Category: News

The Wichita State physician associate program is proud to announce that the class of 2025 has achieved a 100% PANCE (Physician Associate National Certifying Examination) pass rate. This is well above the current national pass rate for first time takers of 93%.

Congratulations to the class of 2025, and the program would like to thank its preceptors, guest speakers, Dean Gregory Hand and President Rick Muma for their outstanding support of the students.

After a successful inaugural year, Wichita State’s Spero program is entering its second year. Spero — Latin for “hope” — helps individuals achieve lasting independence through skill-building and access to meaningful employment. Participants complete employer- and market-oriented training that leads to micro-credentials, making Spero the first micro-credential program in WSU’s history and the first 1EdTech TrustEd Micro-credential program in the world.

In its first year, 82 percent of participants graduated across both tracks. Within the Career Readiness cohort, 20 students completed the program, and 15 secured employment. In the Entrepreneurship track, 18 students graduated, with 7 advancing to the Venture Advancement Program (VAP) — a follow-on initiative designed to grow participants’ ventures through consulting, mentorship and hands-on operational support with a commitment to strengthen operational profit (EBITDA).

Building on these outcomes, interest in Spero has continued to rise. To meet the expanded demand, the program now operates three sections, including a new morning track for Career Readiness. The new class was officially welcomed on Aug. 29 during a kickoff event in Woolsey Hall that brought together students, faculty, business leaders and community members.

The Office of Student Engagement & Belonging is seeking full-time faculty and staff members interested in serving as advisors for Registered Student Organizations (RSOs). Advisors play an important role in supporting student success by providing guidance, mentorship and institutional knowledge. With more than 200 RSOs on campus, there are opportunities to connect with student groups that align with your professional expertise, personal interests or passions.

Serving as an advisor is a rewarding way to contribute to the WSU community, foster leadership development and build stronger connections with students outside the classroom or office. Faculty and staff who wish to learn more or be matched with an organization can email Caitlin Nolen at catilin.nolen@wichita.edu.

The Department of Public Health Sciences is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Amy Chesser as the new director of graduate programs. Chesser has been a faculty member at Wichita State for 11 years and brings extensive experience in public health education, research and leadership. Her teaching and research passions include health communication, health literacy, public health, older adults and health disparities.

In her new role, Chesser will lead the Master of Health Administration and aging studies programs, with a vision to foster their continued growth and success. She is committed to preparing students for impactful careers in healthcare and supporting the faculty who teach in the graduate programs. The Department of Public Health Sciences looks forward to her leadership in advancing the graduate programs and supporting student success.

Graduate students who plan to complete all degree requirements this semester must file an application for degree and pay the $25 filing fee. This needs to be done no later than Monday, Sept. 15. Submit your application for degree even if you have a plan of study pending to be approved or have not submitted a plan of study.

To submit your application for degree, log into the myWSU portal and click on the myClasses tab. On the right hand side, you will find a section called “Graduation Links,” with the appropriate links to proceed. The $25 fee must be paid using a credit or debit card.

For questions, email the Graduate School at wsugradschool@wichita.edu.

Are you interested in getting involved with voting and civic engagement? Join the Shockers Vote Campus Coalition for monthly meetings to learn more about voting and ways you can get involved. Meetings will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. Sept. 12, Oct. 10 and Nov. 7 via Microsoft Teams. For questions and meeting information, email CivicEngagement@wichita.edu

During his first clinical rotation, physician associate student Jack Ellzey headed west to Leoti, Kansas. There he got a truly rural Kansas experience.

“In a county of 2000, you are the one-stop shop for everything medical-related. One minute you are finishing your day in the clinic, then you are working a shift at the county fair food shack that evening, before helping EMS during the rodeo. The emergency department consists of one provider, one room, and two beds- yet handles everything from lacerations to multi-system traumas. This rotation confirmed to me why I chose medicine: the privilege of learning through real responsibility, communicating with patients on my own in a meaningful way, and the teamwork aspect that makes everything work. I will be forever grateful to Leoti for the knowledge and experiences they instilled in me, demonstrating that a location on a map does not diminish the level of care that patients deserve.”

WSU Math Circle resumes its weekly meetings, with the first starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 in 372 Jabara Hall. Math Circle is a program for middle school students.

Math Circles are education enrichment and outreach groups that bring mathematicians and mathematical scientists into direct contact with pre-college students. These students meet with math professionals in an informal setting, after school or on weekends, to work on interesting problems or topics in mathematics. The goal is to get the students excited and passionate about mathematics.

Students should bring with them a completed registration form from the website.

In response to feedback from employers and alumni, the College of Engineering adapted its engineering technology program to the applied engineering program in fall 2023. Recently, the college announced that the applied engineering program is now accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission’s General Criteria with no applicable program criteria. This accreditation assures students that the program meets high-quality standards recognized globally, enhancing their educational experience and increasing their competitiveness in the job market.

Dr. M. Edwin Sawan, the director of the School of Computing within the College of Engineering, is retiring from WSU and stepping down from his position, effective after Friday, Sept. 12. Following Sawan’s departure, Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan will serve as the interim director of the School of Computing. He is also the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Sawan has been serving as the director of the School of Computing since March 2024 and served as the interim director for several years prior to that. Before those roles, Sawan was a faculty member in the (then) electrical engineering and computer science department for 30 years before retiring as a professor emeritus. During his tenure, he won numerous teaching awards and was published many times. Following the death of his wife, Sawan founded the Maha “Maggie” Sawan Fellowship for international graduate students in 2011, which awards two new Sawan Fellows each academic year.