Category: News

The African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA) is pleased to announce its spring 2025 scholarship recipients.

• Gabriela Zermeno – Junior majoring in international studies and business administration
• Caitlyn Joseph – Junior majoring in biomedical engineering
• Anestacia Marston – Sophomore majoring in psychology

The AAFSA scholarship, awarded annually, is very competitive yet these recipients stood out among all other applicants based on well-written and articulated essays, academic performance and their well-communicated need.

Are you ready to take your business idea to the next level? The Shocker New Venture Competition (SNVC) is your chance to showcase your startup, gain mentorship and compete for funding. Whether you’re refining an early-stage idea or scaling a venture, SNVC provides the resources and connections to help you succeed.

Competition timeline:

• Round one: March 3-27 – Application and business model video submission due
• Round two: May 2 – Trade show
• Round three: May 2 – Finals

Why compete?

• Grand prize of $25,000 to jumpstart your venture
• Receive expert feedback from judges and mentors
• Network with investors, entrepreneurs and fellow innovators

Don’t miss this opportunity to turn your vision into reality.

The College of Engineering hosted a public 5k run/walk from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 on the WSU campus. More than 130 people registered for the event, and despite the cold temperatures, 106 people ultimately participated. Through registration fees, about $3,600 was raised, which will benefit the College of Engineering Need-Based Scholarship Fund.

Following the 5k, awards were presented to the overall fastest participant, as well as the top three fastest male and female participants in the student category, staff/faculty category, alumni category and community member category. Winners were as follows:

• Overall fastest: Max Lazzo (alum)
• Top three male students: Cooper Zimmer, Adan Silerio and Cole Albert
• Top three female students: Lizabeth Mueting, Olivia O’Reilly and Isabella Porter
• Top two male staff/faculty: Christopher Leonard and Kobe Ford
• Top three female staff/faculty: Monica Bergkamp, Tracee Friess and Julie Scott
• Top three male alumni: Max Lazzo, Clark Pint and PJ Phan
• Top three female alumni: Carina Perez, Samatha Ringer and Natalie Castillo
• Top three male community members: Samual Scott, Seth Bergman and Ryan Nance
• Top three community members: Sana Christmann, Erika Pint and Daisy Marquez

The Office of Human Resources would like to welcome Triniece Robertson to Wichita State as its new director of HR operations and Total Rewards. Triniece started in her role in February.

With her 10 years of experience in human resources, including most recently as the director of human resources from the city of Newton, Triniece will provide leadership and oversight on compensation, benefits, leave/ADA, HRMS and the HR Service Center teams as a member of WSU’s HR office.

She graduated from WSU with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and from the University of Phoenix with a master’s degree in human resource management. She is also a SHRM-CP and is president-elect for the Kansas PSHRA (Public Sector HR Association).

The goal of the VOLARÉ Institute of HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) is to build research capabilities at the participating HSI institutions by increasing funding levels and expanding STEM initiatives. The VOLARÉ Institute is funded by NSF for at least the inaugural year. The WSU team consists of Dr. Sara Mata, executive director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives; Dr. Rhonda Lewis, professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Psychology; and Dr. Coleen Pugh, dean of the Graduate School.

WSU faculty are encouraged to fill out the VOLARE Institute Faculty Survey. Check your email for your personal invitation to complete the survey. The link would have been sent to your WSU email address March 4. It will be sent again on March 11 if you have not already completed it by then.

Two undergraduate student teams from the Department of Biomedical Engineering within the College of Engineering placed during the national Medical Device Make-A-Thon (MDM) competition. The event was Feb. 28 through March 2 at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. Twenty-seven teams from across the country participated in the competition, including teams from the University of Illinois and the University of Texas at Austin.

The design competition, which ran from Friday evening to Sunday morning, tasked teams with developing innovative solutions in the field of physical rehabilitation, focusing on areas such as prosthetics, orthopedics, and physical therapy. Teams were given the prompt at 8 p.m. on Friday and had until 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to present their initial design ideas.

