YMCA parking lot rules have changed
In an effort to address student concerns about parking at the Steve Clark YMCA, members of University Parking Services, the YMCA, Student Affairs, Student Government Association and other university representatives met to explore a resolution that benefitted all YMCA patrons.
As a result of those meetings, the university is changing its parking policy. Effective immediately, any student, faculty, staff or community member who is actively using the YMCA facility, utilizing the child watch, Student Health and Wellness Center or the Wesley Urgent Care, will be able to park in the YMCA lot for up to two hours at a time.
Gift to ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø will fund solar panel, electrical research
Thanks to a generous gift from utility company Evergy, students in the College of Engineering can learn about and conduct research on solar power technology, as well as how to protect an electric grid from short circuiting.
Shocker Sight: WSU Homecoming 2020 has begun
Donāt miss out on the Homecoming festivities this week! From Shocker Athletics to Trivia Night at Fuzzyās, there is at least one activity during the week that will surely catch your eye. Check out full details at .
Donāt miss Black History Month keynote speaker Anthony Ray Hinton
The Diversity Lecture Series presents Anthony Hinton ā Black History Month Keynote Speaker ā at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in the CAC Theater.
Have you seen the movie āJust Mercyā or read the book? Check it out before our WSU Diversity Lecture Series Black History Month Keynote Speaker Anthony Hinton comes to campus. The event is cosponsored by ODI, Burns & McDonnell, WSU Alumni Association, Wichita Branch of the NAACP, AAFSA, WSU Black Student Union, and the Black Academic Honor Society.
Anthony Ray Hinton was released in April 2015 after spending 30 years on Alabamaās death row for a crime he did not commit. He was released with the help of the Equal Justice Initiative, of which he is now an employee. He now serves as EJIās Community Educator, and travels both nationally and internationally to speak about his experience.
More information and ticket details will be available at Wichita.edu/odishop. This event is free and open to the public; a free ticket will serve as an entry. Learn more about Hinton at .
Invent for the Planet 2020 call for participants
It's time for the 3rd Annual Invent for the Planet (IFTP). Join the global movement to solve the world's most pressing problems in 48 hours. This public event is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members of all disciplines. How do you make the world a better place?
The competition will be held at the John Bardo Center lobby (JBC) Feb. 14-16. Breakfast, dinner, and refreshments will be provided to participants. Specific details on the schedule and competition will be communicated to participants near the start of the event.
Go to for registration information.
IFTP will challenge you to put your theory into practice by solving real-world problems. You will focus on developing products to make the world a better place for the inventors of tomorrow. IFTP aims to motivate student innovators, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers to come together, apply design thinking, and find solutions for difficult and wide-ranging problems.
You will form teams of three-to-five participants and work to design and prototype a solution for a wide range of global concerns. At the same time, students from across the globe will tackle the same issues, allowing you to collaborate and learn from peers all over the world. Mentors will be available, and teams will present their solutions to judges for a chance to win more than $500 worth in prizes.
A generous donation by Airbus allows for this event to be free of charge.
Join KMUW for a conversation on quality of life in Wichita at Engage ICT
When it comes to quality of life, things have changed a lot in the Wichita area, and there's more change on the way. Hear from experts on the arts, restaurants, riverfront projects, and more at the next Engage ICT: Democracy on Tap. The conversation gets underway at 5:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, Feb. 11) at Roxy's Downtown located at 412 1/2 E. Douglas.
Submit your questions and comments in advance using the Two-Way Radio feature on the KMUW app, or send an email to info@kmuw.org.
Engage ICT events are free and open to all. Appetizers are provided by Roxy's Downtown and drinks are available for purchase. If you can't make it in person, the discussion will stream via Facebook Live starting at 5:30 p.m. All past Engage ICT discussions can be found at .
News of the day from the Weekly Briefing
Read the news of the day from last Thursdayās Weekly Briefing.
MEET OUR NEW SCHOLARSHIP SHOCKERS
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø announced the winners of its Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships and the Linwood Sexton Scholar recently.
