Wichita State is joining more than 200 of the nation’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) stakeholders to participate in a Department of Commerce initiative to support the development and deployment of trustworthy and safe AI.

Established by the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC) brings together AI creators and users, academics, government and industry researchers, and civil society organizations to meet this mission.

President Rick Muma, Kevin Saal and members of United Way present the money raised for the United Way Champions for Literacy 2024 campaign

Our community helped raise $15,000 toward alleviating illiteracy in Shocker Neighborhood through United Way’s Champions of Literacy initiative.

The total amount raised was announced at the Feb. 7 Shocker men’s basketball game against UTSA, where United Way alongside President Rick Muma and Kevin Saal, director of athletics, presented the money raised.

Shockers can still donate to the campaign through the following teams:

Reading helps children build cognitive skills, gain a deeper understanding of the world, improve their concentration and fuel their imagination. As an educational driver for the state of Kansas, Wichita State is committed to helping students of all ages achieve success and become the leaders of tomorrow.

BreAnn Gilkey

BreAnn Gilkey is an associate clinical professor, field practicum director and undergraduate coordinator in WSU’s School of Social Work. She says her experience as a Black woman lets her know it’s imperative that she shows up for all her students. Read more about BreAnn’s experience.

“Representation matters, and it helps to be a face out there that looks like some of the students that come through the social work program,” BreAnn said “However, I am here for all of my students.”

Black History Month provides an opportunity for contemplation, learning and raising awareness about the extensive and varied history of the Black community. Wichita State is embracing the rich tapestry of history and heritage by highlighting some of the amazing Black educators who make a difference in students’ lives every day.

The opening to "Fully Dimensional: Artists of the Outdoor Sculpture Collection" exhibition.

A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will help the Ulrich Museum of Art celebrate the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection as part of the museum’s 50th anniversary special programming.

“Fully Dimensional: Artists of the Outdoor Sculpture Collection” is a multimedia exhibition at Wichita State University that celebrates 35 artists of the sculpture collection and explores elements of their larger bodies of work.

It is supported by a $10,000 grant from the NEA Challenge America awards.

Photos of the 2024 Gore Scholars Karinton Newton, Karaline Scott, Chloe Strecker

Wichita State University has selected the 2024 recipients of the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships. Each student will receive a $64,000 scholarship to attend Wichita State University starting in August 2024.

The 2024 Gore Scholars are:

  • Karinton Newton, Summit Christian Academy (Missouri)
  • Karaline Scott, Goddard High School
  • Chloe Strecker, Eureka High School (Missouri)

The students competed in the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational in November, with 544 other students also competing. To be invited to compete in the invitational, students had to have a 27 or higher ACT score, a 3.5 or higher GPA, or rank in the top 10% of their class. Once invited, students completed an application, including essays, and competed in an on-campus leadership competition. Thirteen finalists came back to campus Jan. 18 for final interviews.

As with Gore Scholars before them, the three recipients this year are involved in their schools and communities and plan to do the same at Wichita State University.

President Rick Muma and Kevin Saal hold up a check for $15,000 to the 2023 Fight For Literacy campaign in Charles Koch Arena with WuShock and a representative from United Way

Join Wichita State and individual teams/departments as they prepare future Shockers for a lifetime of success. The university is raising money for the United Way’s Champions for Literacy initiative, which puts books and supplies into the hands of USD 259 students.

Wichita State is supporting the Champions for Literacy initiative with the following teams that you can donate through:

Reading helps children build cognitive skills, gain a deeper understanding of the world, improve their concentration and fuel their imagination. As an educational driver for the state of Kansas, Wichita State is committed to helping students of all ages achieve success and become the leaders of tomorrow.

During the 2022-23 school year, 79% of third graders in Wichita were not reading at a proficient level, and students not reading proficiently by the fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out. Donations to the campaign stay local to the Shocker Neighborhood through United Way of the Plains to alleviate illiteracy in the community.

President Rick Muma and Kevin Saal hold up a check for $15,000 to the 2023 Fight For Literacy campaign in Charles Koch Arena with WuShock and a representative from United Way

Join President Rick Muma and his team as they prepare future Shockers for a lifetime of success. The President’s Team is raising money for the United Way’s Champions for Literacy initiative, which puts books and supplies into the hands of USD 259 students.

Reading helps children build cognitive skills, gain a deeper understanding of the world, improve their concentration and fuel their imagination. As an educational driver for the state of Kansas, Wichita State is committed to helping students of all ages achieve success and become the leaders of tomorrow.

During the 2022-23 school year, 79% of third graders in Wichita were not reading at a proficient level, and students not reading proficiently by the fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out. Donations to the campaign stay local to the Shocker Neighborhood through United Way of the Plains to alleviate illiteracy in the community.

The finalists for Wichita State University's 2024 Distinguished Scholarship Invitational sit for a photo

Congratulations to the 13 high school seniors who have been chosen as finalists for Wichita State’s 2024 Distinguished Scholarship Invitational. Ultimately, three of them will win the $64,000 Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship, which are among the largest undergraduate awards in the Midwest, and all will receive scholarship offers to attend WSU.

Students in the engineering department work on a project

Wichita State University moved to No. 2 on the national list of industry-funded engineering and research and development, according to the latest data compiled by the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey.

NSF’s latest data ranks U.S. universities in various categories, including R&D spending broken down by subfield and funding source.

For fiscal year 2022, Wichita State reported R&D expenditures totaling $261 million, up from $192 million in 2021. Industry-funded R&D expenditures totaled $116.3 million, up from $86 million in 2021.

Members of the in-space manufacturing research team

Wichita State University will lead a three-year project to assist NASA’s manufacturing paradigm shift from “factories on earth” to “factories in space.

“This project will pioneer a new in-space manufacturing technology based on electrospinning,” said Dr. Wujun Si, assistant professor in WSU’s College of Engineering. “It will significantly overcome some fundamental challenges faced by the current ISM technology based on additive manufacturing.”

“Physics-Informed-AI Enabled Smart Electrospinning of Nanofiber Membranes Towards In-Space Manufacturing” is funded by a NASA grant of $750,000.