Author: Sarah Stephens Selmon

WSU faculty and staff are invited to attend the 2025 WSU Wellness Retreat from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 at 305/306 Rhatigan Student Center, Beggs Ballroom.

The retreat will include:

• Healing stations
• Connection-focused conversation
• Mental health advocate recognitions
• Free lunch

WSU faculty and staff are invited to attend the 2025 WSU Wellness Retreat from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 at 305/306 Rhatigan Student Center, Beggs Ballroom.

The retreat will include:

• Guided meditation
• Connection-focused conversation
• Mental health advocate recognitions
• Free lunch

Join Wichita State in partnership with Sedgwick County for a campus walk to support mental health and suicide prevention at Hope Fest from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 27 on campus.

• Build a Hope Kit: Collect wellness items and resources at each booth to create your own personalized kit.
• Find connection: Survivors, supporters and community members come together to share hope and healing.

Hope Fest is free to attend.

The Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being Award honors institutions that foster a culture of mental health wellness and belonging by providing innovative support for the emotional well-being of students, faculty and staff.

Awardees demonstrate campus-wide integration of mental health initiatives, including accessible services, peer support, emotional resilience and proactive policy. Along with an inspiring group of peers, Wichita State receives this national higher education honor with an ongoing commitment to being a positive influence in the lives of all students, faculty, staff and administrators.

Licensed clinical psychologists at a Wichita State developed the Suspenders4Hope Preventing Suicide Training with evidence-based suicide prevention strategies, offered online to multiple subgroups: university faculty, staff, students, health care workers and community members, as well as high school staff and students. A total of 865 participants provided retrospective pre/post responses, and the data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Overall, participants in all subgroups, regardless of prior training, showed statistically significant pre/post increases across all measures. While no significant differences were found in learning between recruitment subgroups, variations were identified based on the number of previous trainings completed.

The findings support the effectiveness of a single suicide prevention training across diverse populations, suggesting important implications for targeting training efforts and optimizing resource allocation in high-need environments.

Plan to attend the Wellness Retreat for WSU faculty and staff at noon Friday, Oct. 18 in the Rhatigan Student Center. In addition to a delicious lunch and nurturing program, the retreat will highlight wellness resources available on campus and provost and executive vice president, Dr. Shirley Lefever’s farewell-ness address. Participants will also celebrate two Shockers who have played a key role in developing a wellness-focused culture on campus with the 2024 Suspenders4Hope Champion award.

Connect with colleagues and engage in a variety of wellness activities including a community service project helping to build HOPE kits to be distributed to people in times of crisis at the Student Wellness Center and Comcare Crisis Services.

Plan to attend the Wellness Retreat for faculty and staff at noon Friday, Oct. 18 in the Rhatigan Student Center. In addition to a lunch and nurturing program, the retreat will highlight wellness resources available on campus and Dr. Shirley Lefever’s, provost and executive vice president, farewell-ness address. Two Shockers who have played a key role in developing a wellness focused culture on campus will also be celebrated with the 2024 Suspenders4Hope Champion award.

Connect with colleagues and engage in a variety of wellness activities, including a community service project helping to build HOPE kits to be distributed to people in times of crisis at the Student Wellness Center and Comcare Crisis Services.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce is discussing mental wellness in the workplace with a presentation from Dr. Jessica Provines, WSU’s chief psychologist. at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 in the Crown Uptown Theatre.

Participants will discover how to improve workplace mental wellness through strategic approaches and simple exercises. They’ll also learn about Suspenders4Hope resources for supporting mental health in their organizations.

Wichita State University has been named a recipient of the 2023 Campus Prevention Network (CPN) Seal of Prevention. The CPN Seal of Prevention is awarded to institutions of higher education that have demonstrated leadership in digital prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being and inclusion.

Each recipient of the CPN Seal of Prevention has taken action to create a safer, more inclusive campus through comprehensive, evidence-based digital prevention education. The CPN Seal of Prevention recognizes institutions making a measurable impact across critical areas including sexual assault prevention, alcohol and drug misuse, mental health and inclusion.

The CPN Seal of Prevention recipients reflect the top 10% of colleges and universities nationwide that have demonstrated their commitment and investment to not only academics but also the well-being of their students and the overall college experience. The CPN Seal of Prevention highlights the hard work WSU is undertaking to create a safe and welcoming campus community for students.

As part of the effort to elevate and celebrate health and wellness at Wichita State University, faculty and staff are invited to share what they are doing to promote the health and wellbeing of persons, places and planet.