Launch of WSU Belonging Plaza will include tribute to LGBTQ trailblazer Kristi Parker
Belonging Plaza is an outdoor pop-up commemorative gathering and programming tool designed to move to different locations on campus. It is meant to allow student and community groups to highlight a variety of underrepresented or marginalized trailblazers.
Read more about Belonging Plaza
Tap room, 'virtual' kitchen brings new dining concept to Braeburn Square
For three years, three friends looked for a place they think will push Wichita restaurants and a neighborhood into a new era.
“I fully believe this will become a destination,” Justin Neel said. “I walked in and said, ‘This is it.’ I can see the future of what this area can be, and being a part of that was just incredible.”
By mid-July, Neel and partners Luke Luttrell and David Hopkins expect to open Social Tap Drinkery and Create Kitchens in a 5,680 square-foot space at Braeburn Square (4510 E. 19th St.) on Wichita State University’s campus.
Wichita State softball rewards long-time fans with history-making season
Wichita State is ranked in the four major softball polls for the first time, including their first appearance in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll at No. 25 last week and now at No. 23.
Read more about Shocker Softball
Annual conflict of interest disclosure reporting period open through April 30
It is time to complete your annual conflict of interest (COI) disclosure! Pursuant to WSU and Kansas Board of Regents policy, all employees are required to annually disclose certain external interests, activities, and consulting arrangements. This annual reporting period runs from April 1 – April 30. Employees who have not recently submitted a disclosure will be automatically prompted to complete the new COI form. Those who have recently completed a disclosure (after September 15, 2020) will be prompted to verify their existing information. You can access the COI disclosure form on myWSU. Please note that, under WSU policy, all employees are required to keep their disclosures of external interests, activities, and consulting arrangements up to date throughout the year. This means that all employees must disclose job-related external interests as they arise and update disclosed interests if they change. Information about the updated COI processes and disclosure form can be found here. If you don’t see your question, please email COI@wichita.edu.
Shockers United campus reintegration staffing plan — Effective June 1, 2021
On June 1, 2021, the university will continue the Shockers United campus reintegration plan. This will include rescinding or revising a number of temporary policies and procedures, and reorienting our plans and protocols, as we transition over the summer toward a return to in person operations for fall 2021. The university’s plans, policies, and protocols implemented in response to COVID-19 supplement other existing university policies and procedures. These COVID related policies and procedures are contingent on current conditions and health guidance and are subject to change as deemed necessary by the University.
As we move forward, we should remain mindful of the guiding principles and public health considerations that have provided a framework for our response from the start of the pandemic. We should also continue to leverage technology enhancements (Zoom, Microsoft Team’s, and other virtual formats) and encourage basic health and safety practices that have served us well during the pandemic.
Health and Safety Practices
The university strongly encourages all employees to consider getting vaccinated.
During the reintegration phase, the university will modify the following health and safety measures:
- Face Coverings – Face coverings are encouraged, but not required. In limited circumstances, face coverings may be required.
- Social Distancing – Physical distancing is still encouraged where possible, but not required.
- Personal Health Screening – Individuals are responsible for screening their personal health, staying home if sick, and seeking medical advice as appropriate. Individuals subject to any isolation or quarantine requirements imposed by the local health department remain responsible for complying with such requirements.
- Cleaning and Disinfecting – Individuals should continue to keep the areas in which they personally work or are assigned to monitor sanitized. The University maintains a significant inventory of cleaning and disinfecting supplies. Supervisors may utilize the facilities work order system to request personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face coverings and disposable masks.
- • Practicing Personal Hygiene – Individuals should continue to wash their hands often and use hand sanitizer when washing isn’t practical. Avoid touching your face, eyes, or nose, and use good respiratory etiquette like covering your mouth with your elbow when you cough or sneeze.
Remote Work
- Starting June 1, 2021, the university will resume business operations which generally requires in person work. Exceptions to a return to previous work arrangements such as requests for remote work, will be made on a case by case basis and discussed with the supervisor. Such requests should follow the Remote Work Guidance.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Title IX and What it Means
Have you ever wondered where to go if you experience a sexual assault or other violent behavior or discrimination?
Through wichita.edu/reportit, you can be connected to resources to assist you, such as through the Title IX report.
