WSU Team creates robotic 3D printed hand for local boy
Chase Rawlings, a 3rd grader at Ewalt Elementary in Augusta, was born without a fully developed left hand. When his mother heard about the technology and talent available at ͷ State in the area of 3D printing, she reached out.
Engineering major Chelsea Sewell and Brian Brown, director of the Robotics and Automation Lab at WSU, got together to think about what they could do for Chase.
The result: A 3D-printed robotic hand created right here at ͷ State. The first hand will be used as a prototype for Sewell to improve on in the future. In the meantime, she says, Chase gets to be "the cool one in the classroom."
Faculty and staff are invited to engage in Honors
Each semester, more than 60 faculty and staff from across campus teach an honors college seminar or department honors course, coordinate interdisciplinary and disciplinary honors curricula, mentor an honors option agreement or student research project, or serve on a faculty committee hosted by Honors. Honors invites faculty to work individually and in collaboration with their colleges to increase honors opportunities across campus.
To propose an honors college seminar for spring or fall 2020, submit a Seminar Course Proposal Form by Wednesday, May 1.
Faculty are invited to develop and teach Honors College seminars including first-year seminars. Information about Honors education and opportunities to engage with Honors inside and outside the classroom are available on the Cohen Honors College website in the Faculty section. To propose an honors college seminar for spring or fall 2020, submit a Seminar Course Proposal Form by Wednesday, May 1.
Interested in staying up to date on what’s happening in Honors? “Like” Cohen Honors College on Facebook. Read the Cohen Honors Weekly Update posted every Friday by the Honors student assistant for communication. Email honorsassistant@wichita.edu to subscribe to the college listserv.
University Press of Kansas launches new publishing options
Faculty and researchers at ͷ will find new services to help put their work into the hands of others. The University Press of Kansas (UPK) has earned a reputation for publishing distinguished scholarship, and now the Press is launching a new supplementary publishing services program intended to assist scholars interested in increasing the impact of their work.
“Scholars have many, many important things to consider and compile when conducting research,” said Conrad Roberts, director of the UPK. “Staying abreast of the dramatic changes in the publishing field shouldn’t be their top concern, and yet navigating publishing’s ins and outs is crucial to a project’s success. The new publishing services program at UPK can help guide faculty and researchers and take the mystery and tedium out of presenting the results of their endeavors. Our goal is to help them realize the best possible outcomes and avoid costly missteps.”
Through this suite of services, UPK staff hope to partner with scholars to identify strategies and solutions that are specific to their publishing needs. The right approach can save time while also increasing the visibility, reach and impact of the researcher’s work.
Types of services available through UPK include:
- Copyediting and proofreading
- Typesetting
- Indexing
- eBook conversion
- Cover design
- Printing
- Print on demand
- Sales connections to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Baker & Tyler, and Ingram
- Marketing and promotion
Researchers and scholars interested in learning more about UPK’s publishing services or who would like to start using the program offerings should send an email with an overview of their needs to UPKPubServices@ku.edu. Staff will respond with options, including strategies, costs, and timelines.
Based at the University of Kansas, UPK represents a consortium of six state universities: Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, ͷ State University and KU. UPK publishes scholarly books in several genres, but stands out for its books in military history, US history, environmental studies, Native American studies, politics and law.
Kelly St. Pierre named a Fulbright Scholar
Kelly St. Pierre
Musicology Professor Kelly St. Pierre has been named a Fulbright Scholar for the 2019-20 academic year. St. Pierre will spend the year in Prague, teaching at Charles University, on the myths and propaganda around composer Bedřich Smetana.
Additionally, St. Pierre will continue research on her second book about the roles music research has played in formulating ethnic cleansings in the Czech lands through the 20th century, and the ways even modern music scholarship continues to negotiate—and sometimes mute—this past.
