Author: Caelin Bragg

On June 1, Wichita State University begins its multi-year capital improvement plan to renovate Cessna Stadium into a state-of-the-art home for university, athletic and community events and the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championship.

Parking on the east side of Cessna Stadium will be affected beginning June 1. No classes are scheduled this summer in Devlin Hall.

Demolition of the east stands is the first step in the project. This phase of the project is scheduled to be completed before the fall semester.

A live stream of the construction is available.

• Lot 3N (student and visitors) will be closed for the summer and reconfigured as part of a future phase of the project. The lot is scheduled to be open before school starts in the fall.
• Lot 11 (faculty/staff and visitors) will be closed for the summer to non-construction traffic and used for contractor parking. It will be reconfigured as part of a future phase of the project. The lot is scheduled to be open before school starts in the fall.
• Lot 3S (faculty/staff and visitors) will be closed for the summer. Updates on the availability of the lot in the fall will be provided. The lot will be closed permanently as part of a future phase of the project.
• Entry on Yale Avenue will remain open. Expect truck traffic.

Marcus Welcome Center addition

Construction on the Marcus Welcome Center addition project will begin on May 15. The eastern-most part of Lot 19E, next to Mike Oatman Drive at Eck Stadium, will close until the summer of 2024. Expect construction traffic on Mike Oatman Drive.

Background on Cessna Stadium project

In September, the Wichita State University Board of Trustees approved funding for phases 1A and 1B for the capital improvement plan to replace Cessna Stadium.

Timing of all demolition and renovations will be scheduled to avoid interruption of the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championship in future years.

Demolition of the east stands of Cessna Stadium will begin immediately after the state track meet this year. Phase 1A begins in the fall with work scheduled to begin on improvements on the east side of the existing track (underground utility work, seating area for approximately 3,600 with a combination of bleacher seats and terraces designed for tents, free-standing field lights, fencing, ticket pavilion, restroom/storage buildings, and plaza).

Work is scheduled to be completed before the 2024 Kansas State High School Track and Field Championship.

Phase 1B begins after the 2024 Kansas State High School Track and Field Championship and includes widening the field and a 9-lane track. Bleacher seating on the north and south sides of the stadium is included.

Capacity of the stadium, when completed, is planned for approximately 13,500.

More than 2,200 Shockers are eligible for graduation in spring 2023. They hail from 29 states, 48 countries and six continents. As they leave the Wichita State University campus, they will share the story of Shocker Nation through their work as engineers, artists, teachers, scientists and leaders. Here’s what some of our graduates have to say about their time at Wichita State and their futures.

Performance Facilities was recognized as the next recipient of Rick Rewards on May 3. The staff were honored for their commitment to managing the performance venues across campus, including the College of Fine Arts Box Office, Miller Concert Hall, Wiedemann Hall and Wilner Auditorium.

Rick Rewards is awarded each month by President Rick Muma to show his appreciation for the efforts of our campus community.

The newest spring 2023 power rankings for the National Cyber League (NCL) are out and Wichita State’s group of student hackers performed this semester.

The NCL competition is a biannual cybersecurity competition for high school and college students throughout the nation.

• Overall, WSU finished eighth in the nation out of nearly 500 colleges, up from 24th in the fall.
• WSU finished third in the Central Region and sixth amongst all Center of Academic Excellence schools.
• World Wide Wheat, made up of Adrian Yip, Hyacinthe Howell, Chao Teh, Garrett Wahlstedt, Declan Dsouza, Quentin Nelson and King Khang Tran, took 15th out of nearly 3,600 participants.
• SKY-W5U-5H0X, made up of Nikilesh Samba Murthy, Prem Kumar Reddy Muvva, Dayton Turner, Ivan Macias, Don Alfaro and Carlos Renato Soverina Figueroa, competed in the experienced division and finished 18th out of 316 teams.
• JV1, made up of Juan Herrera, Seth Windsor, Annie Linux, Uche Chikezie, Ke’Auna Edmondson, Emily Evans and Arron Russell, in their first ever NCL, finished 133rd out of nearly 3,600 participants.
• Three other teams scored over 1,000 points and finished in the top 300 of nearly 3,600 participants.
• Amey Shukla, graduate student, and Quentin Nelson, senior, also lead classes and workshops, and Dr. Sergio Salinas, associate professor in the School of Computing, supported the students.

The participants are representative of the WuLug student group and the Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Cybersecurity programs.

When Rob Gerlach joined the Office of Tech Transfer and Commercialization at Wichita State in 2018, he noticed a gaping hole in the community: For a city that prides itself on its entrepreneurial spirit, Wichita was severely lacking in people to protect and manage its innovations.

In fact, a quick database search revealed that there were only a handful of patent practitioners in Wichita.

So Gerlach created the Gateway to IP program “with the purpose being to increase Wichita’s IP IQ.” Through the program, Gerlach and his team in the TTC office mentor students and introduce them to the pathway to becoming a patent agent.

In the most recent graduate school rankings from U.S. News and World Report, Wichita State University’s College of Engineering continued its steady ascent, landing in the 47th spot for the 2023-24 academic year. Additionally, the College of Health Profession’s physician associate program is debuting in the rankings, at No. 65.

In both lists, Wichita State is the highest ranked university in Kansas and the only one in the top 100.

In the past four years, WSU’s College of Engineering’s graduate program has consistently climbed the charts from No. 94 to 77 to 59 in 2022, and now this year at No. 47 — the highest yet.

Join the Student Government Association (SGA) Student Senate for a meeting at 7:30 p.m. today in 233 RSC. There will also be a livestream available on the SGA YouTube.

The Wichita State SGA is the governing entity for the student experience at the university. SGA is charged with promoting and stimulating student participation in the university’s activities and providing an official channel of communication between the students, faculty, staff and administration.

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member through the initiative, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

Hello, Shocker graduates. I speak on behalf of everyone at Wichita State University in offering our sincerest congratulations. Your hard work and determination have paid off, and I can’t wait to see how well you’ll change the world.

We’re all so very proud of your accomplishments. As you make plans for your future, be sure to stay connected with your Shocker roots.

The spring 2023 commencement ceremony is Saturday, May 13 in Charles Koch Arena, and this is the 125th spring commencement ceremony at Wichita State.

Student Health Services is experiencing technical difficulties with the myShockerhealth patient portal. To make appointments and for other questions or concerns, call 316-978-4792.