WSU Today: Sept. 17, 2019

Wichita State and Kansas State enter planning phase for a WSU satellite BSN program on KSU campus

The shortage of registered nurses in Kansas and the nation is expected to increase in the next decade, and the Institute of Medicine recommends that 80 percent of Registered Nurses (RNs) obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) by 2020. In response to these concerns, Wichita State University and Kansas State University have combined resources and started the planning phase of a program that will give students the opportunity to earn both a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Health and Human Sciences at KSU, and a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN) from the College of Health Professions (CHP) at WSU.

Both degree programs will be based in Manhattan, Kansas. A memorandum of understanding was signed by administrators of each university Aug. 30, 2019 to officially initiate the planning phase, which will culminate in an application to the Kansas State Board of Nursing for the satellite program.

Read complete story on WSU satellite BSN program.

Join the Office of Academic Affairs for a discussion of current student trends and best practices for student engagement Sept. 20

Eric Wilson

What makes students in Gen Z — and their parents — different than the Millennials who came before them? What are the most effective ways to communicate with today's students? How do transfer students think and act differently when it comes to retention?

Join the Office of Academic Affairs and Trends in Higher Education Fellow Eric M. Wilson for lunch and a discussion of student trends and data-supported best practices from noon-1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 in 262 RSC. Wilson, associate educator in the Elliott School of Communication / Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, attended the 34th annual ACT Enrollment Management Summit in Dallas in July. He will lead a discussion of trends based on national ACT data, and best practices insights from the conference, and how they align with WSU’s Strategic Enrollment Management goals. Lunch is provided.

Please RSVP here , or to Lydia Santiago at 978-3987, by noon Wednesday, Sept. 18. 

HCEA Cybersecurity Speaker Series Kickoff

Don't miss the first HCEA Sleepless Night Speaker Series session on Sept. 19! Join us to hear from Tom Ensz and Szde Yu about current issues in cybercrime and forensics from 2-3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, in Room A131, Partnership 2 Building. 

Find out more and register here.

Funding opportunity from Kansas NSF EPSCoR

Kansas NSF EPSCoR is seeking letters of intent and proposals for First Awards in areas related to the current Kansas NSF EPSCoR focus of microbiomes as broadly construed to be aquatic, plant, and/or soil systems. The First Award program helps early career faculty become competitive for funding from the research directorates at the National Science Foundation. 

Submission Deadlines: 
Letters of Intent are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 
Proposals due by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25 

*Please note - if you are interested in applying, contact proposals@wichita.edu as soon as possible so a grant specialist may be assigned to assist you. All proposals for external funding must go through the WSU Office of Research. 

The full request for proposals with submission instructions can be downloaded as a PDF at http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/funding.html

Joint senate meeting today (Tuesday, Sept. 17)

Join the USS and UP Senates at 3 p.m. today (Tuesday, Sept. 17), in 227 Hubbard Hall, for their joint meeting. All meetings are open to the campus community.

Join senate meeting agenda

Facilities Services after-hours emergency response

Facilities Services wants the campus to be aware of its after-hours emergency response plan.

Facilities Services regular work schedule is 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Custodial Services Department works two shifts from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For after-hours emergencies requiring Facilities Services assistance, please contact our University Police Department (UPD) at 316-978-3450. UPD will then contact Custodial Services and/or the appropriate on-call Facilities Services department.

Chartwells invites you to catering grand showcase

You're invited to the third annual Chartwells Catering Grand Showcase. Join us from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19 in the RSC Shirley Beggs Ballroom. This event is free, open to the public, and will feature a preview of our new Carved and Crafted menu. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, a dessert station and a hosted bar. We'll also have a live disc jockey and photo booth for your enjoyment!

All guests will receive a free drink ticket and a catering coupon to use before Oct. 31. RSVP here.

Celebrating the 72nd birthday of the United States Air Force

Join us in celebrating the 72nd birthday of the United States Air Force from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 18) at the Military and Veteran Services Center, in 105 Grace Wilkie Hall. There will be a cake-cutting ceremony and brief program.

In 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act which established this new defense organization, and along with it the creation of the U.S. Air Force as an independent service, equal to the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.

The official Air Force birthday is Sept. 18, 1947.

