Category: News

As community leaders plan for the future economic prosperity of our state, Wichita State University and the University of Kansas schools of Medicine and Pharmacy in Wichita are moving forward with plans to establish a joint WSU/KU Healthcare Sciences Educational Center (HSEC) in Wichita.   

The center — which is a combined effort among Wichita State, WSU Tech, the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, and the KU School of Pharmacy in Wichita — will centralize health care programs from each institution to provide state-of-the-art health care education that would ultimately improve the quality of health and health outcomes for Kansans.   

In addition, this collaboration will strengthen synergies and teamwork and allow for interprofessional learning activities while drawing from a long history of successful academic programs, and a health sciences educational center would greatly contribute to our community.   

“Not only is this new center important to improving the health outcomes for Kansans, any city that’s growing or wants to grow, has this type of facility at its core,” said Dr. Rick Muma, president of Wichita State. “Building an academic hub to educate a proficient and highly skilled medical workforce is critical to increasing health care access and outcomes for everyone in our region.”  

Muma — who is a licensed physician assistant and has been integral in reshaping health profession education at Wichita State — said that bringing together the educational facilities from several institutions into one shared health sciences complex would help WSU meet community needs and demands and provide state-of-the-art care and technology to Kansans.  

The HSEC will also serve to attract and retain talent in the Wichita area, as well as boost the economic success of Kansas.   

“The health care sector has enormous growth potential, and it’s critical to the prosperity of the greater Wichita area as its population grows and diversifies,” Muma said. “As we continually work to meet the needs of Kansas employers and improve the economic vitality of our region, we must offer new opportunities that attract and retain talent to Wichita.”   

Given the current headcount for the four institutions involved in the center, it’s estimated that the HSEC’s combined enrollment should start at more than 2,500 students.   

A generous grant from the Kansas Health Foundation will supplement the universities’ funds to commission services of an architect and other professionals to integrate the vision for the project, affirm space needs, explore ways to create efficiencies, validate site information and location, and create a conceptual plan for pricing the facility.   

The Wichita State Student Wellness Center located at the Steve Clark YMCA will close for the holiday shutdown at noon Friday, Dec. 17. It will reopen Monday, Jan. 3.

For medical care during the holiday shutdown, students can visit the WSU After Hours Medical Emergencies website.

For a list of COVID-19 testing sites, visit the Sedgwick County COVID-19 Sampling and Testing Information website.

For a list of COVID-19 vaccine sites, visit the Sedgwick County Vaccine Clinic Locations website.

It’s time again to submit funding requests through Student Government for the Educational Opportunity Fund and Student Services Fee for fiscal year 2023. These programs provide financial support to facilitate students’ academic pursuits (Educational Opportunity Fund) or the funding of programs and activities delivered directly to students (Student Services).

If you’ve submitted requests in the past, the budget or review officer should have received an email from the Wichita State Budget Office to kick off the submission process.

If you have not submitted a request before, but are considering submitting a new request, please contact Lyndsay Pletcher, Jason Post or David Miller at the WSU Budget Office at 316-978-3030 for additional information.

Requests are due no later than Friday, Jan. 28.

Do you know a Wichita State colleague making important contributions to our Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) efforts? If so, submit a nomination form now until Jan. 28.

The President’s Distinguished SEM Award is given to an employee–either a faculty member or university staff–who has made a dramatic contribution to one of the strategic enrollment management goal areas. Nominations will be evaluated based on the impact made by the employee.

For more information or to make a nomination, visit the President’s Distinguished SEM Award website.

Testing Services will close at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17 for staff training. Please call 316-WSU-TEST with any questions.

For the past seven years Jennifer Stone, associate professor of special education in the department of Intervention Services and Leadership in Education (ISLE) at the College of Applied Studies (CAS) has partnered with CAS patron Jay Hull to fulfill Christmas wishes for Starkey, Inc.’s Angel Tree project.

