Category: News

The Barton School of Business proudly welcomes Gene and Yolanda Camarena as its dynamic Entrepreneurs-in-Residence duo for the spring 2024 semester. Gene, serving as the president and CEO of La Raza Pizza, Inc., brings unparalleled expertise in the business realm. Complementing his prowess, Yolanda, a dedicated leader with a significant career as a social justice and equity advocate in education, enriches the community with her invaluable insights. Together, they form an exceptional team poised to inspire and elevate our academic and entrepreneurial landscape.

“Yolanda and I are deeply honored to embark on this meaningful journey as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at the Barton School,” Gene Camarena said. “Recognizing the pivotal role education played in our own success, we are committed to ensuring that our achievements extend beyond personal accomplishments. Fueled by a passion for community progress and prosperity, our role allows us to uplift others through thoughtful and collaborative opportunities, championing a legacy of shared success and empowerment.”

Wichita State University proudly announced that its interdisciplinary student team, CosmoShox, has secured a spot in the top 10 teams in the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) Challenge. Organized by the College of Innovation and Design and guided by faculty members Kristyn Waits and Maggie Schoonover, the CosmoShox team is gearing up for the second phase of this competitive challenge.

CosmoShox is composed of exceptionally talented students composed of both undergraduate and graduate-level students representing a range of academic disciplines in four different WSU colleges:

• Denae Sawyer, innovation design
• Desmond Cockrell, graphic design
• Elaine Duff, geology and planetary sciences
• Elliott Chambon, aerospace engineering
• Marianna Fronciani Farina, mechanical engineering
• Nathan Lewis, innovation design
• Savannah Denny, graphic design
• Yumi Kikuchi Coronel, innovation design

“The inclusion of students with backgrounds in graphic design, geology, innovation design, aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering underscores the interdisciplinary nature of our approach to challenges,” said Dr. Jeremy Patterson, dean, College of Innovation and Design. “CosmoShox exemplifies the power of collaboration, and we are proud to support these students as they make significant strides in the NASA SUITS Challenge.”

If the CosmoShox team successfully passes their software design review with NASA in April, they will be invited to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for Test Week, an invaluable opportunity for hands-on testing and collaboration with leading experts in the field.

Wichita State will offer only the Blackboard Ultra course format after spring 2024 semester, and that’s going to mean a lot of work getting ready for summer and fall for many professors, but the December issue of “Teaching Today” has the basic information needed to get started.

Many professors mistakenly believe they are in Blackboard Ultra but are actually teaching Classic courses. Please have a look at this month’s “Teaching Today” to learn more. For questions, reach out to the Office of Instructional Resources at OIR@wichita.edu.

Tune in to KMUW starting at 8 a.m. Friday, Dec. 15 to hear President Rick Muma join the station’s end of year fundraising campaign. Catch President Muma on 89.1 FM or listen live on KMUW’s website.

Student Government Association (SGA) is the governing body of all students at Wichita State. It represents and advocates for student needs and issues on campus through local, state and federal government officials. SGA is made up of the executive branch, legislative branch, judicial branch, Office of the Student Advocates, association agencies and several other commissions and tasks forces. All of these groups are available to help serve students and their needs.

SGA allocates over $11 million worth of student fees that funds services such as Student Health, Campus Activities, educational scholarships, the Sunflower and more. Other initiatives include:

• Association scholarships
• Individual and organizational funding
• Food for Fines
• Menstrual product program
• Shocker Support Locker

Barton School of Business is delighted to announce that Tom Gentile, the inaugural Executive-in-Residence back in 2021, will now serve as the executive advisor to the dean. Gentile, a distinguished global leader with a background in top executive roles at Spirit AeroSystems, GE Capital and other esteemed organizations, has also been an engaged member of the school’s Dean’s “Fabulous 50” Advisory Board for the past two years. His commitment extends to lending invaluable expertise and insight, significantly elevating the collaborative endeavors of the board. Gentile earned his bachelor’s degree in economics magna cum laude and MBA from Harvard University and studied international relations at the London School of Economics.

“I’m thrilled to step into an expanded role at the Barton School of Business, building on my impactful journey as the inaugural Executive-in-Residence. Having been part of the dynamic Dean’s ‘Fabulous 50’ Advisory Board for two years, I’m excited about infusing even more energy into providing strategic guidance and elevating the school’s global profile” Gentile said.

To help faculty and staff plan their time off and work schedules throughout the year, Wichita State shares the winter closedown period schedule that has been approved for this year.

The closedown will commence at the end of the day on Dec. 18, 2023, and WSU will reopen the morning of Jan. 2, 2024. The closedown is 10 days, two of which are paid holidays and four are paid days so you will not be required to use accrued leave for those six days. Classes will not be in session during this period.

Employees who would normally be scheduled to work the days may use accumulated vacation leave or their 2023 discretionary day* during the winter closedown. Non-exempt employees can also use accumulated compensatory time off during the winter closedown.

If your role requires you to work during the winter closedown it must be approved in advance by your immediate supervisor. For those that are required to work during the winter closedown, we appreciate your dedication and service to the university.

Schedule of winter closedown:

• Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023
• Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023
• Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023
• Friday, Dec. 22, 2023
• Monday, Dec. 25, 2023 (Paid Holiday)
• Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 (Paid Day)
• Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023 (Paid Day)
• Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023 (Paid Day)
• Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 (Paid Day)
• Monday Jan. 1, 2024 (Paid Holiday)

An employee must be in pay status the entire workday before and the entire workday after state holidays to receive holiday pay. The official state holidays are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Please refer to these frequently asked questions for more information on your leave days and what to do if you work during the winter closedown.

*The discretionary day for 2023 must be used on or before Dec. 23, 2023.

The Wichita Eagle has announced the winners of its annual Best of Wichita competition, and Wichita State was voted top three in multiple categories, including a gold placement as the best college/university in Wichita.

Below is a list of all of Wichita State’s placements:

• Wichita State University was voted gold for best college/university.
• The WSU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic was voted silver for best audiologist/hearing center.
• The WSU Child Development Center was voted silver for best childcare.

And one of Wichita State’s Innovation Campus partners, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, was voted gold for best tacos in Wichita.

We thank Shocker Nation for their participation in the voting process.

Nominations for Excellence Awards in research, creativity activity and community research are now being accepted by the Office of Research.

All full-time faculty, including distinguished professors and endowed chairs, who have served at Wichita State for at least three years, are eligible. Faculty who hold an administrative position above that of chair are not eligible.

Previous winners of the award are ineligible to be nominated for a period of five years following the award. Visit the Office of Research website for additional details and electronic nomination forms. Nomination forms (five questions) must be received by Friday, Dec 15. The full applications are due Monday, Jan. 15 (nominees will receive an email outlining the requirements).

It’s time to begin the process for submission of funding requests through the Student Government Association for the Educational Opportunity Fund and Student Services Fee for FY 2025. Through the student services fee, these programs provide financial support to facilitate students’ academic pursuits (Educational Opportunity Fund) or the funding of programs/activities delivered directly to students (Student Services).

If you’ve submitted requests in the past, the budget/review officer should have received an email from the Budget Office to kick-off the submission process. If you have not submitted requests in the past, but are considering submitting a new request, contact Lyndsay Pletcher, Jason Post or David Miller in the Budget Office at 316-978-3030 for additional information.

Requests are due no later than Wednesday, Feb. 7.