MJ Jacques of Topeka High School, Rebekah Krehbiel of Northside High School in Fort Smith, Ark., and Vivian Le of Wichita East High School are the recipients of the Gore Scholarships. Each student will receive a $64,000 scholarship to attend ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø.
Jacques plans to study aerospace engineering. Krehbiel plans to major in biomedical engineering. Le wants to attend medical school.
Eduardo Avila is the 2020 Linwood Sexton Scholar. Avila, from Liberal High School, plans to major in education and will receive a full scholarship to ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø.
WICHITA STATE ASKS TO BUY FLATS, SUITES
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø has requested approval from the Kansas Board of Regents to purchase privately owned apartment complexes The Flats and The Suites, as President Jay Golden discussed with ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Øās shared governance leadership.
In light of the apparent need for long-term student housing, ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø evaluated the cost savings of such a purchase and requested approval to pursue the purchase for a price of $49 million, before bond financing costs.
Benefits of the purchase also include: exclusive control over occupancy, control over housing pricing and the ability to renovate or expand as desired.
WU SIGNAL MAKES ITS DEBUT
The Wu Signal light is a play on the bat signal and will be used to call attention to ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø events and locations.
The WSU ShiftSpace team will test it on First Friday, Feb. 7, from 6-9 p.m. at WSU ShiftSpace at our new Groover Labs location at 334 N St. Francis. The Sandbox Soup exhibit of student installation art also takes place on Friday.
CHECK OUT THE NEW HOME BASE
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø will hold a ribbon-cutting and open house for Phase V at Eck Stadium on Friday. The ceremony will take place from 2:30-3 p.m. for donors of the project and then the facility will open to the public for tours and an open house from 3-5 p.m.
Phase V, located on the third-base side of Eck Stadium, includes a new 10,000-square foot performance facility that features a strength and conditioning center, two athletic training rooms, locker room, offices for coaches and staff and a ticket office.
RISE OF THE REST VISITS WICHITA
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø students, faculty and staff are invited to pitch their early-stage startups for the Rise of the Rest Road Trip, which will visit Wichita on April 20.
Former America Online chairman and CEO Steve Case is leading the nationwide effort to invest with entrepreneurs in emerging startup ecosystems. Case, who worked in Wichita at Pizza Hut in the early 1980s, will visit with his team to meet with entrepreneurs, startup support organizers, and other stakeholders in the local innovation economy.
Eight local founders will pitch their startups for the opportunity to win a $100,000 investment from Revolutionās Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
The deadline to apply is Monday, Feb. 24 to be considered. The application can be found here: .
Fitness in 45 minutes with Campus Recreation
Did you know your Campus Recreation membership includes unlimited F45 classes? A value of $169/month in a private studio.
F45 is the fastest growing company in the fitness industry with over 1750 location worldwide. WSU houses the only studio in Kansas with the next closest being over 100 miles away. Faculty & staff membership is as little as $6.57/paycheck with payroll deduction. Take advantage!
Our students host 21 classes a week, so come support them and get a great workout. See you in the studio,
Campus Recreation Shocker Fit Schedule
Get to know your librarians at Ablah Library Open House
Thereās a lot to love about your library! Join us from noon-1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, to get to know your librarians from Research and Instruction, Technical Services, Special Collections and University Archives, and more. We would love to talk about the resources we have to offer, and show you the technology we have available for you to use. Open to WSU students, faculty and staff. Light refreshments provided.
Earn extra cash by helping with the US Census 2020
Help get dividends for a decade for your community by working for the US Census. Apply online at or text ākansasjobsā to 313131.
Latest Ulrich Museum āSolving for Xā exhibition shines a spotlight on WSU scholarās anti-gerrymandering work
As the recent controversy surrounding the Iowa Caucus vote count indicates, we can expect closer scrutiny of our electoral process as this presidential election cycle heats up. Fortunately, a ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø researcher is already looking at ways to address one of our most controversial electoral practices: redrawing political districts.
Every 10 years, districts across the nation are redrawn to reflect changes in the U.S. Census. Of course, with that redrawing comes the temptation to āgerrymander,ā the term given to redrawing districts in order to benefit the people drawing the maps.
