Wichita State News: Rhatigan Student Center

WSU bowling sweeps Leatherneck Classic Tournament

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:37:00 CST

The Wichita State men's and women's bowling teams swept the Leatherneck Classic Tournament Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10 and 11, in Milan, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa. It is the third tournament win of the season for each team.

In the championship match, the men's team defeated top-qualifier Robert Morris College-Illinois with a 2-0 win.

"It was a great opportunity to get some Baker matches in," said head coach Gordon Vadakin. "Although the men have a ton of work ahead of them, this was a positive step in the right direction."

The women's team defeated Ashford University 2-0 in its first place match.

"We did a nice job of taking what we did in qualifying into match play," said assistant coach Mark Lewis. "All the women did a good job working together. This was another step forward that we hope to continue."

Three Shocker women earned all-tournament team honors. Freshman Dasha Kovalova, junior Tannya Roumimper and senior Jazreel Tan placed first, fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Shockers will hit the road again Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23 and 24, for the National Team Match Games tournament in Illinois.

WSU student center introduces live streaming view of construction

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:40:00 CST

Live streaming action of the Rhatigan Renewal at Wichita State University's Rhatigan Student Center is just a click away.

Visit www.wichita.edu/livecam to see the 360-degree high-definition camera's live feed of the RSC under construction.

"The WSU community has shown tremendous interest in the Rhatigan Renewal project. So, I'm glad to offer them a chance in real time to observe progress of the project," says David Kidd, RSC information technology director. "This high-tech camera, mounted on the roof of Jabara Hall, will continue providing live coverage of the RSC construction for the duration of the project."

Construction theme runs through woodwind quintet program

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:46:00 CST

Join the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet for the recital "Under Construction" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in Wiedemann Recital Hall at Wichita State University.

Tickets are $7 with discounts available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office, (316) 978-3233 or www.wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.

In a nod to continuing construction on campus at Duerksen Fine Arts Center and the Rhatigan Student Center, the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet built their concert "from the ground up," said Andrea Banke, oboist for the WSU faculty quintet and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

Other members of the quintet are Frances Shelley, flute; Sarunas Jankauskas, clarinet; Erika Binsley, horn; Scott Oakes, bassoon. They will be joined by Andrew Trechak on piano.

Here's the construction of the program, from floor to ceiling:

--Solo: clarinet, "Solo de concours" by French composer Andre Messager

--Duet: flute and bassoon, "Bachianas Braileiras No. 6" by Heitor Villa-Lobos

--Trio: oboe, clarinet and bassoon, Variations on "La Ci Darem La Mano" by Beethoven

--Quartet: piano and winds, "Caprice on Russian and Danish Airs" by Camille Saint-Saens

--Quintet: "Summer Music" by Samuel Barber

"We think it will be a musically-compelling and fun event for many people," Banke said.

The renowned Lieurance Woodwind Quintet takes its name from Thurlow Lieurance, a Kansas composer and noted historian of Native American music who served as the first dean of the College of Fine Arts at Wichita State University.

The ensemble has performed at major musical venues, including the Library of Congress and Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., the Merkin and Carnegie Recital Halls in New York City, and throughout Europe and Central America.

Rhatigan Renewal messy, but building, services still open

Mon, 6 Aug 2012 13:53:00 CST

The Rhatigan Renewal project has drawn spectators and raised questions this summer as renovation work has continued.

Shelly Coleman-Martins, marketing director for the RSC, knows how intimidating that long fence wrapped around the RSC looks.

She wants the WSU community to know that almost anything that was at the RSC before the renewal project can still be found there now, although it it might be a bit scaled down, she said.

Going vertical

On the third floor, Student Activities Council and the Center for Student Leadership have now become a single group called Student Involvement. Nearly all student groups now have space set aside in one centralized location.

The Smith Bowling & Recreation Center, now known as the wRECk Center, is open on the second floor.

Students still have a place to hang out, study, eat, drink and play, Coleman-Martins said.

