Category: News

The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing is seeking students who are comfortable on camera to be featured in an upcoming series of Student Stories videos for Wichita State’s social media. If you know of a student who would like to share their story, encourage them to submit an audition.

Students can submit their two minute audition videos through the online Student Stories form, which should briefly showcase their stories and personalities. If a student is selected, Wichita State will produce a short feature video to be posted on WSU’s social media.

The following are a few examples of similar features created by WSU:

• From Wichita to Amazon Robotics: A Mechanical Engineering Journey
• From WSU to NASA: My Journey Into Space Innovation
• This Shocker Followed His Passion at Shocker Studios

For questions, contact Marcus Wright, director of videography in the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing, at marcus.wright@wichita.edu.

The Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes has added another new fun option for play, in partnership with Crossover ICT. Come check out the brand new PlayStation 4 arcade station available for rent by the hour. It is loaded with dozens of games that can be played with one or two players.

Check it out during a much needed break or add it on to your group reservation or kid’s birthday party.

GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative, at Wichita State University was recently honored by the Kansas Department of Commerce with a Merit Award in the nonprofit category of the To The Stars: Kansas Business Awards.

“This award represents the collective effort of the entrepreneurs, mentors, and partners who believe in our work,” said Kimberly McCollum, associate director of GoCreate. “Being recognized shows that creating access to innovation and opportunity across Kansas, especially in rural and underserved communities, is having real impact.”

Nominees were reviewed and scored for various criteria, including training and educational programs, which is where GoCreate excels. The makerspace has helped more than 100 innovation-driven projects move from idea to commercialization through prototyping, applied R&D and mentorship programs, while simultaneously expanding access for rural and underserved communities across the state.

“We’re always striving to enhance the human potential within our community, which includes students, members and even ourselves,” said Ken Wiseman, GoCreate operations and facility manager. “The future is always changing, but this award is proof that the team and the community will always rise to the challenge.”

GoCreate’s mission mimics the university’s mission: to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good.

“This award is a great reminder that our mission matters,” said McCollum. “GoCreate has always been about creating a welcoming, supportive space where people feel empowered to take ideas further. Being recognized for that tells us we’re on the right path. It gives us momentum to keep growing, expanding access, strengthening the state’s entrepreneurial pipeline and supporting entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of our state.”

Housed within the John Bardo Center at Wichita State, GoCreate is a premier workspace open to creators of all ages and experience levels to bring their ideas and projects to life. The 18,000-square-foot space features studios for 3D printing, design, electronics, woodworking, finishing, metals, welding and textiles with an evolving inventory of sophisticated tools, machinery and equipment. Members and receive the expert training can take advantage of all the materials and equipment GoCreate has to offer.

Join Shocker women’s and men’s basketball and be a champion for literacy. Grab the official shirt and wear it Feb. 10 or 11 at the teams’ Champions for Literacy games in Charles Koch Arena. For every T-shirt sold, $1 will be donated to the Champions for Literacy program. Shirts are available at the Charles Koch Arena Shocker Store or online at shockerstore.com.

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 students in the Shocker Neighborhood.

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.

Students not reading proficiently by the fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out, and illiteracy often continues into adulthood. Donations to the campaign stay local to the Shocker Neighborhood through United Way of the Plains to alleviate illiteracy in the community.

From Feb. 2 through Feb. 6, Wichita State is hosting Food for Fines, a program that allows students to have parking or traffic citations forgiven by donating items to support the Kiah Duggins Shocker Support Locker.

If you have a citation, you can participate by donating nonperishable food or hygiene items instead of paying your fine. Citation forgiveness is based on donation level:

• For citations between $0 and $50, donate 10 to 15 nonperishable food or hygiene items.
• For $45 tickets, donate two household or hygiene items.
• For $75 tickets, donate one baby item.

Drop off your donations at 216 Rhatigan Student Center, Student Engagement & Belonging office, or at Parking Services.

The College of Engineering is hosting its annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED) event for high school students from Wichita and the surrounding area. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 12 in the Rhatigan Student Center.

Registration is open for students who would like to attend, professionals from the engineering and computing industries who would like to volunteer as mentors at the event, and companies from STEM fields who would like to participate in the Opportunity Fair. Registration will close on Monday, Feb. 23 or sooner if capacity is reached.

Learn more and register at wichita.edu/iged.

Wichita State University has selected the 2026 recipients of the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships. Each student will receive a $64,000 scholarship to attend Wichita State starting in fall 2026.   

• Mackenzie Bucl, McKinney Boyd High School (Texas)
• Kayden Lankford, Valley Center High School (Kansas)
• Samantha McClintock, Central Christian Academy (Wichita)

A total of 528 students competed in the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational (DSI) in November. To be invited to compete, students had to have a 27 or higher ACT score, or a 3.5 or higher GPA, or rank in the top 10% of their class. Once invited, students completed an application, essays and competed in an on-campus leadership competition. On Jan. 22, 11 finalists came back to campus for final interviews.  

As with all the Gore Scholars since 1954, the three recipients this year are involved in their schools and communities and plan to do the same at WSU. 

Now that you are familiar with the three most common types of WSU data sensitivity classifications, you can start to be proactive managers of the personal information you interact with. The foundation for achieving suitable privacy management comes from labeling information with the appropriate labels to help drive how it is accessed, stored and used.

Visit the Data Labeling Guide to find more specific information about how to apply labels to documents and emails. Data labeling is currently available to everyone and will be required for staff and faculty by the end of the year. If you have any questions about data labeling, or to request an in-person training for your department, reach out to askinfosec@wichita.edu. If you have any privacy related questions or concerns, reach out to privacy@wichita.edu or call 316-978-4447.

Thank you for being proactive privacy protectors over the information you hold.

In December 2023, Timothy “Tim” Cao earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with multiple emphases in economics, finance and real estate, with a minor in business analytics from Wichita State.

Cao continued his education at the Barton School of Business and in December 2024 he earned his master’s degree in economics and quantitative analysis with a data analytics concentration. Now at POET, Cao is a business support analyst, where his expertise in data analysis is vital in POET’s operations. A year after becoming an alumnus, Cao reflects on his academic and career journey with Wichita State’s support.