Category: Kudos

Scott Miller, chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department in the WSU College of Engineering, has been selected to hold the Emylou Keith and Betty Dutcher Faculty of Distinction Professorship at Wichita State University.

The professorship was endowed by Emylou Keith in 2004 to honor her sister, Betty Dutcher, upon her death. Both women were graduates of Wichita State. Keith died in 2017.

“To be selected for this honor is amazing,” Miller said. “I’m surrounded by so many dedicated, successful and hardworking faculty and colleagues. It’s nice to be supported and recognized by them. Although I never met the benefactors, I understand they were special people. I’ll do my best to honor their gift and intent.”

Miller has been Aerospace Engineering chair since 2004 and a professor at Wichita State since 1988. He is a senior fellow for the National Institute for Aviation Research. He also is director of the NASA in Kansas program, a consortium of universities and science museums that conduct science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-based education and research. He earned his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University.

Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Shirley Lefever made the appointment based on a recommendation from the WSU Council of Deans. In part, their letter stated: “Dr. Miller is a recognized leader in engineering, aerospace education and research. He is a highly respected and awarded aerospace engineer across the region and nation. He has made a tremendous impact on students, faculty and Kansas STEM education and research over the last 15 years.”

The professorship previously was held by Victor Isakov, professor of mathematics, who died in May 2021.

Debra Franklin, associate vice president for Strategic Initiatives at Wichita State, was recognized during an Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Institute (ARM) Annual Member Meeting Nov. 16. Franklin was one of the first two honored as part of ARM’s new Champions program.

The ARM Institute is the nation’s leading collaborative in robotics and workforce innovation, working at the confluence of industry, government and academia. Structured as a public-private partnership, the ARM Institute and its member organizations catalyze robotic technologies and education solutions to strengthen the U.S. industrial base and secure U.S. manufacturing resiliency.

Wichita State University’s partnership with ARM in July has resulted in the Department of Engineering Technology being among the first programs in the nation to earn an ARM endorsement for their mechatronics track – a certification that will translate to stronger job prospects for graduates.

The Office of Disability Services would like to recognize and thank the student note-takers who shared notes with students who have a note-taking accommodation. These note-takers have worked diligently to help their fellow Shockers.

Please join us in recognizing the following students: Allison Campbell, Cadence Davis, Elizabeth Dickerson, Jorge Godinez, Sabrina Gooch, Madison McClain, Jaycie Nelson, Thu Nguyen, Jaden Nola, Grace Peterson, Megan Reuter, Justin Swafford, Kyran Crist, Katelyn Williams and Ivanka Mukadi.

The Graduate School would like to congratulate the winners of the fourth Three-Minute Thesis competition which was held on Nov. 12. Fariha Tanveer, a master’s student in biological sciences, placed first with the presentation “Developing a Human Patient ‘Avatar’ System Particularly Relevant to Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC). Tanveer’s advisor was William Hendry. Tanveer will go on to represent WSU at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools’ 3MT competition this spring.

Michael Okwori, a doctoral candidate in electrical and computer engineering, was runner up with the presentation “Application of Machine Learning Models and Feature Engineering to Predict Genomic Phenomena.” Okwori’s advisor was Ali Eslami.

Photos of the competition can be found at the Wichita State Graduate School’s Facebook page. Thank you to all our participants who showed the wonderful research occurring at WSU and congratulations Tanveer and Okwori!

Kansas English, edited by Dr. Katherine Cramer, professor of English Education in the School of Education, and published by the Kansas Association of Teachers of English on Wichita State’s Open Journal Systems, has been named a recipient of the 2021 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Affiliate Journal of Excellence Award, given by the NCTE. This is the second year in a row that Kansas English has earned this distinction.

Established in 1995, this award honors outstanding affiliate journals and their editors who demonstrate excellence in these publications. The winning affiliate journal must be a magazine-type publication—print or online—and provide members with scholarly articles on issues and topics related to English language arts teaching. The journals are judged on the following: content, organization, scholarly exploration, appeal to different groups within the affiliate, coverage of important issues in English language arts education and inclusion of other types of writing (e.g., poetry, affiliate news, book reviews).

The Affiliate Journal of Excellence Award winners was announced at the 2021 NCTE Annual Convention during the affiliate event Sunday, Nov. 21.

On behalf of the Offices of Financial Aid and Diversity and Inclusion, we would like to thank the students who attended our FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Fun Financial Aid workshops.

We would also like to congratulate Oscar Maturino and Austin Helgerson for receiving the FAFSA FUN Book Scholarship.

As a reminder, FAFSA’s priority completion date for Wichita State is Dec. 1. Please make sure to complete it as early as possible for priority consideration for financial assistance.

The Faculty and Staff Senate would like to thank Wichita State employees for the monetary and food donations made during the Stock the Shocker Support Locker Challenge in September and October. Congratulations to WSU staff for leading the competition this year!

There was a 25% increase in food donations this year. A total of 439 items were donated and $945 was collected. The top three collection sites were Morrison Hall, the Ablah Library and the Office of International Education. The Faculty and Staff Senate like to extend a special thank you to University Police Officers Madison Smith, Mike Colvin and Wyatt Pulver for transporting donations from 12 collection sites on campus to the support locker.

The Center for Educational Technologies to Assist Refugee Learner’s Project Education for All (CETARL) won $25,000 at the United Way of the Plains Impact on the Plains Social Innovation Competition on National Philanthropy Day, Nov. 15. This was the United Way’s first ever shark-tank style social innovation competition.

Dr. Mythili Menon is the director of CETARL and assistant professor of Linguistics. Dr. Karissa Marble-Flint is the co-director of CETARL and assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. They both represented CETARL at the competition.

During the competition, Menon and  Marble-Flint made a pitch for Project Education for All in the live competition. The $25,000 award will be used to support Wichita-area refugee families, children and USD 259 classroom teachers who will beta-test the prototype of the platform.

A proposal by Drs. Mythili Menon and Karissa Marble-Flint was selected by the United Way of the Plains for the Impact on the Plains Competition in the area of education. Their proposal is one of the top two in the finals for the competition.

Menon is the director of the Center for Educational Technologies to Assist Refugee Learners (CETARL) and assistant professor of Linguistics. Marble-Flint is the co-director of CETARL and assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

As part of the competition, Menon and Marble-Flint will give a “Shark Tank-style” pitch for CETARL’s digital educational platform, LingoLabs, Nov. 15. If successful,  Menon and Marble-Flint will be awarded $25,000 for CETARL to support Wichita area refugee families, children and USD 259 classroom teachers who will beta-test the prototype of the platform.