WSU Today: Friday, May 8, 2026

Faculty and Staff Resources

Join webinar learning opportunities from KPERS 457

KPERS 457 is offering several webinar learning opportunities in May. See below for registration details:

11 a.m. May 13: “Achieving Financial Wellness“

Topics covered:

Gain control over your day-to-day and monthly finances
Stay on track to meet your goals
Manage unexpected expenses
Make choices that allow you to enjoy life

1 p.m. May 21: “Benefits of Enrolling“

Topics covered:

Why saving matters to you
How saving in your KPERS 457 plan works
Ways to save more and how to get help

10 a.m. May 28: “Get ON TARGET for Retirement“

Let your retirement plan advisor take off your blindfold and help you improve your aim. They can’t guarantee a bullseye, but your local RPA can help you point your deferred compensation dart in the right direction.

News

Wear your Suspenders on Fridays. Show your support for mental health and others in our WSU community.

Join Suspenders4Hope for Suspender Fridays in support of mental health care

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Wear your suspender shirts on Fridays to support mental health awareness and join in normalizing the practice of prioritizing mental health care without guilt or shame.

WSU employees and students can get their free shirt by completing the Suspenders4Hope #WSUWeSupportU Mental Wellness and Preventing Suicide at suspenders4hope.com.

Free, online mental health and wellness screenings are available to all at wichita.edu/freescreen.

Teams that Placed at the Barton School's Interdisciplinary Business Challenge on the social stairs

Barton School awards $15,000 as part of interdisciplinary business challenge

The Graduate Programs in Business at the Barton School of Business recently brought undergraduate and graduate students together for the Barton School’s Business Challenge. This event was an immersive, interdisciplinary case competition designed to strengthen collaboration, analytical thinking and real-world problem solving.

Open to all Barton School majors and minors, the competition drew 48 students across 12 teams. Participants were given one week to independently analyze and develop solutions to a complex business case without the support of faculty or outside advisors. The case, centered on a fictitious Riverfest scenario, was written by Barton School faculty member Justin Keeler.

Meet the teams that placed:

First place team:

Julia Stark
Don Philips
Mikhail Lindsay
Robert Lang

Second place team:

Megana Paramal Viswanathan
Takudzwa Nhamo
Teseandre Hamilton

Third place team:

Marysol Montiel
Justin Van
Ashira Kelly

Events and Recreation

Join in celebrating with Dr. Ziqi Sun and Dr. Buma Fridman at retirement reception May 11

Dr. Ziqi Sun, professor, and Dr. Buma Fridman, professor, of the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, are retiring from WSU. Join in celebrating their retirements at a reception from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday, May 11 in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail Room.

Sun is retiring from WSU after 36 years of service and served as department chair for seven years. Fridman is retiring after 44 years of service to WSU, where he served as department chair for over 28 years.

Engineering Open House | Friday, May 8 | 9 am to 7 pm

Attend College of Engineering Open House event in John Bardo Center

The College of Engineering invites all to attend its annual Engineering Open House from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, May 8 in the John Bardo Center.

Between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., senior engineering and computing students will present prototype solutions throughout the building. From the end of student presentations until 7 p.m., there will be refreshments served, as well as an awards ceremony in the building lobby.