Category: News

The Shocker community gathered April 22 to remember Dr. Jim Rhatigan, Wichita State’s former dean of students, at a tree dedication ceremony just outside of the Rhatigan Student Center, named in Rhatigan’s honor.

At the ceremony, President Rick Muma spoke to Rhatigan’s lasting legacy to the campus and culture of WSU, and Rhatigan’s wife and daughter, Beverly and Becky, were present, and Rhatigan’s son-in-law, Joe Linot, shared a few words.

“This is a beautiful occasion and we really really appreciate the dedication that Jim has given to the fabric of Wichita State University,” Linot said. “It will always be a part of our lives as long as we live and we thank you so much for having us here today for this dedication.”

Rhatigan came to Wichita State in 1965 as the university’s first, and one of the nation’s youngest at 30 years old, dean of students. He became vice president for student affairs in 1970, holding that position until 1996 and going on to serve as senior vice president until his retirement in 2002.

Kim Kufahl, assistant director of marketing and communication for the Shocker Career Accelerator, has been named one of the Wichita Business Journal’s Women Who Lead in major companies for 2025.

The recognition highlights her leadership in campus-wide career development efforts and her work showcasing Wichita State applied learning students through storytelling, media outreach and digital strategy. The Women Who Lead series honors outstanding professionals across a range of industries who are making a significant impact in the Wichita community.

The College of Applied Studies will be well represented at the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting, with faculty and student scholars sharing research, leading presentations and earning national recognition. The conference will be held April 23-27 in Denver, Colorado and is one of the largest gatherings of scholars in the field of education.

CAS student and faculty scholars to present:

Student scholars: Hollie J. Weatherburn, Shelly Coleman-Martins, Van Williams, Tamara Huff, Rachael Webb, Kiela Wood, Kayla Day and Kurt Siklar

Faculty scholars: Sun Young Lee, Victoria Koop (Sherif), Heidi R. Stinchcomb, Angela Beeler, M. Patricia Hernandez-Nuhfer, Lakaya Bieker, Kristin Sherwood, Valerie J. Thompson, Beata M. Latawiec, Christie Henderson and Jennifer Ingrid Friend

Award recognitions:

Dr. Sun Young Lee, assistant professor in the School of Education, will receive the 2025 Early Career Award from AERA’s Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies (CICCS) Special Interest Group. The award will be presented Friday, April 25.

To ensure compliance and enhance security, Information Technology Services (ITS) is implementing the VPN Login Lifetime feature for VPN connections. Starting Wednesday, April 30, VPN connections for vpn-emp, vpn-mac and vpn-student will automatically log out after 18 hours of continuous connection.

Why this change?

Compliance requires that client machines disconnect from the VPN when not actively in use. Although there is an inactivity logout set, most client machines maintain constant communication with domain controllers and other campus servers, preventing the VPN from recognizing idle connections. Therefore, ITS is setting a maximum VPN connection duration of 18 hours to fully disconnect communication.

What you need to know:

• Automatic logout: After 18 hours of continuous connection, the VPN will automatically disconnect.
• Warning notification: You will receive a warning 30 minutes before the VPN disconnects, allowing you to save your work and prepare for the reconnection.
• Reconnecting: Simply click Reconnect on the VPN client to restore VPN Connection.

ITS understands that this change may require some adjustment, but it is essential for maintaining the security and compliance of the network.

For questions, contact the ITS Help Desk at 316-978-4357, option 1, or email helpdesk@wichita.edu.

Wichita State owned iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, etc.), where the iOS version is older than version 16, will no longer be supported due to security concerns and lack of Duo support. These devices will be disabled by the end of July.

A daily notification will be displayed on the targeted devices that meet the criteria beginning May 1. This notification will let the user know that their device will be disabled July 30.

For assistance on how best to retire or replace your device, contact the Help Desk at 316-978-4357, option 1, or email helpdesk@wichita.edu.

The Wichita State men’s bowling team took home another top three finish and championship appearance by placing second at the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) intercollegiate Team Championships in Las Vegas. The finish marks the fifth year in a row that the team has finished in the top three in the championships.

Faculty can review the final exam schedule available from the Registrar.

Final exams should be held in the same room assigned to the class during the time slot listed on the final exam schedule. Any deviation from the room or time should be coordinated with the Registrar’s Office ahead of time to avoid conflicts with other classes. Contact Michele August at michele.august@wichita.edu if you have any questions or need to make alternate arrangements.

April 12 was the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) Race to Jam competition in which eight MLT/MLS programs signed up to compete, two teams from WSU MLS signed up to represent the college. Race to Jam is a national competition for laboratory science students to show off their knowledge in a bracket-style trivia game. The competition tests students by asking questions for each discipline on three levels of difficulty.

Both teams went into the semifinals, but it was the second team that will be in the finals June 8-12 in Sacramento, California.

The Staff Senate is pleased to announce the recipients of the fall 2025 Staff Senate Scholarships. After reviewing the applications, the Scholarship Committee has selected three deserving individuals for the following awards:

William Sandlin – $1,000
William is an incoming first-year student at Wichita State and a dependent of two WSU employees. He will graduate from Wichita Southeast High School, where he participated in baseball, debate and multiple clubs. William served as a mentor to freshmen students and earned awards as a sports reporter in the journalism program. He plans to pursue a major in political science at WSU.

Jasmine Sosa – $250
Jasmine is a new staff member with the Ronald E. McNair Program and is excited to resume her studies in business. She hopes to empower entrepreneurial minds and foster Wichita’s small business community by educating students as a future business professor.

Maria Wehby – $250
Maria is the office coordinator for the School of Education at WSU. She is working towards a marketing degree and applying her studies to improve her professional role. Maria enjoys spending time with her daughter and is dedicated to achieving success in both her career and education.

Looking ahead:
As the Staff Senate prepares for the second year of offering this scholarship, WSU employees are encouraged to support fundraising efforts to maintain the financial health of the scholarship program. It looks forward to continuing to support our students and staff members in their educational and professional endeavors.

The University Staff Senate thanks all who contributed to the scholarship fund and made this first year of awards possible. Congratulations to the awardees. Special thanks to the Scholarship Committee: Kelley Smetak, Angie Linder, Jessica Pierpoint and Anne Marie Brown (committee chair).

The men’s bowling team is headed to the Intercollegiate Team Championships starting Thursday, April 17. The nation’s top 16 men’s teams are meeting in Las Vegas to compete for the national championship.

Competition begins 24 games of qualifying and then the first two rounds of the double elimination, best-four-of-seven bracket. Bracket competition continues through Friday. The finals are taped on Saturday and will air on CBS Sports throughout the month of May.

You can watch the the games live through the United States Bowling Congress, but a subscription is required.