Author: Caelin Bragg

Shop at the Koch Arena Shocker Store during men’s basketball games and receive a free basketball with $100 purchase while supplies last. Merchandise subtotal must be $100 or greater.

Student Health Services has flu vaccines available for WSU students, faculty and staff. Cost is $25 plus administration fee but may be free with your health insurance benefits (all plans are different). Financial assistance for self-pay students may be available for the administration fee. The Student Wellness Center is open for walk-ins 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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 and W. Frank Barton Distinguished Chair in International Business in the Department of Management, was featured in:

• “Paramount goes hostile in bid for Warner Bros., challenging a $72 billion offer by Netflix” in the Associated Press
• “War in Iran May Not Save Russia Economy” on HotAir
• “Who’s winning and losing from the AI memory chip shortage” in The Australian

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
• Joan Adkisson, executive director of Finance and Administration
• Dotty Harpool, executive director of engagement and prominence and senior marketing educator
• Nancy Kersenbrock, associate director of the Center for Entrepreneurship
• Paula Seiwert, associate director of the Center for Management Development
• Dr. Deanna Gooch, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology
• Dr. Jean Patterson, professor of educational leadership in the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology
• Susie Steinbach, administrative specialist for the Sport and Leadership Studies Department
• Kristin Arnold, assistant dean for finance in the College of Engineering
• Dr. Krishna Krishnan, professor in the Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering Department
• Dr. M. Edwin Sawan, director of the School of Computing
• Ed Baker, professor of design and technical theatre, School of Performing Arts
• Sheri-Lyn King, medical receptionist in the Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders
• Dr. Ken Pitetti, professor in the Department of Physical Therapy
• Dr. Buma Fridman, professor in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
• Dr. Ziqi Sun, professor in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
• Jeanne Patton, director of ITS business and finance operations
• Shadi Tafaroji, director of client services in WSU ITS

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.