Wichita State News: Press Release

Wichita State closing Alumni Drive to create pedestrian walkway

Mon, 8 Jul 2013 11:32:00 CST

Alumni Drive will be closed permanently in early August at Wichita State University.

The closing is part of the overall plan to create a permanent pedestrian walkway on campus.

Alumni Drive runs from near Morrison Hall south to Perimeter Road.

The street closing also was necessitated by the need to relocate steam and chilled water lines. The project will be done in several phases during a period of about two years.

As a result of the closing, some temporary handicapped parking spaces along Alumni Drive will be relocated to a parking lot behind Morrison Hall.

Starting Tuesday, July 9, the Morrison Hall parking lot will be reconstructed to include 20 handicapped spaces.

Alum finances men's basketball locker room renovation

Mon, 8 Jul 2013 09:00:00 CST

Many variables keep good students in Wichita State's athletic program, including first-class locker rooms. Athletes spend a lot of time in them studying films, preparing for practices and strategizing for games. The men's basketball locker rooms have not been completely renovated since 2003 during the transformation from Levitt Arena to Charles Koch Arena — until now.

A generous Shocker alumnus has stepped forward to meet this need with a donation of $250,000. He is underwriting the renovation of the Shocker men's basketball locker room, which is scheduled for completion by the end of this summer.

The investment, according to the donor, was of interest to him because it is something that always will be a part of Wichita State.

Eric Sexton

"It is our responsibility to our programs and our athletes to be on the cutting edge in every fashion possible," said WSU Athletic Director Eric Sexton. "Recruiting is a facility arms race. We are fortunate to have the financial support that we have to utilize in keeping up and hopefully setting the bar, and look forward to also renovating our additional team locker rooms in Charles Koch Arena."

The new area will have decorative elements centered around a new Final Four theme and will include a trophy case, which will house the Regional Championship trophy the Shockers won this past spring.

In addition, each new locker will have an iPad dock. The space will be reconfigured and new carpet will be laid.

"The individual who has generously provided the funding for this project is an extraordinarily successful alumnus who lives in another state, but follows Shocker men's basketball faithfully," said Elizabeth King, president and CEO of the WSU Foundation. "He's a winner, both personally and professionally, and he appreciates the effort Coach Marshall and his coaching staff devote to making ours a winning program."

This type of support is important to the future of the Wichita State men's basketball program and its impact on the university, city and state.

"It shows once again that Shocker Nation is firmly behind us and continues to support us physically — by coming to games, and fiscally — by helping us be the best," said Gregg Marshall, Shocker men's basketball coach.

Velma Wallace leaves $6 million estate gift to WSU Foundation

Mon, 1 Jul 2013 16:27:00 CST

The legacy Velma and Dwane Wallace created at Wichita State and that Velma nurtured and advanced after Dwane Wallace's death in 1989 will live in perpetuity with Velma Wallace's $6 million estate gift to the Wichita State University Foundation.

Elizabeth King

"She was an icon in our community because she supported so many worthwhile nonprofit organizations and special initiatives," said Elizabeth King, president and CEO of the WSU Foundation. "But dearest to her heart was the Wallace Scholar program and the emotional investment she made in her students, in addition to the financial commitment to their futures."

More than half of the estate gift will be added to the Dwane L. and Velma L. Wallace Endowment Fund, benefiting engineering students and the College of Engineering.

About 39 students — freshmen to seniors, received scholarships from this fund during the 2012-13 academic year. It has not been decided whether the number of students or the amount per scholarship will increase.

"The scholarship is more about what we do, not about how much we get from it," said Elisa Acosta, WSU senior and fourth-year Wallace Scholar majoring in aerospace engineering and minoring in mathematics. "I hope I can one day be even half the philanthropist and woman she was."

Helping the future
Jim Johnson, one of the Wallaces' sons-in-laws, believes it is important to impart to WSU alumni the concept of giving back or paying forward and using his in-laws as role models.

"With the positive experiences students received as a direct result of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace's generosity, I hope they leave with a feeling that they want to help future students receive what they did."

Joan Wagner, former Wallace Scholar and current program manager for the Spirit/Boeing Cost Reduction Team at Spirit AeroSystems Inc., was asked what she learned from Velma Wallace.

