Category: Kudos

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.

Veterans Upward Bound (VUB), one of the TRIO Programs hosted by Wichita State, recently won the PBS Kansas Foulston Siefkin Veterans Coming Home Distinguished Business of the Year Award. The Director of the program, Stacia Lyday, accepted the award.

Veterans Upward Bound is a grant-funded program designed to assist Veterans with entering post-secondary education. VUB provides tutoring, computer literacy workshops, financial literacy workshops, resumé workshops, mentoring, academic advising and more. All  VUB services are free.

For more information, please visit www.wichita.edu/vub or contact 316-978-6742.

Congratulations to Stephanie Cockrell, who was been named the assistant director for Student Success’ First-Year Programs. Cockrell will begin this position in January 2022 and will oversee orientation and transition programs for undergraduate, degree-bound domestic students, transition mentors and peer coaches, and other first-year retention initiatives in Student Success.

“We are excited to have Stephanie in this new role,”  Kim Sandlin, director of Student Success said. “Her passion for student success and higher education has been evident throughout her service as a success coach, and we are excited to bring her talent and experience in event planning and advising students to our new Shockers to help us reach our student success goals.”

Fifteen members of the Epsilon Tau Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) volunteered at Exploration Place Oct. 23 for their Boo’reakfast event which benefitted both children and adults.

Founded in 1919, Beta Alpha Psi is an honor organization for financial information students and professionals. There are over 300 chapters on college and university campuses with over 300,000 members initiated since Beta Alpha Psi’s formation.

Wichita State’s Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) hosted its first Suspenders4Hope 5K. The event, which is part of a nationwide mental health awareness campaign, involved participation from WSU, Ascension Via Christi and Kohl’s Cares. Members of CAPS say the community participation helped make the event a success. All proceeds from the event went to StopSuicideICT, a local collaborative and non-profit.

Members who wish to participate in the event next year can find more information in the recap video.

Dr. Marché Fleming-Randle, vice president and chief diversity officer at Wichita State University, has been appointed to the Wichita Citizen’s Review Board.

​The Wichita Citizen’s Review Board assists the Wichita Police Department with community outreach and advises the Police Department about community concerns. The board serves to provide assistance in policy development, education and communications related to racial and other biased-based policing. The board also will conduct reviews of post discipline findings of the Professional Standards Bureau in alleged officer misconduct matters upon the request of the chief of police. There are no more than 13 members who serve on the board, and members are appointed by the city manager.

Purpose

The City of Wichita maintains a number of citizen advisory boards and commissions. The purpose of these groups is to pay specialized attention to certain areas affecting our community and to make recommendations to better inform city council decisions. These groups range from library operations to urban planning. There are also six district advisory boards which make recommendations to city council and city staff on a number of wide ranging issues.

A combined team of staff from the WSU Alumni Association and Industry and Defense Programs took first place and raised $3,025 in the first Pull-a-Plane event Oct. 16 at the B-29 Doc Hangar, Education and Visitors Center. The event was an educational fundraiser benefiting the WSU Tech Foundation and will finance student-focused initiatives and the B-29 Doc Hangar and educational exhibits.

The Barton School’s Epsilon Tau Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi  has been recognized internationally as a Distinguished Chapter. Recognition as a Distinguished Chapter is a significant accomplishment.

Under the leadership of Barton School accounting educator Patricia O’Sullivan. The Epsilon Tau Chapter has exceeded the baseline requirements of Beta Alpha Psi and has excelled in the areas of academics, professionalism, and leadership.

Founded in 1919, Beta Alpha Psi is an honor organization for financial information students and professionals. There are more than 300 chapters on college and university campuses with over 300,000 members initiated since Beta Alpha Psi’s formation.