The bowling alley is a temporary casualty of the construction project, but just about everything else patrons remember from the basement is there, including video games, pool tables, dart boards and a lounge area with televisions and food.

Meanwhile, WSU's bowling team is still up and running. Bowling centers in Wichita will host practices and events for the team.

Other familiar services — Lords and Ladys Salon, the Commerce Bank and Shocker Card Center — are operating on the second floor of the RSC.

One challenge that RSC Reservations is addressing is the reduced number of meeting rooms and space for functions. But staff members are working with clients who need space.

"Other buildings have been graciously volunteering rooms to help with the shortages in RSC meeting spaces," said Coleman-Martins.

The emphasis has been to keep the RSC as usable for the Wichita State community as possible.

"We definitely did not take the easy path here, which would have been for us to move out of the building and have the contractor take over the site," Coleman-Martins said. "We moved into half of it just so we could continue services."

Bookstore untouched

Having already been recently remodeled, the bookstore is not being renovated as part of the Rhatigan Renewal, although next year it will get some sprinkler system and heating and air conditioning upgrades.

Like the rest of the RSC, the bookstore has used outdoor signage to try and get the message out that it is still open.

One of WSU Bookstore assistant manager Andi Stipp's concerns is volume of student traffic.

Bookstore staff won't really know how the renewal project will affect customer traffic until students come back for fall classes.

Stipp is planning for large numbers of advance Web orders and thinks many students will want to pick up fall books early.

Mail orders have also increased during the past year, and Stipp anticipates that will continue.

Stipp said that bookstore staff are thinking outside the box for ways to continue serving students better during the renewal project, despite the limited space inside and outside the RSC.

For example, she said that patio sales will likely continue, but exactly how has not yet been decided.

Food court reopening soon

While the food court hasn't been open this summer, that will change soon.

"We are planning on opening Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A, Fast Break and, with a limited menu, Masala Asian Grill the week of September 10th," said David Casida, general manager of dining services.

Customers can expect to see some changes in the layout of the food court.

The old doors exiting the dining room to the northwest corner patio have become the new food court entry doors. The old entry and exit doors are blocked by construction.

Customers will continue to see improvements throughout the fall semester.

Although there is no exact date set, Sodexho hopes to have the new Pizza Hut open by the middle of October in its new location next to the Masala Asian Grill.

"Pizza Hut Express will be a dual register concept so you'll be able to approach them from two directions," Casida said. "One of the ideas for the construction was to open up the whole area and avoid the traffic problems we've had."

"Masala will initially have very limited menu because the kitchen facility in the building will be closed through the end of December," Casida said.

After the kitchen opens, however, customers can expect the menu to expand dramatically, including Halal entrees, Asian soups, rice and noodle bowls as well as a Chef's special each day.

Casida said that once the food court and the kitchen reopen, he doesn't anticipate any other shutdown due to construction in the RSC.

Ongoing process

Back in the RSC marketing office, Coleman-Martins has plans for more media coverage as the work on the Rhatigan Renewal project continues.

She wants to keep the WSU community up-to-date as the work progresses.

Now, the most immediate updates and milestone announcements can be found online at www.wichita.edu/RhatiganRenewal, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheRhatiganRenewal or through Twitter at the @RhatiganRenewal account, which will also link to additional content.

This year, Welcomefest will feature the RSC-U-Now campaign, which follows RSC-U-Later from last year.

Other ideas include building tours, a live webcam from the top of Jabara Hall, and even a time-lapse video showing the exterior of the building.

She has other plans that she wants to keep as surprises.

"We didn't forget about the campus, and we don't want the campus to forget about us," Coleman-Martins said.

Shocker bowling coach selected for Hall of Fame

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:15:00 CST

Wichita State University head bowling coach Gordon Vadakin has been selected as the 2012 Bowling Coaches Hall of Fame inductee.

Only one active coach is inducted per year. Vadakin has led the Shockers to 17 of their 19 national championships.

The Bowling Coaches Hall of Fame is in its fifth year of honoring bowling's finest coaches.