Title IX coordinator Sara Zafar joins Heather Stafford in this week's Tuesday Talks to discuss the office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (which covers Title IX) and how they can assist students, staff, and faculty at WSU.
View and rate on student sustainability posters
Both undergraduate and graduate students submitted posters of their research on sustainability for our Earth Day celebration this year. The top three posters will win an award. Check out these posters and offer your ratings and feedback to the students on their work. Winners will be announced May 4.
Blackboard login and landing pages to change
On Saturday, May 29, Blackboard's login page and landing page (the place you come to first when you login) will change significantly. This is a cosmetic change and will not impact Blackboard's functionality. The change will be triggered at 8 a.m., and by 9 a.m. it will be complete.
What will happen on May 29? Our login area will become streamlined with a photo of campus on the left side of the page, and a login box on the right. You will access the login area the same way you do now, and your same credentials will work. Once you login, you will access your "my courses" area by clicking the "courses" link in the left-hand menu.
What will not change? Once you enter your course, it will look very similar to how it looks now. There will be some color changes as all courses will be standardized in terms of color. Everything should be in the same place, however. And tool availability will be the same. Your courses will still be in "old familiar Blackboard" and will not be in the "Ultra course format."
Why is this change is happening on May 29? This date allows spring term grades to be turned in and for summer pre-session classes to be complete before the cosmetic changes to the login and landing pages happen.
How will students will be notified? Students will be notified through Shocker Blast and their advisors. Please help spread the word.
Where to go with questions: The Office of Instructional Resources has created an FAQ page. If you have other questions, please send them to OIR@wichita.edu
Who shares misinformation online?
Mythili Menon will present this fourth lecture of the five part "Perspectives: Reestablishing Reality" at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 28. She is an assistant professor of English and linguistics and the director of the linguistics program at Wichita State University.
Misinformation on the web has several consequences for communities and democracy. Are consumers of news susceptible to false belief? Are certain personality traits more likely to share false information online? In this talk, Menon will report results of a news-sharing game where we tested the sharing behavior of consumers of news by incorporating fine-grained information such as personality traits, demographic information, including political beliefs. Our results have the potential of informing existing news-verification systems and social media of the differences between how end-users belonging to different personality traits consume and share misinformation online.
For more information on the Perspectives series and how to join the lecture, visit www.wichita.edu/reality.
Prevention panel discusses sexual assault resources available
Join Counseling and Prevention Services and partnering departments for Prevention Panel for Sexual Assault Awareness month to learn about your on-campus resources and how you can help prevent sexual violence, live on @ShockersCAPS Facebook and WSU CAPS YouTube at noon April 27.
Acclaimed jazz saxophonist Bobby Watson to perform with Wichita State students
The School of Music welcomes renowned jazz saxophonist Bobby Watson, in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. April 29 at the Duerksen Amphitheater, with Jazz Arts 1 Ensemble led by James Pisano. Also featured is Banda Hispanica led by John Goering. Audience members are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket. The rain location is Miller Concert Hall.
Watson will also present a free master class on at 11 a.m. April 29 in Duerksen room C107.
Criminal justice panel focuses on police reform
Wichita State’s Michael Birzer, professor of criminal justice, will lead a panel discussion on police reform at noon April 27 via Zoom. The event is hosted by the League of Women Voters Wichita-Metro and will address the types of changes being sought within the police department in the wake of the “defund the police” movement.
The event will also address what it would mean to change the funding structure of the police department and how the Wichita Police Department is addressing community concerns. Along with Birzer, the panel will include Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City; and Wanda Parker-Givens, deputy chief of the Wichita Police Department.
To register, call 316-261-8500 or visit wichitalibrary.org/events.
Panel will discuss campus sexual assault resources
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance is hosting a virtual Resource Panel at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 28. Panelists will include representatives from Student Health Services, Counseling and Prevention Services, the University Police Department, and the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center, and the Title IX Coordinator. Panelists will discuss their roles on campus, services, and resources available to all students and employees.
The panel will be presented via Zoom. To register and receive the Zoom information, please email oiec@wichita.edu.