Call for assistance with spring commencement
2019 spring commencement ceremonies will be held Saturday, May 18. The Commencement Office is looking for individuals who are available to work for each of the ceremonies that day. If you are interested in assisting, please visit the commencement website for more information including times and sign up to assist at . If you have questions about assisting with commencement, contact commencement at commmencement@wichita.edu.
Graduate School - Annual Awards for Academic Year 2019-20
Faculty, please consider nominating a student for next academic year’s financial awards. The nomination deadline is Friday, April 5, and students must be nominated by a graduate faculty member to be considered. The awards are only available for students who will not graduate until fall 2019 or later. Spring and summer 2019 graduates are not eligible for consideration.
- Only one student per program, per award, may be nominated - program faculty must work together to determine who should be nominated.
- Fill out and submit the online nomination form, uploading all required elements.
Awards Open for Nomination:
- Tilford Fellowship: To be eligible, a student must be admitted to a graduate degree program in good standing, be enrolled full-time, and demonstrate financial need. Preference is given to minority students who are U.S. citizens.
- Delano Maggard Jr, Research Grant: To be eligible, a student must be admitted to a graduate degree program in good standing, be enrolled either full-time or part-time, have completed nine graduate credit hours, and demonstrate financial need. This award entails the following additional criteria: (1) student must submit a budget for the research project and (2) if the proposed research involves human or animal subjects, a copy of the approval from the WSU institutional Review Board or Animal Care and Use committee should be included.
- Dora Wallace Hodgson Outstanding Graduate Student Award (Masters and Doctoral/PhD): To be eligible, a student must be admitted to a graduate degree program and in good standing.
Legislative update from Zach Gearhart
Read the current legislative update from Zach Gearhart, director of Government Relations at WSU.
Go to .
Nationally known speaker to lead three events at WSU this week
Anne Krook is a nationally known speaker who helps students transition from the academy (university) to the workplace, using the language that employers expect from applicants.
Krook herself left academia (she was an assistant professor of English at the University of Michigan) to work for a small startup in Seattle … Amazon (!), where she enjoyed many roles both abroad and in the United States. She then went on to become VP of Operations at another startup, Mindbloom, and then VP of Operations at Synapse.
She now specializes in helping graduate students transition to non-academic workplaces and undergraduate humanities majors translate their skills into jobs. In addition to her consulting work, Krook currently chairs the Board of Directors of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Krook will speak at WSU three different events later this month. Read on to learn more about these wonderful opportunities!
* Entering the Job Market with a Humanities or Arts Degree: A Talk with Anne Krook, Ph.D.
Wondering how to get a job with a liberal arts degree? Talk to someone who knows: Anne Krook, Ph.D., a former academic who transitioned successfully to the corporate and nonprofit workplaces, will share her story and advice from 4-5 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in 261 RSC. Hear about how you can identify and market the skills that make you an asset to many different jobs. All students and faculty welcome. Cosponsored by Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College, Graduate School, and Career Development. Visit Dr. Krook’s .
* Women and Men in the Workplace: Colleagues & Allies
What are the economic, social, and cultural factors that influence how men and women see and treat each other in the workplace? Students (UG and GR) and faculty are invited to join consultant Anne Krook, Ph.D., for lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, March 29, in 156A Corbin Hall for a discussion that offers two models for making those relations work better: collegiality and allyship, and discusses why those well-known ideals sometimes fall short at work. Finally, it offers tactics for making those models more effective in your workplace. Visit Krook’s . Event cosponsors are Graduate School & Career Development Center. Students to log into Handshake with your WSUID and password and click “Join Event.” An email confirmation will be sent to your "shockers.wichita.edu" email address.
* Marketing Yourself After Graduate School: A Talk with Anne Krook, Ph.D.
Join nationally known speaker and consultant Anne Krook, Ph.D. for practical advice for graduate students who want industry jobs outside of academia. We will meet from 2-5 p.m. Friday, March 29 in 305 RSC East Shirley Beggs Ballroom to learn from her how to identify your skills, craft a resume, and how to use the language that employers expect from applicants! Snacks served. Visit Krook’s . Cosponsors of event are the Graduate School & Career Development Center. All are welcome. Students to log into Handshake with your WSUID and password and click “Join Event.” An email confirmation will be sent to your "shockers.wichita.edu" email address.