Vadakin will join previous inductees Dick Ritger, Tom Kouros, John Jowdy and Fred Borden in the hall of fame.

Read the full story.

Shocker bowling to represent USA at world championships

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:31:00 CST

Shocker bowling's Kelsey Muther has been selected as one of the eight Junior Team USA members to represent the United States at the 2012 World Tenpin Bowling Association World Youth Championships.

The competition will be held June 22-July 3 at the Blu-O Paragon Bowling Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

Read the full story.

WSU bowler wins national singles title

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:23:00 CST

Wichita State University bowler Geoffrey Young overcame the pressure of national television to win titles Saturday, April 21, at the 2012 United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Singles Championships.

Young won the men's title in convincing fashion, defeating Midland's Joe Steiner, 245-191.

Read the full story.

Autistic student finds voice, self through photography

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:21:00 CST

The Rhatigan Student Center Gallery is hosting "Photos of the Future," a photography exhibit by Wichita State University student James Mitchell, from Monday, Nov. 21, through Friday, Dec. 2. Admission is free.

Mitchell, a Wichita native and graduate of Wichita High School East, began exploring photography during his senior year at East. His passion for the subject was evident immediately, and he earned good grades for the first time as a special education student.

He returned to photography when he came to study at Wichita State. In 2006, he received a $500 scholarship from the Ulrich Alliance, a group of supporters of the Ulrich Museum of Art.

He entered his work in the School of Art and Design's Crit-O-Rama in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010. He had his first RSC Gallery exhibit in 2006. His work has also been selected as part of group exhibitions.

Finding another voice

Mitchell is a double major at Wichita State in communications/radio broadcast and graphic design/studio art/photography. He served as secretary 2010 for the university's Photography Guild; in 2011 he became the public relations officer.

He hopes that people who see his work feel the same way he does when he looks at other photographers' work, and perhaps feel inspired to follow in his and others' footsteps.

As an autistic child who could not talk, Mitchell attended the Institute of Logopedics to find his speaking voice before entering public education. With photography, he has found another voice.

Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, and 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For more information, contact the RSC Activities Office at (316) 978-3495 or visit www.wichita.edu/rscgallery.

Triumph Over Tragedy: Remembering 9/11

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:50:00 CST

A series of events honoring the 10th anniversary of 9/11 will be sponsored by Wichita State University's Student Activities Council and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. All events are free and open to the public.

9/11 Memorial: Honoring those who were lost

8 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6-Thursday, Sept. 8, in the grassy area at the southeast corner of Harvey D. Grace Memorial Chapel

Stop by and take time to reflect on the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy.

Brown Bag 9/11 Panel Discussion

12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, in 203 Rhatigan Student Center

Bring your lunch and participate in a panel discussion about the effects 9/11 had on the city of Wichita as a whole. We are honored to have members from the Wichita Sheriff's Department, Wichita Police Department and Wichita Fire Department who served in various capacities to help those affected by 9/11. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and hear firsthand the stories of their experiences.

9/11 Unity Walk

6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, Rhatigan Student Center east patio

Help us triumph over tragedy by participating in a unity walk around campus. The event will include a period of reflection and remarks from Wichita State President Don Beggs and State Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, who will discuss the impact this event had on us as a people, community and nation.

For more information about these events, contact the RSC Activities Office at (316) 978-3495 or visit www.wichita.edu/sac.

Renovation plans for student center to be unveiled

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:49:00 CST

The Rhatigan Student Center will reveal the Rhatigan Renewal renovation plans. There are several opportunities to view renderings of the new building and have questions answered. The events are free and open to the public.

New renderings kick-off
9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, in 203 Rhatigan Student Center
Join us for the official revealing of Rhatigan Renewal renovations plans. Wade Robinson, vice president for Campus Life and University Relations, and lead architect David White will present the building renderings and floor plans for the RSC. Following the presentation, there will be time for questions and comments.

