Author: Caelin Bragg

Wichita State University was recently named a partner in a $14 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to join the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Great Plains Hub.

The I-Corps program prepares scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory to increase the economic and societal impact of NSF-funded and other basic research projects. The first Wichita State cohort will begin Sept. 15.

“This partnership gives students, faculty, staff and the Wichita community at large the opportunity to explore their idea more practically and learn how to talk to potential customers,” said Sherry (Gegen) Whitson, program director for WSU Strategic Initiatives. “I believe it will help build on our innovation ecosystem.”

Professionals looking to boost their skillsets or retrain for new opportunities can enroll in the many Badge courses offered at Wichita State in the fall 2025 semester. With Badges, professionals can take bite-sized, one credit hour or less courses to learn or enhance their skills.

Wichita State has been a national leader in creating a standard for microcredentials, allowing employers to be confident that meaningful learning has occurred when you list the badge on your resume. Badges are developed with input from employers, government licensing agencies, trade associations and faculty.

One such series of Badges is the Human Resource Management series, which can enhance your capabilities of being an effective supervisor. Badges in this series cover designing jobs, recruiting, hiring and managing and mentoring employees.

To learn more about Badges, including how to enroll, visit wichita.edu/badges.

Professionals looking to boost their skillsets or retrain for new opportunities can enroll in the many Badge courses offered at Wichita State in the fall 2025 semester. With Badges, professionals can take bite-sized, one credit hour or less courses to learn or enhance their skills.

Wichita State has been a national leader in creating a standard for microcredentials, allowing employers to be confident that meaningful learning has occurred when you list the badge on your resume. Badges are developed with input from employers, government licensing agencies, trade associations and faculty.

One such series of Badges is the Human Resource Management series, which can enhance your capabilities of being an effective supervisor. Badges in this series cover designing jobs, recruiting, hiring and managing and mentoring employees.

Employees at Wichita State can also apply for Tuition Assistance to cover the cost of Badges. The final application window for Tuition Assistance closes Aug. 4.

To learn more about Badges, including how to enroll, visit wichita.edu/badges.

Construction on Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus continues as work on floors eight and nine has begun, leaving only the roof left to be put up, nearly extending past the construction livestream.

Concrete pouring has been completed up to the third floor and will begin on the fourth floor this week. Steel will begin being placed on floors seven through nine for the remainder of the week, and the first floor has seen duct work installed.

Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus — a joint venture of Wichita State, the University of Kansas and WSU Tech — is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, located at the southeast corner of Broadway and William. Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, including the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, WSU Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

For Wichitan Janett Lerma-Reyes, a paid summer internship at Shuttlewagon has sharpened her technical skills and confirmed that she belongs in the world of manufacturing. 

The mechanical engineering sophomore at Wichita State University is spending 10 weeks as an operations intern at Shuttlewagon, a company based in Kansas City that designs and builds railcar movers, which are powerful vehicles used to move train cars in railyards, ports and industrial facilities.  

Getting paid during her internship has allowed her the ability to feel financially stable and maintain a work-life balance. 

Deltha Colvin, associate vice president of college readiness/retention programs at TRIO Student Support Services, has announced her retirement, effective Aug. 2, after 55 years of service to the university.

During her tenure at Wichita State, Colvin has been a staunch advocate for students through her work with TRIO — including Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Veterans Upward Bound, the McNair Scholars programs and more — and the statewide and local GEAR UP programs.

Colvin was among the first graduates of TRIO Upward Bound, which launched in 1965. Since then, she has served as a leader for the program and students at WSU.

“Deltha Colvin’s legacy at Wichita State is unmatched,” said Dr. Monica Lounsbery, senior executive vice president and provost. “She has been a fierce advocate for first-generation students, a pillar of access and equity, and a guiding light for generations of Shockers. We are deeply grateful for her 55 years of extraordinary service.”

Colvin served as the eighth president of the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (MAEOPP), the largest of the TRIO regional associations that represents 10 states in the Midwest. She was also the president of the Missouri-Kansas-Nebraska chapter of MAEOPP.

In April 2025, Colvin was recognized by Gov. Laura Kelly for her service and for the contributions she has made to the state of Kansas during her over 50 years of service. Earlier that year, Art That Touches Your Heart inducted her into the 2025 Black Educators Hall of Fame.

A paver was donated in honor of Colvin to the Plaza of Heroines by the then African/African American Faculty/Staff Association in 1998. The Plaza of Heroines, located in front of Ablah Library and next to the Shocker Success Center, was dedicated in 1998 as a permanent record of women recognized as heroines. Colvin’s paver can be found in section A02 of the Plaza of Heroines.

In collaboration and out of respect to Colvin’s wishes, the campus will determine the best way to celebrate her career at a time of her choosing.

Wichita State has released the list of the over 1,950 Shockers who graduated in spring 2025. View the list of Kansas graduates and the list of national and international graduates.

Overall, graduates completed a total of 2,122 degrees — 1,430 undergraduate degrees and certificates and 692 graduate degrees and certificates — with 336 honored as cum laude, 425 honored as magna cum laude and 108 honored as summa cum laude.

Additionally, you can see the names of the 3,710 students included in the spring 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.

Starting July 1, prospective students can now apply to Wichita State for the fall 2026 semester. Apply today at wichita.edu/apply.

The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in nine colleges. The university’s graduate school offers more than 50 master’s degrees in more than 100 areas and a specialist in education degree and 13 doctoral degrees.

Wichita State offers easy step-by-step guides for applying and enrolling in classes for:

• Graduating high school seniors
• Transfer students
• Adult and online learners through the Office of Online and Adult Learning
• Returning students through the Shocker Comeback program

Seniors and other students interested in learning more about campus can sign up for a campus visit through Admissions at wichita.edu/visit.

Prospective students can request additional information from Admissions. Admissions information is also available in Spanish.

Wichita State’s Brooklyn Benn, Mackenzie Wilson and Kayla Van de Ven were each named as Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars June 30.

Selection to the All-American Scholar Team is a tremendous honor, as the WGCA has some of the most stringent criteria in all of college athletics.

In order to be selected, a student-athlete must:

• Have an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher.
• Be an amateur and on the team’s roster through the conclusion of the team’s season.
• Have played in 50% of the college’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year nominated through the team’s conference championship.

Save the date for the 2025 Fall Address at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13 in Miller Concert Hall at Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Doors open at 2 p.m. After the Fall Address, light refreshments will be available at 305/306 Rhatigan Student Center, Beggs Ballroom.

Look for the formal invitation in WSU Today in mid-July.