WSU senates invite you to take part in Spirit Friday
Fridays are all about Wu! Starting in January, show off your Shocker pride every Friday, and wear your favorite Wichita State attire. Even if you’re working from home, a Zoom meeting with a collage of yellow-and-black-clad coworkers is the perfect way to end the week.
Nominate a deserving UP / USS staff member for the Distinguished Service Awards
Nominate a deserving Unclassified Professional (UP) or University Support Staff (USS) employee for the 2021 Distinguished Service Awards. These awards recognize the dedication and excellence of UP / USS employees who have provided exemplary, dedicated and caring service to the WSU community that is beyond the expectations of the duties and responsibilities of their position. Selected honorees are recognized at the annual Shocker Pride Celebration.
For more information on award eligibility and nomination process, visit wichita.edu/staffawards.
Nominations are due 5p.m. Friday, Jan. 29.
Nominate an adult learner for Adult Learner of the Year Award
In March 2021, the Office of Adult Learning will host the 2nd Annual Adult Learner of the Year (ALOTY) awards ceremony. In this ceremony, we will not only celebrate six years as an office, but we will also name an ALOTY, two finalists, a community partner and a WSU partner. We are calling on the WSU community to help us find an adult learner at Wichita State deserving of the title, Adult Learner of the Year. The deadline to nominate an adult learner is Friday, Jan. 29.
A student is considered an adult learner at Wichita State if they are a current undergraduate earning their first bachelor’s degree and is either: 24 years or older; a military or veteran student; or independent status.
ALOTY criteria:
- 3.00 GPA at WSU (extenuating circumstances can be reviewed)
- Displays perseverance in obtaining a degree
- Demonstrates Shocker Pride
- Possesses leadership qualities
If you know of a student who meets the following criteria, please click here and submit their name.
USS and Non-Teaching UP employees: it’s self-evaluation time
Emails to USS and Non-Teaching UP employees will be sent as a reminder that annual myPerformance Employee Self-Evaluations are due from Jan. 16-31. This allows employees to provide input on job performance and accomplishments. Employees can access their self-evaluation through the myPerformance link found in myWSU. For more information (including quick reference guides and other assistance) go to www.wichita.edu/myPerformance.
President releases process to review and approve remote work arrangements (see clarifying FAQs)
Attention supervisors:
The sudden onset of COVID-19 forced the university to quickly move a large part of our workforce remote. Given the uncertainty that the pandemic currently presents, we must continue to encourage and/or require (if applicable) remote work for staff. This prioritization of the health and safety of workforce must be balanced with continued timely delivery of services to our students and greater university community. Each supervisor is currently empowered to determine the appropriate staffing model for their department as they deem appropriate and approved by their vice president.
Remote work arrangements raise unique administrative and legal issues. These issues include, but are not limited to, payroll taxes, unemployment and workers compensation benefits, work authorization restrictions, discrimination and retaliation laws, access to and security of University information technology systems, individual and University privacy and security, fulfillment of University grant and contractual obligations, and proper oversight. Accordingly, the University must proactively provide guidance on responsibilities, limitations, and expectations of employees who are working remotely. We must also identify all existing remote work situations and mitigate any administrative, legal, or compliance concerns.
All proposed remote work arrangements outside of the state of Kansas and/or those located in Kansas but intended to last more than thirty consecutive days must be reviewed by Human Resources and the Office of General Counsel prior to any offer of employment (for new employees) and/or granting permission to work remotely (for existing employees). These offices will review each proposed remote work situation and conduct a risk analysis. If necessary, approval may be required by the appropriate Vice President. NOTE: all arrangements for an employee to work outside the United States must be reviewed by the by Human Resources and the Office of General Counsel and approved by appropriate Vice President. Due to heightened security risks and complexity of labor and immigration laws, remote work outside of the United States will only be approved in extraordinary circumstances.
HR has published new guidance for remote work arrangements and established a dedicated web page Remote Work Arrangement Guidance to assist those who supervise staff who may currently be working remotely or who may wish to work remote in the future. The webpage contains remote work arrangement guidance as well as a remote work arrangement acknowledgement form to be utilized when appropriate.
NEXT STEPS FOR SUPERVISORS
Employees Currently Working Remotely In-State: Supervisors are required to ensure that ALL employees who have been working remotely at a location in Kansas for a period longer than 30 consecutive days complete a Remote Work Arrangement Acknowledgement. The completed acknowledgement is to be sent to the assigned HR business partner no later than January 29, 2021.