Learn how to prepare a competitive NSF Graduate Research Fellowship application

The National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) is one of the most prestigious programs to recognize and support outstanding graduate students. The NSF-GRFP is open to first- and second-year domestic graduate students and undergraduate seniors in a STEP discipline who are or will be pursuing a research-based master's or doctoral degree.

Awardees receive a lucrative annual stipend and education allowance for three years to support training.

If you fit this description, join the Graduate School and Dennis Livesay, dean of the College of Engineering, from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, in 313 RSC, to learn how to prepare a competitive application!

Professional Development and Research Events

In memory of Sue Werle

Sue Werle

Sue Werle, 73, died Friday, Sept. 13, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Funeral services are being held at 10 a.m. today (Tuesday, Sept. 17) at the Bible Holiness Church in Independence, Kansas.

Werle was employed at Wichita State for 51 years, from March 1965 to Dec. 2016. Much of that time she worked in the Division of Student Affairs and Division of Academic Affairs and Research.

Accessibility Tip of the Week: Learn how to assess the accessibility of your materials

It is important that all student-facing materials at WSU are accessible, but how do you assess accessibility?

• Let the tools like the accessibility checkers in Microsoft and Adobe products and the “dials” in Blackboard guide you. Work toward full accessibility in your accessibility checks.
• Look for places where color contrast is poor and impacts your ability to read what’s on a page.
• Try to “highlight” a line of text in a PDF. If you can’t grab a single line of text with your cursor, your document is probably inaccessible to a screen reader.
• Look for color being used as the sole means of communicating information. Color coding of this type is inaccessible to individuals who are color blind.
• Make sure you have Acrobat Pro DC on your work computer. If you don’t have access, contact ITS for help.

Looking for specific training in the evaluation of accessibility? The MRC has created this handy guide. 

Hear from WSU Latinx keynote speaker Kat Lazo

The Latinx Heritage Month Reception Take the Lead featuring keynote Kat Lazo will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, in the CAC Theater.

Take the Lead is a program that builds and fosters relationships between allies and the Latinx students, faculty, staff, and Wichita community. Come out and engage with the movers and shakers in the Latinx community.

Our keynote this year is Kat Lazo from the Kat Call. Lazo shares what inspired her to create “The Kat Call,” and how acknowledging the different ways Latinx people embody both oppression and privilege can bring us all closer to liberation.

This event is free and open to the public. Learn more about the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Lecture Series.

Mikrokosmos Literary Journal is accepting submissions from students, faculty, and staff

Wichita State's Literary Journal Mikrokosmos is now open for submissions! Each year, we publish a print journal with the creative work of Wichita State faculty, staff, students, and alum. 

We are looking for great pieces of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Submissions are open until Nov. 15. All pieces can be sent to mojoeditors@gmail.com with the subject line "Mikro 66 Submission." Pieces should be attached in a word doc or PDF. For submission guidelines, see below.

WSU students can apply for free registration to NASA Conference

WSU, in cooperation with NASA, Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop (TVIW), and Ad Astra Kansas Science Foundation, is hosting the 6th Interstellar Symposium and NASA Advanced Propulsion Workshop from Nov. 10-15, in downtown Wichita. This meeting will bring in experts in the physics, engineering, humanities, and social sciences of interstellar travel as part of a Congressionally-mandated NASA effort to launch the first interstellar probe by 2069. 

A private gift from Dr. Robert Hampson will fund the registration costs ($125 value) for a limited number of WSU students to attend the week-long event, including the Sunday evening welcome reception and all conference meals. Those interested in applying for free registration must complete the form.

The application deadline is Monday, Sept. 30.

Each entrant must provide a one paragraph statement describing their interest in attending the Symposium and Workshop. The best applicants will be chosen by the local organizing committee. This opportunity is open to WSU students of any major or field of study – both undergraduate and graduate. 

Here’s more information about the conference.

For questions about the application process, contact: James Schwartz at james.schwartz@wichita.edu, Nickolas Solomey at nick.solomey@wichita.edu, or Atri Dutta at Atri.Dutta@wichita.edu.

Sickle Cell Knowledge and Perceptions Study

 

Participants are needed to help with the study “Assessing the Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitudes of Sickle Cell Disease in Healthcare, Black and Latinx American, and General Populations within the Midwest.”

