Author: Quang Nguyen

The Tallgrass Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary from Sept. 28-Oct. 2. As part of this event, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Ulrich Museum of Art are taking part in supporting the festifval in the Murmurations category and other films to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. “Home Owners”, “FINLANDIA,” and “What We Leave Behind” will be shown on Sept. 29 and 30 and will be free for WSU students to attend

The film festival lineup also includes 53 features and 14 short film programs with 195 films, highlighted by the film festival’s signature Stubbornly Independent, Female Filmmakers and Gordon Parks competitions.

General admission tickets are also available to the public.

Alicia Sanchez—Office of Diversity and Inclusion assistant dean of students and director—was recognized as one of the 2022 Diversity and Inclusion Award recipients by the Wichita Business Journal Aug. 18.

The award honors Wichitans who work hard at making their companies, and the city’s business community, more diverse. The two received awards at the annual banquet, hosted at the Hyatt Regency.

Dr. Bobby Berry—Office of Diversity and Inclusion diversity and inclusion faculty fellow and assistant dean for diversity and outreach in College of Applied Studies—was recognized as one of the 2022 Diversity and Inclusion Award recipients by the Wichita Business Journal Ambassadors for Diversity and Inclusion event.

The award honors Wichitans who work hard at making their companies, and the city’s business community, more diverse.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is proud to present the Diversity Lecture Series, a series that features distinguished leaders and experts to inspire campus dialogue, community engagement, and learning about the national narrative on diversity and inclusion. An upcoming lecture will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 at CAC Theater.

This lecture will feature keynote speaker Kwame Onwuachi, author of “Notes from a Young Black Chef,” and the topic will be Ingredients for an Inclusive Workplace. Audiences will learn how to shine a light on the challenges their own organizations face, with memorable stories from Kwame’s journey to illustrate the ingredients for success.

The Diversity Lecture Series is free and open to the public. Registration is required to attend.

Continuing Wichita State’s commitment as an inclusive campus, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has created a Pronouns Primer, a guide to understanding personal pronouns and instructions on updating pronouns, for students, faculty and staff at the myWSU portal via the Banner Self-Service.

When updated, Blackboard, Maxient and NAVIGATE systems will reflect the information. The university will continue to update and monitor systems to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity and expression.

Wichita State will host the second annual NXT LVL Garage Party from 9 p.m. to midnight tonight, Aug. 19 on the third and fourth levels of the Rhatigan Student Center parking garage. The event will include food, live music, local vendor booths. Admission for this event is free.

Free T-shirts will also be provided to the first 200 students in attendance. For more information, contact the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at 316-978-3034.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) will close Friday, July 22, for the Inclusive Excellence Retreat. The office will reopen Monday, July 25.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be hosting on-campus interviews next week for the associate director position.

Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend a 20-minute presentation with a 10-minute Q&A session for two candidates 2-2:30 p.m. Monday, June 27 in Rhatigan Student Center 262 and 9-9:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 29 in Rhatigan Student Center 264.

The presentation theme will be “Outcomes of High Impact Practices for Underserved Students.” No online format will be available for these presentations.

For more information, contact the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at diversity@wichita.edu.

The next Juneteenth ICT Parade will take place sy10 a.m. Saturday, June 18 beginning at the historic McAdams Park. The Juneteenth ICT Parade is an annual celebration during Juneteenth in Wichita, where everyone comes together to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States.

Individuals and organizations will be able to purchase armbands if they wish to participate in the parade. Participants can check-in and find out parade route details as they are announced at the Juneteenth ICT website.