Author: Caelin Bragg

Want to see what some of your fellow Shockers are up to? The ShockerSync calendar has even more events for you to check out throughout the semester: wichita.edu/shockersync.

Shocker bowling, #4, take on the top-seeded Jacksonville State to kick off the team’s NCAA final four appearance at 11 a.m. Friday, April 11. The match will be livestreamed by the NCAA.

The Shockers, who won 11 national titles in the United States Bowling Congress’ Intercollegiate Team Championships, are in the NCAA’s Final Four in the team’s first season as an NCAA member.

When post-season play started, the Shockers rallied around the motto “Stay in our house.” Coach Holly Harris used the phrase before the Conference USA Tournament, and it stuck with the team. Before the NCAA regional, the team gathered to draw their houses with markers and colored pencils.

Four Shocker bowling members were named National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) All-Americans on Thursday and head coach Holly Harris was named Bill Straub Coach of the Year.

Sophomore Sara Duque Jiménez was a First Team honoree, while sophomore Ashtyn Woods earned a Second Team selection. Senior Mary Orf was tabbed to the third team and junior Paige Wagner was named Honorable Mention. All four were also selected to the Conference USA All-Conference teams last week.

The Shockers have now had 102 All-Americans in program history, with Duque Jiménez the 39th First Team selection. Harris is the first national Coach of the Year for Wichita State since current assistant coach Mark Lewis was USBC Coach of the Year in 2017.

Wichita State junior Sejun Moon is exploring how teams of autonomous robots work together in extreme environments like Mars using a multi-agent reinforcement learning approach. Under the guidance of Dr. Fujian Yan, Moon is developing a scalable, hierarchical system that enables robot collaboration with minimal human input — a concept with promising applications for both space exploration and disaster response here on Earth.

Wichita State University’s research emphasis includes opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff, and extends across campus from aerospace to ancient civilizations and business administration to biochemistry.

The Shocker spirit squad is competing in the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals this week in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Competitions are livestreamed via Varsity TV, but a subscription is required. Shocker cheer performs at 7:20 p.m. and Shocker dance performs at 11:45 a.m., both Thursday, April 10.

Daniel Reichart uses advanced simulations to study how a CubeSat detector can identify space particles like electrons, protons and alpha particles. His work, guided by physics professor Dr. Nick Solomey and supported by NASA’s Jumpstart Program, contributes to understanding radiation hazards in space and showcases how undergraduates can play a vital role in space research.

Wichita State University’s research emphasis includes opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff, and extends across campus from aerospace to ancient civilizations and business administration to biochemistry.

Dear Shocker community, 

I want to begin by thanking each of you for your continued dedication to Wichita State University, our students and the communities we serve. Your commitment and creativity are the reasons our institution continues to move forward with confidence — even in challenging times.

As we prepare for the upcoming fiscal year, I want to be transparent about our budget outlook and the realities we face. Like many public institutions across the country, we are navigating an increasingly complex financial landscape. We are seeing the effects of decreased credit hour production, national shifts in student enrollment — especially among out-of-state and international students — and broader changes occurring at the federal and state levels.

At the same time, we remain committed to the priorities that move Wichita State forward; 1) access and affordability, 2) fueling the talent pipeline and 3) increasing economic prosperity for our community. We are also committed to the advancement of our market-based compensation initiative. We must invest in the people who power our mission, and that investment will require us to make difficult but necessary choices.

While we are doing what we can to avoid broad reductions, I want to be candid: reductions will occur. We are currently projecting an overall budget shortfall of 4% to 5%. We are evaluating every possible avenue to close this gap responsibly, with an unwavering focus on minimizing impact to our Shocker community.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Intensified scrutiny of all budgetary expenditures and resource allocations to ensure alignment with strategic priorities.
• Reallocation of existing budgets to support compensation, cover mandatory expense increases (benefits, contracts and scholarships), and absorb unexpected costs.
• Careful monitoring of tuition and enrollment patterns. We are planning for a tuition rate increase of 3.9%, but it could be more, depending on final actions at the state level.
• Assessment of ongoing financial obligations, including those related to the changing collegiate athletics landscape.

These measures may feel disruptive, but they are necessary to sustain the long-term health and competitiveness of our university. We will not sacrifice progress — especially in areas such as enrollment and student success, research growth and employee compensation — but we will make hard decisions, together, in service to our mission.

Our Shocker spirit has always been rooted in innovation, adaptability and community. As we’ve done before, we will meet this moment with resolve and unity.

Thank you for your continued partnership, insight and leadership as we take these next steps together.

President Rick Muma

Dear colleagues,

Dr. Anthony Muscat, dean of the College of Engineering, has accepted a new role as provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, East Bay. His last day at Wichita State will be June 30.

I want to extend my congratulations to Dean Muscat on this exciting next chapter and thank him for his leadership. Dean Muscat began his appointment in July 2021. His time as dean has been marked by continuing progress in advancing student applied learning and industry partnerships. We are grateful to Dean Muscat for his vision to establish a new state-of-the art Shocker Fly Lab that will position the university to be at the forefront of unmanned aerial systems education, research and development.

We are immediately turning our attention to the appointment of an interim dean and to start the process of conducting a national search to appoint a new dean. We will discuss this further at an upcoming College of Engineering convening meeting.

I am confident in the strength and dedication of our faculty and staff, and I’m committed to supporting the College of Engineering through this period of change. Thank you for your continued efforts to advance our students and their success through the mission of the college and Wichita State University.

Shockers up!
Dr. Monica Lounsbery, senior executive vice president and provost

Lille Nightingale combined her lifelong fascination with animals and her passion for dance to create a capstone project researching the emotional and physical challenges of wildebeest migration. Guided by a team of dedicated faculty mentors, she translated her research into a compelling group performance that reflects the patterns, struggles and shared emotional experiences of both humans and animals.

Wichita State University’s research emphasis includes opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff, and extends across campus from aerospace to ancient civilizations and business administration to biochemistry.

The Wichita Biomedical Campus is a cooperative effort among Wichita State, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas to centralize health care education and research. Join Wichita State President Rick Muma when he sits down with WSU Tech President Sheree Utash and Greg Hand, dean of the WSU College of Health Professions, to talk about programs, collaborations, partnerships and progress of the Wichita Biomedical Campus.

Watch the episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts or Apple Podcasts (iTunes).

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