Category: News

Approximately 1,800 students from across the United States, Canada and Japan will travel to Wichita State in May 2023 for the Science Olympiad National Tournament.

“Science Olympiad is a team competition that allows middle school and high school students a chance to learn about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas that they might not get a chance to in their regular classroom setting,” said Jill Fisher, community outreach coordinator for Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the national tournament director. “Competitions involve device-building, testing, lab work, and written exams.”

For example, teams might participate in an ornithology event, which includes identification of bird specimens, bird calls and testing of knowledge of avian diets, habitats and ranges. Testing and lab activities include wet chemistry, identifying unknown liquids and solids, and basic tests with titrations and potential of hydrogen (pH). Physics labs may include electricity or optics.

“Getting the national tournament is a huge deal,” said Dr. Andrew Hippisley, dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “It will associate Wichita State with STEM education at the national level, and the energy such a large flock of eager young minds brings to the campus is going to be amazing. These are the nation’s future students, researchers, inventors, entrepreneurs. Who knows how significant a step on their path this will be for them?”

Students will be accompanied by siblings, designated coaches, parents and extra students from their schools, bringing the expected attendance to between 4,000 and 7,000.

“This is a huge event. The opening program and the competition are usually high-energy,” Fisher said. “It’s a great way to wrap up the Science Olympiad season, which starts in September and goes all the way to May.”

Participants will stay in on-campus housing and local hotels during their visit to Wichita. All competitive activities will take place in the Rhatigan Student Center, classroom spaces, Koch Arena and other athletic facilities.

Wichita State first hosted the national competition in 2007. The university has hosted the Kansas Science Olympiad state tournament since 1988.

A champion for women and water quality, a world-reknown heart surgeon, and an ambassador to Tanzania — all exemplifying the merits and advantages of a liberal arts and sciences education — will be inducted at the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame ceremony 2-3 p.m., Oct. 22 at Wiedemann Hall. Induction into the Fairmount College Hall of Fame is the highest recognition of outstanding alumni who have had a significant impact on the region, nation and world. The event is open to the public.

The inductees are:

• Quincalee Brown, 1961, BA-English; BA-speech. Brown served the Water Environment Federation as its executive director and was a founding member of the Water Environment Research Foundation. She also worked as an independent water quality and association management consultant. Prior to her work with water quality, Brown held several positions in organizations that served the needs of women in the Washington, D.C., area. She is also the former Wichita State debate coach.
• Vincent L. Gott, 1951, BS-biological sciences. Over the course of his career, Gott assisted in developing the earliest pacemaker and artificial heart valves. During his time at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he performed the first heart transplant operation, and perfected operational procedures for correcting congenital heart defects in patients with Marfan syndrome. He also trained and mentored more than 50 thoracic surgery residents and fellows. Gott will be inducted posthumously.
• Alfonso Lenhardt, 1976, MS-administration of justice. The former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, Lenhardt has also served the U.S. Senate as Sergeant at Arms, as U.S. representative to the East African Community, and in high leadership positions for the U.S. Agency of International Development. Before holding these government positions, he had a long career with the U.S. Army, retiring as Major General.

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.