Category: News

The WSU Child Development Center has open pre-K spots for the upcoming school year. To be eligible for its pre-K classroom, children need to be entering kindergarten in the fall of 2025.

Call 316-978-3109 for more information or email Jillian Hoefer at jillian.hoefer@wichita.edu.

With dozens of brightly colored origami figures decorating the shelves and sketches covering the whiteboard in the corner, Catherine Searle’s office looks more like an art studio than a space to do fundamental research in mathematics. 

Searle’s field of study has a bad rap, a fact of which she is fully aware. 

“I get it – Math can be terrifying at times,” Searle, professor of mathematics, said. “But there’s so much to discover and create, and there’s still so much to solve.”

KMUW’s free calendar stickers are back for the 2024-25 academic year. To request a calendar, send your name, campus box number and the quantity requested to cooper@kmuw.org. KMUW has limited quantities, please only order what you need.

Calendars available while supplies last.

The American Institute of Architects has recognized the Youngmeyer Ranch building as a recipient of its prestigious Small Projects Award. The low-profile, off-grid facility, located in Elk County and owned by the Youngmeyer Trust, opened in the summer of 2022 and was immediately put to use by Wichita State faculty and students for applied learning and applied research opportunities.

“Our goal was to construct a facility that would support the teaching and research of field biology,” Greg Houseman, professor of biological sciences and field station director, said. “For many of our students, these field experiences are pivotal to understanding how prairies work and discovering the best ways to manage these at-risk habitats.”

The Airbus/WSU Aerospace Engineering Wing Box Design Competition gives students and the public an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of structural analyses and design.

There are three categories participants can compete in:

• High school: Open to high school student teams. Competitors will design and construct wingboxes and also create a poster display describing their design philosophy and contest-related activities.
• Open category: Open to the public at large. Practicing engineers in the local aviation industries and hobbyists also are encouraged to compete.
• AE 525 category: Open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in AE 525: Flight Structures I at WSU. The wing-box design challenge will be mandatory for students enrolled in this course.

Reach out to Dr. Suresh Raju at suresh.keshavanarayana@wichita.edu with any contest or technical questions.

CARE Team had a total of 31 CARE cases for the month of May. Though there was an 11.43% decrease in the number of cases from May 2023 to May 2024, in comparing actual numbers May 2024 only had three less CARE cases compared to the previous year (31 cases compared to 34 cases).

The top concerns reported during the month included academic concerns and financial concerns. Academic concerns were related to not passing courses and stress of finals. CARE Team case managers communicated with academic advisors, student conduct and professors to communicate best supportive actions for these students. The financial concerns students reported were related to finding employment for the summer and finances to pay for fall 2024. Common resources discussed were Handshake, Scholarship Universe and Financial Wellness programs.

Overall, CARE’s case managers provided 244 electronic outreaches (211 emails and 33 texts) in the month of May to students, ensuring resources were provided and needs were met prior to students leaving for the summer. CARE Team can predict the number of CARE cases will decrease during the month of June; however, CARE will continue to meet with students during the summer as needs arise.

The Sunflower is a student-led newspaper that covers Wichita State and the surrounding area. Its newsletter comes out every Monday, delivering some of the most important news from the previous week straight to inboxes.

To subscribe to the newsletter, visit The Sunflower website and enter an email address. Subscribers can unsubscribe at any time.

For questions or concerns, contact The Sunflower editor-in-chief at editor@thesunflower.com or visit The Sunflower’s office in the basement of Elliott Hall, room 019.

Andrew Hippisley, dean of Wichita State’s Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has accepted a position as vice provost for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). His last day at WSU will be July 2.

David Eichhorn, associate dean of the Fairmount College, will fill in as interim dean while the university conducts a national search for Hippisley’s replacement.

Hippisley has been dean at Wichita State for six years. During his time as dean, the Fairmount College has seen unprecedented growth in research, with proposal dollars nearly doubling from $22 million to $40 million a year and external dollars received increasing from $7 million to more than $13 million a year. Research strategies developed in this time include a discipline-specific workload policy and a buy-out policy.

In his time at WSU, Hippisley also helped launch new programs such as the master’s in mathematical data science, bachelor’s in applied linguistics, bachelor’s in American Sign Language, Associate of Sciences, and certificates in sustainability studies, ArcGIS and space sciences. In addition, he helped create new academic pathways through the Law 3+3 program with University of Kansas School of Law, a 4+3 pathway with the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, and articulation agreements with multiple community colleges.

“Under my leadership, the college has overhauled its requirements to reframe them as competencies that are outcomes of a liberal arts education in order to make explicit the career-readiness value of a liberal arts and sciences education,” Hippisley said.

Community engagement has also been one of Hippisley’s priorities as he made strong efforts to strengthen the college’s ties with its alumni base. In partnership with the WSU Foundation, Hippisley has helped secure $24 million to support the mission of the Fairmount College and has developed new industrial and business partnerships, including a legal professions advisory board and an industrial math clinic.

“It has been a pleasure working with Dean Hippisley as both a fellow dean and as a colleague over the years,” said Dr. Shirley Lefever, provost and executive vice president of Wichita State. “He has brought a vision of collaboration and strategic thinking during his tenure that has resulted in more interdisciplinary programs and increased research productivity across several departments in the college. We wish him well in his new role.”

Students ages 13-18 will embark on a transformative journey guided by seasoned WSU Esports professionals and coaches who will provide expert training and mentorship.

This immersive camp is designed to cater to all skill levels. Participants can expect a blend of intensive gameplay sessions, strategic workshops and hands-on experience with state-of-the-art gaming equipment throughout the camp. Games covered are Valiant, Overwatch 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Rocket League.

The camp will be June 17-21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. Registration is $370 per person.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to share this information with those who may be interested in this opportunity. Session two of the camp begins June 24.

Wichita State University announces the appointment of Pierre Harter as interim associate vice president for Research.

In this position, Harter will focus on faculty-led academic research, aiming to enhance WSU’s applied research efforts and align both with its vision for applied learning.

Harter also serves as associate vice president of research operations for Industry and Defense Programs. He returned to the university in 2021 after spending 21 years in various executive leadership, research and engineering positions at Spirit AeroSystems, Bombardier Learjet and Adam Aircraft Industries. In his current position, Harter oversees some programs within the National Institute for Research and Digital Transformation and the National Institute for Aviation Research, engaging multiple university departments and IDP labs in interdisciplinary research.

Harter reports to John Tomblin, WSU executive vice president for Research and Industry and Defense Programs and NIAR executive director.

“I am confident Pierre will be an ideal leader for WSU research,” Tomblin said. “He has a passion and track record for bringing together multiple departments to accomplish a broader goal. This will serve WSU well, not only in efforts to increase WSU research programs, but also to grow applied learning and enrollment in graduate and undergraduate programs.”

Tomblin resumed oversight of the division of Research in March.

Harter completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from Wichita State. As a student, he worked in the Advanced Materials Lab at the National Institute for Aviation Research. He earned his MBA from Newman University and was a previously an adjunct lecturer for the business school there. He served on the WSU Board of Trustees for nine years and is currently a member of the USD 385 school board and the Industry Advisory Board for WSU’s College of Engineering.

Faculty and staff will have an opportunity to meet with Harter and Research Office staff at an event in early August.