Category: News

The Shocker Career Accelerator has shared its annual report for the 2022-23 academic year.

Here are a few things the report highlights:

• Launched the new Career Ready Journey
• Curated 131 learning experiences
• Equipped 865 students for career success with professional attire
• Facilitated 1,770 career ready appointments
• Connected 3,340 students at career fairs and events
• Reviewed 7,692 documents
• Empowered 8,219 students in applied learning
• Supported the submission of 55,185 applications through Handshake

Shockers viewing the April 8 solar eclipse can do so at a variety of hotspots on campus. Check out the selfie spots tag on the digital campus map for great locations on campus to watch the eclipse from, including:

• The south side of Jabara Hall, where starting at 1 p.m., Dr. Jason Ferguson — professor and director of physics at WSU — will have a special solar telescope set up for Shockers to get an up close look of the eclipse.
• The third floor balcony of the Rhatigan Student Center
• The Promise Bridge south of Woolsey Hall
• The Wichita State sign at 21st and Oliver
• The west lawn of Morrison Hall
• The Shocker Hall courtyard
• The Braeburn Square eating areas (and grab a lunch)
• The seating area north of the RSC
• The west entrance of Ablah Library

The eclipse begins at about 12:30 p.m., and the best viewing, when the eclipse is at its maximum, is around 1:45 p.m.

And don’t forget to follow guidelines on how to have a safe viewing experience.

The Office of Academic Affairs has announced new emeriti members. Help congratulate the following retired emeriti:

• Elizabeth H. King, president emerita of the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement
• Craig L. Torbenson, associate professor emeritus of history

Emeritus status is an honorary designation conferred upon retirees in recognition of their contributions and accomplishments over their years of service to the university.

Visit the Emeriti Faculty page for a complete listing of emeritus and emerita faculty.

Science-minded teenagers will take over campus this weekend, testing their knowledge and skills for various STEM related events.

The Kansas Science Olympiad state tournament participants will begin arriving Friday, April 5 and will compete in several different STEM events throughout Saturday, April 6.

Faculty, staff and students can help visitors who may not be familiar with the Wichita State campus by showing landmarks and offering directions.

The Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences sponsors the Kansas Science Olympiad program. Wichita State hosts the state competition in April each year. Area middle and high school students begin preparation as soon as their classes begin in the fall and try out for a place on their school’s team. Teams may participate in more than 20 events, which include building wheeled vehicles, bridges and rubberband-powered aircraft, solving crime scenarios, or working steadily with teammates on written exams.

On the afternoon of April 8, Wichitans looking up into the sky will be able to see a partial solar eclipse, with the best view at around 1:45 p.m. Central Time. Despite not being in the path of totality, it will still be an event worth watching.

If you’re planning to view the solar eclipse, KMUW offers tips to safely watch, from start to finish, including where to find proper eyewear and alternative methods to view the eclipse.

You can also find additional information on safely viewing the eclipse from NASA, and NASA will host a livestream of the eclipse starting at noon April 8.

Dr. Nick Solomey, professor in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, also provided insights on what has been described as the “Great American Eclipse” to KWCH.

The Chronicle of Higher Education will soon change the way readers access it online. The third-party cookie policies of Google and other browsers are changing in 2024, so simply being on the WSU campus will no longer provide automatic access.

Since each Internet browser is rolling out its new policies at different times throughout 2024, there is no single date for when the change will take place.

So that you don’t accidently lose access to this valuable academic resource, University Libraries encourages employees go to The Chronicle’s website now to set up an account using your WSU email address (@wichita.edu). You can then customize your individual account to include access to The Chronicle’s newsletters such as Academe Today, Race on Campus, Teaching and other resources such as academic reports and “how-to” guides. And, of course, there is continued access to The Chronicle’s job board.

Off-campus access to The Chronicle will continue via proxied IP authentication.

The WSU Libraries will continue to keep employees up-to-date should additional information become available regarding access to The Chronicle as browser cookie policies change throughout the year.

The third OAK Supercomputing Conference will be held at Wichita State University between May 20-23. Full details are available on the conference website. The program includes scientific talks, poster presentations and hands-on workshops. Special workshops offered include: Deep Learning by NVIDIA and MATLAB by MathWorks.

The conference is being co-organized with the fourth national High-Performance Computing Security Workshop, May 20-21.

The OAK conference and the HPC Security Workshops are open to all level of participants (faculty, researchers, HPC/IT admins and students and industry). The goal is to bring together the HPC users to lower the barrier of entry to HPC for folks who do not have access to it. Topics include High Performance and High Throughput Computing (HPC/HTC), Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Data Analytics and Data Visualization, and Internet of Things (IoT). Slots for podium talks and poster presentations are available (see the websites for more details).

The conference and workshop are available at no charge, but registrations are required (separately for the OAK Conference and HPC Security Workshop). The events will be held in-person on WSU’s campus to promote interaction and collaboration (see conference website for lodging information).

Travel funding available: Limited funding is available to support travel. Participants from emerging/smaller institutions and under-represented groups are specially encouraged to apply.

Students who are interested in studying abroad over the next winter break can start planning now and look at the options available in many different countries.

Programs are generally three weeks long during the month of January. Areas of study include environmental studies, international business, music, religion, art history, photography, language, psychology, sociology and more.

Costs range from $2,000 to $6,290 (includes most fees for the programs except for the flight).

Get started by completing the WSU study abroad application or email the study abroad offices at studyabroad@wichita.edu.

TRIO Disability Support Services (DSS) is pleased to announce that they have been recertified as a Level 1 tutor training program by the internationally recognized College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). For more than thirty years CRLA has been a leader in learning assistance, reading and academic support programs with almost 1,300 members and over 2,000 certified training programs worldwide.

TRIO DSS has worked hard to develop a tutor training program that meets CRLA’s rigorous standards and has successfully maintained its certification since 2017. Achieving certification means that the TRIO DSS Peer Tutoring Program has met CRLA’s high standards for tutor selection, training, direct service and evaluation as an integral part of their overall tutoring program.

For more information about the TRIO DSS Peer Tutoring Program, contact Brooke Allen, tutor coordinator for TRIO DSS at 316-978-5949 or brooke.allen@wichita.edu. TRIO DSS is located in 158 Grace Wilkie Annex.

The Shocker Leadership Experience (SLE) is a free five-day, four-night overnight experience at Rock Springs 4-H Camp in Junction City, Kansas from Monday, May 13 to Friday, May 17.

SLE engages participants in leadership knowledge and skill development facilitated in both small and large groups, as well as through numerous interactive activities. The program is great for all students, regardless of leadership experience. Topics include:

• Self-leadership
• Building community/belonging
• Leadership power and influence
• Living and leading on purpose

Transportation, food, lodging and a T-shirt are all included at no additional charge.

Applications are open until 11:59 p.m. April 14. For questions, email lead.grad@wichita.edu.