Author: Caelin Bragg

Jonathan Cross and Stephen Cross Jr., investment adviser representatives with Voya Financial, will be available for in-person meetings at Wichita State Monday, June 8. 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.

If you are interested in meeting with Jonathan or Stephen, you can schedule a time to meet and select “Wichita State University / One-On-One Financial Counseling” while selecting your location. Time slots are limited, so reserve a time soon. For questions, you can call 316-788-0788.

In his biography, coach Ralph Miller describes basketball as “just tolerated” and overshadowed by football at the University of Wichita in 1951. Nine people cared enough to buy season tickets.

That changed with the arrival of a star player and a hall-of-fame coach. Miller brought 6-foot-3-inch forward Cleo Littleton with him from Wichita East High School and the sport quickly grew up.

Littleton, 93, passed away May 31 in Wichita. He played for the Shockers from 1951-55 and is the program’s career scoring leader with 2,164 points. He earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors four times and numerous All-American honors in 1954 and 1955. His No. 13 is retired.

Thank you to all those who volunteered to drive visitors May 29-30 on campus during the high school state baseball, softball and track events and providing guests a welcoming and positive experience. Mark your calendars for next year’s events, May 28-29, 2027.

Head out to downtown Wichita and show off your Shocker pride at FutureFest with Wichita State, WSU Tech and NIAR, alongside other members of the campus community, from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 6 in front of Century II, 225 W. Douglas Ave., part of this year’s Riverfest.

Booths will be stationed just north of Century II, featuring interactive exhibits, such as:

• Hands-on STEM demos
• Mock Shocker rowing races and lessons on machines
• Games and trivia with prizes
• And more

Thank you to all those who volunteered to drive visitors May 29-30 on campus during the high school state baseball, softball and track events and providing guests a welcoming and positive experience. Mark your calendars for next year’s events, May 28-29, 2027.

Strap on some comfortable shoes for an opportunity to build connections with fellow colleagues and deepen your knowledge of WSU at 11 a.m. Monday, June 8 starting at Woolsey Hall.

The group will stop midway at the Rhatigan Student Center north patio around noon to take a break, enjoy lemonade and allow people to exit or join the tour. You don’t want to miss this event presented by Staff Senate and hosted by WSU Landscape and Ground Maintenance with a special guest appearance along the way. The tour will highlight the amazing work of Landscape and Ground Maintenance, the significance of the different landscapes and gardens, and plant identification and information.

Wichita State’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), in collaboration with Hexcel Corporation, celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Hexcel Applications Center May 28. The center represents a significant milestone for Wichita State and further positions the university and Kansas as leaders in advanced aerospace research, manufacturing and workforce development.

The Hexcel Applications Center at NIAR’s Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) on South Oliver in Wichita further strengthens Kansas’ position as a global hub for aerospace research, design and manufacturing, while highlighting the importance of collaboration among industry, academia and government.

Wichita State University celebrates the following faculty members who were recognized at the Tenure and Promotion Awards ceremony April 21:

• W. Frank Barton School of Business:
  • Tenure awardees:
    • Abigail Devereaux, associate professor, economics
    • Ross Gruetzemacher, associate professor, FREDS
    • Andrea Lynn Matthews, associate professor, marketing
    • Smita Srivastava, associate professor, management
    • Xiaoyang Zhu, associate professor, economics
    • Alexander Ziegler, associate professor, marketing
  • Non-tenure track awardees:
    • Michael Flores, senior educator, accounting
    • Kate Kung‑McIntyre, senior educator, management

• College of Education:
  • Tenure awardees:
    • Jason Li, professor, CLES
    • Lindsay Luinstra, associate professor, HPS
  • Non-tenure track awardees:
    • Jill Wood, associate educator, TALS

• College of Engineering:
  • Tenure awardees:
    • Yanwu Ding, professor, electrical and computer engineering
    • Atri Dutta, professor, aerospace engineering
    • Deepak Gupta, professor, industrial, systems and manufacturing engineering
    • Hyuck Kwon, professor, electrical and computer engineering
    • Bayram Yildirim, professor, industrial, systems and manufacturing engineering
  • Non-tenure track awardees:
    • Gary Brooking, teaching professor, applied engineering

• College of Fine Arts:
  • Tenure awardees:
    • Timothy Jones, associate professor, music
    • Claudia Pederson, professor, art and design
    • Gerald “Jerry” Scholl, professor, music
    • Timothy Shade, professor, music
    • Leonid Shukaev, professor, music
  • Non-tenure track awardees:
    • Melissa Penkava Koza, associate teaching professor, performing arts
    • Robert Thomas, associate teaching professor, digital arts
    • Sabrina Vasquez, senior educator, performing arts

• College of Health Professions:
  • Tenure awardees:
    • Erin O’Bryan, associate professor, communication sciences and disorders
  • Non-tenure track awardees:
    • Laurie Alloway, teaching professor, medical laboratory sciences
    • Christopher Dudley, associate clinical professor, physician assistant
    • Candance Grant, associate educator, nursing
    • Melissa Vagts, clinical professor, communication sciences and disorders
    • Evan Ohlman, associate clinical professor, physician assistant
    • Donna Robinson, teaching professor, nursing
    • Elizabeth Tew, associate teaching professor, physical therapy

• Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:
  • Tenure awardees:
    • Jim Bann, professor, chemistry
    • Chase Billingham, professor, sociology
    • William Groutas, professor, chemistry
    • Jodie Hertzog, professor, sociology
    • Twyla Hill, professor, sociology
    • Rannfrid Lasine-Thelle, professor, history
    • Quan Lei, associate professor, psychology
    • Mathew Muether, professor, physics
    • Mohamed Nasser, associate professor, mathematics
    • Brigitte Roussel, professor, modern and classical languages and literatures
    • Xiaoheng Wang, associate professor, public affairs
  • Non-tenure track awardees:
    • Rachel Heckman, senior educator, mathematics
    • Kerry Jones, teaching professor, English

Discounted season tickets are available to Wichita State faculty and staff for the 2026-27 men’s basketball season, starting as low as $350 per seat. Season tickets secure you a seat for all home games throughout the season, and payment plans are available.

The Shockers ended its previous season with its second post-season appearance in the row, making it to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament, and has improved its record every season under head coach Paul Mills, finishing tied for second at 13-5 in conference. Come be a part of something special this fall at Charles Koch Arena as the Shockers begin its season at home Nov. 4 against Cal State Northridge.

For more information, call 316-978-3267 or email Cole Chisholm at cchisholm@goshockers.com.

Wichita State student-athletes set a new school record for cumulative grade-point average in an academic year (3.507 GPA) for the 2025-26 season, while posting the third highest semester GPA with a 3.504 during the spring 2026 semester. It was also the 42nd-consecutive semester of earning higher than a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average department wide.

In August 2022, Shocker Athletics established a bold and aggressive set of five-year strategic objectives pertaining to academics, community service and competitive excellence.

Of the 220 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 206 were named Shocker Scholars (3.2 GPA). Eighty-three percent of student-athletes were above a 3.0 GPA. Women’s basketball, women’s golf and softball all recorded their highest ever semester GPA in spring 2026.