Author: Caelin Bragg

The Office of Civil Rights, Title IX & ADA Compliance (CTAC) is offering training for volunteers interested in serving as advisors and/or hearing decision-makers. Advisors and hearing decision-makers play an integral role in Title IX investigative and hearing process.

What is an advisor?

Advisor means a person chosen by a party, or appointed by the university, to accompany the party to meetings related to the resolution process, to advise the party on that process and to conduct cross-examination for the party at the hearing, if any.

What is a hearing decision-maker?

Hearing decision-makers are those with decision-making and sanctioning authority within the university’s Formal Grievance process.

When will this training occur?

Participants will have the option to attend one of the following:

• 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7 (location TBD)
• 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8 (virtual option on Zoom)
• 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 11 (location TBD)
• 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26 (virtual option on Zoom)

To RSVP, contact Stephanie Hearnen at stephanie.hearnen@wichita.edu or 316-978-5184.

Listen to Dr. Nick Solomey, professor of physics, as he sits down with Dr. Austin Nelsen, post-doc in the Jefferson Lab at the University of Virginia and graduate from Wichita State, to discuss what he’s been up to following his time at WSU.

The College of Fine Arts (CFA) will hold its 2025 Hall of Fame at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 10 in Wiedemann Hall. A reception will follow in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail Room. The event is not ticketed and is open to all members of the WSU and greater Wichita communities.

This year, five recipients are being recognized for their achievements and contributions to the College of Fine Arts:

• Bikki Bevelhymer, Inaugural benefactor for Digital Arts Scholarships and graduate of the Barton School of Business.
• Martin H. Bush, Nationally recognized art historian, educator, consultant and gallery director, and founder of the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection.
• Alan and Sharon Fearey, Award winning community art patrons; are deeply engaged in the arts, both through their personal collection and their ongoing support of institutions like the Ulrich Museum. Alan is a 1968 graduate of Wichita State with a degree in chemistry.
• Javier Ignacio, Nationally renowned Broadway performer, who trained in the musical theatre program at Wichita State.  
• Linda Starkey, Nationally recognized musical theatre educator, musician, performer and director, and a distinguished figure in the Wichita arts scene, particularly at WSU, where she taught for forty years. She was instrumental in forming the Musical Theatre Degree program and served as director of the School of Performing Arts for more than a decade before retiring in 2022.

The College of Fine Arts congratulates the recipients of the 2025 Hall of Fame awards and thanks all of those who support the college’s efforts to advance the interests of the arts at WSU and the greater Wichita community.

For additional information, contact Wendy Hanes, assistant dean in the College of Fine Arts, at 316-978-6002 or wendy.hanes@wichita.edu.

The eighth cohort of Rudd Scholars includes 14 Kansas high school seniors who have chosen to attend Wichita State.

• Ke’Ahjahnae Rice – Highland Park High School
• Juan Flores-Hernandez – Wichita North High School
• Nayeli Andrade – Wichita South High School
• Conner Huddleston – Goddard High School
• Jailyn Millar – Little River High School
• Kailee Mendoza – Winfield High School
• Lily DiNuzzo – Saint John High School
• Jeena Moore-Kirby – Wichita Heights High School
• Jordan Prue – Saint Thomas Aquinas High School
• Cristofer Correa-Sandoval – Wichita Northwest High School
• Arizvel Tavarez – Wichita East High School
• Erica Thompson – Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
• Lillian Delgado – Valley Center High School
• Brody Anderson – Burlington High School

Each Rudd Scholar will receive a full-ride scholarship, which includes tuition, fees, on-campus housing and considerable networking and coaching support along the way.

Shocker rowing will celebrate its 50th anniversary April 26-27 with activities honoring the history of the program at Wichita State.

Founded in 1975, Shocker Rowing has competed at home on the Arkansas River and across the nation in the sport’s most prestigious events. The celebration of five decades of excellence will include opportunities for alumni, current Shockers and the community to recognize the many achievements of crew at Wichita State.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University visited Valley Center High School to award senior Luke Hoy the 2025 Clay Barton Scholarship Feb. 26. The surprise included an announcement and presentation of a ceremonial check of $50,000, which is one of the largest business scholarships in Kansas.

“I was not expecting this, not at all,” Hoy said. “It’s not an everyday occurrence for people to come into your classroom and give you $50,000.”

The last candidate for dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — Sarah Beth Estes, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock — will be on campus March 31-April 1.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend a public forum at 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 31 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room.

Additional information regarding the candidate can be found on the Academic Affairs website.

The third candidate withdrew from the search process.

Join Zach Gearhart, chief of staff and executive director of government relations, for updates on the Kansas legislature relevant to Wichita State at 9 a.m. Friday, March 28 in 101 Morrison Hall.

The meeting is open to all faculty, staff and students. Legislative updates are held every other Friday.

As we look ahead to the second half of the semester, I want to share with you recent communication from our provost related to state and federal executive orders and actions that are impacting higher education.

You may wonder how this affects you and your classmates. Federal and state legislative, agency and administrative actions continue to unfold, and we are still learning their ultimate impact. There will likely be changes to some of our policies, programs, celebrations, awards ceremonies and events. The university is taking a systematic approach in addressing these actions to ensure compliance while focusing on the goal of supporting all students.

I know that you might have questions and concerns. My door is always open to talk, or you can reach out to members of my staff. As more information comes to light, we’ll meet individually with student groups as needed. We also have resources to support you if you’re struggling: The CARE Team is here to help.

I encourage you to participate in the upcoming virtual SGA town hall at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, April 10 via YouTube, where you can ask questions about any topic.

Above all, I want to emphasize that we are in this together as a campus community, and we remain dedicated to being here for all Shocker students. Thank you for being a part of our university.

Dr. Teri Hall, vice president of Student Affairs

Dear colleagues,

As we hit the midway point in the spring semester, I’d like to provide an update on WSU’s approach to recent executive orders and federal actions. Since my last update to campus during the spring 2025 town hall, a lot has happened that is impactful on higher education, including more federal cuts, an FAQ that provides further explanation to the Department of Education’s Feb. 14 Dear Colleague Letter, and the most recent executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, to name a few.

As a result of the recent orders and actions, DEI efforts within the higher education landscape continue to evolve. At Wichita State, and in alignment with other Kansas Board of Regents institutions, we are conducting a systematic review of our policies, procedures and programs to ensure compliance with changing federal and state requirements. Some of these efforts include:

• Reviewing the university’s strategic plan, which includes our inclusive excellence goal.
• Changes to the WSU website, programs, initiatives and events as the university works to ensure continued compliance. You may notice disclaimer language on some web pages currently under review.
• Some members of our campus research community have already experienced the loss of federal grant funding because of these orders, and we continue to review our funded projects and work with our principal investigators (PIs) and co-PIs to develop alternative plans in the event funding is lost.

While the effects of changes in our federal and state government may not be immediate for everyone, it is likely that at some point, these shifts will touch each of us in different ways.

As the need to respond to changes occurs, we will continue to make every effort to communicate, because that is an important part of our process. As part of my introduction to campus, I’m engaging in a series of faculty/staff convenings with each college, where we will discuss campus initiatives around strategic planning and how we are responding to current challenges while continuing to pursue opportunities.

If you have specific concerns about a particular policy, issue or event, please elevate it to the dean or vice president of your division so we can work through challenges together.

Lastly, though our campus must comply with state and federal requirements, we are and will remain firmly committed to the ability of all members of our campus community to thrive and succeed. Thank you for being a valuable member of our campus community and for the work you do to make WSU an incredible place to learn, work and grow.

Dr. Monica Lounsbery, provost and senior executive vice president