Author: Caelin Bragg

Wichita State student-athletes recorded the second-highest cumulative grade-point average in school history with a 3.51 for the fall 2025 semester. It was also the 41st-consecutive semester of earning higher than a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average department wide.

“This achievement speaks to the culture our student-athletes, coaches and staff have built together — one that values excellence in the classroom as much as service in the community and competitive excellence,” said Kevin Saal, director of athletics. “Sustaining this level of academic success over more than two decades is a powerful reflection of who we are and what we expect at Wichita State.”

Of the 225 student-athletes on the honor roll (above a 3.0), 55 earned a perfect 4.0 GPA, while 163 were named to the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA) and 209 were named Shocker Scholars (3.2 GPA).

Encourage your undergraduate student researchers from all disciplines to submit their application for the annual Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol poster symposium. Participants must:

• Be undergraduates during the 2025-26 academic year
• Have completed research under the guidance of a faculty mentor at a Kansas four-year public institution
• Follow the appropriate methodology of their academic discipline
• Have research of sufficient quality to be presented at a professional academic meeting
• Produce a professional academic poster
• Rehearse their presentations prior to the Capitol event

Applications are due at midnight Jan. 26, 2026.

The Wichita State University Police Department is calling on Shocker Nation to help spread the love for Valentine’s Day this year by stocking the Kiah Duggins Shocker Support Locker.

Now through Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, UPD is stuffing a squad car at the University Police Department building at Mid Campus Drive and Research Place, where you can drop off your donations for the locker.

Don’t know what to donate? The following are common, in-demand items at the locker:

• Canned foods and other easy instant meals
• Fruit products like applesauce and juice, vegetables, and cooking sauces like spaghetti and tomato sauce
• Grains and pasta, such as granola bars, rice, macaroni and bread
• Health and hygiene products such as bandages, deodorant, soaps, toothpaste, tampons and pads
• Baby products like wipes, diapers and formula

The Wichita State University Craig W. Barton Speaker Series cordially invites you to save the date for an evening with Lieutenant General (Ret.) H.R. McMaster, 25th U.S. national security advisor, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at Miller Concert Hall in Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

RSVPs for your free general admission ticket will be available on March 4.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series is an annual event established to expose students and the community to differing points of view and encourage critical thinking and conversation.

Wichita State is honored to be an invited partner to expand entertainment and tourism in Wichita in the development of a premier championship-level tennis facility located within the 35-acre “Ignite at K-96” major multi-sport athletic complex, on the southeast side of the K-96 and Greenwich corridor.

The six-acre tennis complex will be built to NCAA national championship specifications. The facility will feature 12 outdoor and six indoor courts, first-class team accommodations and a spectator capacity of 1,500.

“This is an important step for Wichita State University tennis, and the university is deeply appreciative of the efforts of Marty Cornejo and the FDD team to bring a project opportunity that the university will not have to utilize public funding to develop,” Wichita State President Rick Muma said.

Four Wichita State volleyball student-athletes have been named to the Academic All-District Team selected by College Sports Communicators.

Seniors Katie Galligan, Brooklyn Leggett and Emerson Wilford and junior Gabi Maas were all named to the team.

The 2025-26 Academic All-District Women’s Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.

Usha Haley, professor of management and W. Frank Barton Distinguished Chair in International Business, Barton School of Business, was featured in “Paramount goes hostile in bid for Warner Bros., challenging a $72 billion offer by Netflix” in the Associated Press.

Wichita State University thanks the following faculty and staff for their service to the university and wishes them well on their retirements:

• Dr. Teri Hall, vice president for Student Affairs
• Dr. Krishna Krishnan, professor in the Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering Department
• Dotty Harpool, executive director of engagement and prominence and senior marketing educator
• Kristin Arnold, assistant dean for finance in the College of Engineering
• Jeanne Patton, director of ITS business and finance operations
• Shadi Tafaroji, director of client services
• Dr. M. Edwin Sawan, director of the School of Computing
• Joan Adkisson, executive director of Finance and Administration

If you or someone else at the university is retiring and you’d like to share the news, please submit an item for a future edition of Academe.

Richard Todd, associate professor emeritus of history, passed away Dec. 8.

Todd worked for Wichita State for over 30 years before retiring in 1996 and was honored as a Bender of Twigs in 1988. He contributed to “Introduction to the History of Christianity” and had sabbaticals in Athens and Jerusalem, where he participated in an archaeological dig.

After his retirement, Todd continued his scholarly work and published “Napoleon’s Medals: Victory to the Arts” in 2009, which shed light on the artwork depicting Napoleon’s various conquests displayed through the medals he commissioned, and later wrote the “Gold of Qumran” novel trilogy.

Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 1958 N. Webb Rd.

Kevin Konda, associate vice president of Auxiliary Services in the Division of Student Affairs and director of the Rhatigan Student Center, has been named the interim vice president for Student Affairs following the retirement of Dr. Teri Hall.

“I’m honored to continue the legacy of Dr. Teri Hall in the Division of Student Affairs and her vision of ‘connecting every student,’” Konda said. “Our students are the lifeblood of Wichita State, and I am excited to uplift all Shockers as they work toward graduation.”

Konda currently oversees University Dining Services and the Child Development Center and heads operations at the RSC. He was recently honored as a Bender of Twigs during the 2025 Service Recognition Awards for his 25 years of service to WSU.

“During Kevin’s service to Wichita State, he has made the Rhatigan Student Center the primary hub for student life on campus and will continue to elevate the experience for all Shockers,” said Dr. Monica Lounsbery, senior executive vice president and provost. “We thank him for his leadership and for stepping into this role in the interim as we look for a permanent vice president for Student Affairs.”

Additional information on the search for the next vice president for Student Affairs will be shared at a later date in WSU Today.