The number of angel wishes granted through this partnership varies year to year, but this year the partnership served 25 Angels — the largest to date. Funding for the Starkey Angel Tree project is donated by Hull and matched by CAS in addition to the student and faculty volunteers from ISLE donating their time to purchase, wrap and deliver the gifts to Starkey.

“This outreach project has meant a lot to us. It helps show students that being part of your community outside of your classroom is part of being a good teacher and citizen,” Stone said. “Often, students have gone in to volunteer at the Christmas and spring parties where they get to directly interact with and support the diverse population that Starkey serves.”

The relationship between CAS and Starkey started in 2005 when Jay Hull established the Joe Hull Scholarship (named after Hull’s brother Joe) to benefit the masters in special education program at Wichita State University (WSU). Recipients of the scholarship have been required to volunteer with Starkey to see where some of their future students may be employed as adults. The partnership between WSU and Starkey grew from there.

Hull’s commitment to supporting Starkey was inspired by his brother Joe Hull who has cognitive disabilities and a winning personality. “The Angels often have deceased parents and family that have ignored them so they wouldn’t have Christmas without the program,” Jay Hull said. “Many, like my brother Joe still believe in Santa. Still today, Joe can’t wait for Santa at age 59.”

Stone said that through the last seven years, they have completed the lists of 107 Angels through this partnership.

“Let’s Talk About It” — Season 2 Episode 4: Social Justice

We’ve seen a significant increase in social justice efforts both locally and nationally throughout the past two years. From civil rights to a global pandemic, we’ve hit a turning point and many have launched into action as a result. Today, we’ll be discussing social justice efforts with several guests who have been in the trenches doing this work for years. How do we maintain momentum and continue to make progress? Today’s episode features:

• Selena Jackson (she/her) — Staff psychologist and group therapy coordinator for WSU Counseling & Prevention Services
• Brandon Johnson (he/him) — Wichita city council person & vice mayor
• Kevin Harrison — WSU Community Engagement Coordinator
• David Garcia — WSU student and Director of Public Relations for the Wichita State Student Government Association

About “Let’s Talk About It”: The mission of the FUSE ICT is to prepare and inspire students to achieve their true passion and purpose; while providing the tools, opportunities, and diverse programming options for them to grow. One of the most effective tools that we have to spark dialogue and unearth passion is dialogue. Our goal with “Let’s Talk About it” is to create a safe, comfortable and casual environment that will foster connection with diverse people in an effort to create meaning, ask questions and start honest conversations about the topics that matter most to college students today.

Testing Services will be closed Jan. 10 for staff development. Regular hours will resume Jan. 11. Please call 316-WSU-TEST with any questions.

Testing Services offers make-up exams, classroom exams for students registered for accommodations with the Office of Disability Services, distance exams, certification exams, and more.

The WSU Open/Alternative Textbook (OAT) Initiative is designed to expand the use of freely-available resources in our classes in an effort to address the rising cost of textbooks and the impact of that expense on our students. To get an OAT designation for s fall 2022 course, submit the request form before Feb 15.

Courses with an OAT designation are visible to students in the course schedule so they can choose classes with low or no textbook costs.

Courses can be designated as either:

• OAT-Z:  Zero ($0) textbook or other course material costs
• OAT-L: Low (under $50) textbook or other course material costs

This program has been modified from the original design. There is no longer a course fee associated with these course designations.  www.wichita.edu/OAT 

The staff at Wichita State’s Student Wellness Center and Counseling and Prevention Services received cookies as the first Rick Rewards presentation on Monday, Dec. 13. 

Rick Rewards is a new program by President Rick Muma to show his appreciation for the efforts of a member, or members, of the campus community.

The Student Wellness Center was selected as the first recipient because of its staff’s dedication to the mental and physical health of WSU students and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first of many future Rick Rewards that will be handed out to applaud the many people on campus who go above and beyond every day.