Brian Amos, assistant professor of Political Science at WSU, dedicates his work to improving the algorithms available to researchers and activists seeking to prevent gerrymandering. He does this by identifying bias in existing approaches that may skew measurements in how gerrymandered a map is, and by incorporating Voting Rights Act protections for racial and ethnic minority groups into algorithms created for other countries without those protections.
Thanks to Amos' participation in the Ulrich Museum of Art's āSolving for Xā exhibition series, you can now see large, wall-size visualizations of his research and take in media coverage ā both humorous and serious ā examining the issue. Amosā exhibition, āSolving for X=Representation: Slaying the Gerrymander,ā will be on display at the Ulrich until June 28.
āSolving for Xā is a series of exhibitions organized by the Ulrich in collaboration with university scholars across campus. The intent of the museum is to work with WSU scholars in all disciplines to create visualizations of their research. The objective is to explore the potential for the museum to make accessible to the public the fascinating and important research taking place on campus.
Ulrich Museum Director Leslie Brothers said the museum is always on the lookout for innovative research to showcase. If you are interested in being considered for a future exhibition, contact Brothers at leslie.brothers@wichita.edu
The Ulrich Museum of Art on the ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø campus is free and open to the public. Museum hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Mondays and University and Major holidays.
WSU Libraries host Spring 2020 Entrepreneurship Research Series
WSU Libraries presents the Entrepreneurship Research Series for Spring 2020 - helping inventors and entrepreneurs learn how to protect their intellectual property and support their business through research. Upcoming dates include: Tuesday, Feb. 11 - "Intellectual Property Basics;" and Tuesday, Feb. 18 - "Trademark Basics: Protect Your Business Name." Workshops take place from 5:30-7 p.m. in 217 Ablah Library.
Third Annual Constructed Language Undergraduate Student Panel
Are you interested in knowing more about how to create a language like Game of Thrones 'Dothraki', or 'Klingon from Star Trek? Attend the 'Third Annual Constructed Language Undergraduate Student Panel' at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in 211 Hubbard Hall. The panel will feature four constructed languages created by undergraduate students.
The presenters will talk about world building, creating a phonetic inventory, using morphology to create words, and sentences. You will have the opportunity to ask the presenters any questions you may have about constructed languages and creating one. This event is free and open to the public.
Register now for E-Launch Spring 2020
E-Launch fosters entrepreneurial activity, leading to the commercialization of ideas. Through an interactive process, participants will learn to clearly conceptualize how the product or service can provide real value to customers. Participants will be shown how to validate their value proposition with customers and other stakeholders
Tilford Symposium welcomes Robert Babcock from OneGas as one of its keynote speakers
The Tilford Symposium is excited to have Robert Babcock from OneGas as one of its keynote speakers. Babcock is scheduled for a presentation from 12:45-1:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb 27, in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom, RSC.
Babcock has a passion for inclusion. āEveryone has a place at lifeās table,ā and he works hard to make sure each personās contribution is valued, respected and purposeful.
āIn this diverse world of ours, it is important to recognize and value our differences and maintain balance. Then we can create a world of synergy which fuels our greatest potential through inclusion,ā he said.
Babcock is Director of Community Relations for ONE Gas, a natural gas distribution company headquartered in Tulsa. ONE Gas is the parent company of Kansas Gas Service, which has been in operation since 1906 serving families and businesses.
Before assuming this role, he was in the Human Resources Department at ONE Gas and was responsible for leading Inclusion and Diversity initiatives. Prior to that he created and implemented the āLive Smartā health and wellness initiative at ONEOK.
A graduate of the University of Arkansas with a BA. in Geography, he spends time training for marathons.
Babcock is scheduled for a presentation from 12:45-1:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb 27 in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom, RSC, and Delia Garcia will give a presentation from 2-2:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom.
Register for the .
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø bowlers honored to earn spot on Team USA and wear the uniform
Three Shocker bowlers will train with Junior Team USA this summer in Arlington, Texas. Freshman T.J. Rock, who qualified in January in his hometown of Las Vegas, credits ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø coaching with boosting his confidence.