The ShockCure Engineers team, consisting of Stephanie Brock, Sophiya Dahal, Caitlyn Joseph and Taylor Spinelli, presented a solution, “ElectroStride,” for asymmetrical pressure distribution in athletes. The team advanced to the second round of the competition and ultimately secured fifth place. The WuShock team, consisting of Benjamin Anderson, Cynthia Chidziwo, Jamie Claeys, Cleopatra Nyevera and Abby Otten, presented a device, “Internal Hypermobility Splint,” for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). Their team placed in the top 12.

Open Streets ICT – WSU & Shocker Neighborhood returns April 13 and university colleges, groups and organizations are encouraged to participate.

From noon to 4 p.m. April 13, Open Streets ICT will take place on 17th Street from Oliver to Volutsia. The almost two-mile stretch is open for biking, walking and running.

The event is free and open to the public.

WSU groups can register for free by putting “on route” on their registration.

In 2024, 90 vendors and 10 food trucks set up on campus and in the neighborhood. Naquela Pack, director of K-12 connections and special projects for Wichita State Connect, expects similar numbers in April.

“We want to take advantage of summer coming up,” Pack said. “Groups can share their services, camps, opportunities they have for young people.”

The Service-Learning Showcase is a unique opportunity for students who participate in service-learning through applied learning opportunities to showcase their experience through a research or reflective poster about the application of their course work to current community issues.

The showcase is an open forum for students to interact with faculty/staff, community partners and other students to engage in conversation about Wichita State’s commitment to the public good. Awards are presented in the following categories:

• Outstanding Overall Service-Learning Project: $550 scholarship to winning entry
• Innovation and Creativity in Problem Solving: $350 scholarship to winning entry
• Community Impact/ Community Choice: $350 scholarship to winning entry
• Collaboration and Leadership in Service-Learning: $350 scholarship to winning entry

And new this year: Faculty Mentoring Awards will be provided to the sponsoring faculty of students awarded in the above categories.

Submissions are due April 4. For more information and to submit, visit the showcase website.

Wichita State is launching a campus-wide university climate survey starting March 3. The survey will be sent to official university email addresses. All students, faculty and staff are asked to participate in this confidential survey about the campus environment.

This survey will guide Wichita State University as it works to continue its mission of inclusive excellence — a commitment to being an inclusive campus that reflects and promotes — in all community members — the evolving diversity of society. Every member of the campus is encouraged to participate.

How the survey will work:
Starting March 3, a survey invitation will be emailed directly to all active students, faculty and staff official university email addresses from Hanover Research, an independent market research and analysis surveyor. The survey has been extended to March 31.

You will be asked direct questions, and you can also fill in open-ended answers about your campus experiences and your thoughts. The study is for quality improvement purposes only; all information you provide will be maintained on a confidential basis by Hanover Research and will only be reported to Wichita State University. The survey should only take 20-25 minutes of your time.

The email will come from Hanover Research (surveys@qemailserver.com) with subject line, “Please share your feedback with Wichita State University.” If you do not see an email, be sure to check both your “focused” and “other” emails. If you still do not see an email, check your junk folder.

Wichita State University’s dedication to being the essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good can only be fully realized if it is intertwined with a commitment to inclusive excellence.

It is essential to the mission of the university as an educational institution to ensure that each member of the Wichita State community (faculty, staff and students) has full opportunity to thrive in its environment, for the university believes that diversity is key to individual flourishing, educational excellence and advancement of knowledge.

This survey will help us in our continuous efforts to ignite change and showcase our work. As we get more responses, we will get better results in representing our community. Please check your WSU email for your individual link and take the time to complete the survey.

Are you interested in planning events and building community on campus? If so, the Student Activities Council executive board can be a good opportunity for you. Being a part of the board is an opportunity to grow as a leader, network with industry professionals, build community among your peers and help plan events for students and faculty.

Apply now on ShockerSync. Applications are due by April 7. To learn more, go to wichita.edu/sac.