Author: Moriah Beck

Join in inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals and innovators at Expanding Your Horizons STEM Day at Wichita State on Oct. 10. The event is seeking enthusiastic volunteers to help make this exciting event a success for middle school students from across the region. Opportunities are available both before the event and on the day of the event.

Volunteer roles include:

• Assisting with hands-on STEM workshops and activities
• Student and guest check-in
• Event photography and social media content
• Helping acquire raffle prize donations and giveaway items
• General event support and logistics

Whether you can help for a few hours or throughout the event, organizers would love to have you on the team.

Interested? Complete the STEM Day volunteer interest form and indicate your preferred roles and availability.

Thank you for helping encourage and empower middle school students to explore STEM opportunities and careers. Your support makes a difference.

For questions, contact Moriah Beck at moriah.beck@wichita.edu or 316-978-5476.

The First Year Research Experience (FYRE in STEM) is open to new WSU students from all majors. Through a competitive application process students are matched with ongoing research projects led by WSU professors in numerous STEM disciplines. Selected students will participate in active laboratory research in the spring 2026 semester, culminating in a poster presentation about their work.

The FYRE applications are due Oct. 15 with interviews and selection occurring in November. Students earn three hours of Honors credit and a letter grade for successful completion of FYRE in the spring 2026 semester. Through the FYRE program, students gain perspectives about research and mentoring for developing their career plan.

Questions may be directed to FYRE program director, Dr. Moriah Beck, at moriah.beck@wichita.edu or call 316-978-5476.

The Cohen Honors College is seeking faculty mentors to work with students selected to participate in the First-Year Research Experience (FYRE) in STEM. The mission of the FYRE in STEM program is to build a community of STEM students, faculty and professionals from various STEM backgrounds to support young STEM majors or potential majors as they form identities as members of the scientific community, thus improving the likelihood that they will persist to graduation.

To allow the FYRE in STEM program to be a success, it is looking for dedicated research mentors from across campus who can provide an appropriate short-term STEM research project in the spring 2026 semester. Faculty should apply by Oct. 20 and are also encouraged to nominate graduate students to serve as FYRE mentors. All mentors will be matched with students based on interest. Questions may be directed to Moriah Beck at moriah.beck@wichita.edu or 316-978-5476.

If you know of a first-year undergraduate student who may be interested in applying to the FYRE in STEM program, direct them to FYRE in STEM student application.

Learn more about FYRE in STEM at wichita.edu/FYRE.

Dr. Moriah Beck, Talaty Endowed Professor, presented “On the Move, Palladin at the Crossroads of Actin Branching and Bundling” at 39th annual Protein Society Symposium in San Francisco June 26.

Description: Dr. Moriah Beck was selected to give a talk in the “Proteins Moving, and On the Move Inside the Cell” session. Graduating undergraduate student Julie Tran was also selected to give a talk in the undergraduate session. Graduate student Sanju Ghimire and two undergraduate students, Colby Bradford and Sena Welihena, each presented posters. Julie and Sanju were also awarded travel grants by the Protein Society.

Join the Office for Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence (FARE) for an open house celebrating its opening from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18 in 112 Jardine Hall. Remarks will be at 4:30 p.m.

This is a come-and-go event where you’ll have the chance to connect with colleagues and learn more about resources and initiatives supporting faculty excellence and development. Light refreshments will be provided.

The event is coordinated by the ADVANCE team in collaboration with Academic Affairs, the Office of Instructional Resources, University Libraries and the Office of Research.

The annual Expanding Your Horizons Day hosted by Wichita State is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2. The one-day event introduces middle school girls to a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas.

Attendees will meet STEM role models, participate in hands-on activities and learn more about careers in those fields. Registration is free this year and includes three interactive workshops, lunch and a WSU bag for all that pre-register by Oct. 28.

Volunteers are also being recruited to lead or assist with workshops. Sign up to volunteer.

The Cohen Honors College is seeking faculty mentors to work with students selected to participate in the First-Year Research Experience (FYRE) in STEM. The mission of the FYRE in STEM program is to build a community of students, faculty and professionals from various STEM backgrounds to support young STEM majors or potential majors as they form identities as members of the scientific community, thus improving the likelihood that they will persist to graduation.

To allow the FYRE in STEM program to be a success, organizers are looking for dedicated research mentors from across campus who can provide an appropriate short-term STEM research project in the spring 2021 semester. Faculty should apply by Oct. 18 and are also encouraged to nominate graduate students to serve as FYRE mentors. All mentors will be matched with students based on interest. Questions may be directed to Moriah Beck at moriah.beck@wichita.edu or 316-978-5476.

If you know of a first-year undergraduate student who may be interested in applying to the FYRE in STEM program, you can direct them to FYRE in STEM student application.

The First Year Research Experience (FYRE in STEM) is open to new students from all majors. Through a competitive application process, students are matched with ongoing research projects led by professors in numerous STEM disciplines. Selected students will participate in active laboratory research in the spring 2025 semester, culminating in a poster presentation about their work.

The FYRE applications are due Oct. 11 with interviews and selection occurring in November. Students earn three hours of Honors credit and a letter grade for successful completion of FYRE in the spring 2025 semester. Through the FYRE program, students gain perspectives about research and mentoring for developing their career plan.

Questions may be directed to FYRE Program Director Dr. Moriah Beck at moriah.beck@wichita.edu or call 316-978-5476.

The University of Michigan’s Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence (STRIDE) team will offer a Faculty Recruitment Workshop at WSU. Deans, associate deans, chairs and directors and anyone else with an important role in faculty recruitment efforts are encouraged to attend from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6 in 141 Woolsey Hall, Fidelity Bank Ballroom.

The workshops provide an opportunity to learn about mitigating individual and structural-level biases in the faculty hiring process and offers suggestions for practices and procedures that help reduce bias and promote inclusion along the many stages of the search process. The workshop is part of the ADVANCE REACH project, a grant funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF grant #2404653). Light refreshments will be provided.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Jan Twomey, professor in the Department of Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering, at jan.twomey@wichita.edu.

Join the Retention Fellows for a Teaching Matters lunch and conversation about incoming freshmen students at noon Friday, April 5 in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail Room. Lunch will be provided.

Local high school teachers will share what they have observed about the lasting effects of the pandemic on the class of 2024, which will help prepare employees to meet the students where they are.

The panelists for the event:

• Kathleen O’Brien, biomedical sciences, Derby High School
• April Taylor, Spanish, North High School
• April Pameticky, English, East High School
• Shaw Chastain, fine arts, Wichita Public Schools

RSVP to attend by April 2 by emailing aa.student@wichita.edu.