Wichita State and President Rick Muma has recently become a member of the Excelencia in Education’s Presidents for Latino Student Success (P4LSS). P4LSS is a group of college and university presidents dedicated to making their institutions an environment Latine students can thrive.
WSU joins the P4LSS and 175 higher education leaders from 29 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico committed to the collective goal of ensuring America’s future, working in common cause with Excelencia in Education to make the country stronger with the talents, skills and contributions of Latine college graduates.
Continuing its commitment to Excelencia in Education, WSU has participated in a couple programs over the past year. Last year a team consisting of Bobby Berry, assistant dean for diversity and outreach; Aaron Hamilton, director of OneStop; Teri Hall, vice president of Student Affairs; and Sara Mata, executive director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives participated in the Evidence-Based Practices Institute.
Excelencia’s technical assistance with these institutes offer institutional teams the time and space to learn and share strategies that further institutional efforts to align data, practice and leadership as a community of learners and practice committed to more effective. In addition, the team most recently participated in the Seal Serving Institutional Transformation Assessment, exploring how to authentically and intentionally serve students.
Sara Mata has also been named lead affiliate for WSU’s institutional team for Excelencia in Education, which is comprised of Shirley Lefever, provost and executive vice president; Brett Bruner, assistant vice president of Student Success and Persistence; and Ashlie Jack, senior associate vice president, Institutional Effectiveness/Strategic Enrollment Management.