Author: Cheryl Miller

Elvira Valenzuela Crocker and Louis E. Sturns will be inducted into the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. Feb. 7 in Wiedemann Hall.

Hall of Fame honorees are chosen because they exemplify the merits and advantages of a liberal arts and sciences education. Induction into the Fairmount College Hall of Fame is the highest recognition from the college of outstanding alumni who have had a significant impact on the region, nation and world.

Wichita State students wanting to earn a degree in American Sign Language may follow their dreams beginning with the fall 2023 semester.

Shockers will be able to tailor the Bachelor of Arts in ASL to their interests and needs by choosing one of three tracks: The Structure of Language; Language and Culture in Context; or Interpreting Methods.

As demand for certified interpreters increases in Kansas, Wichita State’s program will help grow the talent pipeline for the state. The degree is one of only two in Kansas where students can train to become certified ASL interpreters. Candidates wanting to take the Certified Deaf Interpreter Examination are now required to have a bachelor’s degree.

The new degree is a response to demand for qualified interpreters and the need to bring an awareness of signed languages as natural languages. ASL will be a sister degree to Spanish, French and German at WSU.

The major also meaningfully addresses Wichita State’s core value to make the campus inclusive and accessible for everyone. The program will be coordinated through the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures. ASL courses attract more than 100 students who minor in sign language or take ASL to meet language requirements in Fairmount College.

It’s also expected that some MCLL majors will go the bilingual route; for example, French or Spanish plus ASL, making these students more valuable in the workplace with their expanded translation and interpreting skills.

First-generation students in Fairmount College are invited for Coffee, Cocoa and Conversation with Dr. Brien Bolin, associate dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and faculty and staff interested in helping you succeed as a Shocker.

This come-and-go event is from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov 30 in the Dean’s Office Boardroom, 200 Lindquist Hall. Cookies and other light snacks will be available.

Stay as long as you want, or grab a cookie and run.

For more than 50 years, the Mikrokosmos literary journal has allowed Wichita State students to publish their creative writing in an esteemed journal, and they are accepting submissions once again.

First published in 1958, Mikrokosmos is seeking submissions for its 69th issue. Submissions close on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Students can submit work ranging from fiction and non-fiction short stories to poetry.

Jacob Workentine, a senior majoring in communication-electronic media, recently took home a first-place victory at the Wichita division of the NASA International Space Apps Challenge.

Space Apps is an annual, international hackathon for developers and creatives of all backgrounds. The goal of the event is to bring together individuals from various backgrounds to help solve problems in space and back home on Earth.

“I felt very lucky,” Workentine said when he was told he won first place. “Like, I stumbled upon this and got caught up with dumb luck, but I’m very happy and very excited.”

The challenge Workentine took on was “On the Way to the Sun.” His objective was to tell a creative story about the Parker Solar Probe’s mission to the Sun in a way that would be engaging to young audiences. The NASA challenge took place over two days, with roughly 36 hours available for participants to work on projects.

He took inspiration from the PBS children’s show, “Reading Rainbow” to create an illustrated video that humanized Parker as it sailed across the cosmos to touch the Sun’s surface.

“You never know where your next opportunity will be,” Workentine said. “Even if you don’t think you’re qualified, just give it your best shot. I was thinking to myself the whole time ‘even if I lose, I get six free meals and something to add to my portfolio,’ so just keeping an optimistic mindset when you’re trying to be creative and create projects is really important.”

After completing the project, Workentine was required to give a presentation to a panel of three industry professional judges from Flint Hill Resources, Solvay and Dassault Systèmes. They weren’t the only ones he impressed.

“Jacob won it by being the best at pitching his idea and being the best at starting from zero and ending up with a product which the judges loved and wanted to hear more about,” Dr. Andrew Hippisley, dean of  Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said. “So, am I surprised? In some ways not because this is what the Fairmount College does for its students.”

Participants at the event were encouraged to work in teams, but Workentine took the challenge on his own to clinch the first-place finish.

“The regret in some ways is that Jacob could have been in some other team and helped them win,” Hippisley said. “We have great engineers, we have great scientists, but we also have Jacobs as well who can enhance and enrich the experience for all and help a team go from second place to first place.”

Alongside a chance to pitch his idea to Dassault Systèmes in Boston, Workentine won a $500 gift certificate and a pair of Apple AirPods.

You can view Workentine’s final video project and his entire project submission online. Workentine will graduate in May 2023.

For the past two years, Krista Ward, Wichita State alumna and researcher, has conducted research at the privately owned Youngmeyer Ranch in Elk County, located about an hour from Wichita. 

