Author: Lainie Mazzullo

Have questions about the government’s newly announced student debt relief plan?

For answers and information, go to the Debt Relief Announcement on the Federal Student Aid webpage.

Additional links and content are available at wichita.edu/debtrelief.

Wichita State University is committed to preserving and supporting freedom of thought, speech and expression on our campus.

Visit the WSU Freedom of Expression web page for more information.

You can also view the Kansas Board of Regents’ Statement on Free Expression here.

Wichita State University is committed to preserving and supporting freedom of thought, speech and expression on our campuses. We strive to ensure that all members of the university community have the greatest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn, as allowed by law.

We fully respect and support the freedom of all members of our university community – students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, campus partners and friends – to discuss any problem or issue that presents itself.

LaWanda Holt-Fields, director of WSU’s McNair Scholars Program, died Aug. 6, 2022.

LaWanda, 54, touched many lives at Wichita State and beyond, including those she served through the McNair program, as well as the many faculty, staff and students she interacted with on a daily basis.

Details on services are still pending and will be published at LaWanda’s digital obituary when available.

The U.S. Army Aviation enterprise is collaborating with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to develop an AH-64 Apache Digital Twin in a contract that kicked off with a ribbon-cutting event on campus.

The Apache Digital Twin program follows the UH-60 Black Hawk Digital Twin, which involves the disassembly and scanning of an existing helicopter to create 3D models. It’s a tedious process but one that is necessary to continue moving the aviation enterprise from its current 2D document-driven engineering practices to the institutionalized use of modern 3D digital engineering practices, to supporting the transition to Future Vertical Lift’s entirely digital design, and to sustaining the enduring fleet.

“We have to speed up the Army’s transition to 3D digital engineering practices,” said Maj. Gen. Walter “Wally” Rugen, director for the Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team. “The aviation enterprise needs to start now establishing the processes, tools, and training methods required to transition and cultivate a relevant workforce from the industrial age to the digital era.”

WSU’s Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) continues to serve the campus community and beyond through its Suspenders4Hope program, which was recently highlighted on the national “Frontline Industry Podcast” for its work with the Thrive Restaurant Group. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

WSU President Rick Muma, as well as several university leaders, attended the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow July 18-22 in England.

Muma is the first WSU president to attend the acclaimed airshow. The WSU contingent — along with several other policy makers, dignitaries and businesses — represented Wichita and the state of Kansas.

While at the airshow, they had the opportunity to tell the Wichita State story and how WSU can partner with industry to solve aviation challenges and provide new opportunities.

The Farnborough Airshow hosts leading innovators in the aerospace, aviation and defense industries from around the world.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced the establishment of its Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Excellence, located on Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus.

The Center of Excellence will be a model for the use of crime gun intelligence in supporting law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. It will serve as a home for the National Crime Gun Intelligence Governing Board.

At WSU, we believe in the importance of creating a safe and healthy environment for all of our community members. To that end, we have partnered with EVERFI to provide Sexual Harassment and Prevention Training. This training is highly interactive and engaging, and is based on research around the best practices for healthy communities. As you complete your training, we invite you to reach out to the many referenced resources in order to join the larger discussion of these topics on our campus.

You will or should have received an email June 13 from EVERFI that contains a link to the training.

Completion of your EVERFI courses is required for all degree-seeking students at WSU. Please ensure that you have completed the course by Sept. 23, 2022. Failure to complete the training will result in a registration hold being placed on your account.

Thank you for your participation and for helping us to build the best campus possible.

For more information or if you have any questions or issues accessing the training, please contact the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance at 316-978-3187 or OIEC@wichita.edu.

After winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship, the Wichita State Varsity Esports Valorant team qualified for a direct bid to compete in the Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup, a milestone for WSU’s Esports program.