Photos by Jim Meyer

Fast track

WSU athletic director Jim Schaus, left, helps Pete and Mickey Armstrong, Marilyn Richwine and WSU President Beggs cut the ribbon during the dedication ceremony for Cessna Stadium’s new track April 10. An eighth lane was added, the track was resurfaced and the radius was made wider to allow for additional space inside the track for field events. The high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault areas were reconfigured, as well. Two locker rooms and a team room for student-athletes were created in space under the west grandstands. The $1.3 million reconstruction project took seven months to complete and was made possible by gifts from the Armstrongs, Cessna Foundation and Christine Polk. The stadium’s open, recreational use hours are 6:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, except when the facility is being used for WSU track and field practice and other scheduled events.

Waiting for more life

By Julie Rausch

Rachel Fletcher is determined. She’s determined to graduate summa cum laude in December and she’s determined to save her life.

By Amy Geiszler-Jones

The Kansas Humane Society is offering adoptions of dogs of different colors.

Hats off! A salute to the realm of percussion

By Julie Rausch

Percussion Ensemble concert scarcely describes the tremendous showmanship displayed by the very theatrical entertainment masterminded each spring by J.C. Combs.

Dean candidates on Wichita State campus

Candidates for the College of Fine Arts dean position will give presentations at public forums over the next two weeks. The following forums will be held 4-4:50 p.m. in 210 McKnight Art Center.

Make your reservations for annual WSU picnic

The 9th Annual Shocker Pride Picnic will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 9, on the Rhatigan Student Center east patio. Food will be provided at no charge for all those who RSVP. Please wear your casual Shocker attire.

Two online surveys are being conducted and your input is welcome. The surveys can be accessed through the Shocker One Stop link at www.wichita.edu. An information technology survey is being conducted among faculty and staff. A survey on perceptions of the general education program is for faculty only. Responses are anonymous.

Share global perspectives

Faculty are invited to offer a lecture for the team-taught, multidisciplinary class Global Issues, which originally was called Peace and War: Global Issues when it was first offered in 1985. Through the lecture, the faculty can show how their research, discipline or special interests contribute to understanding some issue of global significance. Besides the lecture, the faculty member will provide two questions for an exam and, if asked, supervise a research paper for a student or students. Class coordinator Dorothy Billings attends all lectures, prepares syllabi and exams and supervises the direction and organization of the class. For more information call Billings at 978-7194.

Co-op says thanks

The cooperative education and work-based learning program is hosting its seventh annual Employer/Faculty Appreciation Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, in the Rhatigan Student Center ballroom. Co-op employers and faculty advisers are invited to attend. Two people will receive the Employer of the Year and Faculty Adviser of the Year awards. More than 100 faculty advisers and nearly 500 employers work with the more than 1,200 students in the program, making it among the largest in the Midwest.

Inside publishing winds down

The last issue of Inside WSU for the academic year will be May 9. The deadline for that issue is April 29. Send items to Inside WSU, box 62, or to amy.geiszler-jones@wichita.edu. The current issue you’re reading is smaller as production was curbed because of a scheduled move of the Inside WSU office.

Back home

The Office of University Communications is scheduled to return to its offices in 102 Morrison Hall this week. The office closed in mid-February for renovations and the staff was temporarily housed in Brennan Hall.