Category: News

Lot 35S, the parking lot near the John Bardo Center, will be closed Saturday, Oct. 17 for the Student Activities Council Trunk or Treat event. Students, faculty and staff who typically park in this lot will need to park in other lots as allowed by their ePermit during this time.

The purpose of lot reservations is to help accommodate large groups of guests visiting campus for events or the event itself. Lot reservations are not to be used for WSU affiliates. Remember, visitors to campus can park without an ePermit up to three times each semester.

Red reserved and ADA stalls are not subject to lot closures, and proper use is permitted during this time.

The Distinguished Scholarship Invitational (DSI) will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21. Through DSI, four $80,000 scholarships are awarded including the three Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships and the Richard D. Smith Scholarship. Organizers need your help in selecting the next scholarship recipients.

Observers are Wichita State faculty, staff, alumni and community members who are present in each room to score the student participants in group activities. There are two shifts observers can choose between: 7:30 to 10:50 a.m. and 2:30 to 5:50 p.m. Historically, more than 65% of the seniors who attend DSI enroll at Wichita State, so organizers would love to have your help with one or both sessions.

If you’re interested in serving as an observer, go to wichita.edu/dsiobserver to sign up. For questions, contact Mandy Harmon at mandy.harmon@wichita.edu.

WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement invites the Wichita State community to submit nominations for the 2026 Laura Cross Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes a current or retired WSU faculty or staff member whose commitment and contributions have helped shape, strengthen and sustain WSU. The award is intended to recognize a career of meaningful service rather than a single achievement or project. Nominees must have a minimum of 10 years of service to WSU. Nominations close Dec. 17.

The recipient will be honored at the Retired Faculty and Staff Luncheon on April 15, 2027.

To learn more about the award and to nominate a deserving individual, visit the nomination webpage.

Shockers, as you might have seen, the new myWSU portal is now live for all users, providing a simple, modernized and customizable experience for Shockers to find what they need faster and easier.

Users are able to customize their Home tab with their most used items by clicking the bookmark icon in the top right corner of each card. Give it a try by saving your email to your Home tab. Search “email” to find the “Student Email” and “Microsoft 365” cards. Alternatively, you can access your email by clicking the three lines in the top left corner and going to “Resources” then “Email.”

If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the new portal, submit feedback with the link in the “Welcome to myWSU” card. If you need to access the old myWSU, the legacy portal will still be accessible through the “Legacy myWSU” card until spring 2027.

Lot 2W, the parking lot near Charles Koch Arena, will be closed Wednesday, Oct. 14 for an event in the building. Students, faculty and staff who typically park in this lot will need to park in other lots as allowed by their ePermit during this time.

The purpose of lot reservations is to help accommodate large groups of guests visiting campus for events or the event itself. Lot reservations are not to be used for WSU affiliates. Remember, visitors to campus can park without an ePermit up to three times each semester.

Red reserved and ADA stalls are not subject to lot closures, and proper use is permitted during this time.

The Barton School of Business has named Tanner Gegen as its director of finance, HR and administration. Gegen, a two-time Wichita State graduate with more than nine years of experience in finance, operations and facilities management. In this role, Gegen will oversee key financial and administrative operations for the Barton School, supporting the school’s budgeting, financial planning and operational needs.

Gegen most recently served as a financial analyst and business planner at Boeing in Wichita. In that role, he supported risk assessments and recovery planning, developed and maintained budgets, and presented operating budgets to corporate leadership.

The comprehensive assessment of the Heskett Center pool facility remains ongoing in order to help ensure that the pool remains safe, reliable and well-maintained for users. 

Based on the current schedule, the pool is anticipated to remain closed for approximately seven more weeks. Depending on the nature and extent of any repairs identified through the assessment process, that timeline could be extended, and administration will evaluate the scope and financial feasibility of any recommended work. 

Additional updates will be shared as more information becomes available. For the latest information, visit wichita.edu/heskett.

The Barton School of Business is accepting nominations for its 2028 “Beyond” Hall of Fame class. The Hall of Fame recognizes and celebrates industry executives, business leaders, alumni and supporters whose leadership, achievements and contributions have made a lasting impact on the Barton School, Wichita State University and the broader community.

Nominations will be accepted through Oct. 19. Individuals may nominate candidates by emailing bartonbeyond@wichita.edu with the nominee’s name, title and company affiliation; a brief rationale describing the nominee’s contributions and impact; and the nominator’s name and contact information.

The 2028 inductees will join six distinguished members of the Barton School “Beyond” Hall of Fame. The inaugural class in 2024 honored W. Frank Barton, Clark Bastian and Fran Jabara. Paul Allen, Dan Carney and Steve Feilmeier joined the Hall of Fame in 2026 during the Barton School’s centennial year.

The Office of Student Accommodations and Testing is open with its regular hours during fall break, Oct. 12-13. Additionally, OSAT will work its regular hours on Veterans Day.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to share an opportunity for students to work alongside industry professionals and tackle a real-world problem from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works during Innovation Works, Nov. 6-8.

This year’s challenge, “Firewatch,” asks student teams to develop an early-response system for wildfire detection and response, addressing the critical time between first ignition and first action. While extreme wildfires account for a small percentage of total fires, they cause the majority of wildfire damage, making early detection a significant challenge for communities and emergency responders.

During the 45-hour innovation challenge, students will collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to explore solutions involving technologies such as satellites, drones, sensors, artificial intelligence, communications systems or entirely new approaches. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works engineers will mentor participants, provide feedback on team concepts and evaluate final presentations.

Students from all majors are encouraged to participate. Successful teams often include a mix of technical, business, communications and problem-solving perspectives. Participants may register with a team or sign up individually and be matched with other students.

The winning team will earn a trip to a Lockheed Martin facility to meet engineers and see their work firsthand.

Students interested in participating should register their interest at wsuinnovationworks.com. The challenge brief will be released Oct. 9, one-page team responses are due Oct. 22 and selected teams will be notified Oct. 23. Space is limited, and advance registration is required. There will be no walk-up registration on Nov. 6.

For more information, contact Jared Goering at jared.goering@wichita.edu.