"Making a difference where you can," said Wagner. "Although I don't have the financial means that she had, I still support where I can, and that is why I am so proud of the Wallace Alumni Legacy Scholarship that was set up by the Wallace Scholars to honor Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, and to help support another group of students who are trying to complete the engineering education."

Though engineering was the Wallaces' first love, they gave generously across campus, which is echoed by other portions of her estate gift going to the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts, the College of Education and WSU athletics.

Through the years Velma Wallace touched a multitude of lives.

She made future-changing impacts that some of us only dream about. And now, her belief in Wichita State, her inspiration and this final act will continue to shape Wichita State and those who walk its campus.

Relationship with Beechcraft provides jobs for students

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:40:00 CST

Thanks to a strong relationship between Beechcraft and Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), dozens of WSU students are getting hands-on experience creating 3-D designs for Beechcraft airplanes.

The students are working at Beechcraft as employees of NIAR's CAD/CAM Lab. They're using CATIA 3D CAD design software and Mentor Graphics software to implement change requests for all production lines and recreate outdated two-dimensional drafting plans.

"They physically become part of the Beechcraft team," said Shawn Ehrstein, NIAR's CAD/CAM Lab director.

Much of the design work the students are completing was previously contracted to other companies. In 2010, bringing those jobs back to Wichita became a goal for Ehrstein and Scott Yeakley, Beechcraft's director of engineering operations.

"It's a winning situation for everyone," said Ehrstein. "The university provides hands-on learning opportunities, students get industry experience using industry tools while earning a paycheck, and Beechcraft gains a pipeline for new hires."

'A win-win scenario'

Most of the students are participating in the university's Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning program to satisfy curriculum in the engineering program.

Before students are hired, they must commit to working for the lab for the remainder of the semester. And, in turn, Beechcraft guarantees the students a job for as long. This has been a main contributor to the program's success.

"The NIAR/Beechcraft relationship is a win-win scenario in every sense of the meaning. We are proud to be a part of this successful business relationship," said Yeakley.

The partnership has already provided opportunities for nearly 40 students, and an additional 30 students will soon be hired for a new program this summer. Individuals to fill these positions have already been selected. Ehrstein recruits students by word of mouth and by posting flyers in and around Wallace Hall.

Students who have worked for NIAR's CAD/CAM Lab are in high demand in the aircraft industry. Since the program began in 2010, all of the lab's long-term student employees have secured jobs in the industry. Even Dassault Systems, the manufacturer of CATIA design software, has called Ehrstein looking for recruits.

"We hope we can continue to build this relationship and use it as a model for working with additional organizations," said Ehrstein.

Construction of new Wichita State residence hall moves forward

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:15:00 CST

Wichita State University held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, June 11, to celebrate construction of the new residence hall.

Farha Construction and Dondlinger & Sons will officially break ground Monday, June 17. Plans are for the building to be complete and ready for students to move in for the fall 2014 semester.

The $65 million residence hall will be in the parking lot south of Cessna Stadium. The hall will be paid for by revenue bonds. Housing revenues will be used over a period of time to repay the bonds.

The lot is no longer available for parking. Some of the handicapped-accessible spaces have been relocated to Alumni Drive.

The loss of about 750 parking spaces will be offset somewhat with the addition of 400 parking spaces along 21st Street east of Corbin Education Center. Those spaces are scheduled to be available in mid- to late-July.

Even with the parking lot going offline, there should be ample parking for students attending summer school at Wichita State.

New and improved

Mostly first-year students and some returning students will reside in the new residence hall. Several room configurations will be available — singles, standard doubles, double rooms with two singles, and quad rooms with four single rooms. Some will have small living room areas.

Each floor will have a laundry room, community kitchen and lounge area.

After completion of the new residence hall, Wheatshocker Apartments and Brennan Halls will no longer be residence halls. Plans are to raze those buildings for future development. Fairmount Towers will be available for returning students only.

WSU hosting TRIO Upward Bound math science symposium, fair

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 14:07:00 CST

On Monday, July 15, more than 60 participants from the TRIO Upward Bound Math Science program, grades 9 through 12, will participate in the Annual Research Symposium and Science Fair at Wichita State University.

The symposium and the science fair will represent several scientific disciplines, such as chemistry, physics, medicine and health.

Read full story.

CEDBR releases July Leading and Current Index for Wichita

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 14:00:00 CST

The July Wichita State University Current Conditions and Leading Economic Index are now available at www.index.CEDBR.org.

