Author: Caelin Bragg

The 2026 Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol features up to 40 students from all Kansas Board of Regents institutions, including five from Wichita State.

Students, faculty, Kansas Board of Regents members, state lawmakers and members of the public are invited to visit the Capitol Rotunda from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 to view the students’ presentations.

Student presenters from WSU:

• Stephanie Cruz Ponce
  Major: Applied engineering
  Project title: “Applied Structural Optimization of an Aircraft Wing Spar for Light Sport Aircraft”
  Faculty mentor: Dr. Adam Lynch, professor of practice of applied engineering
• Jessa York
  Major: Communication sciences and disorders
  Project title: “Auditory Function in Children with Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders”
  Faculty mentor: Dr. Cynthia Richburg, professor of communications sciences and disorders and Au.D. program coordinator
• David Rich
  Major: Chemistry
  Project title: “Investigation of NbTe4 as a Potential Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries”
  Faculty mentor: Dr. Jian Wang, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry
• Riley McMillan
  Major: Biology
  Project title: “Immunohistochemical (IHC) Analysis of HNSCC/CAF Cells and Xenotransplants”
  Faculty mentor: Dr. Bill Hendry, chair and professor of biological sciences
• Garett Knight
  Major: Communications sciences and disorders, linguistics and music
  Project title: “From Sound to Synapses: Music’s Impact on Psychological States & Emotional Intelligence through Mental Imagery”
  Faculty mentors: Dr. Erin O’Bryan, assistant professor of CSD; Dr. Mythili Menon, associate professor and director of linguistics; and Dr. Courtney Long, assistant professor of music

For questions about the 2026 Research Days at the Capitol, contact Dr. Michael Birzer, director of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Hub, at michael.birzer@wichita.edu

Jaila Harding’s school record-breaking performance led the Shockers to a 62-61 win over UTSA Feb. 21 afternoon during the annual Play4Kay pink game in Charles Koch Arena.

With her third make from deep, Harding broke Wichita State’s 26-year old single-season record for made three-pointers, previously set by Courtney Sims in the 1999-2000 season, and she pushed her season total to 75 by the end of the night. She added a steal and logged nearly 37 minutes on her way to 19 points in the win.

Shocker women’s bowling shook off a series of tough-luck losses to defeat two of the nation’s top teams and win the Big Red Invite Feb. 22 at Hollywood Bowl in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The tournament title is the 252nd in program history and the second of the 2025-26 season.

For much of the weekend, it was a frustrating trip to Lincoln for the Shockers (64-27). Wichita State went just 3-8 over the first two days of matches, plus the final traditional match on Sunday morning. Among those eight losses, WSU fell by margins of two pins (twice), 10 pins, 22 pins and 36 pins. But despite the results, the Shockers continued to post strong scores, carding a 977 or better in all matches and seven matches of 1,000 or better.

Leo Wetta, investment adviser representative with Voya Financial, will be available for in-person meetings at Wichita State Wednesday, Feb. 25. Faculty and staff can get one-on-one advising and review their Voya Financial accounts as part of their KBOR retirement plan, or new employees can receive assistance in enrolling in their KBOR plan.

There is a weekly Thursday option to meet if all meeting times on Feb. 25 are taken. You can select a time and a place of your choosing for the meeting.

If you are interested in meeting with Leo, you can schedule a time to meet and select the “Wichita State University – Rhatigan Student Center Room 313 (Prairie Room)” location. Time slots are limited, so reserve a time soon. For questions, you can call Voya Financial Advisors at 316-686-2428.

Do you want to hear more from your student and university leaders about what has been happening this year? Do you want to share your thoughts or concerns on your education and student experience? Attend the virtual Student Government Association (SGA) town hall featuring university administration starting at 2 p.m. Monday, March 2 virtually via the SGA YouTube.

Here, you will get a chance to not only hear from the Student Government Association and the university administration, but you will also have a chance to ask questions over the course of the town hall.

Students interested in submitting questions for consideration can use this form before the town hall: Student Government Association student town hall question submission

Students may feel anxious about approaching their professors, but despite these reservations, faculty members are often their best resource for academic success and help advise them about career/academic options.

Did you know that there’s not one, not two, but three Starbucks across campus? If you need a pick-me-up between classes, stop by the RSC Starbucks. If you’re driving in and need to make a pitstop, there’s a full Starbucks at Braeburn Square. Finally, if you’re on the Innovation Campus, the NetApp building has its own Starbucks that’s open to the public.

For the Saturday, Feb. 21 Shocker men’s basketball game, a number of lots in the vicinity of Charles Koch Arena will be reserved for Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization parking beginning at 2 p.m. During this time, signage will be in place alerting drivers of the impending lot assignment changes.

Anyone previously parked in these lots will need to move their cars by 2 p.m. Any unauthorized parking in a game day lot carries a $50 citation fine.

Wichita State Connect and Campus Recreation are hosting over 100 students from around 20 different schools on campus Friday, Feb. 20. This is a first of its kind for campus and is a way to get PreK-12 students engaged with the WSU community.

Over 20 university departments and external organizations will host tables for the evening. Faculty and staff can help visitors who may not be familiar with the Wichita State campus by offering directions to the Heskett Center. A map of campus can be found at wichita.edu/map.

Wichita State has released the list of the over 1,100 Shockers who graduated in fall 2025. View the list of Kansas graduates and the list of national and international graduates.

Overall, graduates completed a total of 1,087 degrees — 856 undergraduate degrees and certificates and 304 graduate degrees and certificates — with 196 honored as cum laude, 190 honored as magna cum laude and 62 honored as summa cum laude.

Additionally, you can see the names of the nearly 4,000 students included in the fall 2025 semester Dean’s Honor Roll list. To be included on the honor roll, students must be a full-time student (at least 12 credit hours) and have at least a 3.5 grade point average on the 4.0 scale.