Category: News

The W. Frank Barton School of Business has named Dr. Christine Porter as its new School of Accountancy director. Porter is replacing Dr. Greg Merrill who left in August.

“We are so glad to have Christine as our new Director,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, dean of the Barton School. “Her professionalism, vision, knowledge and dedication led to her ascension to this leadership role. It’s obvious that she is also well respected, connected and admired by her peers.”

Porter joined WSU in 2015 after receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Her research focus is audit archival research and many of her papers explore bank auditors as well as non-Big4 audit markets.

Since joining the faculty, Porter has been published in multiple publication journals including “Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory,” which is a top-tier journal in her field. Porter has also been teaching and auditing and managerial accounting courses at the Barton School. Before receiving her Ph.D, she worked in public accounting for five years for regional firms in Baltimore and Denver.

“I’m energized about the future of the School of Accountancy,” said Porter. “I plan to uphold the top quality curriculum and programs we are known for while equipping our students with the knowledge and skills to make a difference in the field.”

For more information on the Barton School’s School of Accountancy, visit wichita.edu/academics/business/accountancy/.

The latest fall enrollment numbers from the Kansas Board of Regents show that, as a whole, public universities and community colleges in the state are experiencing a continued decline in enrollment — reflecting a trend nationally that may indicate shifting attitudes toward higher education and career paths.

Across the six state universities, there was a 1.5% decrease in students enrolled between 2021 and 2022, the Kansas Board of Regents data shows, and a 1% decrease at community colleges. Technical colleges, meanwhile, saw a 6% increase — not far from WSU Tech’s 4% growth.

Contrasted against the other four-year colleges around the state, Wichita State University was the only institution to see a noticeable uptick in new students this fall.

“I think over time people have become dissatisfied with higher education because many people are leaving before they graduate with all kinds of debt, or coming out of school with a tremendous amount of debt,” said Rick Muma, WSU president. “The way we’ve been addressing this is this applied learning approach.”

From providing more need-based financial aid to helping increase the FASFA completion rate, WSU and WSU Tech administrators say another key to growing enrollment has been breaking down barriers for nontraditional and underrepresented college students.

The NetApp Cafe on Wichita State’s Innovation Campus will be open to the public for breakfast and lunch beginning Monday, Oct. 17.

Enjoy burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, salads, desserts and breakfast delights every Monday through Friday in the NetApp building, 1850 N. Innovation Blvd. The cafe is open for breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. and for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Rhatigan Student Center and its departments will alter its hours Oct. 15-18 for Fall Break. For specific hours of operation, visit the RSC Hours page.

As the full consolidation of the WSU Alumni Association into the WSU Foundation continues, the new, united organization will move forward with a new name: WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement (WSUFAE).

Along with the name change comes an updated mission to “Elevate, celebrate and advance Wichita State University.” The consolidation brings a renewed commitment to Shockers everywhere at a time in Wichita State’s history charged with the excitement of growth and development across the entire institution.

An official announcement regarding the name change will be distributed to WSU alumni and stakeholders Friday. We ask for patience as we work to fully implement the name change throughout the organization.

The October 2022 Food For Fines will take place through Friday, Oct. 14. Food for Fines is an initiative to support the Shocker Support Locker while providing a cheaper alternative to paying parking citations.

Please note that donations can only be accepted during the donation period.

All donations for Food for Fines must be dropped off at the Student Government Association’s office in RSC 219.

Dr. Aaron Austin, dean of students at Wichita State, recently shared his Story4Hope, to help celebrate World Mental Health day, today, Oct. 10. Story4Hope is part of Wichita State’s Counseling and Preventions Services #Suspenders4Hope program. In this video, learn about Austin’s journey toward wellness through connecting to mental health resources.

The video also details services available on campus and in the community that support mental health.

Happy birthday to our favorite big, bad, muscle-bound bundle of wheat, WuShock. He’s been WSU’s mascot since 1948, a friend to every Shocker fan and the No. 1 supporter of all things Wichita and Wichita State.

Wichita State will present at the 2022 University Economic Development Association’s (UEDA) annual summit conference taking place Oct. 9-12 in San Antonio.

UEDA brings together higher education institutions, private sector businesses, non-profits, government organizations and community economic development stakeholders to create local and regional economic opportunity. The following WSU members will speak at this event during the break-out session:

• Tonya Witherspoon, associate vice president of Industry Engagement and Applied Learning
• Megan Feeney, WSU Tech Shocker Career Accelerator director, Industry and Workforce Collaboration
• Brian Austin, Shocker Career Accelerator Employer Releations director
• Diane Tinker Hurst, project manager with Industry and Defense Programs

The break-out session will address how WSU and WSU Tech are working with local industry and community partners to provide applied learning opportunities for students, resulting in $27 million in student wages earned during the 2022 fiscal year.

WSU is also a finalist for an Award of Excellence from UEDA for the innovation campus in the Engaged University category. The category recognizes initiatives that demonstrate excellence in the areas of talent, innovation and place.

Nominated projects successfully engage multiple community partners to link, leverage and connect efforts in talent, innovation and place. Other category finalists are Tech Parks Arizona at the University of Arizona, The StarTUp (Towson University) and the UK Economic Development Collaborative (University of Kentucky).

Winners will be announced the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 11 at the Summit conference.

Additional information about UEDA can be found at the link below.

Those who submit events or activities in the WSU Calendar now have an additional category for the university community to utilize: “Shocker Neighborhood” is a category that can be chosen if your off-campus events or initiatives take place within the Shocker Neighborhood (bounded by K-96 to the north, Central to the south, I-35 to the south, and Oliver to the east), or if your events would be of interest to residents of this community.

The university community serves and is a partner with many of the USD 259 schools in the Shocker Neighborhood, as well as neighborhood organizations and businesses. It will be mutually beneficial to capture the opportunities in Shocker Neighborhood and provide an option to search for engagement opportunities in the neighborhood community.