Wichita State has long been a partner with Panopto for academic video capture and hosting. This relationship will end on June 1, 2025, and Panopto will no longer be available to staff, faculty or students. If you have videos stored in Panopto, you can download them for future use. OIR has designed training to help you move from Panopto to Stream, the new video capture and hosting solution. The Academic Resources Conference (ARC) for January 2025 also has training available. Most of that training will take place Jan. 14, 2025 online via Teams, and recordings of those sessions will also be available. To make an ARC training plan, consult the session schedule.

At this time, Panopto videos are still safe in Panopto, and any videos you would like to remove from Panopto can be safely removed. This process must be completed no later than May 31, 2025, however. Reach out to the Office of Instructional Resources at OIR@wichita.edu for questions or help.

Five people standing together

The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic had a reason to celebrate in September when client Kurt White, alongside his family and graduate student clinicians, celebrated his participation in Aphasia Friendly Readings. Kurt had been working toward this goal during weekly speech therapy sessions and as part of a home program for several weeks leading up to his well-attended event by friends and family, both in person and on Zoom.

Aphasia-Friendly Readings is an aphasia treatment approach that was initially developed by a former client’s spouse, Harold Regier, and then adapted for the clinic by Dr. Erin O’Bryan, CCC-SLP assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders. Inspired by his wife’s journey with aphasia and difficulty communicating, Harold took notice of her increased ability to speak when participating in reading scripts at church.

He brought the idea of this approach to Dr. O’Bryan in 2020, and she has been conducting research and teaching the method to other professionals ever since. The approach allows for maximal client engagement and family participation by developing a script regarding an important life event/memory as a collaborative therapy activity involving the person with aphasia, family member and speech-language pathologist.

Once the script is established, the person with aphasia and their family member practice reading it, with cuing and guidance from the speech-language pathologist, until the person with aphasia feels that they have improved enough that they are ready to share their story with an invited audience, such as friends and family.

 “This experience was a good reminder that every person has a story to tell, and it was rewarding to be a part of helping Kurt tell his story,” said Tailyn Mellema, graduate student in speech-language pathology. “Even though words are hard for him to say, he has so many memories and ideas to share with the people around him. My favorite part of the experience was seeing all of his friends and family members show up to support him when he presented. It was so evident in his smile that he was excited to share his story with them and encouraged to hear all their kind words.”

Kurt’s aphasia-friendly reading was centered around a passion of his choosing: tattoos. He presented information regarding his large variety of tattoos, plans for a new tattoo and the meaning behind some of them. The story was accompanied by photographs and his mother partnered with him to complete the reading. Kurt’s speech was easily understood and without errors for the three pages of double-spaced reading he completed.

Friends and family commented on how impressive it was to witness someone who typically has difficulty in conversation speak clearly about a past experience that was important to him.

“This approach helped me understand more about Kurt than what he is able to share just in casual conversation,” said Alex, Kurt’s sister. “I realized there are details about his life that he remembers, and by bringing them out through this story reading, I can have more conversations with him about the things that make Kurt, Kurt.”

According to Aphasia.org, aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write. Aphasia is due to injury to the brain — most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals. But brain injuries resulting in aphasia may also arise from head trauma, from brain tumors or from infections. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association estimates 2 million Americans are living with aphasia.

Kurt has been living with aphasia and traumatic brain injury since 2016 and has been a client at The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic for the past five years.

“… Be open and willing to trust the process of the speech clinic and the goals that the clinicians set,” said Denise, Kurt’s mother. “Be patient with your aphasia family member as they know that others get frustrated when they can’t tell you the right words or explain what they mean. Also, be willing to spend extra time with them to help them with words, reading and daily tasks, so they feel important. Consistency and having a regular routine are also important for rehabilitation.”

The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic provides services for speaking, hearing, swallowing and spoken and written language impairments. For information about this specific aphasia treatment approach, or for other inquiries, please call 316-978-3289 or go to: wichita.edu/slhclinic.

Have a book that you would like to suggest for consideration for the Wichita State Common Read program? Send in your nominations for the next common read book for the 2026-27 school year.

