Category: News

Lucretia Taylor will be joining the Wichita State University Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance as its new Title IX coordinator. 

In this role, she is responsible for investigating complaints of sexual misconduct, discrimination and harassment. Prior to joining WSU, Taylor worked at Kansas State University’s Office of Institutional Equity at Kansas State University as an investigator. She investigated complaints under Title IX, VII and VI.

The “Legacies of Racism in American Culture” series will return with at 3 p.m. Nov. 17 via Zoom (Meeting ID: 998 4330 8081, Passcode: 441316). Laila Ballout, Wichita State assistant professor of history, will present on the subject while Andrew Hippisley, dean, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will host the event.

During this edition, the U.S. immigration laws that define which peoples of the world should be admitted to the United States and who should be barred or limited from living, working or becoming citizens will be discussed. These laws have consistently reflected the ideas about race and ethnicity held by the policymakers who create them.

This talk will also examine a few major examples of the legacies of racism in U.S. immigration law, including Asian exclusion, quota systems, the impact of the civil rights movement of the 1960s,  the ways that race is still a factor in the colorblind, and the U.S. immigration policies that took shape after 1965.

Ballout’s work focuses on citizen activism in the U.S. relationship with the Middle East, especially by considering immigrant and diaspora activism and the role of religion in U.S. engagement with the region. She is currently working on her book “Saving Lebanon: American and Lebanese Activism for Intervention in the Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990.”

On Nov. 8 , the Ulrich Museum of Art  installed the newest sculpture in its world-class Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection.

The interactive sculpture, “Ernest and Ruth,” by artist Hank Willis Thomas, is the 82nd piece in the museum’s outdoor sculpture collection and it’s the first by an African American sculptor. The sculpture is in the shape of a giant speech bubble that also serves as a bench. Thomas chose this shape because he wanted each person who sits there to know they have something of value to add to the conversation happening around them.

The sculpture installed in front of the Ulrich is one of three benches in the series, all similarly named after Thomas’s grandparents, that will be on the Wichita State campus. The other two benches will be installed at a later date and will be located just off the main traffic area leading up to Woolsey Hall.

“These sculptures are the perfect fit for our WSU campus,” Leslie Brothers, director of the Ulrich Museum of Art, said. “They serve as a playful celebration of expressing individuality through free speech.”

Thomas’ sculptures are the first works by an African American artist in the Ulrich Museum’s outdoor sculpture collection. In addition to his sculpture, Thomas’s 2009 series of 20 paintings titled “I Am a Man” is a work that the museum recently lent to Willis’ large-scale traveling mid-career retrospective, and they were featured in its Ulrich + Artists + You Community Billboard Project last year.

Visitors are encouraged to come by, sit within the speech bubble, and have their photos taken with Thomas’s sculpture. If you post your photos on social media, be sure to tag the museum (@ulrichmuseum) and use the hashtag #ulrichmuseum.

The John See Innovation Award is provided to support entrepreneurs and innovators with prototype development and moving your idea forward. All students and faculty are eligible to apply. Awards typically range from $1,000 to $20,000. Applications are open until Jan. 8, 2022, but will be awarded based on the order they are received.

The Wichita State Wind Ensemble Concert, scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 11, has been canceled. The WSU Symphonic Band will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15 at the Miller Concert Hall. WSU students may receive one free ticket with their WSU ID.

The Department of Sport Management has secured approval for a new undergraduate certificate in Sport Leadership and Branding. The 15-credit certificate launches in the spring 2022 semester.

The new credential will be available to all students. However, it is particularly designed to support the educational needs of varsity student-athletes in the new Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) marketplace.

“Key to supporting student-athletes is educating them on personal leadership, branding and NIL-related concepts,” Dr. Mark Vermillion, interim associate dean and department chair in Sport Management, said. “The purpose of the new certificate is to support student-athletes and the athletic department by providing essential educational resources, support and content associated with student-athletes’ development in these key areas.”