Panel: The Movement of the Plastics Industry Toward Sustainability
We wrap up our Earth Day celebrations with a special panel moderated by Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate School Dean Coleen Pugh at 2 p.m. April 30. Dr. Pugh will be be joined by experts in the plastics industry:
- Joel Matsco, Covestro
- Mike Biddle, Evok Innovations
- Abdala Bashir, Danimer Scientific
Watkins Visiting Professorship Lecture: Physics
Join us via Zoom for at least one of the two talks: noon April 27 for the scientific lecture or 2 p.m. April 28 for the public lecture. Carlo Rovelli will present "Making Sense of the Quantum: Do Things Exist by Themselves?"
Doctoral student needs participants for a hearing research
A doctoral student in communication sciences and disorders is conducting a study on comparison of an existing and a newly developed clinical technique for evaluating function of the middle ear. Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 35, have normal hearing, have not had an ear infection in the past three months, nor had a cold or flu in the past two weeks. Participants will receive a no-cost comprehensive hearing evaluation and ear examination prior to testing. The testing will take about one hour in Room 106 Hubbard Hall. We have implemented a virus protection plan following university guidelines. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Kara Barrus at 316-650-5329, or Dr. Xiao-Ming Sun at Xiao-Ming.Sun@wichita.edu.
Faculty invited to NSF grant seminars
The WSU Office of Research is offering seminars and mock proposal reviews to prepare faculty for applying to upcoming deadlines to the National Science Foundation. The first seminar was on April 23, but the second seminar is National Science Foundation CAREER Proposal Development and will be led by Dr. Jan Twomey, associate dean of engineering for research and faculty eevelopment.
After attending the seminars, Faculty are invited to submit proposal documents for review by a panel of your peers. Faculty who submit proposal documents must also commit to reviewing other proposal documents and sharing feedback at an in-person review event.
- 11 a.m. April 30: NSF CAREER Proposal Development seminar led by Dr. Jan Twomey (addresses the NSF CAREER program in greater detail)
- 5 p.m. May 21: Deadline for submissions of proposal documents for peer review
- 11 .m. June 4: Peer Review Discussion led by Dr. Pugh and Dr. Twomey. Lunch provided.
Please email proposals@wichita.edu or sign up via myTraining to attend. Please email fran.cook@wichita.edu if you have any questions.
Volunteers needed for fall-risk monitoring study
Research Topic/Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to develop a wireless and flexible skin-wearable electronic device with motion sensors to identify the fall risk of older adults.
Procedures:
- The research team will help participants to put the fall risk monitoring device onto the skin.
- Each participant will be instructed to conduct five types of different daily activities (e.g., sitting or standing, lying, walking, climbing stairs, and running) as well as thre types of falls (e.g., forward, backward, and lateral falls).
Time:
- This device test is expected to last about 60 minutes for fall risk monitoring and 30 minutes for additional education or paperwork.
- The fall risk monitoring test will be conducted on Thursdays and Fridays between April 15 and May 28.
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:
- Participants must be age 65 or above.
- Participants should be able to stand up from a seated position and lay down from a standing position repeatedly at least for 10 times and also walk, run, walk upstairs, and walk downstairs continuously at least for five minutes for each activity.
- Participants should not have mobility or activity difficulty.
- Participants should not have severe visual impairment and/or hearing loss problems.
- Participants should not have cognitive impairment.
Location: 1845 Fairmount St., Wichita State University, Beggs Hall (Main Lobby), Wichita, KS 67260
Payment to participation: You will receive a $100 Greenphire ClinCard for your participation. You can use the ClinCard at an ATM or at the store like a debit card. Participants must have a valid Social Security Number to participate and to receive the payment.
Contact: f you are interested in participating in this study, please contact PI, Dr. Yongkuk Lee by email yongkuk.lee@wichita.edu or phone (316) 978-7670.
Finals prep doesn't need to be stressful
Finals week doesn’t have to be stressful. With the proper preparation, finals can be stress-free. Some tips you can share with students include knowing where and when all their finals are scheduled, knowing what kinds of exams will be given in each class, getting any supplies they need in advance, getting plenty of sleep and making changes to their work schedules to accommodate for extra study time if possible. If students are new at taking online exams, encourage them to test their tech and be familiar with how online testing works. Test preparation and other helpful resources can be found on the Student Success website.
Faculty Senate meeting today
The Faculty Senate meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. today via Zoom. The senators have been sent the meeting information. If you are interested in joining the meeting, please email leeann.birdwell@wichita.edu for the details.