Wichita State Common Read is the university’s common read program designed to spark conversation between students across majors on campus. The program strives to take educational concepts learned in the classroom and provide meaningful connections with out-of-the-classroom programs and activities. The WSU Common Read Committee will be convening in spring to review nominations.

Track and field coach John Wise sits down with Shocker play-by-play man Mike Kennedy for an interview. They talk about his entire career from the early days working as a student on campus to today where he is still making memories over 40 years later.

He talks about his job during the football plane crash in 1970, the baseball team’s national championship in 1989, going to the Final 4 with men’s basketball in 2014 and his recent battle with cancer.

Crowd of small symbolic 3d figures linked to one, isolated

The AI boom has brought about many new, free products to the community. Information security has been investigating these AI driven products and how they represent themselves is not always what you expect.

Examples include:

  • When you accept the terms and conditions to use the free model, any emails, text or chat messages, pictures and videos on the device can be collected and used to train, regardless of the sensitivity.
  • Messaging, audio and video is being used to infer and report out a possibly inaccurate picture of an individual’s engagement and participation in meetings.
  • Personal information collected in these systems is being sold to outside entities or reused without consent.

Is there an AI assistant you want to use? If so, reach out to the to the Data Management Committee by email at DataTransferReview@wichita.edu before engaging with free services. “Free” often means data, sensitive or not, becomes their data. Often times, ITS has cheaper, better and safer integrated solutions.

For more information on the safe and ethical use of generative AI, visit WSU Generative AI Guidelines.

The Wichita State Accounts Receivable Office would like to inform students that the IRS requires WSU to report all tuition charges with a valid social security number and legal name. To be eligible for the 2024 Higher Education Tax Credit, you must have your SSN on file with WSU by Dec. 31, 2024.

Please complete the W-9S form by logging into your myWSU portal, going to myFinances tab, under Accounts Receivable Links click on “Provide your SSN to WSU with the W-9S form.” Please return within seven days by mail to: WSU Accounts Receivable, 1845 Fairmount Box 38, Wichita, KS 67260-0038. Accounts Receivable recommends students protect their private information by not emailing this form.

For questions, contact Accounts Receivable at wsuaccountsreceivable@wichita.edu or call 316-978-3333 for assistance.

The University Staff Senate invites the Wichita State community to submit nominations for outstanding university staff for the 2025 President’s Award for Distinguished Service and the newly established Staff Excellence Awards. These awards recognize the dedication and excellence of Wichita State staff who have provided exemplary, dedicated and caring service to the WSU community that is beyond the expectations of the duties and responsibilities of their position. Selected honorees are recognized at the annual Shocker Pride Celebration. Nominations can be submitted by anyone from within the Wichita State community.

To nominate a deserving staff member, visit the nomination webpage to learn more.

Nomination materials must be received by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7. Send your nomination electronically to Gabriel Fonseca at gabriel.fonseca@wichita.edu

Applications for the 2025 John A. See Innovation Award are now open and are being accepted through Jan. 17, 2025. The award was established in 2013 by John A. See to support prototype development, which may include development of products in engineering and science, development of life-enhancing therapeutic products, creation of application of new knowledge and artistic ventures.

Faculty and students are eligible to apply for the proof of concept award. For more information and access to the online application options, go to wichita.edu/innovationaward.

Applications are now open for the Wichita State Mortar Board Honor Society. Accepted juniors and seniors can creative positive change on campus through scholarship, leadership and service.

Since its founding in 1918, Mortar Board has recognized students who exemplify excellence and dedication to helping others. The WSU chapter has been active since 1954, with over 1,590 WSU alumni who have embraced this legacy. Becoming a member of Mortar Board comes with many benefits, including recognition for achievements and leadership abilities, development for the Wichita community and fellowship and scholarship opportunities.

Don’t miss this chance make the most of your impact on campus. Apply by Jan. 17, 2025.

Faculty, review the final exam schedule available on the Registrar’s website.

Final exams should be held in the same room assigned to the class during the time slot listed on the final exam schedule. Any deviation from the room or time should be coordinated with the Registrar’s Office ahead of time to avoid conflicts with other classes. Contact michele.august@wichita.edu if you have any questions or need to make alternate arrangements.