Category: Featured Stories

Wichita State invites the local campus and Wichita community to the inauguration ceremony for Dr. Richard Muma at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, located at 29th Street N. and Oliver. A university reception will follow the event.

Members who wish to attend the in-person ceremony must RSVP no later than Friday, Oct. 15. The event will also be livestreamed on YouTube and on campus television monitors. The theme for the event is “Inspired by the past. Focused on the future.”

To save the date or for more information, call 316-978-3258 or email inauguration@wichita.edu. You can also visit the link below.

One of Wichita State’s most entertaining traditions, the annual Yard Show, was held Aug. 24. The annual event is hosted by the WSU Multicultural Greek Council.

Ahlberg Hall on the WSU campus is secure following a report of smoke from an electrical motor. There were no injuries, and damage was minor. 

Elevators are temporarily out of order. Classes normally held on floors 3, 4 and 5 will either be remote, relocated or canceled Thursday and Friday.

Shocker Nation is taking the university’s mission of “being an educational driver” to heart through an outreach initiative aimed at the growing literacy rate among area elementary schoolchildren.  

Supporters and leaders of Wichita State University gathered Tuesday, Aug. 31, to break ground on the Promise Bridge, a walkway that will link the Innovation Campus to the main campus and will be a marquee fixture just south of Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall, new home to the W. Frank Barton School of Business.

Now under construction, Woolsey Hall is expected to open in mid-2022. The WSU Foundation and its campus/community partners raised private funds to pay for about half the cost of the new facility and for the entire cost of the Promise Bridge.

In his remarks during the groundbreaking, WSU President Rick Muma described the pedestrian bridge as a major campus landmark intended to be a gathering spot not only for students, but also for the entire community.

“Its location between the innovation and main campus will serve to strengthen our current partnerships and encourage future investment in Wichita State University and its students,” Muma said.

Barton School Dean Larisa Genin said the walkway’s three-pronged shape is not only a distinctive architectural feature, but also a representation of the university’s and business school’s commitment to academics, research and industry.

“The bridge is a physical manifestation of the promise we make to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners,” Genin said in describing why the structure was named the Promise Bridge.

The Promise Bridge will span a large water feature south of Woolsey Hall. It will feature a seating bench along the length of the bridge, with wi-fi provided so that students and visitors can gather and work there. Light fixtures will illuminate the bridge and water at night, and two small lighted fountains will be located at each end of the bridge.

Anthony Gallardo and Troy Moellinger have been named the 2021-22 recipients of the Layman L. Clark / Kansas CCIM Chapter Scholarship in Real Estate. 

Gallardo is a senior working on a field major in economics and real estate at Wichita State University. While completing his degree, he has worked for several real estate companies in the Wichita area, most recently with Augusta Partners. Moellinger is a senior majoring in finance with an emphasis in real estate at Wichita State. He currently works as an asset manager with Clark Investment Group. 

The National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) has awarded a Wichita State University researcher $100,000 for his work on developing an app that allows visually impaired people to read comic books and graphic novels.

Dr. Darren DeFrain, associate professor of English and director of the Wichita State writing program, has been working with former Wichita State student Aaron Rodriguez (who is currently a graduate student at Florida State University) to create Vizling.

Handcycling did not interest Casey Ratzlaff on that hot July day in 2011. Neither did bocce ball.

“Nothing was exciting to him,” said Tammy Ratzlaff, Casey’s mother.

Casey Ratzlaff wanted to join the rest of the family fishing for catfish and crappie at Marion Reservoir. Then, Nick Taylor spoke up, just before Ratzlaff departed a wheelchair sports introductory session in Maize without finding a sport that grabbed his attention.

When Truc Nguyen interviewed for her internship with T-Mobile For Business, she highlighted her experiences with Barton International Group at Wichita State University.

“I came into the interview with T-Mobile with tangible projects I had already worked on,” Nguyen said. “That was one of the very first things they asked ‘Tell me more about Barton International Group. What projects did you take on?’”

A precious piece of Wichita State University’s story was almost lost to the dusty shelves of history — if not for the historical instincts of a faculty member.

In 1934, the class of 175 graduating seniors purchased and dedicated a sundial to Wichita State, which was then known as the Municipal University of Wichita; and it was placed at the southwest corner of Jardine Hall.

According to the Sunflower student newspaper, “The dial was made of white granite and is about 3 feet in height. Brass comprises the material of the top, which is approximately 16 inches in diameter.”