Category: News

The College of Health Professions is pleased to announce Jason Ladner as the new chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council, effective April 25. The college extends its heartfelt gratitude to Pamela Clancy Ammar for her leadership as chair over the past four years. Her vision, dedication and unwavering support have made a lasting impact on the college, and her service is deeply appreciated.

Ladner is a Wichita State and College of Health Professions alumnus, graduating in 2001 with his degree in healthcare services and organizations and policies. He has worked in several high-profile roles and businesses throughout his career, including medical sales for Covidien, Johnson & Johnson and other top medical device companies. He later joined IMA Wealth as vice president of customer relationships. His work in business development, strategy and relationship building brought him to his current role as a business development executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas.

A proud Shocker, Ladner has remained actively involved with his alma mater. He continues to advocate for Wichita State and the College of Health Professions through ongoing projects focused on philanthropy, workforce development and strategic partnerships.

Read the May 1 issue of the myShockerhealth newsletter, which focuses on finals and handling stress, working parents, taking care of your vision and more.

In this issue:

• Time management and exam studying tips
• Breathing techniques for stress management
• Off-campus housing options
• Job hunting at Shocker Central
• SHS end-of-year reminders
• Employee Corner: Retirement planning
• Weight loss medication injections: Is it worth it?

The Elliott School of Communication is honoring 1984 graduate, Carla Eckels, as the Outstanding Alumna for the 2024-25 school year.

Eckels, the director of organizational culture and host of “Soulsations” at KMUW, the NPR affiliate for Wichita, has spent her career serving the community through programming focused on race and culture.

“Carla goes well out of her way to mentor young journalists and interns,” Debra Fraser, the KMUW general manager said, “introducing them to contacts that are hard to reach and sharing some of the challenges ahead that they can prepare for today — especially minority students.”

Two graduate students from Wichita State’s Department of Human Performance Studies took first and second place at the 2025 GRASP (Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects) symposium.

Charvi Sharma, a master’s student in exercise science, earned first place for her research on the usability of neurocognitive mobile apps among adults with and without Parkinson’s disease. Toomaj Amiri, a master’s student in innovation and design, received second place for his interdisciplinary project introducing PARROT, a wearable device for assessing and improving tongue function.

Both projects were developed in the Human Performance Laboratory with support from department faculty.

The Graduate School recognizes the below individuals, nominated by faculty, for their outstanding achievements and being recognized as Dora Wallace Hodgson Scholarship winners:

• Nidda Abbas Mohammad, Master of Education in exercise science
• Brittany Spires, Master of Fine Arts in creative writing
• Madison Mullen, Master of Fine Arts in studio art
• Fatih Altun, Master of Science in mechanical engineering
• Sarah Smith, Doctor of Philosophy in psychology
• Seyedsahameddin Razavi, Doctor of Philosophy in engineering

On Wednesday, April 30, the College of Engineering will host about 200 high school students for the Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED) event, commonly known as Girl Day.

The event will be from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the majority of the event will be in 305/306 Rhatigan Student Center, Beggs Ballroom. The second floor of the RSC will also be utilized from about 11 a.m. to noon.

Although a private event, WSU students, staff and faculty are encouraged to have positive interactions with high school students, educators and event volunteers when in common areas.

The College of Engineering has awarded the Boeing Global Engineering Leadership Professorship to Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu, professor in mechanical engineering.

The professorship, funded by the Boeing Company, is designed to support global education and research initiatives. It is retroactive from Oct. 8, 2023 and is a five-year term. Asmatulu held the same professorship for the previous five years, starting in 2018.

According to Dr. Anthony Muscat, dean of the college, Asmatulu was selected for his contributions to the globalization of the engineering profession, as well as his excellence in education and research within the college and beyond.

“Dr. Asmatulu will continue to pursue externally funded research that supports doctoral students, publish research findings with co-authorship from doctoral students, provide ongoing mentorship to these students and travel to conferences with doctoral students to present the results of their work,” Muscat said.

Asmatulu joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor in 2006, became an associate professor in 2012 and became a full professor in 2017. Prior to WSU, he had post-doctoral and research and development (R&D) experiences at Virginia Tech, the University of Connecticut and Yale University.

Asmatulu is currently working with six doctoral, nine master’s degree and three bachelor’s degree students. He has graduated more than 150 master’s degree and doctoral students, received more than $6.3 Million in internal and external grants and published more than 500 technical articles with his students and collaborators. To date, Asmatulu’s scholarly activities have been cited more than 7,800 times (with an H-index of 48 and an i10-index of 160) according to Google Scholar.

This is a quick reminder that your Wichita State password will expire after 180 days. To ensure uninterrupted access to your accounts, take note of the following information regarding password expiration notifications.

WSU utilizes Microsoft’s Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) process for both password setup and password reset/recovery. However, Microsoft does not provide email reminders when it is time to reset your password. Instead, notifications are received as follows:

• Windows devices
  • For users on WSU-owned Windows devices, Microsoft will notify you that your password will expire in five days with a pop-up notification located in the bottom right corner of your Windows screen.
  • To view these notifications, click the notifications icon in the bottom right of the taskbar.
• Mac devices
  • For Mac users on WSU-owned devices, there is a password reset countdown in the top right corner of the menu bar.

Ensure you reset your password promptly to avoid any disruptions. Additional information regarding changing your password is located at wichita.edu/password.

For questions or assistance, contact the ITS Help Desk at 316-978-4357, option 1 or email helpdesk@wichita.edu.

The Shocker community gathered April 22 to remember Dr. Jim Rhatigan, Wichita State’s former dean of students, at a tree dedication ceremony just outside of the Rhatigan Student Center, named in Rhatigan’s honor.

At the ceremony, President Rick Muma spoke to Rhatigan’s lasting legacy to the campus and culture of WSU, and Rhatigan’s wife and daughter, Beverly and Becky, were present, and Rhatigan’s son-in-law, Joe Linot, shared a few words.

“This is a beautiful occasion and we really really appreciate the dedication that Jim has given to the fabric of Wichita State University,” Linot said. “It will always be a part of our lives as long as we live and we thank you so much for having us here today for this dedication.”

Rhatigan came to Wichita State in 1965 as the university’s first, and one of the nation’s youngest at 30 years old, dean of students. He became vice president for student affairs in 1970, holding that position until 1996 and going on to serve as senior vice president until his retirement in 2002.

Kim Kufahl, assistant director of marketing and communication for the Shocker Career Accelerator, has been named one of the Wichita Business Journal’s Women Who Lead in major companies for 2025.

The recognition highlights her leadership in campus-wide career development efforts and her work showcasing Wichita State applied learning students through storytelling, media outreach and digital strategy. The Women Who Lead series honors outstanding professionals across a range of industries who are making a significant impact in the Wichita community.