Look who’s talking

Professor goes ‘Beyond Baby Talk’ in new book for parents

By Julie Rausch

Are there differences in the way firstborn children and later-born children acquire language skills? What should parents look for in choosing a day-care provider when it comes to helping their child with language development? Do boys and girls develop language skills differently?

Kenn Apel, a Wichita State professor, co-authored a book that answers these questions and many more. “Beyond Baby Talk: From Sounds to Sentences—A Parent’s Complete Guide to Language Development,” a parent-friendly book, covers language development from birth through age 5.

Mural mercenaries

WSU students decoarate campus walls

By Julie Rausch

If you notice walls in some campus buildings that look distinct, it’s likely they were designed and painted by a team of WSU students.

WSU’s decorative and ornamental painting and design students already have been glazing, marbling, gilding, stenciling, friezing and fresco painting local public projects and businesses as well as several Kansas churches. Through word-of-mouth about their talent and work ethic they’ve been asked to unleash their creativity on some of WSU’s walls.

Marceau makes the human body into a wonder of theater

By Julie Rausch

Although mime is one of the oldest art forms that exists, it also is rarely seen or experienced in an American concert stage venue.

Wichita audiences will have the opportunity to experience the art of mime by "the father of the art" Marcel Marceau at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, at Century II Concert Hall and again at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30, when "Marcel Marceau Speaks" in Miller Concert Hall.

Foundation nets best year ever

A record number of individuals and corporations gave a record number of donations to the WSU Foundation in fiscal year 2001.

Donors – 15,199 individuals and corporations – gave $19.5 million to WSU students, faculty, programs and facilities through the WSU Foundation.

Football great kicks off breakfast series

By Connie White

The latest Shocker inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame will kick off the WSU Alumni Association’s 2001-02 Distinguished Alumni Speaker Breakfast Series.

Nicknamed "Mr. All American" while playing football at the University of Wichita in the 1940s, Linwood Sexton will reflect on his days at WU —and on some of his many, and varied, life experiences.

I’m still Wichita State

A second round of the "I am Wichita State" branding ads will appear on local network affiliates, select cable channels, The Wichita Eagle, the Wichita Business Journal and several regional papers from mid-September through October. The ads feature WSU faculty, staff, alumni and students.

Hear, meet feminist artist

Miriam Schapiro, a pioneer in the feminist art movement, will give a free slide lecture as part of the School of Art and Design’s Art and Architecture Lecture Series at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, in 107 Devlin Hall. A reception from 3-5 p.m. follows in the Ulrich Museum, where a 30-year retrospective of Schapiro’s art can be seen until Nov. 11. Call 978-3555 for more information on the series.

Honey, we shrunk the paper

While Inside WSU has undergone a facelift, we haven’t really shrunk. This issue is half the size as usual, at four pages, because of the Labor Day holiday interrupting the normal production flow. We’ll be back to our standard eight pages in the next issue, Sept. 20. If you’ve submitted items for of note, please be patient. The number of items submitted in recent weeks is exceeding our available space in these first few issues, but we’ll eventually publish your accomplishment.

In the meantime, we’d like to hear from readers about the design changes we’ve made this academic year, including the new masthead (the front-page section where the newsletter’s name appears), the calendar page and other items. Send comments to editor Amy Geiszler-Jones, box 62.