Youngmeyer Ranch is owned by the Youngmeyer Trust, which has granted Wichita State research and educational access to the property. The research facility cost approximately $2 million to build and was paid for entirely by donors. Hutton designed and constructed the building.

The 3,400-square-foot building also includes a large garage and storage space where researchers can park vehicles and stow equipment. This feature permits a considerable amount of time and effort to be redirected to research work.  

Dr. David Guo has been named Wichita State’s Regents Distinguished Professor of Public Finance by the Kansas Board of Regents.  

The purpose of the Regents Distinguished Professor program is to attract and retain established scholars in Kansas whose research projects augment the state’s economic and industrial development.  

“I am enthusiastic about this opportunity to help Kansas families, support Kansas businesses and advance economic prosperity,” said Guo. “I pledge to be a good steward of the prestigious position to bridge academics and practice and make a meaningful impact in the real world.” 

Guo previously held an associate professor position at Florida International University, where he researched and taught courses on public budgeting and finance. He joined the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs in August. 

“I am extremely pleased that Dr. Guo has been named Regents Professor,” Dr. Andrew Hippisley, dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said. “As an expert in public finance, an experienced community connector, and a champion of applied learning and applied research, he will have a significant impact on the region, the state and beyond.” 

Interdisciplinary Research Projects leaders will present their highlights beginning at 10 a.m. Sept. 16 at the John Bardo Center lobby.

“These projects intentionally assembled expertise from a range of disciplines to solve problems that are highly challenging, extremely interesting, and whose solution is high impact,” said Andrew Hippisley, dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “These are the very problems that a single discipline is not equipped to solve. It will be exciting to hear the highlights and results to date from each of the projects.”

During the vent, lead researchers for Wichita State’s Interdisciplinary Research Projects will provide updates on their efforts to address pressing societal issues with a goal to improve the growth and diversity of Kansas’s economy.

“What has been most rewarding about this initiative was the opportunity for so many researchers from different disciplines across campus to discuss their research and find common interests,” said Coleen Pugh, dean of the graduate school and vice provost for research. “That alone was a success.”

Each project was initially funded in 2020 by a $300,000 grant from the university, distributed over three years. Project groups also have applied for additional external funding.

The projects include:

• The Smart Fusion Material Research Institute has a goal to develop novel computational, material and digital manufacturing approaches to unlock the complex interactions among material, microstructure, processing and mechanical properties involved in additive manufacturing. Lead researcher and presenter will be Gisuk Hwang, associate professor of mechanical engineering.
• The Disaster Resilience Analytics Center has a goal to leverage the university’s expertise in artificial intelligence, deep learning and multiple modes of big data to better predict natural and human- made disasters, and to improve preparedness by creating a new generation of digital platforms and support services. Lead researcher and presenter will be Atri Dutta, associate professor of aerospace engineering.
• The Institute for Health Disparities has a goal to generate new methods to reduce obesity among vulnerable populations and improve health literacy as a mechanism among health care providers for behavior change. Lead researcher and presenter will be Twyla Hill, professor of sociology.
• The Center for Educational Technologies to Assist Refugee Learners has a goal to design innovative solutions to meet the educational needs of the children of the more than 70 million forcibly displaced refugees worldwide. As a result, it will also create innovative pathways and software for educational access to those in our state and nation. Lead researcher and presenter will be Mythili Menon, assistant professor of linguistics.

The research and creative works of faculty in Fairmount College’s 18 departments will be featured at an open house 1-3 p.m. today, April 22 at Ablah Library.

“Research is one of the strengths of our college,” Andrew Hippisley, Fairmount College dean, said. “Last year all 18 departments participated in external grant proposals, and our publication output is high. The showcase provides an opportunity to tell our story and engage with the campus community and beyond.”

Visitors may come and go during the event, which is set up next to the Circulation Desk at the Ablah Library. Poster presentations will include information about research and creative activity, grant procurement, awards and publications. Representatives from each area will answer questions about their department.

For more information, contact David Eichhorn, associate dean for faculty research and development at 316-978-7367 or david.eichhorn@wichita.edu.

More than 780 Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students earned a spot on the fall 2021 Dean’s Honor Roll. The students who completed at least 12 graded credit hours with a 3.500 grade point average were recognized at special ceremony April 15.

“We are extremely proud of our honorees, and are delighted to be able to celebrate them and encourage them to continue to pursue excellence in their program of study,” Andrew Hippisley, dean of Fairmont College of Liberal Arts and Sciences said. “They exemplify persistence and dedication, and we support them in their academic journey to become more.”