Author: Naquela Pack

Join the African American Faculty Staff Association (AAFSA) from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 9 at Chicken N. Pickle, 1240 N. Greenwich Rd, for its end-of-year celebration. Free food, fun and laughs await as AAFSA shares upcoming changes moving forward. The event will be in the west wing and have pickleball courts nine and 10 reserved.

Join the African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA) for its general meeting from to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 via Microsoft Teams.

Join the African American Faculty Staff Association (AAFSA) and the Black Student Union (BSU) for a celebration of Black excellence at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 in the Woolsey Hall atrium.

Dr. Kevin Harrison, assistant teaching professor and Honors Faculty Fellow, will be the honorary speaker. Join in the festivities, including music, line dancing, spades and other games, and free soul food while it lasts.

Join the African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA) for its holiday gathering from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 7 in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail Room, to network and celebrate this year’s impact.

The African American Faculty Staff Association is currently working on establishing connections with students of color and strengthening channels of support. Attend a general body meeting to share, support and advocate together.

All meetings are from noon to 1 p.m.:

• Thursday, Oct. 17 in 262 RSC, Herrman Room
• Thursday, Dec. 19 in 233 RSC, Santa Fe Trail Room
• Thursday, Feb. 20 in 233 RSC
• Thursday, Apr. 17 in 233 RSC

Wichita State’s Staff Senate is hosting a walking tour of the university’s Innovation Campus partner NetApp beginning at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday April 11. The group will be led by Katie Dawes with NetApp.

The tour will focus on NetApp’s new building features and the work within. After the tour, participants are encouraged to stop by the Food Truck Plaza on Perimeter road.

On the day of the tour, plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early for registration on NetApp’s system. This just requires the name, phone number and email address for everyone on the tour. Everyone will also sign an NDA during registration. Though the process itself is fairly quick and easy, with a large group it can take a time to get through.

The Office of Engagement is excited to bring the first Open Streets ICT to Wichita State and the Shocker Neighborhood on Sunday April 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will be located in Shocker Neighborhood, south of campus, closing roughly two miles of 17th Street from the Redbud Trail Head at Oliver to Tabernacle Bible Church on Volutsia.

The event is designed to further strengthen the relationship and connections between the university and neighboring communities.

Shocker Nation has a unique opportunity to turn the university inside out and share the innovation and creativity coming from WSU with the community. The Office of Engagement invites the campus community to the events and asks they be part of the community building day.

Ways to be involved during the day:

• Become a vendor and share a message, gather information from the community, sell merchandise, spin wheels for prizes, raffles, and/or create a fun and engaging way to connect services and/or information from a department to the community by hosting activities like games, dunk tanks, Zumba, art projects and more.
• Serve the community alongside of the Office of Engagement and volunteer for the day.

The Office of Engagement is excited to be involved in bringing the first Open Streets ICT (OSICT) to WSU and Shocker Neighborhood, from 1 to 4 p.m. April 16.

The purpose of OSICT is to elevate the quality of life and health of the Wichita community. It does this by promoting healthy and active living, enhancing community connectivity, and building community pride through interaction with local businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The community can help OSICT by becoming a vendor and sharing their department’s, college’s or student organization’s message, fundraising and selling merchandise, or putting together a spin wheel for prizes, raffles, collect information, face paint and more. Or create a fun engaging way to connect and share information with the community by hosting an activity like games, dunk tanks, Zumba, yoga, etc. Community members can also help OSICT by volunteering for the day.

The route is along 17th Street from Oliver Street to Volutsia Street. With access to Fairmount Park to enhance community connectivity and build community pride through interacting with local businesses, organizations and the university community in Shocker Neighborhood.

United Way thanks WSU faculty and staff for their generosity and contributions to its United Way of the Plains campaign to improve the quality of life for WSU and the neighboring communities.

United Way of the Plains supports south central Kansas and helps those in need with health, education, financial stability and basic needs. In 2022, WSU faculty and staff raised a total of $29,533.40 and 10% were first-time donors.

Because of its donors, United Way is able to collectively make a greater impact on the community and could not do so without all of its generous Shockers.

Common Ground Producers and Growers and the Office of Engagement invite the university and neighboring communities to a pop-up market from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the first Friday of each month at Paradise Baptist Church, 4401 E. 17th St. North.

Seasonal local produce, resources, food, entertainment and other vendors will be there.

If you are interested in being a vendor, please reach out to naquela.pack@wichita.edu.