World Trade Council of ͷ invites you to dinner talk featuring Cargill
The World Trade Council of ͷ invites you to a dinner talk featuring Cargill on Thursday, March 28, on "Helping the World Thrive." The World Trade Council is part of the Center for International Business Advancement (CIBA) at the Barton School of Business. There is a reduced attendance price of $10 for students.
For more information on the dinner and to make reservations, please contact Sherryl Hubble at sherryl.hubble@wichita.edu or call 978-3176.
An agenda and other details are available through this attachment.
Research workshop: ‘Writing Proposals’
A research workshop, “Writing Proposals,” will be held from noon-1:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, in 405 Jardine Hall. The workshop will be presented by Fran Cook and Megan White.
This workshop will provide grant-writing tips and resources to use. Funders and their reviewers want proposals that are clear, concise and consistent. Come to this workshop to learn some hands-on approaches to improving your grant-writing skills.
Fran Cook, CRA, training manager for the WSU Office of Research, will present helpful strategies for responding to a variety of funders and funding opportunities.
Gartner IT Town Halls coming April 3 for staff / faculty / students
In early February, the university announced it had engaged with Gartner Consulting to make sure we have the right IT structure and capabilities to help drive the university’s future success. In that endeavor, we’d like to hear your thoughts.
On Wednesday afternoon April 3, Gartner will hold three IT Town Hall sessions in 208 Hubbard Hall, to engage faculty, staff, and students on the IT services offered on campus, and their connection to the demands of a modern higher education institution. If interested, please plan to attend one of the sessions based on your relationship to the university. If you have any questions, reach out to David Miller, university budget director.
- Staff: 1-2:30 p.m.
- Faculty: 2:30-4 p.m.
- Students: 4-5:30 p.m.
ͷ Space Initiative to feature WSU graduate student Caleb Gimar
Join the ͷ Space Initiative as we welcome Caleb Gimar, a graduate student in the WSU Physics Department, who will present a talk "Looking into the Heart of the Sun: A Space Mission Concept,” at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in 233 RSC.
Gimar’s talk will discuss design studies conducted at WSU for a novel approach to observing the solar neutrino flux. As always, talks in the WSI's Space Exploration Lecture Series are free and open to the public.
For more information about the WSI and the Space Exploration Lecture Series, go to .
Save the date for Spring Town Hall
On Thursday, May 2, WSU’s Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs Kaye Monk-Morgan will host a Town Hall meeting for the university community to provide an update on the progress of WSU’s Strategic Plan, “Forward Together.” The event will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. in Beggs Hall. To learn more, go to Strategic Plan.
Nominate an advisor for the Excellence in Academic Advising Award
Do you know of an advisor who goes above and beyond for students? The Advising Network (TAN) is proud to support student success by recognizing academic advisors at ͷ State University. Anyone who provides advising services in any role (faculty or staff) is eligible for nomination.
These awards recognize individuals who demonstrate qualities and practices that make significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising at WSU and beyond. Nominate an advisor by completing an by April 24.
Sale on shorts for spring in RSC’s Shocker Store
This week in the Shocker Store, take 20 percent off shorts to make sure you are geared up for spring! Sale is in RSC only.
Mix 6ix for $7
Mix and match 6 20oz bottled beverages - soda, tea, or Aquafina water - for just $7 - limited time only. Valid at Groundhouse, Pizza Hut, Panda Express, Chick-Fil-A and Freddy’s.
The bulls are back
The toughest sport on dirt is back to ͷ at the Intrust Bank Arena on Saturday, April 13. Don’t miss the rankest bulls and redeem WSU20 for ticket discounts for all ͷ students, faculty and staff. Go to and use the code WSU20 and save 20 percent on all ticket prices, excluding the $15 price level.