Hispanic Serving Initiatives will host a panel of three Latina Kansas leaders at 12:30 p.m. Friday, May 3 in 314 Rhatigan Student Center, Venters Room.

The panel includes Judge Rachel Pickering, the first Latina to serve on the Court of Appeals; Monique Garcia, owner of Garcia Group, LLC; and Pilar Pedraza, anchor and senior political reporter for KAKE News.

The women will discuss their journeys and share perspectives on doing work in the political realm as well as supporting and representing the community. Food will be sponsored by Connie’s Mexican Restaurant. For questions and more information, contact Dr. Sara Mata at sara.mata@wichita.edu.

Staff Senate and Human Resources are excited to offer faculty and staff a professional development opportunity made possible through grants they wrote and were awarded by the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC). The grant provides a select number of seats for their leadership development path which starts with step one, When Everyone Leads.

Based on KLC’s bestselling book, “When Everyone Leads,” the six-hour course makes leadership accessible and inclusive, unleashing capacity for collective leadership in teams, organizations, coalitions and communities.

All faculty and staff are invited to go to the HR professional development website to learn more and find instructions for submitting an interest form.

Last night Wichita State Police officers were able to investigate and clear a non-credible bomb threat within a few short hours, restoring campus to normal operations.

The call indicated the presence of an explosive device at Wallace Hall and the 21st Street Starbucks. While police quickly suspected the threat was not real, immediate action was taken by our emergency response team, in coordination with local law enforcement agencies, to ensure that there was no credible danger to our community.

The WSU campus community was alerted of the reported threat through the RAVE system. All individuals were asked to evacuate and avoid these areas.

The all-clear was issued at 12:45 a.m. on Friday morning.

As operations return to normal, now is a good reminder that false threats like these are a crime and tax the time and resources of many people, including our first responders.

The safety and security of our campus community are of the utmost priority. Though there is no threat to campus, diligence is always important.

Remember, if you see something, say something by calling 978-3450 or 911.

The Corbin Education Center timeline for repairs continues to be developed, however it is now evident that the building will continue to be closed through the end of the fall 2024 semester.

The WSU Facilities team will make Corbin accessible for faculty and staff members from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 6 and May 7 to retrieve additional items that may be needed for this extended period of time. Please keep in mind that there is no power or HVAC in the building.

There will be additional moving boxes and tape available. Please email cas.dean@wichita.edu if you have any boxes or furniture that needs to be moved to your new office location. The CAS dean’s office will compile a list of these items and where they are located, and WSU Facilities will move the items as team members are available to do so.

In the event of inclement weather and/or an emergency event, the university shall take all reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of students, faculty and staff.

Should such an event occur, the university may implement a temporary adjustment to its class and/or operations, including late start and moving class instruction and non-critical operations to remote delivery, where possible. Critical campus operations will continue to operate on-campus to the fullest extent possible.

In order to facilitate the university’s decision making and communication process, and to recognize potential childcare challenges faced by university students and employees, the university will typically align with USD 259 in closing campus facilities or moving to remote learning/operations due to inclement weather or national, state or local emergencies.

See the full WSU inclement weather guidelines. In the event of a weather emergency, refer to the list of tornado shelters on campus.

Please take a moment to read how you will be informed of changes to normal on-campus operations:

• We strongly encourage you to sign up for the ShockerAlert System, which will send weather and class alerts to your phone and email.
• In the event of a change to normal on-campus operations, you will also receive a message to your WSU email account.
• The Wichita State website will be updated with a warning message during a inclement weather or emergency situation that impacts classes or activities on campus.
• WSU’s official X account and Facebook page will be updated with pertinent information.

For more information about the weather outlook at any time, consult the National Weather Service forecast for Wichita.

Andreas Papaefstathiou, assistant professor from Kennesaw State University who specializes in the phenomenology of particle physics, and will give a talk, “Imprints of Electro-Weak Symmetry Breaking at Colliders,” 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 1 in 128 Jabara Hall.

The Physics Seminar is part of a series of talks sponsored by the Eddy and April Lucas Fund and brings speakers to campus several times each semester.

Medication take back is now available every day at Student Health. Bring any unused or expired medication for safe disposal to Student Health Services in the Student Wellness Center any time between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can also pickup medication disposal bags to take for free at the Student Wellness Center.

Join Interstellar Seminar from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, May 1 in 104 Jabara Hall or online for the last session of the semester and see how science fiction is useful in crewed interstellar missions.

When looking towards interstellar travel in the distant future, science may not be ready to provide a clear vision. Science fiction can go outside the box and into the realm of what can only be imagined. Dr. Rachelle Smith — former professor of English, modern languages and journalism at Emporia State University, who specializes in science fiction — will provide insights into how science fiction can lead people into a science future that will rely on creativity before technology.

Zoom details and an archive of previous seminars can be found on the Wichita Space Initiative website.

Join Shocker Gaming Club (SGC) for a special end-of-the-school-year game night in honor of Star Wars from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 2 in the Heskett Center E-Sports Hub.

There will be food, VR games and a cosplay contest with prizes. SGC invites everyone to have a great time before finals roll in.

Ready to dive into a summer of excitement and enrichment? The School of Performing Arts is offering a lineup of online and in-person classes.

Whether you’re a budding performer, a curious mind or simply seeking to expand your horizons, the School of Performing Arts has something special in store with Stage Combat, Dance and Theatre Appreciation, or Theatre as a Mirror of Today’s America.

THEA 365: Stage Combat – May 20-June 1, Monday through Friday from 12:30 to 5 p.m.
DANC 140: Dance Appreciation – June 3-July 26 and June 3-June 29, online only
THEA 143: Theatre Appreciation – June 3-July 26 and July 1-26, online only
THEA 385: Theatre as a Mirror of Today’s America – June 3-July 26

With multiple options and flexible scheduling, these courses are perfect for anyone looking to enrich their summer or get a jumpstart toward graduating. Register now and embark on a journey of discovery and growth this summer.

To register for summer 2024 courses, use Banner in your myWSU.