New renderings showing
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, in Shocker Square, Rhatigan Student Center
Stop by this come-and-go showing of the Rhatigan Renewal renovation plans. RSC employees will be present to answer questions and provide information about the renderings and floor plans.
For more information about these events, contact the RSC Directors Office at (316) 978-3487, visit www.wichita.edu/rhatiganrenewal or www.facebook.com/rhatiganrenewal.

Faculty/staff news update spring 2011

Fri, 6 May 2011 14:20:00 CST

Academe welcomes news from WSU faculty and staff about research, teaching and service activities. This column recognizes grants, honors, awards, presentations and publications, new appointments, new faculty, sabbaticals, retirements and deaths of our current and former colleagues.

Rajiv Bagai, associate professor, and Bin Tang, assistant professor, both of electrical engineering and computer science, received the Best Paper Award of the 25th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications in Singapore, March 2011, for their paper titled "Data Caching for Enhancing Anonymity."

Wilson Baldridge, professor, chair, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures-French, gave an invited paper, "Reprise de Jumelages," on the work of Michel Deguy at the Regional Association of Aquitaine meeting in France. The association, in cooperation with the University of Bordeaux, awarded its annual Grand Prize for Literature to Deguy. The International Colloquium on his work, organized to celebrate this award, involved leading specialists from the Sorbonne, the University of Bordeaux, and international scholars from Japan and the United States. Baldridge is a recognized Deguy scholar.

Kate Bohn-Gettler, assistant professor, counseling, education and school psychology, has published, with D.N. Rapp, (in press), "Depending on my mood: Mood-driven influences on text comprehension" in the Journal of Educational Psychology. Bohn-Gettler also published, with D.N. Rapp, P. van den Broek, P. Kendeou and M.J. White (in press) "Adults' and children's monitoring of story events in the service of comprehension" in Memory & Cognition.

Misty Bruckner, associate director, Center for Urban Studies, received the Bronze Medal of Outstanding Service from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office for her work involving the new Oaklawn Activity Center in southeast Wichita.

Deema deSilva, director, Student Support Services, participated by invitation from Oxford University in London, England, to participate in a spring Oxford Round Table Discussion as a delegate in a panel of 40 women from around the globe.

Kay Gibson, associate professor; Gayla Lohfink, assistant professor; Donna Sayman, assistant professor; and Anh Tran, associate professor, all from curriculum and instruction, received a Tilford Incentive Grant from the WSU Office of Multicultural Affairs and will teach courses that enhance diversity-related themes and content in College of Education curricular offerings.

Barbara Hodson, professor; Trisha Self, assistant professor; Kathy Strattman, associate professor; and Terese Conrad, clinical educator, all from communication sciences and disorders, have recently published case studies cited in a pioneering new textbook, "The Communication Disorder Casebook: Learning by Example" by Shelly Chabon and Ellen Cohn. It is a first edition case-based text for the discipline's undergraduate and graduate level courses.

Mary Liz Jameson, associate professor, biological sciences, has been invited to teach a course on scarab beetles in Peru at La Pampa Hermosa Sanctuary, a biological field station.

Jennifer Kassebaum, who has served as interim associate general counsel since September 2010, has been selected as associate general counsel for Wichita State University.

Maite Kilpatrick, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures-Spanish, organized a meeting of the Mid-America Chapter of the American Translators Association for those interested in professional translation and interpretation, including a discussion of the processes for becoming certified for court or medical interpreting.

Lorraine Madway, assistant professor, curator Special Collections, Ablah Library, presented "Struggle and Resilience: Kansas During the Great Depression" in April at the Watkins Community Museum in Topeka.

Kim McDowell, associate professor, curriculum and instruction, has published, with R. Sweeney and R. Ziolkowski, "Adolescent readers: Relatedness of ability and attitudes" in Global Education.

Linda Mitchell, professor, curriculum and instruction, made a presentation at the Kansas Division for Early Childhood annual conference in February based on her publication: Mitchell, L., Perlman, L., & Mitchell, A. (2011). Family engagement: Building early learning partnerships.