The current index is down 0.6 percent from April to May, and the current economic activity is 0.3 percent higher than it was in May of 2012.

Although total non-farm employment has improved over the past year, the level of employment in the Wichita area decreased by 1,400 workers between April and May, resulting in a higher unemployment rate. Additionally the hours and earnings of production workers decreased.

The leading index has also declined from April to May, by 0.18 percent. This indicates that economic activity is not anticipated to be higher in the late fall than the current level of economic activity in the Wichita area. This can be attributed to a decline in the Kansas Leading Index for both April and May.

The data for the Kansas leading index was revised by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on July 2. The combined deterioration of the Aircraft Production Index and the Kansas Leading Index were only slightly offset by mild improvements in the other two index components.

WSU's Center for Economic Development and Business Research has compiled the current and leading indices to provide insights into the present and future state of the Wichita economy.

The WSU Current Conditions Index is designed to give an indication of the present conditions of the Wichita metropolitan area economy. The WSU Leading Economic Indicators Index is designed to give an indication of where the Wichita economy is headed over the next six months.

Faculty soloists headline WSU orchestra concert

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 02:14:00 CST

A symphony and an array of musical theater selections will highlight Wichita State University's Summer Symphony Orchestra concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 19, in Miller Concert Hall.

Admission is $3 for students, $6 for seniors, military and Wichita State faculty and staff, and $7 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased through the College of Fine Arts Box Office at 316-978-3233 or wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.

Mark Laycock

Mark Laycock, associate professor of music at WSU, will direct the program; faculty artists Emily Sternfeld-Dunn, soprano, and Randolph Tracy, tenor, will perform vocal solos and duets.

The concert will feature "Symphony No. 8 in G Major" by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, American musical theater selections by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and Beethoven's "Egmont Overture."

WSU's Ravi Pendse takes position at Brown University

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 10:14:00 CST

Ravi Pendse

Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Wichita State University, has been named vice president for computing and information services at Brown University.

He will begin his duties at Brown on Sept. 1.

A specialist in computer networking and information technology in higher education, Pendse has served in a number of information technology areas, from library systems to digital classroom design and comprehensive campus IT planning.

He is a Cisco Fellow and tenured full professor in Wichita State's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Pendse regularly teaches courses and has won awards for teaching excellence, including the Academy for Effective Teaching Award.

As vice president for information technology and chief information officer at WSU since 2011, Pendse has led a number of successful interdepartmental collaborations that have developed a broad implementation of IT resources on campus.

Wichita State became 100 percent wireless in August 2007, connecting all academic and administrative buildings and residence halls. Pendse also led a faculty task force that developed IT-equipped classrooms and standardized the user interface.

"Ravi has great talent, and while I very much hate to lose him, Brown University is a world class university that obviously has recognized his ability," Wichita State President John Bardo said. "It also should be noted that Ravi's Ph.D. is from WSU, so one of our graduates will now assume a major role in an Ivy League university. All of us at WSU wish him well and look forward to seeing his career continue to blossom."

Former Regents chair establishes WSU fellowship

Wed, 10 Jul 2013 08:00:00 CST

Clay Blair met Gene Zaid when Blair chaired the Kansas Bioscience Authority, which selected Zaid's company to receive a grant to help develop his business and improve Kansas economic development.

Blair, a real estate developer in Johnson County and owner of Clay Blair Services Corp., said he had always been impressed by Zaid's personal story and the business acumen that catapulted him to great success.

Gene Zaid

Therefore, he provided a gift of $105,000 to the Wichita State University Foundation to establish the Gene Zaid Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry in Zaid's honor.

"Wichita and Wichita State have a rich heritage of spawning entrepreneurial success stories," Blair says. "Gene Zaid is another great example — a proven rags-to-riches success story and a fine gentleman."

"I was absolutely pleased — elated," Zaid says. "I don't have the words to describe it. He (Blair) said, 'I know that you went to Wichita State and I want to do something there in your name.' It was his request that I decide how it should be done."

Zaid, who earned his master's degree in chemistry from WSU in 1977, chose to establish a graduate fellowship in the chemistry department. The first award will be made this fall.

"As a former Kansas Board of Regents chairman, Clay understands the necessity of private support to state universities," said Elizabeth King, WSU Foundation president and CEO. "Clay has a heart to serve, and this gift is a key example."

