Category: News

Six student leaders from the Barton School of Business’s Cummings Student Managed Investment Fund (CSMIF) recently traveled to Chicago for the 2025 Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium (SMIFC) Conference, where they engaged with industry leaders, expanded their professional networks and explored new strategies to strengthen the fund.

“These types of experiences go far beyond the classroom — they’re transformational,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, dean of the Barton School. “They provide our students with unique access to the financial world and allow them to represent the Barton School on a national stage with confidence and professionalism.”

Food for Fines is back for November. Donate non-perishable food or hygiene items to the Kiah Duggins Shocker Support Locker between Nov. 3 and Nov. 7 to get your parking citations waived. You may drop off your donations to Student Engagement & Belonging in 216 Rhatigan Student Center or to the Parking Services building.

Wondering what to bring or how many items you need? Visit the website for a comprehensive list of recommended items and guide for donations to bring per citation amount.

Submissions are still open for the December edition of Academe. Any submissions after Friday, Nov. 7 will be saved for a future edition of the Academe newsletter.

If you are submitting on behalf of someone else, please indicate that in the comments section of your submission. Academe publishes four times a year and highlights faculty and staff accomplishments.

If you have questions regarding submissions to Academe, reach out to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu or 316-978-3013.

Applications are now being accepted for undergraduate research support during the spring semester from the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) program. Students in this program are supported with an hourly wage for a ten-week period and mentors are allocated funds for lab supplies.

To be eligible, students must identify a mentor and a research lab in which to work. For full announcement and eligibility requirements, email Meris Carte, research laboratory manager for biological sciences, at meris.carte@wichita.edu. Applications are due at end of day Nov. 20.

Tuesday, Oct. 28 is National Vote Early Day. In celebration of this national holiday, the Shockers Vote Coalition will provide rides to an early voting location to vote. Free bus rides will be available throughout the day to give you rides to the polls beginning at 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Meet on the first floor of the RSC to learn more about voting early and to catch your ride to vote early.

For more information email civicengagement@wichita.edu or call 316-978-7016.

Wichita State will host the 10th annual Ad Astra Conference for First-Generation College Students Jan. 30 in Woolsey Hall and Wichita State Connect. The annual conference brings together first-generation college students from higher education institutions across the state for a transformational day-long experience with educational workshops supporting the academic and social capital for first-generation college students.

Organizers are currently curating educational session workshop presenters for that day. Workshop sessions will take place 9:30-10:15 a.m., 10:30-11:15 a.m., 12:30-1:15 p.m., 1:30-2:15 p.m. and 2:30-3:15 p.m. If you have interest in presenting a breakout session workshop for the first-generation college student attendees on this day, contact Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

Kansas English, edited by Dr. Katie Cramer, professor of English Education in the School of Education, and published in WSU’s Open Journal Systems by the Kansas Association of Teachers of English, has been named a recipient of the 2025 NCTE Affiliate Journal of Excellence Award, given by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). This is the sixth year in a row that Kansas English has earned this distinction.

Established in 1995, this award honors outstanding affiliate journals and their editors who demonstrate excellence in these publications. The winning affiliate journal must be a magazine-type publication — print or online — and provide members with scholarly articles on issues and topics related to English language arts teaching. The journals are judged on content, organization and scholarly exploration, appeal to many different groups within the affiliate, coverage of important issues in English language arts education, and inclusion of other types of writing (e.g., poetry, affiliate news, book reviews).

The Affiliate Journal of Excellence Award winners will be announced at the 2025 NCTE Annual Convention in Denver, Colorado, during the Affiliate Session Nov. 23.

Is your organization hosting an event during Dec. 1-5 that focuses on promoting study skills, relaxation or entertainment? If so, you can register your event with SAC’s De-Stress Fest. Registering your event entitles it to all advertising campaigns hosted in promotion of De-Stress Fest, including digital signage, physical advertising materials and in-person advertising. Any campus department, campus partner or student organization may register. For questions contact sac@wichita.edu.

Join the Military and Veteran Student Center as Wichita State honors the legacy of Captain Riley L. Pitts, the first African American officer to receive the Medal of Honor, during the rededication of the center at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 in 318 Shocker Success Center.

Program of events will include remarks from campus leadership, a presentation to the Pitts family and the unveiling of the newly dedicated Pitts Memorial Plaque. All students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members are welcome to attend as the center celebrates the enduring service, leadership and sacrifice of WSU’s military-affiliated community.

The Sunflower student newspaper at Wichita State was awarded three Pacemakers from the Associated Collegiate Press at the National College Media Convention in October.

The team was awarded the Newspaper Pacemaker, Multiplatform Pacemaker and the Innovation Pacemaker. The Sunflower is one of two college newspapers who have been awarded five consecutive Newspaper Pacemaker awards, and this marks the first time the paper has received the Innovation Pacemaker.

The Sunflower was the only college newspaper in Kansas to have been awarded a Pacemaker and was among other prestigious college newspapers from across the United States.