Read story on ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø bowlers.
New exchange partner university in South Korea
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø has a new exchange partner university in South Korea. Beginning fall 2020, students will be able to study abroad at Dankook University as part of our exchange program. In addition to semester or yearlong exchanges, Dankook also offers summer programs. For fall 2020, Saturday, Feb 15, is the deadline to apply.
Women's Summit at WSU
The Center for Women's Studies, in sponsorship with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, League of Women Voters of Wichita and Centennial Celebration of the 19th Amendment, convenes the annual Diverse Womenās Summit (DWS) March 10-11 in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom, Rhatigan Student Center. It is a meeting of individuals and groups from different backgrounds on local, regional and global diversity issues. The theme will be āExpanding Equality.ā
The purpose of the event is to celebrate womenās right to vote, its implications for different women, and increasing opportunities for the future of women and gender with challenges posed by class / poverty, race / ethnicity, sexuality, disability, religion, and other pyramids of power.
- Students Show Case (presentations - papers, art, posters and other projects by students) from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, March 10.
- International Womenās Day Keynote Speech, āCitizenship before the Women's Suffrage Amendment: African American and Native American, Rights and Resistance,ā will be delivered by Professor Kim Warren of Kansas University at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 10.
- Creative Concourse: (poetry, skits, stories and other presentations by community members including students) will be held from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11.
All events are free and open to the public.
Call for presentation proposals from students, faculty and community members
Diverse Womenās Summit call for presentations:
Individual students, groups and community members are invited to submit abstracts / proposals to present papers, posters, art works, dialogues, skits, and other projects at the summit. The proposal should be 100-200 words describing the presentation (type, subject, theme and purpose). Presentations that focus on the following topics will be given priority:
- Research on issues of special populations
- Citizenship before and after the suffrage.
- Gender-based violence
- Celebration
Submit your proposal to chinyere.okafor@wichita.edu. We are accepting abstracts until Thursday, Feb. 20.
For more information, go to the Womenās Studiesā website or click here.
For questions, call the departmental office at 978-3358 or Cathy Doughty at 978-7165.
Buy Black ICT Expo coming Feb. 15
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Ø's Black Student Union is hosting its first Buy Black ICT Expo and one of our many events for Black History Month. This event is open to the community. Donāt miss the Buy Black ICT Expo from noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, on the first floor, RSC.
Our goal is to highlight Black-owned businesses within the Wichita area. The purpose is to showcase black entrepreneurs in the Wichita community. Many students do not know where to Buy Black, and this expo gives them a chance to find these businesses. Anyone is welcome to come.
There will also be free pizza and a drawing.
Live Lock Love this Valentine's Day
This Valentine's Day, take your heart off your sleeve and put it on a lock, during our Live, Lock Love event from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, at the WSU Food Truck Plaza. Put your initials, a heart or other special phrase on one of our mini-locks. This event is free and open to the public.
You can place it on WSU's Lock Pod or keep it for yourself.
Let us know if you'll be there on our Facebook event and invite your friends.
*Limited availability: first 50 will receive a free lock
Julie Bees to present Faculty Piano Recital on Feb. 16
ŗģĮģ½ķ¹Ļ±Øās Julie Bees will present a Faculty Piano Recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, in Wiedemann Hall. Admission is free.
The recital features three piano sonatas that Beethoven wrote in 1820, 1821 and 1822; Opus 109, 110 and 111.
If Beethoven were still alive, we would celebrate his 250th birthday in December.
Come to the Glow Circus on Feb. 17
Come on, come all to our Glow Circus at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, in the CAC Theater. Bring your little one to a family-friendly glow in the dark circus full neon juggling and hola hoop tossing.
Free to WSU Students with Shocker ID, $3 faculty/staff; $5 general admission and $1 for kids 12 and under. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. No advance ticket sales. Cash or check only accepted at the door. For more information about SAC-sponsored events, go to or at sac@wichita.edu.