Category: Kudos

The Office of Academic Affairs has announced the new members of the Emeriti Faculty. Please congratulate the following:

• Richard N. Armstrong, associate professor emeritus of communication
• Peter A. Cohen, professor emeritus of public health sciences
• Donald W. Hackett, associate professor emeritus of management
• Alicia A. Huckstadt, professor emerita of nursing
• Melvin A. Kahn, professor emeritus of political science
• Daowei Ma, professor emeritus of mathematics, statistics and physics
• Michael Papadakis, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering
• Phillip E. Parker, professor emeritus of mathematics, statistics and physics
• Kathleen M. Perez, associate professor emerita of sociology
• Kamran Rokhsaz, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering
• Betty I. Smith-Campbell, professor emerita of nursing

Emeritus status is an honorary designation conferred upon retirees in recognition of their contributions and accomplishments over their years of service to the University.

Dr. Abby Devereaux, W. Frank Barton School of Business assistant professor of economics, and her co-author, Dr. Linan Peng, Texas Tech University post-doctoral research associate, recently received the 2021 Elinor Ostrom Award for their paper on China’s Social Credit System.

The award, created to honor and develop the legacy of Elinor Ostrom, aims to acknowledge and promote the work of practitioners, young and senior scholars involved in the field of the commons.

Dr. Usha Haley —W. Frank Barton Distinguished Professor in International Business, professor of management, and director of the Center for International Business Advancement — is working with the U.S. Congress and several governments worldwide to incorporate her research with federal regulation.

Haley’s research was used during a debate in Washington D.C about Chinese control over U.S. farmland and agriculture. The debate was discussed in The Washington Times Aug. 3.

Dr. Usha Haley, —W. Frank Barton Distinguished Professor in International Business, professor of management, and director of the Center for International Business Advancement — feels strongly about the connection between higher education and research. Her eighth book, “Impact and the Management Researcher,” has recently received attention from higher-education media, businesses, governments and regulatory bodies.

Haley’s latest interview was featured in “Poets and Quants,” a leading site focused on the higher business-education market and Master of Business Administrations degrees (MBAs).

Dorothy (Dotty) Harpool, senior marketing educator and executive director of marketing, enrollments and communication for the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University, is one of four distinguished members to be inducted into the 2021 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame by the Wichita Business Journal. Each person selected has been chosen for a previous 40 Under 40 class and has continued to grow their career in Wichita.

“To be honest, I was completely shocked when I was told I was selected for the Hall of Fame,” said Harpool “This honor isn’t just mine, it is a representation of the cumulative effort by my colleagues within the Barton School of Business. Every day we strive to contribute to the success of the future business community and whenever a member of our team is recognized, it reinforces that we are on the right path.”

The 2021 honorees are Harpool, Lathia DeSilva from Signal Theory, Dustin DeVaughn of DeVaughn James Injury Lawyers, and Ed O’Malley at the Kansas Leadership Center. The 40 Under 40 program was created in 1998. Since then, only 28 others have been named to its Hall of Fame.

“Dotty is one of the most intelligent, creative, dynamic, and dedicated individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, dean of the Barton School of Business. “I’m continually inspired by her passion for the business school, university and city.”

Harpool and the rest of the Hall of Fame class will be recognized at the 40 Under 40 dinner, which will take place on July 29 at the Hyatt Regency Wichita.

“Our university is very lucky to have phenomenal people like Dotty stay and build their legacy in Wichita,” Dr. Shirley Lefever, interim executive vice president and provost at WSU. “Dotty’s work has helped shape the Barton School into the program it is today. The 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame is right where she belongs.”

Dr. Sindhu Preetham Burugupally, Wichita State University Department of Mechanical Engineering assistant professor, was recently honored by the Institute of Physics in the special issue as an emerging leader in micromechanics and microengineering.

The issue discusses how Burugupally and his co-workers in the College of Engineering have designed, fabricated and characterized a transparent, stretchable miniature electrostatic actuator for driving microrobots.

The Toronto Sun, a Canadian newspaper, recently interviewed Dr. Usha Haley, W. Frank Barton Distinguished professor in International Business, professor of Management, and director of the Center for International Business Advancement, for her views on the terrorists’ attacks that rocked Mumbai, India, 15 years ago. Haley, is a leading authority on global-risk assessment, geopolitical calculations and Asia.

The Toronto Sun asked Haley’s opinion about whether or not the attacks had any long-term effects.

Sgt. Efrain Rueda and Ofc. Matthew Feldt of the Wichita State University Police Department were awarded the Wichita State Life Saving Medal on Thursday, July 8 for their recent heroic actions and exemplifying the core values of the police department.

Rueda has been a member of WSUPD since 2016. In 2019, he was honored with the University Police Ribbon for Outstanding Actions. Feldt has served with WSUPD since 2018, and he also earned an Exceptional Duty Award earlier this year. 

“The officers and sergeants of the Wichita State University Police Department serve this community,” said Rodney Clark, WSUPD chief of police. “Through it all, they commit hundreds of acts of kindness, caring and compassionate policing every day. Their actions at times are lifesaving. I could not be more proud of them and the devotion and commitment they have to this campus and this university.”

Two members of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences staff were honored with awards for their contributions to the college.

Kristin Brewer, from the School of Criminal Justice, received the Fairmount College Ripple Effect Award, which acknowledges a staff member’s unique level of service to students, the department and Fairmount College.

Marsyl Nelson, from the Department of Psychology, received the Fairmount College Excellent Service Award, which acknowledges appreciation for coworkers who make a difference at the department level.

Both awards include a $1,500 in professional development funds.

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) is excited to announce we have been awarded the Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help prevent suicide at Wichita State.

CAPS was awarded this same grant in 2015, which was used to develop the #WSUWeSupportU program.