Author: Sara Ornelas

Andrew Stockmann grew up with parents who loved sports and history. They created the environment for him to combine those influences into a podcast that focuses on athletic halls of fame and museums.

“A lot of our vacations growing up were around baseball,” he said. “I get a lot of my fandom from my dad (Joe). My mom (Julie) studied history in school. I want to say both of them are a little jealous of some of the stuff I’m doing, because we all have the same interests.”

Stockmann, a 2020 Wichita State University graduate and sport management major, is in his second year hosting “Hallowed Ground: The Sports Museum Podcast.”

McKnight North, McKnight West and the Ulrich Museum will be without water this week due to a water main break. Water services are expected to resume Monday, Oct. 24.

The NetApp Cafe on Wichita State’s Innovation Campus will be open to the public for breakfast and lunch beginning Monday, Oct. 17.

Enjoy burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, salads, desserts and breakfast delights every Monday through Friday in the NetApp building, 1850 N. Innovation Blvd. The cafe is open for breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. and for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A weekend of ample research and little sleep at Wichita State’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) resulted in the selection of three NASA Space Apps Hackathon winners. 

One-man team Just Jacob, led by Jacob Workentine, a Wichita State senior in communication, took first place for his submission to the On the Way to the Sun challenge. 

Workentine developed an illustrated children’s book and accompanying video inspired by PBS’s Reading Rainbow program. The book and video focused on the story of the Parker Solar Probe’s record-breaking mission from Earth through the Sun’s upper atmosphere to sample particles and magnetic fields. 

Wichita State President Rick Muma was the keynote speaker at the University of Texas Medical Branch’s physician assistant commencement ceremony on Aug. 20 in Galveston, Texas.

Muma earned a Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from UTMB in 1986. It was soon after graduating that he began teaching, becoming associate faculty at UTMB in 1987.

To watch Dr. Muma’s commencement address at his alma mater, click on the button below.

The Kansas Board of Regents met on Thursday, Sept. 15 in Topeka for its monthly meeting. Among the issues discussed were the following items:

• Wichita Biomedical Campus: KBOR approved a proposal from Wichita State and the University of Kansas to develop a $302 million, 470,000-square-foot facility that will consolidate and align the two universities’ health- and biomedical-related education and research.
• New NIAR building: The board approved WSU’s proposal to construct a Technology and Innovation Building on the Innovation Campus. The $36.5 million project will be financed through a combination of EDA funds that were recently awarded to the university, NIAR funds, and revenue bonds.
• University Stadium: The board approved a plan to replace Cessna Stadium with a new facility that will accommodate about 10,000 spectators. The project will be completed in two phases, with the first phase beginning in August 2023. Funding is yet to be identified for this project.
• Woodman Alumni Center: A $1.7 million proposal to renovate WSU’s alumni building was approved. The 18,718-square-foot project is driven by the merger of the Alumni Association and the WSU Foundation. The renovation aims to unify the WSU Foundation staff on the upper level and refresh the building finishes to be in line with the current modern university aesthetic. WSU Foundation will be funding the renovations.
• City-County Mill Levy: The board approved the university’s proposal to spend mill levy funds from Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita. The proposal included more than $3 million for capital improvements, $5.2 million for student services, $495,720 for economic and community development, and $422,444 for university research and support services.
• Peer institutions: KBOR approved an updated list of peer institutions for Wichita State University to include Cleveland State University, Portland State University, University of Memphis, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and University of Texas at San Antonio.
• Regents Distinguished Professor of Public Finance: President Muma nominated and the board approved Dr. Hai (David) Guo as the fourth Regents Distinguished Professor of Public Finance. The purpose of the Regents Distinguished Professorship is to attract and retain established scholars whose research projects augment the state’s economic and industrial development. Guo, who previously served as an associate professor at Florida International University, has published in the most prestigious journals in the field of public administration and public finance.
• Honorary doctorate: The board approved Dr. Mona Nemer to be awarded an honorary doctorate from Wichita State during commencement ceremonies in December 2022. A 1977 WSU graduate, Nemer holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry with minors in French and mathematics from Wichita State. She is currently serving as the chief science advisor to Canada’s Prime Minister, Minister of Innovation, Science Industry and Cabinet.

Did you know that 85% of university housing fires are cooking fires? Unattended cooking is by far the leading contributing factor in college cooking fires, and there are more than 3,000 university cooking fires each year, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Please observe the following safety precautions while cooking on campus.

• Cook only where it is permitted.
• Never leave cooking unattended.
• Frying poses the greatest risk. In case of a grease fire, put a lid over it. Never put water on a grease fire.
• If a fire starts in a microwave, keep the door closed and unplug the unit.
• If you use electric appliances, be careful to not overload circuits.
• Stand by your pan. If you leave the kitchen, turn the burner off.
• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

Student Health Services has received the new Pfizer Covid-19 bivalent booster vaccinations and is ready to start administering shots to those who are eligible.

To be eligible for the new Pfizer booster at SHS, individuals must meet the following criteria:

• Must be 18 years or older.
• Must have completed at least a two-shot primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations using any approved vaccine, including Novavax.
• Must have received their last COVID-19 shot at least two months ago. The last shot could be a primary series or booster.
• Must wait three months after recovery from COVID-19 infection.
• Must be currently enrolled WSU or WSU Tech students, staff or faculty, household members, and Innovation Campus partners.

The new bivalent booster targets both the original coronavirus and Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5 that are causing almost all new COVID-19 infections in Kansas.

COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots are available at no additional charge to the Wichita State campus community. WSU’s Student Wellness Center vaccine walk-in hours are listed below.

COVID-19 original series Pfizer vaccines and bivalent booster shots are available at no additional charge to the Wichita State campus community. WSU’s Student Wellness Center vaccine walk-in hours are listed below.

• Monday: 9-11 a.m.
• Tuesday: 2-4 p.m.
• Wednesday: 2-4 p.m.
• Thursday: 9-11 a.m.
• Friday: 2-4 p.m.

Please bring your WSU ID, COVID vaccine card, and completed Covid Dispense Assist Form.

To find the new COVID-19 bivalent booster, you can search for a location near you.

At its Sept. 15 meeting, the Kansas Board of Regents approved an updated list of peer institutions for Wichita State University.

• Cleveland State University
• Portland State University
• University of Memphis
• University of Nebraska at Omaha
• University of Texas at San Antonio

In fall 2021, President Rick Muma assembled a working committee to assess current and aspirational peers to ensure alignment with the university’s mission and goals. The evaluation focused on institutional characteristics, such as mission, Carnegie Class, enrollment trends (including KBOR priorities), and budget. The analysis was based on the most recent national data designed to identify those institutions that are most like WSU.

Additionally, the following were approved as WSU’s aspirational peers:

• Georgia State University
• University of California at Riverside
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Houston
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte

All of Wichita State’s peers are part of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, which is “a president-led organization committed to enhancing urban university engagement and tackling key urban challenges in our nation’s cities.”

Wichita State’s previous list of peer and aspirational institutions was created in 2013.

See Monday’s WSU Today for more news from the regents meeting.

Wichita State University will be included as part of PBS’ “Roadtrip Nation,” and Shocker students are encouraged to apply to be a part of the show.

“Roadtrip Nation” will be teaming up with Wichita’s Workforce Alliance, USD 259 and WSUTech to explore southcentral Kansas on the show’s mission to “capture empowering stories that give you the confidence and tools to find a career that matters to you.”

Students who are interested can apply at the link below. For questions, reach out to Trish Gandu at trish.gandu@wichita.edu. The deadline for applications is Aug. 14.