Author: Cheryl Miller

Science-minded teenagers will take over campus this weekend, testing their knowledge and skills for various STEM related events.

The Kansas Science Olympiad state tournament participants will begin arriving Friday, April 5 and will compete in several different STEM events throughout Saturday, April 6.

Faculty, staff and students can help visitors who may not be familiar with the Wichita State campus by showing landmarks and offering directions.

The Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences sponsors the Kansas Science Olympiad program. Wichita State hosts the state competition in April each year. Area middle and high school students begin preparation as soon as their classes begin in the fall and try out for a place on their school’s team. Teams may participate in more than 20 events, which include building wheeled vehicles, bridges and rubberband-powered aircraft, solving crime scenarios, or working steadily with teammates on written exams.

For Darren DeFrain, associate professor of English and director of the writing program, research is all about finding the narrative.

Take, for example, graphic novels, a subject of DeFrain’s research for some ten years.

More than 1,000 Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students earned a spot on the fall 2023 Dean’s Honor Roll.

The students, who completed at least 12 graded credit hours with a 3.5 grade point average, were celebrated at a special event March 4. Each person was recognized individually and received a certificate for their accomplishment. They will have access to photos of their department cohort next week.

“This was a joyful occasion celebrating with our students their remarkable progress so far,” said Andrew Hippisley, dean of Fairmount College. “To make it onto the dean’s honor roll means ‘full speed ahead’ toward graduating, and graduating strongly.”

Matt Howland, assistant professor of anthropology and archaeology, is using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to model how such coastal change and damage could occur. GIS is used to record, store, analyze, visualize and interpret geographic data and has become an important technological tool for archaeologists, particularly in determining changes across landscapes.

Douglas Emlen, Montana Regents Professor of Biology at the University of Montana, will host a public lecture, “Extreme weapons: A natural history,” at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12 in 231 Hubbard Hall. He will also host a technical lecture, “The evolution of extreme weapons: Lessons from a rhinoceros beetle,” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 in 209 Hubbard Hall

Emlen studies how animal structures evolve to extreme proportions. He focuses on weapons of sexual selection, including antlers and especially the outlandish horns of rhinoceros beetles. His research leads to an exploration of the human military arms races and the most powerful weapons on the planet. Emlen is known for making complex scientific information easy to understand and has been featured in the New York Times and National Public Radio’s Science Friday.

The Watkins Visiting Professorship was created in 1974 by the Watkins Foundation. The grant is now provided through the Watkins fund, a part of the Wichita State Foundation and Alumni Engagement’s endowment. For more information about the lecture series, contact Dr. David Eichhorn, associate dean for faculty development and research, at 316-978-6659.

Imagine a job applicant who speaks five languages with full proficiency. Almost effortlessly, they translate and transcribe even the most complex topics from one language to another. Their linguistic skills would make them an invaluable asset to any company, provided one invisible criterion:

One of these languages must be English.

For many refugees and asylees in the U.S. (a nation without an official language) lacking English proficiency is the unspoken penalty, the barrier preventing them from stabilizing themselves and their families in a new culture, new country and new world.

“Much of the world is Anglocentric,” said Mythili Menon, associate professor of English and linguistics. “We interpret the world through this monolingual point of view, through a language that has hegemony and imperialistic power over other communities.”

Gary Bender, Mona Nemer and M. Lee Pelton exemplify the merits and advantages of a liberal arts and sciences education and will be inducted into the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame at 2 p.m, Feb. 6 in Wiedemann Hall. Induction into the Fairmount College Hall of Fame is the highest recognition of outstanding alumni who have had a significant impact on the region, nation and world. The event is open to the public. 

Andrew Hippisley, dean, Fairmount College, will moderate an audience-involved panel discussion with Bender, Nemer and Pelton about their university experiences and how a liberal arts and sciences education prepared them for their careers. A reception will immediately follow the event in Miller Concert Hall Lobby, Duerksen Fine Arts Center. 

Fairmount College faculty and staff who would like to take students for a short trip abroad should plan to attend the Travel Seminar Panel at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7 in 264 Rhatigan Student Center, Spencer Room.

Panelists will discuss how to set up and lead a travel seminar, ways to offer academic content for credit and how these types of experiences can change students’ lives.

Panel participants will include Carolyn Shaw, professor of political science; Fran Connor, associate professor of English; Eric Wilson, senior educator in communication; and Ann Burger, associate director of study abroad and exchange programs.

Shocker Ad Lab students paused, slightly daunted, when a request came in from the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences dean’s office. The charge: Produce a short commercial to create awareness of the breadth of liberal arts and sciences disciplines within the college.

Sarah Hart is a mathematician, author and professor of geometry at Gresham College, London. She is the third featured speaker in the Watkins Visiting Professor series and will present two public lectures examining the intersections of mathematics, literature and art: 

• “A Mathematical Journey Through Literature,” at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 8 in 211 Hubbard Hall 
• “The Mathematics of Perspective in Art,” 3:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in 211 Hubbard Hall.

The Watkins Visiting Professorship was created in 1974 by the Watkins Foundation. The grant is now provided through the Watkins fund, a part of the Wichita State Foundation and Alumni Engagement’s endowment. For more information about the lecture series, contact Dr. David Eichhorn at 316-978-6659.