Category: From the Provost

I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Jennifer Friend will be joining Wichita State starting Jan. 9, 2023, as dean of the College of Applied Studies.

Dr. Friend comes to us from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, where she has spent five years, most recently as the associate provost for Academic Affairs and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

She also spent 12 years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and 13 years as a teacher and principal in the Shawnee Mission School District.

Dr. Friend’s focus supports culturally responsive learning, research opportunities and community engagement — with an emphasis on diversity, integrity, collaboration, discovery and leadership.

Those goals, along with her 30 years of experience working in education, make her the perfect fit for Wichita State.

I want to extend my gratitude to the dean’s search committee and to Interim Dean Clay Stoldt, who contributed so much as he served in the interim role for two years.

I can’t wait for Dr. Friend to come on board and begin meeting and working with our campus community.

Sincerely,

Shirley Lefever, executive vice president and provost

Hello, Shocker family, and welcome home to Wichita State University. The beginning of a new academic year is always bursting with new energy, ideas, and new faces; and I’m eager to see what exciting innovations, research and discoveries grow from that enthusiasm.

As you prepare for classes be sure to take advantage of the support services available to our faculty and staff. I look forward to seeing you around campus and engaging with you to help Shocker Nation achieve our goals.

Following a national search for the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art creative and executive director, Vivian Zavataro has been selected for the position, effective Oct. 16.

Zavataro is the director and chief curator of the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art of the University located in Reno, Nevada. In that role, Zavataro successfully led the museum through a transition from a gallery to a university-based museum. She also brings extensive international experience after working for museums and galleries worldwide and has earned a master’s in museum and heritage studies from the University of Amsterdam.

As the creative and executive director, Zavataro’s immediate priorities will include providing strategic leadership in collaboration with faculty, staff, students and other key internal and external stakeholders.

“Vivian has a passion for diversity, equity and inclusion and an eye toward innovation that makes her a perfect fit for Wichita State University,” said Shirley Lefever, WSU executive vice president and provost. “She also brings a dedication to strong community engagement that will contribute to the future success of the museum.”

Following an internal search and interviews with four finalist candidates for the position of associate vice president (AVP) for institutional effectiveness (IE), Dr. Ashlie Jack has been selected for the position, effective July 26. Jack recently served as the interim associate dean and accreditation officer for the College of Applied Studies. Before this, she served as assistant dean and accreditation officer for the college, beginning in 2015.

During her tenure as assistant dean and accreditation officer, Dr. Jack successfully led the educator preparation programs through the national accreditation process, resulting in full accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Education Providers (CAEP) as well as full state-level accreditation from the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE). In addition to this, she has served as a national reviewer for CAEP.

In her role as accreditation officer, she also supported the specialized professional association accreditation process for the School Psychology, Counseling and Athletic Training programs and led the college-wide assessment and governance efforts.

As Dr. Jack assumes her new role as AVP for IE, her immediate priorities will include providing strategic direction and leadership in the coordinating, planning, development, execution and management of the university-wide regional and specialty assessment and accreditation activities within the division. Dr. Jack will also collaborate with others to align academic assessments with the co-curriculum. This work will include leading the Higher Learning Commission accreditation process and the Kansas Board of Regents program review processes.