In this study, we hope to learn about your understanding of sickle cell disease and trait, the complications, stigma, and perceptions related to the disease. The survey will ask questions to gauge your knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes about sickle cell disease. For example, you will be asked questions about knowledge, such as “True or False. Sickle cell disease can be inherited if one parent has the trait and the other parent does not.”

Questions about perceptions may include, for example, “Who gets sickle cell disease?”

 Lastly, questions about attitudes, for example will ask how strongly do you agree or disagree that “Having a child with sickle cell disease would be very scary?”

Sickle Cell Knowledge and Perceptions Study

Grab lunch this week at the Food Truck Plaza!

Check out this week's food truck line up! Follow us on Facebook (@WichitaStateFoodTrucks) or Twitter (@wsufoodtrucks) for any updates to the schedule.

Wichita Children's Home T-Shirt Drive

Each year at the Kansas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (KACRAO) Conference we choose one local cause to rally around. This year that cause is the Wichita Children’s Home, which is a nonprofit organization that offers the only emergency, temporary, and residential care for children in the Wichita community.

We are challenged to bring as many school spirit T-shirts as we can collect from across campus to donate to the Wichita Children’s Home. Does your office have a stash of out dated T-shirts from years past? Do you have T-shirts that you’ve never worn or only worn a few times? What better way to clean out our storage space than to donate it to a worthy cause?

T-shirts should be new or gently used, and sizes can range from adult to children sizes since the Wichita Children’s Home serves a wide range of children. They also ask that T-shirts not have holes in them or inappropriate decorations (beer logos, inappropriate language, etc.).

T-shirts will be collected through Tuesday, Sept. 24, and can be dropped off at the Registrar's Office in 102 Jardine Hall. If you have questions, contact Krissy Archambeau at 978-3089 or krissy.archambeau@wichita.edu.

Admissions welcomes your input for two Black and Yellow Days in October

On Friday, Oct. 11, the Office of Admissions will host the first of two Black and Yellow Days this fall. Each semester, we invite high school juniors, seniors and college transfer students to this all-day event on campus where they have the chance to participate in sessions hosted by each academic college, tour campus and explore the hands-on learning opportunities available at WSU.

The event is $15 per student and $5 per guest and includes lunch in Shocker Hall Dining. This fall, students can choose to attend Friday, Oct. 11, or Friday, Oct. 25.

If you know any students who should attend this event, they can register at wichita.edu/visit and click on "Admissions Events." For questions, contact Sarah Brill at 978-3638 or Sarah.Brill@wichita.edu.

Call for entries: Creative Crosswalks

Call for entries: Creative Crosswalks

Submit designs to kristin.beal@wichita.edu by 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30.

Four winning designs will be selected by the WSU ShiftSpace Student Group, and will be installed with temporary paint on the crosswalks in front of the Ulrich Museum of Art during WSU Open House weekend Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 5-6.

All entrants will be asked to join the WSU ShiftSpace student group via wichita.edu/shiftspace.

Sponsored by the Ulrich Museum of Art and WSU ShiftSpace Student Gallery.

Send first-gen students to TRIO Student Support Services

Student Support Services (SSS) is funded by the U.S. Department of Education to provide free academic services to students from First Generation (FG) and Limited Income (LI) backgrounds as well as students with disabilities.

The free services include; individualized tutoring, academic advising; textbook loans; assistance completing financial aid application; and scholarships exclusively for student participants. Please refer prospective students to our program, located on the third floor of Grace Wilkie Hall in Suite 309. For more information, visit Student Support Services or call 978-3715.

Fraternity and Sorority Life collecting books for Storytime Village

Fraternity and Sorority Life is partnering with Storytime Village to collect children's books. Storytime Village is a Wichita-based nonprofit that provides literacy resources and programming to underserved children in Kansas.

They are currently needing new books for their many book distribution events, and to fill their little free libraries that are popping up all around Kansas. They are seeking books that are appropriate for ages 0-8, including board books, chapter books and picture books. All books should be new or lightly used.

Books can be dropped off to Student Involvement in 216 RSC, anytime during regular business hours (M-Th 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.).

If you have questions, contact Rani Somers, coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life, at rani.somers@wichita.edu or call 978-7017.

SAC Wipeout coming Sept. 21

Water Wipeout will be filled with slip-and-slide kick ball and other water games at. It will be held at noon Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex fields.

Teams must pre-register at Wichita.edu/waterwipeout by Friday, Sept. 20.