Category: News

Wichita State HR Total Rewards team is once again hosting on-site flu shots 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1 at the Rhatigan Student Center (room 264). The shots are available to state of Kansas employees and dependents who are currently enrolled in State Employee Health Plan (SEHP) medical insurance.

Flu shots are by appointment only. Walk-ins will not be accepted. Click below to schedule an appointment online for the WSU on-site flu clinic; select Sedgwick as your preferred location. This form requires a state employee ID which members can locate in myWSU on the center of the page by hovering over the white box in the SHaRP ID channel.

Not able to make this clinic? Members can also get their no-cost flu shot at their in-network primary care provider or most pharmacies and drug stores.

Students, faculty and staff are asked to encourage children in grades 6-12 to submit designs for a CubeSat mission patch. The CubeSat (a tiny satellite) will be flown during a mission to collect data as part of Dr. Nickolas Solomey’s research on solar neutrinos.

The contest is a partnership between Wichita State and the Ad Astra Kansas Foundation. More information about the contest and the entry form can be found at the Ad Astra Kansas Foundation website. All entries are due Nov. 12.

Wichita State University will participate in Festi-Ful — one of the nation’s largest street food festivals, taking place across 300 U.S. colleges and universities — 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24 at 2020 Perimeter Road by Shocker Hall on the WSU campus.

Festi-Ful is the first signature event from Chartwells’ Joy-Ful program, a year-long campaign aimed at welcoming students back to campus in a memorable way after a year of campus closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone is welcome to attend the event.

The show must go on, and thanks to Wichita State’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL), Music Theatre Wichita (MTW) has been able to keep its doors open to audiences.

MDL has registered, partnered with and trained more than 500 organizations, schools, health care facilities, and businesses throughout the region to collect COVID-19 specimens for PCR testing. Test results are generally available within 24 hours, allowing for quick and precise quarantine and treatment for those who test positive. The testing provided through MDL has been critical to the pandemic fight in Kansas.

What is a first-gen student? A first-generation college student is defined as a student whose parents or legal guardians have not completed a bachelor’s degree and students who are the first person in their immediate families to attend a four-year college or university to attain a bachelor’s degree.

• Faculty and staff help spread the word, there is an all-call for first-gen artists to apply for a chance to exhibit in the second annual First-Gen showcase, “Identity.” Applications will be accepted through Oct. 9.  
• The First-Generation Honor Society, Tri-Alpha (Alpha Alpha Alpha) is now accepting applications from all first-gen Wichita State faculty, staff, alumni and students. The intent of membership is to build support and advocate for the academic excellence of first-generation college students. 
• FOCUS ON FIRST-GEN: This week we highlight Dr. Gary Brooking, College of Engineering, Engineering Technology Chair and teaching professor.
• F1RST-GEN T-Shirts are available in the Rhatigan Student Center Shocker Store for $12.

What started as one woman’s passion project has flourished into a literacy empire that serves thousands of children in schools across the Wichita area — helped along the way by the people and services of Wichita State University.

Prisca Barnes founded Storytime Village in 2009 with a mission “to inspire a lifelong love of reading for underserved Kansas children from birth to age 8.”

A Wichita State University scientist is part of a team that has been awarded a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to further research a treatment for COVID-19.

Dr. Bill Groutas, medicinal chemist at Wichita State University, is working with Dr. Kyeong-Ok “KC” Chang, a virologist at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Yunjeong Kim, a veterinary virologist at Kansas State; Dr. Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology from the University of Iowa; and Dr. Scott Lovell, a structural biologist at the University of Kansas. Chang is the principal investigator

Access Now, a system that digitally delivers all students’ course materials at a discounted rate, is switching models to increase sustainability and affordability.

Currently, the Access Now program uses an opt-in model, which requires each individual student to purchase a subscription before the 100% refund date to avoid interruption to course materials. Although this model has been effective to date, it is not sustainable as faculty and student demand continues to increase.

Beginning spring 2022, Wichita State will transition from an opt-in model to an opt-out model. For students and faculty, this means no more codes, no more terminations if the student does not purchase the required subscription by the 100% refund date. Students who enroll in an Access Now course will be assessed a course material charge to their student account. Students will then have the freedom to opt-out by the 100% refund date if they wish to not participate in the negotiated discount price for the materials.

Wichita State’s transition to an opt-out model will reduce the hassle experienced by students at the busy time of a new semester.

In addition to the convenience of Access Now, students save an average of 20% on current electronic books and up to 60% of physical textbooks and other course materials with the delivery system.

“We anticipate this pilot program to provide digital course materials as an option for students will result in a cost savings to students, which is in alignment with our commitment to providing an affordable education,” said Dr. Shirley Lefever, interim provost of Wichita State. “The added convenience and accessibility are also features that attracted us to this program.” 

For fall 2021, 139 courses use Access Now with 63 on the waiting list to join. Beginning summer 2022, the program will be open to all faculty.

“The response of the program since its inception in summer 2018 has been remarkable,” said Andi Stipp, director of Shocker Stores. “We have grown exponentially with the number of courses and instructors who wish to participate. Students, too, are excited because it takes the thinking out of finding a textbook and it is the most affordable option in the market. Faculty like it because students all have the proper book and courseware, when applicable, to begin without fear of falling behind. Everyone is on the same page from day one.”

Students who wish to opt-out of Access Now course delivery will be able to do so through Blackboard.

A Wichita State University student has wielded her love of nature into an internship with one of the nation’s leading outdoors companies.

Maria Jimenez — a junior studying industrial engineering in Wichita State’s Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering Department — spent her summer interning with White River Marine Group, a co-op of Bass Pro Shop. For her, the chance to work for the company was an extension of not only her skills, but also her love of all things outdoors.

The Office of Strategic Communications offers headshots for WSU faculty and staff at no charge. Headshot events will be scheduled twice a semester over two days in the Rhatigan Student Center (room 142).

Headshots are available by appointment only and are now open for Oct. 4-5.

• 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct 4
• 8:30-10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5