Category: Faculty and Staff Resources

Join the next meeting of the WSU Faculty/Staff Club from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18 at Club 95 in Partnership Building 11. The event will feature the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Applied Studies, College of Innovation and Design, and Cohen Honors College with a rotating slide presentation.

There will also be three live presentations starting at 4:30 p.m. from:

• Joe Mazzara, director of Wichita State Esports, providing an overview of esports at Wichita State, including the teams’ accomplishments and the impact they’ve had on campus
• Francis Connor, associate professor and chair of the Department of English, and Darren DeFrain, professor of English, will discuss their upcoming book, “No Choice but Action: The Kansas Postpunk Revolution”
• Troy Tabor, director of innovation intelligence in the College of Innovation and Design, will host “A conversation with AI” with faculty and staff

Come have fun and enjoy the company of your colleagues as well as some good music, food and drink.

The annual Strategic Communications Seminar was held Jan. 29 in the Rhatigan Student Center. Attendees were able to choose to attend two of five sessions to gain additional insights, tools and tips to help improve marketing and communication efforts in their university departments.

Materials from the seminar are now available to view.

Strategic Communications and Shocker Career Accelerator have partnered to open the photo booth in the Marcus Welcome Center to faculty and staff for professional headshots. This solution will replace scheduled headshot days in the RSC on a trial basis. The change will allow for more flexibility and convenience as the booth will be available to use at any time during normal Marcus Welcome Center operating hours.

For more information, visit wichita.edu/headshots.

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence is partnering with WSU faculty to host weekly faculty writing groups this semester. All groups will begin the first week of February.

There are two weekly writing group opportunities:

• 2-4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays beginning Feb. 3 in person at the FARE Office in 112 Jardine Hall, facilitated by Trevor Nelson, musicology assistant professor
• 1-3 p.m. on Fridays beginning Feb. 6 occurring virtually on Microsoft Teams, facilitated by William Weare, University Libraries associate dean

For those who desire feedback on their writing, William Weare will also be facilitating a weekly hour-long cross-disciplinary Writing Circle as a means of giving/receiving structured input to strengthen the clarity and organization of your writing. This group will meet weekly from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Feb. 4 in 112 Jardine Hall. This group will not close its membership, so faculty may come as they are able or when they are in need of feedback on their work.

How to join: Email Dr. Debby Hinsdale at FARE@wichita.edu express interest or get more information.

Upcoming Research and Writing Sprints:

More than 30 faculty participated in FARE’s January Writing Sprint, dedicating three days the week before the start of the semester to working on their research and writing goals. Mark your calendars now for the next two planned FARE Research and Writing Sprints, coming March 17-19 and May 19-21.

Faculty can face a large range of challenging situations across their careers. In this month’s New Faculty On-Ramp to WSU, the Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence (FARE) is hosting leaders from Faculty Affairs, Faculty Senate, the Ombudsperson program, HR and CTAC to discuss how to manage difficulties when they arise and the pathways available to faculty for concerns or conflict.

Faculty in their first three years are invited to attend in person from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room. If you are unable to attend but would like access to the content or a recording of the event, contact Dr. Debby Hinsdale at fare@wichita.edu.

Join the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing for the ninth annual Strategic Communications marketing and communications seminar for faculty and staff from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Jan. 29. And if your team is looking to order promo items for your office, visit the Vendor Fair from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The opening session, breakout sessions and Vendor Fair will all be held on the third floor of the Rhatigan Student Center. Gain additional insights, tools and tips to help you improve your marketing and communication efforts. Attendees may choose to attend two of five sessions.

Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool is Wichita State’s course evaluation tool. Find information throughout the semester in WSU Today about CES.

Today’s focus is on “What Is CES?”

• CES is a course evaluation platform from Watermark. The evaluation portion of the platform is called “Course Evaluations & Surveys” and at WSU is referred to as CES.
• CES is easy to use and is integrated with Blackboard.
• CES results are electronic and will be available at the end of the semester, shortly after official grades are due.
• Using CES should increase response rates.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandra Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

All faculty interested in interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration are invited to join this new workgroup, Digital Methodologies for Print Culture and Archives. The first orientation meeting will take place 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 202 Rhatigan Student Center, Shocker 70 Room.

The workgroup explores participatory digital archives as an evolving landscape of research infrastructure situated between digital humanities and digital cultural heritage. Participants will focus on how changing conditions, technologies and scales of participation are shaping the ways archival material is collected, structured, shared and interpreted.

The group is particularly attentive to preservation practices of printed matter produced in regions and contexts shaped by linguistic diversity and fragmented archival practices, where print production is inherently decentralized. The group explores heritage infrastructures in digital humanities as cultural, political and methodological systems.

The group aims to share methodologies, identify needs and explore collaborative possibilities across disciplines. Together, participants will have the opportunity to examine existing platforms and practices and begin shaping a collaborative research direction that connects print culture, archival work and digital methodologies.

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence is again sponsoring a monthly research-oriented faculty club, which will launch for the semester with a meeting from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room. This week will feature presentations by:

• Dr. Christopher Proppe, assistant professor of exercise science, presenting on “How Resistance Exercise Can be Used to Manage Pain”
• Jacie Green, senior educator and graduate program coordinator in public bealth, presenting on Connecting Generations
• Dr. Michael Birzer, professor and director of The Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity Hub

The event features three-minute presentations followed by seven minutes of Q&A by presenters who are seeking collaboration for projects in their early stages or planned for the future. Come enjoy some snacks and coffee while getting to hear what your colleagues across campus are up to.

If you have questions about the Research Collaborative, contact fare@wichita.edu or one of the faculty sponsors, Dr. Susan Castro, susan.castro@wichita.edu, or Dr. Nils Hakansson, nils.hakansson@wichita.edu.

Join the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing for the ninth annual Strategic Communications marketing and communications seminar for faculty and staff from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Jan. 29. And if your team is looking to order promo items for your office, visit the Vendor Fair from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The opening session, breakout sessions and Vendor Fair will all be held on the third floor of the Rhatigan Student Center. Gain additional insights, tools and tips to help you improve your marketing and communication efforts. Attendees may choose to attend two of five sessions.