Category: Kudos

The Kansas Council for Economic Education (KCEE) has received a $20,000 grant from the Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC). The KCEE is a nonprofit organization that is affiliated with all of Kansas’ six public universities and hosted by the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State. The KCEE will use the grant in providing its financial literacy programs for middle and high school students throughout the state of Kansas.

The KCEE strives to increase the economic and financial literacy of K-12 students by equipping their teachers to teach economics and personal finance and by providing programs and competitions that engage students through experiential learning and practical applications of knowledge. The KCEE reaches more than 100,000 students through more than 1,000 teachers statewide each year.

“The KCEE and the middle and high school students in Kansas sincerely appreciate this grant,” Jim Graham, KCEE president and chief executive officer, said.

The OSBC regulates all state-chartered banks, trust companies, mortgage businesses, supervised lenders, credit service organizations and money transmitters that do business in the State of Kansas. Its mission is to ensure the integrity of regulated providers of financial services through responsible and proactive oversight while protecting and educating consumers. The OSBC has supported the KCEE for many years as part of its mission of educating consumers so they will become financially literate.

The OSBC has awarded $103,150 in grant funds this year to six Kansas organizations to provide financial literacy education throughout the state. The recipients of OSBC Consumer Education grants are Consumer Credit Counseling Service Inc., Housing and Credit Counseling Inc., Kansas Council for Economic Education, The Pando Initiative Inc., Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K), and Mirror, Inc.

Dr. Voncella McCleary-Jones, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Health Professions, has been appointed to a two-year term on the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Education Review Panel.

McCleary-Jones was named an Academy of Nursing Education Fellow (ANEF) in 2016. ANEF is a national distinction recognizing individuals who have contributed to nursing education in sustained and significant ways.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Nov. 15-19 United Way campaign week. For the 2021 campaign, Wichita State was able to exceed its goal of $35,000 and raised more than $37,9995 in total contributions that will impact local communities. Thanks to everyone who shared the message and helped donate. Next year, we hope to raise more.

Associate professor Cathy Moore-Jansen has announced that she will retire from the University Libraries at the end of December.

Cathy Moore-Jansen joined the University Libraries in 1989, holding several positions during her 32 years in the libraries — including interim associate dean of public services. For the past 21 years, she has served as the coordinator for collection development. During her time in this role, the world of scholarly communication changed, and Cathy was instrumental in introducing the campus community to new digital formats such as online scholarly databases, ebooks, ejournals, and streaming media.

Beyond growing the University Libraries’ collections, she also has been a strong college and campus citizen, serving on numerous faculty, library, and university committees. The University Libraries deeply thanks Cathy Moore-Jansen for her many important contributions to the University Libraries and the university.

University Business recently featured an article acknowledging Wichita States efforts to meet the needs of first-generation students, with many of the initiatives made by the First-Generation Coordinating Council (FGCC).

The FGCC is composed of Wichita State individuals who are involved in first-gen efforts that support current university activities, explore opportunities for departmental collaboration and look for opportunities to enhance the campus-wide approach to serve first-gen Shockers.

Recently the Wichita State’s CARE Team reached an all-time high for overall reports, with an increase of 59.6 % for the academic year. For November, there was an increase of 58.82% reports. The CARE Team exists to support students through difficulty by connecting them with the resources and help they need to succeed academically and personally.

Thank you CARE Team for all the hard work you do for Wichita State students.

Rosella Regier, a client at the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, recently collaborated with her husband Harold Regier, to publish a book about their journey with speech therapy. In the book they share about their positive experience working with graduate students and supervisors at the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic to gain better communication following a diagnosis of Aphasia, a language disorder.

Rosella and Harold have also created a technique called “Aphasia Friendly Readings” that is introduced in the book and includes scripts to assist individuals who would like to try the communication method. The technique is being researched in the Clinic by Dr. Erin O’Bryan, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and several clients have seen the benefits of this approach to increase conversation.

This book, a labor of love and source of inspiration, and is available to purchase on Amazon:

Jessica Provines, chief psychologist and assistant vice president for wellness at Wichita State, was quoted in a Chronicle of Higher Education article about counselor staffing during the pandemic.

For decades, a growing number of students with psychiatric and neurodiverse histories, conditions, and medications have been enrolling in college. From an access standpoint, that’s been terrific. From a counseling standpoint, however, it has meant a professional state of siege.

Honoree information, photos and video from the Service Recognition 2021 event held Oct. 25 at Charles Koch Arena are now available at the Service Recognition website. The event honored employees who reached their milestone service between the dates of Sept. 2, 2020, and Sept. 1, 2021.

Dr. Ted Bolema, associate professor of economics and executive director of the Institute of the Study of Economic Growth, was featured in Truth in Accounting’s Morning Call blog on Dec. 2. Bolema, along with Dr. Eileen Norcross, the vice president of policy research and a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, recently published the article “Budget boost over a fiscal cliff: States surf a federal windfall”. The article was picked up by a variety of papers, including the Denver Gazette and Washington Examiner.

Truth in Accounting is is a nonpartisan organization with a mission “to educate and empower citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information.”