From refugee to successful entrepreneur

Born in a Palestinian refugee camp in the disputed West Bank territory, Zaid managed to save enough money to come to the United States at the age of 17 to attend college through a foreign outreach educational program. He earned an undergraduate degree at Kansas Wesleyan, then a master's degree from Wichita State. He received a doctorate in California.

In 1982, Zaid started his own company called JACAM Chemical based in Sterling, Kan. Today, it employs about 410 people in 10 states and is a multi-million dollar enterprise. JACAM manufactures and distributes oilfield-related specialty chemicals throughout the world. In March 2013, Canadian Energy Services & Technology Corporation purchased JACAM for $240 million. Zaid remains as CEO for the JACAM business unit.

After graduating from Kansas Wesleyan with a bachelor's degree, Zaid looked at several Kansas universities from which to get his master's.

"I chose Wichita State because they gave me $50 more than KU and K-State for a teaching assistantship," he says. "That was important to me. That's one reason why I want this money to go to a graduate assistant, so they can go to Wichita State and pursue their dreams like I did."

Come to public observatory to learn how to use your telescope

Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:50:00 CST

So you have a telescope but you haven't figured out how to get the most out of it yet? You're in luck.

The Lake Afton Public Observatory and the Kansas Astronomical Observers invite you to bring your telescope to the observatory for one or more "Bring Your Own Telescope" events at 9 p.m. Friday, July 19, and/or Friday, Aug. 16.

Read full story.

Assistant WSU music professor wins national composition award

Tue, 2 Jul 2013 14:31:00 CST

Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn

Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn, assistant professor of composition, music theory and technology at Wichita State University, has won the 2013 American Prize in composition for his saxophone concerto "Fireworks."

Victor Markovich, Wichita State's director of bands, and Robert Young, former WSU assistant professor of saxophone, commissioned and premiered the work.

Sternfeld-Dunn's music combines a frenetic rhythmic language, lean textures and lyrical sensitivity. It has been performed nationally and internationally by ensembles and organizations including the Kiev Philharmonic, Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, Yale Brass Trio, Conundrum Ensemble and the Interlochen Chamber Players.

The American Prize is a series of national performing arts competitions that provide evaluation, recognition and reward to artists, ensembles and composers in the United States.

For more information on Sternfeld-Dunn's award and the American Prize, go to www.theamericanprize.blogspot.com.

WSU social work programs receive reaccreditation

Mon, 1 Jul 2013 23:21:00 CST

The bachelor's and master's programs in Wichita State University's School of Social Work have been reaccredited through June 2021 by the Council on Social Work Education.

"The accreditation assures that the School of Social Work will continue to educate knowledgeable, skilled and ethical social work professionals to meet the changing and growing social service needs of our community, state, nation and world," said Brien Bolin, associate professor and director of WSU's social work school.

The School of Social Work's bachelor's program was first accredited in 1974, and, in 2003, the master's program received its initial reaccreditation. In 2013, more than 70 bachelor's students and 50 master's students graduated. There are about 400 undergraduate and graduate students in the social work school.

During the 2012-2013 academic year, WSU social work students completed more than 90,000 unpaid practicum hours at local social service agencies, equaling about $1.7 million in economic impact.

Since 2007, more than 600 students have graduated from WSU's School of Social Work.

KMUW changes schedule; NPR drops 'Talk of the Nation'

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:12:00 CST

KMUW will change its afternoon programming schedule on Monday, July 1.

NPR is discontinuing its popular "Talk of the Nation," and is moving toward more magazine-style shows, such as "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."

Read more about KMUW's schedule changes.

ACT Prep Workshop to be held at Wichita State

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:39:00 CST

Wichita State University's Counseling and Testing Center is offering a workshop to help high school students prepare for the ACT from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 10, at WSU. The workshop will present general test-taking tips and practice questions for the English, reading, math and science test sections.

The cost for the workshop is $32, and registration can be done online at www.registerblast.com/wsu.

The next national test date for the ACT is Saturday, Sept. 21.
Students need to bring a pencil and a calculator to the workshop. All other materials will be supplied, including practice tests.

For more information, contact Melinda Ware at the Counseling and Testing Center at 316-978-5339 or 316-978-3440 or melinda.ware@wichita.edu.