Author: Abigail Klein

Gina Crabtree has been named by Executive Vice President and Provost Shirley Lefever to serve as interim assistant vice president and registrar. In this position, Crabtree will continue to oversee retention efforts as part of Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) in addition to her other duties.

Crabtree brings a wealth of experience to this role, having served the university for 27 years and the Registrar’s Office for 10 years, as well as playing a key role on the SEM committee. This comes as WSU deepens its focus on the recommendations made by WSU’s National Institute for Student Success, as well as efforts to continue recruitment work led by Bobby Gandu.

SEM was previously under the direction of Dr. Carolyn Shaw, who served as AVP for four years. Under her leadership, the university celebrated a 30-year enrollment record. Shaw now serves as a professor of political science. The university is thankful for Shaw’s dedication.

Since the early 20th century, road salt has been saving lives on highways across the nation, but its liberal use also presents significant consequences for wildlife and human health.  

An interdisciplinary team of Wichita State University researchers is working to curb pollution and damage caused by road salt. The project — ECO-CBET: Convergent Electrolysis-Electrodialysis System (CEES) to Curb Urban Chloride Pollution by Eco-friendly Road Deicing and Waste Salt Upcycling — was recently awarded $1.4 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Stop by the Food Truck Plaza for coffee from Sunflower Espresso from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today, Sept. 16.

You can also get lunch with The Flying Stove, Brazita Bites, and Wheat Street Dogs food truck from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Feel free to enjoy your meal at the plaza picnic tables or the beautiful green space.

Wichita State University’s Esports Rocket League team traveled Sunday, Sept. 11, to Kansas City to compete at the Kansas Speedway Rocket League tournament. The event was part of a 9/11 remembrance celebration at the NASCAR Hollywood Casino 400 race. 

The Esports tournament was part of a major motorsports event Sunday. The Hollywood Casino 400 is part of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

The Rocket League tournament also featured two teams from Kansas State University and one from Missouri State University. WSU defeated both K-State teams, losing twice to Missouri State during the final match in overtime. Missouri State is known to have a strong Rocket League program, winning a national title in 2021. 

Wichita State students, faculty, staff and the general public are invited to attend events celebrating Constitution Week 2022, Sept. 19-21. The week’s events are sponsored by the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Department of Political Science and student research supported by the Battin-Lester Corporate Responsibility Fellowship. This year’s theme is “Representation and Citizen Dialogue.”

One of the events for the week includes the Battin-Lester Keynote Panel: Student Research on Wichita City Council Redistricting, which will feature two student presentations 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sep. 20 via Zoom.

Other panels during the week will discuss the history of congressional redistricting in Kansas, the One Small Step courageous conversations program and the WSU Washington D.C./Topeka internship program. 

For more information visit WSU’s Department of Political Science Facebook or contact Neal Allen, chair of Political Science at 316-978-7133 or neal.allen@wichita.edu.

After more than two years since expanding into the community, Wichita State’s #WeSupportU Suspenders4Hope program has continued opening its arms to local organizations including Ascension Via Christi, area high schools and now Wichita-based Thrive Restaurant Group.

One of the main goals of the Suspenders4Hope awareness campaign is to destigmatize discussions about mental health and suicide and provide training on campus and in the community. The campaign accomplishes this by encouraging people who have experienced a mental health crisis to share their stories of hope and resilience.

Wichita State’s Prevention Services has launched a new substance abuse prevention campaign, in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Transportation, focusing on safety around alcohol and impaired driving. To get involved, Innovation Campus partners can do the following:

• Visit our social media pages at @ShockersCAPS and @WSUPrevention.
• Donate to our program.
• Encourage those around you to not drive impaired.
• Consider resources you can provide to your team on a regular basis or after company events to decrease impaired driving.
• Reach out to Prevention Services if you would like to talk more about options and our program.

To learn more about how to get involved, contact prevention.services@wichita.edu or visit our website the prevention services website.

Dear faculty and staff, 

One of our fellow Regents institutions announced an organizational restructuring using, in part, a policy issued by the Kansas Board of Regents in response to the financial pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

This announcement may cause you to wonder if Wichita State will also be availing itself of this temporary policy. That answer is simple: no.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced institutions across the country to rethink how they do business: financially, programmatically and operationally. Wichita State is no exception.  

We have had to make our own difficult, strategic decisions to navigate these uncharted waters (i.e., voluntary retirements, hiring freezes, restrictions on discretionary spending, etc.) and it is through your hard work, dedication and sacrifice that we have been successful in raising revenue while reducing costs to preserve the policies and past practices of our institution.  

Thank you for your continued support of Wichita State University. 

Have a great semester, 

President Rick Muma 

NBA star and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal will join Shocker Nation at a Hoop 4 Literacy event beginning 6-9 p.m. Sept. 10 at Charles Koch Arena. This is a ticketed event. Tickets can be purchased here.

Earlier in the day, President Rick Muma will read “Shaq and the Beanstalk,” part of “Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Tall Tales” at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at Koch Arena. This event is free and open to the public.

Both events are part of Storytime Village’s Kansas Literacy Festival: Literacy Through the Arts Conference Sept. 8-10.

The conference provides professional development sessions to early childhood educators, pre-service teachers, community members and parents with opportunities to explore arts integration communities. For more information, visit the Storytime Village Kansas Literacy Festival Literacy Through the Arts Conference website.

The Wichita Eagle has released the Best of Wichita nominations, and Wichita State University and WSU Tech have been nominated in several categories. They include:

• College / university education: Wichita State University
• Vocational school education: WSU Tech
• Childcare education: WSU Child Development Center
• Health and beauty – Audiologist / Hearing Center: WSU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic
• Things to do – Art Gallery: WSU Shift Space and Ulrich Museum of Art
• Things to do – Museum: The Original Pizza Hut Museum and the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology
• Things to do – Boats and Bikes (Run by Shocker Rowing)

Voting is open through Sept. 23. Participants can vote once a day.