The new certificate builds on the ALTITUDE student-athlete development program launched in fall 2021 by Wichita State Athletics in partnership with Opendorse. Students who complete various facets of the ALTITUDE program may secure academic credit toward the Sport Leadership and Branding certificate.

The new certificate includes nine credits of required courses in leadership, personal branding, and sport and entertainment agencies. The other six hours of electives include options in sport marketing, technology in sport management and an applied leadership experience.

Archaeology fieldwork can be arduous and painstaking, but it’s a vital part of preserving the heritage and history of indigenous people.

Wichita State University’s Dr. Crystal Dozier recently led a team of students in a cultural resource management project for the city of Wichita, ensuring that modern infrastructure wouldn’t destroy or damage ancient artifacts.

Are you working Veterans Day Nov. 11? Do you need help entering time and leave for the day?  To learn more about how to accomplish this, please review the Payroll Office’s Veterans Day frequently asked questions (FAQs) website.

The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic is now bursting with new books. The books were purchased with a Walmart Community Grant that was awarded to Melissa Vagts — master’s in speech-pathology, Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, associate clinical professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. The children’s books will be given to pediatric clients at the end of each semester to promote literacy, language development and foster child-caregiver bonding.

Holiday safety is an issue that burns brightest from late November to mid-January when students, faculty, and staff gather for holiday parties and decorate their offices or rooms. Decorating is one of the best ways to get in the holiday spirit, but fires and injuries caused by improper use of electrical decorations such as lights, candles or other open flames can injure or kill. To avoid these incidences, members can take basic precautions to ensure their safety throughout the season:

• Decorations of all types shall be either non-combustible or adequately treated to render them fire-resistant.  Decorations are allowed 14 calendar days before the holiday or event. All decorations are expected to be removed no later than seven calendar days after the holiday or event. Artificial wrapped presents kept on the floor are limited to lobby areas. Keep wrapping paper on artwork to a minimum (i.e., less than 10% of the wall). The use of trees or wreaths shall be restricted to artificial types containing a Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or (Factory Mutual) (FM) tag or seal indicating satisfactory fire resistance. No live or cut trees or wreaths are allowed. Do not use strings of lights on metal trees.
• Streamers, garlands, lights and other decorations cannot run along or across halls, obstruct or restrict aisles, passageways, or corridors; be hung from smoke detectors or sprinkler heads or obstruct exits signs, fire extinguishers or other fire equipment. Holiday lighting strings must be double insulated or grounded and have an approval rating from either UL or FM. A maximum of three strands may be connected together. No extension cords shall be used to light strings of lights, only a circuit breaker-protected power strip shall be used.
• Decorations may not be attached to doors, walls, or painted surfaces by any methods which would damage the surface or leave behind adhesive residue (i.e., low adhesive masking tape is preferred). Any costs associated with damage caused by the installation or removal of decorative materials will be the responsibility of the department.
• Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, the following list:
• • Latex balloons, silly-string, bubbles, glitter, confetti, rice or birdseed.
  • Fireworks (including sparklers) or weapons of any kind.
  • Live animals (except for those assisting individuals with disabilities).
  • Any item with an open flame such as candles or incense.
  • Decorative materials may not be placed on fire doors, smoke doors, light fixtures, electrical equipment, electrical outlets, circuit breaker panels, etc.
  • Cut trees, tree branches, pinecones, wreaths, mistletoe, and live potted plants. Artificial trees, wreaths, and other seasonal decorations must be fire or flame-retardant. It is the department’s responsibility to save packaging material as proof to the fire marshal that decorative materials have received flame-retardant treatment.

The following list of materials may not be used for decorations under any circumstances because they are inherently combustible or cannot be flame proofed:

• Bamboo
• Cedar trees or branches
• Corn stalks or shucks
• Cotton or confetti (loose, in large quantities)
• Dry moss or leaves
• Flammable powders or liquids
• Hay or straw (loose or baled)
• Paper streamers (serpentine)
• Plastic sheeting or pellets
• Sawdust
• Tumbleweeds
• Wood Bark or shavings

For more information, please contact the WSU Fire & Safety Office at 316-978-5803 or 5531.