Author: James Schisler

The W. Frank Barton School of Business has hired three new faculty members, all of whom bring a wide breadth of industry knowledge and innovative research to their departments.

• Justin Keeler, clinical associate professor of business analytics: Before joining the world of academia, Keeler spent 15 years in corporate analytics and finance leadership, as well as small business ownership.
• Murtaza Nasir, assistant professor of business analytics: As a former manager and entrepreneur in various industries, Nasir is a proponent of application and theory when it comes to academics.
• Mohammad Najjar, assistant professor of management information systems: Najjar joins the Barton School after eight years of teaching experience and five years of practical experience in systems analysis and development.

The Barton School of Business has appointed Mel Whiteside as the inaugural executive director of the school’s Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD).

The new OCPD was announced in fall 2022 along with a $540,000 gift from Meritrust Credit Union to expand the career efforts of the Barton School. Many of the college’s career programs are now housed within OCPD including Executive-in-Residence, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Widener Global Leaders Program, Professional Edge and others.

Whiteside has more than 15 years of higher education experience and more than 20 years of private industry experience with FlightSafety International, Koch Industries and others. He most recently served as the dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at Butler Community College.

Wichita State alums Erin and Kyle Cummings have donated $250,000 to launch the W. Frank Barton School of Business Student-Managed Investment Fund.

The generous contribution will provide students with new applied learning opportunities as they invest real money in stocks, bonds and more. The remaining $250,000 will be reallocated from existing WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement (WSUFAE) investments to support this initiative.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business is pleased to announce that Tanvir Arfi — founder, chairman and CEO of Banyan Technologies Group — joined School’s Dean’s Advisory Board.

Arfi launched Banyan Technologies Group, a B2B services and software company, in 2018. He has also served as CEO for several automotive aftermarket, OEM services and technology businesses. While serving as president of Solera Holdings, Arfi worked on Solera’s $6.5 billion public-to-private transaction in 2016. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Bangalore University in India and a master’s degree from Wichita State University. He currently resides in the greater Dallas area with his family.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and WSU Tech have named scholarship recipients who are participating in a joint pathway program.

• Jessica Cristobal, accounting
• Colton West, IT/MIS
• Mia LeClaire, entrepreneurship
• Simon Uhrig, business administration

The Barton School and WSU Tec have contributed $28,000 in scholarships for WSU Tech students committed to continuing their education with a business degree. The scholarships will be awarded equally to five students over the next two years.

As members of the Shocker Pathway program, these scholarship recipients also receive a unique educational opportunity. It is a coordinated 2+2 program, and students will earn an associate degree at WSU Tech during their first two years and a bachelor’s degree from the WSU Barton School after two more years.

Students will receive an integrated experience with the Barton School while completing their education at WSU Tech. The Barton School will provide career and professional development workshops, exposure to Barton School student clubs and organizations, and invitations to special events and presentations to all in the program.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has partnered with Envision’s Arts Program to showcase five paintings from Savannah, a visually impaired artist, in the new Woolsey Hall. Her work, which resides on the third floor of Woolsey, can be viewed at any time during operating hours and is part of a rotating art installation with Envision in the space. Savannah’s art joins a variety of other original pieces from local artists located throughout the facility.

Savannah uses continuous spirals to create repetitive patterns in her art. Along with having her pieces displayed in Woolsey Hall, her work can be found on a special limited edition wine label with Liquid Art Winery and Estates in Manhattan, Kansas. Her art is also featured in the Envision Art Gallery and Community Engagement Center, which opened its doors earlier this year.

The Barton School’s Woolsey Hall art collection and promotion of visual artists are rooted in a commitment to helping its business students blossom. By developing creative and artistic mindsets, the Barton School opens its students’ eyes to innovative and inspired solutions.

Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall, the new home of W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University, has a dynamic new art installation, which is sure to draw the eyes of passersby.

Stratosphere (2022) — created by Hybycozo, an artist duo that includes Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk — will welcome drivers and visitors to Woolsey Hall. As part of a collaboration between the Ulrich Museum of Art, the Barton School of Business, WSU Foundation, and WSU Facilities Planning, this piece will be the 86th piece in the Ulrich Museum’s Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection.

‘Stratosphere’ is a stainless-steel structure with gold powder-coating that measures 12 feet in diameter. Hybycozo stands for “Hyperspace Bypass Construction Zone.” The name is an allusion to the Douglas Adams science fiction book, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and captures the artists’ shared interests in the many dimensions of geometry, natural patterns found at scales ranging from the microscopic to the cosmic, and advanced manufacturing and fabrication.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business has awarded scholarships worth $40,000 to four Butler Community College students interested in furthering their business education at Wichita State. These scholarships will help amplify and activate the coordinated 2+2 program between the two schools where Butler students will receive their associate’s degree and pursue a business degree at WSU.

“These students are very deserving of their scholarships,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, dean of the Barton School of Business. “We hope this gives them the confidence and help they need to continue to achieve at the Barton School and in their careers.”

The scholarship recipients include three students from Wichita and one from Augusta, Kansas. Each has a different business emphasis they are pursuing.

• Kevin Do — Information technology/ management Information Systems
• Jaren Jackson — business administration
• Linh Lai — finance
• Edson Lopez-Melara – marketing

To be eligible for the scholarship fund, they had to achieve at least a 3.0 GPA, be a full-time Butler student, complete a Butler associate’s degree in spring 2022, show financial need, and be interested in pursuing an undergraduate major within the Barton School. Each will receive $5,000 scholarships for two years.

“We are so excited for Kevin, Jaren, Linh and Edson,” said Dr. Kim Krull, president of Butler Community College. “We loved watching them grow and learn as Grizzles. And we wish them the best of luck as Shockers.

Two uniquely interactive sculptures have been installed next to Woolsey Hall as part of the Ulrich Museum of Art’s world-class Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection.

The two sculptures — “Ernest and Ruth” (2015) — double as a bench and have the unmistakable shape of a speech bubble. Two of these sculptures are located slightly off the main traffic area leading up to Woolsey Hall to encourage interaction. “Ernest and Ruth” was created by the artist Hank Willis Thomas. Many of Thomas’ playfully conceptual works co-opt ubiquitous pop culture symbols to inspire deeper reflection on society’s norms and beliefs.

Thomas’ art is the first work by an African American artist in the Ulrich Museum’s Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection. It is not, however, his first work represented in the Ulrich collection. Thomas’ 2009 series of 20 paintings titled “I Am a Man” is a key work that the museum recently lent to the artist’s large-scale traveling mid-career retrospective.

In association with the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, the W. Frank Barton School of Business has given three multi-year scholarships to transfer students committed to joining the WSU business program. This three recipients hail from three different community colleges across Kansas.

Braeden Althoff — management
Overland Park, Kansas
Transfer college: Johnson County Community College

Corbin Gillihan — accounting
Derby, Kansas
Transfer college: Cowley Community College

Hayden Jansen — accounting
Augusta, Kansas
Transfer college: Butler Community College

Each of the three students will receive $1,000 a year for two years. This scholarship is the first of its kind at WSU. To be eligible for the scholarship, each student had to be registered as a full-time student at WSU taking at least 12 credit hours, have a minimum GPA of 3.25 and be a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

Phi Theta Kappa is the official honor society for two-year colleges, with more than 3.5 million members around the world.