Paul Rillema, professor, chemistry, served as program chair for the 45th Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society. More than 750 chemists, including students, professors and industrial chemists, attended the meeting, held in Wichita.

Christopher Rogers, associate professor, biological sciences, presented his invited paper "Season-long fecundity, brood parasitism and nest predation in the Cerulean Warbler in southwestern Michigan" at the joint meeting of the Association of Field Ornithologists, Cooper Ornithological Society and Wilson Society for Ornithology. His paper was part of a symposium session, "Our Expanding Understanding of Cerulean Warbler Breeding Biology and Migratory Behavior."

Michael Rogers, professor, chair, human performance studies, was quoted in a Newsday article, "For a 50th birthday lift, try 300 pounds," about weight lifting by older adults. He was also quoted in a New York Times article, "A trainer who acts your age."

Rogers has recently published "Effects of hydraulic-resistance training on strength and power in untrained healthy older adults" in the April issue of Journal of Strength and Conditioning.

Judy Ruder, clinical supervisor, curriculum and instruction, and seven WSU students attended the Kansas National Educators Association—Student Program (KNEA-SP) representatives assembly in Manhattan. Gwen Mukes, assistant professor, was recognized as the Outstanding Local Advisor at the event for her support and commitment to the student organization. The group won top prize for a banner made by Maranda McArthur, Penny Blattner, Susie Kelly and Kara Yoder. The banner will go on to the national KNEA-SP meeting, where it will compete with banners from all 50 states.

Donna Sayman, assistant professor, special education, curriculum and instruction, recently presented "Contracting with Omar the Tentmaker: Masculinity and Men in Nursing" at the American Men's Studies Association conference in Kansas City.

Nick Solomey, professor, chair, physics, gave a presentation on the Auger North Cosmic Ray Observatory project in April at Washburn University in Topeka. The internationally funded project, which may be partially located in Kansas, studies the universe's highest energy particles.

Erach Talaty, professor, assistant chair, chemistry, was honored by his colleagues with the naming of the Erach Talaty Organic Chemistry Teaching Lab in McKinley Hall.

Lawrence E. Whitman, associate professor, director engineering education, has been elected to serve as technical vice president for the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). Whitman previously served on the IIE board as computer and information systems (CIS) division president, 2008-2009; member of board of CIS, 2005-2009; and has been a member of the organization since 1996.

Shang-You Yang, associate professor, biological sciences, was the invited keynote speaker at the 2010 Jinan International Symposium on Minimal Invasive Spine Surgery in Jinan, China, and presented "Gene therapy in orthopaedic spine surgery."

IN MEMORIAM
Jean Vincent Gillette, 80, retired personnel manager, former Campus Activities Center, died on April 11 in Wichita. She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jack; and son-in-law Kurt Seybold. She is survived by her daughters Darla Gillette Seybold, Lori Gillette (Robert) Cunningham of Wichita and Lisa (Matt) Blaes of Olathe, Kan.; sister and brother-in-law Jan and Toke Rogers of Las Cruces, N.M.; brother C.L. (Virginia) Vincent of N.M; grandchildren Phillip (Heather) Cushman, Molly Blaes, Cavanaugh Blaes, Tim Cunningham, Stephanie (Mark) Toland; great granddaughter Kaylee Cushman; and her beloved dog, Lexi. A memorial service has been held. Memorial contributions may be made to the Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside, Wichita, KS 67219.

Wichita State men look to defend collegiate national title

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:17:00 CST

The Wichita State men will look for a record fourth consecutive national title, while second-year program Webber International will try to defend its women's championship when the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships kick off April 21 in Columbus, Ga.

The defending champions in each division are among the 16 men's and 16 women's teams that advanced to the collegiate nationals, which will be conducted at AMF Peach Lanes.

Wichita State is coming off victories in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Intercollegiate Team Championships, which tied the record for the most consecutive wins. The Shockers also accomplished the feat in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Read full story.