ADMINISTRATION
Stepping Down
James J. Rhatigan, who became WSU’s vice president of student affairs in 1970, has served Wichita State since 1996 as senior vice president. This summer, he is stepping down from the full-time position, which will be dissolved upon his departure.
But Rhatigan’s not leaving the university he’s served since 1965, the year he accepted the post of dean of students. This summer, he will don a new role and begin working part-time with the WSU Foundation.
Presidential Appointee
President George Bush has appointed Eric Sexton ’87/92 to a presidential commission to study the feasibility of creating a national museum of African-American history and culture to be located on or near the national mall.
Sexton, WSU’s director of governmental relations, is a native of Halstead, Kan., and the son of Wichita State athletic legend Linwood Sexton ’48. In addition to serving as the university’s liaison with state, federal and local governments, Sexton teaches classes in political science and government at WSU.
BUSINESS
Specialty Tracks
Wichita State’s school of accountancy has renamed its graduate program and created two specialty tracks within its master’s program.
The graduate program is now known as the master of accountancy degree. It previously had been the master of public accountancy.
The two new concentration areas in the program are taxation and accounting information systems. The two new tracks, explains Michael Flores, WSU assistant professor of accounting, were developed in response to requests from local employers about what skills they look for in accountants they hire.
EDUCATION
In Demand
Ray Hull, professor of communicative disorders and sciences, is in demand in the world of education.
He has been appointed an adviser to no less than four federal programs. He’ll serve as an adviser and panelist to the Steppingstones to Technology program competition, the leadership program competition and the field-initiated research competition, which are part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
He also was reappointed to the scientific merit review board of the Veterans Administration medical services research and demonstration program.
ENGINEERING
Research News
Supported by research grants awarded this spring and totalling $470,751, College of Engineering faculty are helping engineer the future.
Viswanatha Madhavan, assistant professor of manufacturing engineering, and Dennis Siginer, engineering dean and professor, are working with $398,751 from the NSF and $12,000 from KTEC on “Innovation in Aircraft Manufacturing through System-Wide Virtual Reality Models and Curriculum Integration.”
And Ravi Pendse, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is looking into “Design and Deployment Issues: Internet Enabled Automobiles” with $60,000 from the Cisco University Research Program Fund.
FINE ARTS
Edible Shoes
“It’s a little strange,” Bela Kiralyfalvi, chair of WSU’s school of performing arts, told the Sunflower about this year’s winning entry in the theater department’s national playwriting contest. “It’s an expressionistic play. It’s a satire on the capitalistic society.
There are some strange characters that look for success in symbolic ways rather than realistic ways.” The award-winning play, written by Jonathan Yukick, a graduate student at Indiana University, will be staged at Wichita State in the fall, running Nov. 7-10. And the name of the experimental play? It’s a little strange too: Edible Shoes.
HEALTH PROFESSIONS
Sustained Excellence
Toni Neff, College of Health Professions coordinator of student advising and recruitment, is the 2002 recipient of the Wayne Carlisle Award, which is presented in recognition of sustained, excellent performance — and Neff has served more than 16 years at WSU. The award was given at the 9th Annual Shocker Pride Picnic May 9.
LIBERAL ARTS
In the Field
Last fall, students in 11 local middle schools began learning about “Frozen Worlds,” this year’s theme for the jason Project — a national education program founded by world explorer Robert Ballard in 1989 when schoolchildren deluged him with requests to go on his next expedition after he discovered the sunken Titanic.
The project combines videotapes, experiments and live broadcasts from an expedition. Thanks to funding from six foundations and companies, including $375,000 from the Toyota USA Foundation, the project is made available to area students and teachers through WSU’s Fairmount Center for Science and Mathematics Education.
While the theme and the expedition destination change each year, one constant in the curriculum is a water quality experiment, explains Amy Strong, JASON Project coordinator at WSU. This spring, students learned about the physical, chemical and biotic properties of the water in Chisholm Creek.