Employees Currently Working Remotely Out-of-State: Supervisors are required to ensure that ALL employees who have been working remotely at any location outside of Kansas, including internationally, complete a Remote Work Arrangement Acknowledgement. The completed acknowledgement is to be sent to the assigned HR business partner no later than January 29, 2021.
Employees Requesting or Needing Remote Work: Supervisors should follow the guidance posted on the HR website before authorizing remote work either (1) in Kansas for more than 30 consecutive days, or (2) outside of Kansas for any period of time.
Wichita State Baseball announces first-ever Virtual Fan Day
Get ready Shocker fans, the first-ever Wichita State Baseball Virtual Fan Day, presented by Cox, is happening at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1. This free Zoom event, hosted by Shocker legend, Brent Kemnitz, provides Shocker fans with a unique opportunity to get to hear from and interact with members of the baseball coaching staff. Attendees will also receive early access to unique Shocker Baseball virtual content.
Get more information and to register
Call for presentations; save the date for virtual Gender & Sexuality in Kansas Conference
The call for presentations for the 8th Annual interdisciplinary Gender & Sexuality in Kansas Conference (to be held virtually Friday, March 12) is now open. More information and the CFP link is available at wichita.edu/genderconference.
Students, faculty, staff and other interested scholars from any discipline should submit a 200-300 word summary of your proposed presentation including topic/research questions, methodology and a summary of findings or main themes to be addressed in the presentation. Presenters may consist of individuals or groups. All submissions should consist of original research or scholarship related to gender and/or sexuality.
Presentation formats: Traditional oral presentations [15-20 minutes] include a visual aid of some sort (power point, video, poster). Workshop/trainings may be longer and include an identified learning outcome with an interactive component.
The deadline for submissions: Friday, Feb. 5
Spread the word: We hope that you will consider submitting a proposal and share information about the conference with your students, colleagues and others across campus or Wichita community who may be interested.
Please contact Shocker Sociology, 316-978-3280 or email jodie.hertzog@wichita.edu with any questions you may have.
To stay up to date on conference announcements, follow on Facebook.
Welcomefest: submit your events now
Welcomefest takes place during the beginning of classes each semester and features dozens of activities. Spring 2021 Welcomefest takes place from Feb. 1-28.
You can submit your department or organization events to be included in the Welcomefest marketing, including an online guidebook, web listing and more. The deadline to submit events for inclusion in all Welcomefest marketing is 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22.
To register your event, please visit wichita.edu/welcomefest. If you have questions, please contact Student Involvement at 978-3022 or getinvolved@wichita.edu.
Applied learning highlight of the week: Rafael Uribe-Olivares
Shout out to exercise science major Rafael Uribe-Olivares for his assistance in Wichita State University's Molecular Diagnostic Lab and helping slow the spread of COVID-19. Your hard work is noticed and appreciated.
Learn more about Rafael's experience
Nominate your student employee for SGA's 2021 Student Employee of the Year Award
The Wichita State University Student Employee of the Year Award is sponsored by the Student Government Association and recognizes the contributions of student employees to the university community and honors their efforts. University employees may nominate a Wichita State student employee who is enrolled in a Wichita State University degree program at least half time and has completed or expects to complete, at least three months full time or six months part time employment during this academic year, July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Hourly, work-study and salaried student employees are eligible. To nominate a student employee (undergraduate or graduate, non-teaching), please visit wichita.edu/SGAawards.
Save the date: Hanover Research Faculty Workshop and Consultations on Jan. 22
Wichita State University is partnering with Hanover Research to provide faculty with webinars and consultations designed to increase your grant-writing success and research competitiveness.
Good vs Fundable Proposals Webinar, 10 a.m.-noon Friday, Jan. 22.
This training will explore the difference between a good project and a fundable one, with particular emphasis on how to speak to funders’ expectations around innovation. A panel of grant consultants from a range of backgrounds will follow.
Faculty Consultations, Friday, Jan. 22
If you registered and attended one or more of the Hanover webinars on Oct. 30 or Jan. 22, 2021, you will have a chance to receive a one-on-one consultation with a grant consultant expert from Hanover Research, who specializes in your area of research. Only eight slots are available and faculty (or groups of faculty with similar interests); must provide a white paper in advance of the Faculty Consultation to be considered for this opportunity.
Email proposals@wichita.edu to register for either of these Hanover Workshops.