need an appointment and instead can receive a walk-in test from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at Student Health Services. Get more information on walk-in testing. You can also see other testing options by visiting the Sedgwick County testing website.
• WSU is following updated CDC guidance for COVID-19 isolation and quarantine measures for employees and students.
• To help support and remind the Shocker community about masking, vaccines and other safety practices, a digital toolkit is available for print and download for any office or building use.

Thank you for your flexibility and grace as we work together during this pandemic.

Dear colleagues,

I’m so happy to have you back on campus for the spring semester. Thank you for your role in all of our accomplishments and for doing your part to work hard for our students during these trying times. Together we will continue to flourish.

Go Shockers,

President Rick Muma

The Kansas Council for Economic Education (KCEE) has received a $20,000 grant from the Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC). The KCEE is a nonprofit organization that is affiliated with all of Kansas’ six public universities and hosted by the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State. The KCEE will use the grant in providing its financial literacy programs for middle and high school students throughout the state of Kansas.

The KCEE strives to increase the economic and financial literacy of K-12 students by equipping their teachers to teach economics and personal finance and by providing programs and competitions that engage students through experiential learning and practical applications of knowledge. The KCEE reaches more than 100,000 students through more than 1,000 teachers statewide each year.

“The KCEE and the middle and high school students in Kansas sincerely appreciate this grant,” Jim Graham, KCEE president and chief executive officer, said.

The OSBC regulates all state-chartered banks, trust companies, mortgage businesses, supervised lenders, credit service organizations and money transmitters that do business in the State of Kansas. Its mission is to ensure the integrity of regulated providers of financial services through responsible and proactive oversight while protecting and educating consumers. The OSBC has supported the KCEE for many years as part of its mission of educating consumers so they will become financially literate.

The OSBC has awarded $103,150 in grant funds this year to six Kansas organizations to provide financial literacy education throughout the state. The recipients of OSBC Consumer Education grants are Consumer Credit Counseling Service Inc., Housing and Credit Counseling Inc., Kansas Council for Economic Education, The Pando Initiative Inc., Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K), and Mirror, Inc.

The Shocker Career Accelerator (SCA) is excited to host the Virtual Business, Engineering and Technology Career Fair from 1-5 p.m. CT, Feb. 8 via Handshake. The event is requesting employers to sign up and recruit students from Wichita State University, WSU Tech, Fort Hays State University, and Butler Community College, who are looking for business, engineering, and technology-related career and internship opportunities.