Category: News

The Wichita State University Board of Trustees has approved up to $750,000 to fund a comprehensive feasibility study exploring the creation of Kansas’ first dental school. This is inclusive of support from Fort Hays State University, a partner in the project, which aims to address the state’s shortage of dentists, particularly in rural communities. 

The study, to be completed by fall 2026, will evaluate the scope, scale and structure of a potential dental school based in Wichita, with a presence in rural Kansas through Fort Hays State. Key areas of focus include cohort size, faculty and staff needs, accreditation requirements, facility planning and potential partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers to expand clinical access. 

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program at Wichita State is proud to welcome four new resident dentists to the 2025-26 class: Dr. Ahmed Al Rawe, Dr. Cheyanne Cornwell, Dr. Eric Nguyen and Dr. Monica Noh.  

The AEGD program is a one-year dental residency program that provides dentists with advanced comprehensive clinical experience. It is the only dentistry education training in Kansas. 

The dentists practice at WSU General Dentistry, located at the corner of 29th and Oliver St. The clinic provides a full range of services including cleanings, whitening, fillings and implants, along with in-house specialists for periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, and prosthetics.  

WSU General Dentistry is open to the public and currently accepting new patients. WSU students and their spouses and children are eligible for the Student Dental Discount program. Learn more at wichita.edu/WSUdentalclinic. 

Wichita State’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) announces the appointment of Eric Hein as director of strategy and product development. In this role, Hein will lead the institute’s long-term strategic planning and guide product development efforts that support industry partners and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Hein brings more than 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry, leading engineering, research and development, and defense program execution efforts. At NIAR, he will be responsible for connecting advanced technologies to end users, fostering strategic partnerships and advancing innovative products.

“We are excited to welcome Eric back to Wichita State,” said John Tomblin, executive vice president for Research and Industry and Defense Programs and NIAR executive director. “His extensive background in defense programs, product development and strategic innovation will significantly improve our ability to streamline capabilities across our organization to expand our capabilities, bandwidth and R&D portfolio.”

Prior to joining NIAR, Hein served as vice president of defense programs at Spirit AeroSystems, where he led the execution of key defense contracts and guided the company’s expansion into new defense markets. He began his career at Spirit in 2010, managing propulsion product engineering teams for Boeing programs, including the KC-46A tanker and the 737 MAX. He went on to lead the 737 MAX Propulsion Integrated Product Team and later served as senior director of research and technology, overseeing Spirit’s R&D portfolio, materials and processes group, structures engineering team, and test labs.

Previously, Hein held engineering roles at Cessna and Boeing, contributing to a broad range of commercial and business aircraft programs. He has a private pilot license and Six Sigma certification.

Hein graduated from Wichita State with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering. He serves on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross of South Central and Southeast Kansas.

The College of Applied Studies (CAS) will induct seven new members into its Hall of Fame this fall. The inductees are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to the college and their fields. A celebratory banquet will take place Sept. 26 on campus.

• Dr. Robert Lane – Distinguished Career Award
• Mary Myers – Service Award
• Korey Torgerson – Alumni Award
• Bonnie Bing Honeyman – Community Engagement Award
• Dr. Shirley Lefever – Distinguished Career Award
• Dr. Joseph Wei-Cheng Mau – Distinguished Career Award
• Aliyah Funschelle – Recent Alumni Award

Student Engagement & Belonging is reaching out to Wichita State faculty and staff who are affiliated with a fraternity or sorority organization. Whether you are an alum, current member or have served in an advisory role. Your affiliation helps build stronger connections between students and the broader campus community. It also helps celebrate and recognize the contributions of FSL members across campus.

If you are affiliated with an FSL organization, take a moment to complete the brief survey form.

Textbook ordering is open for the fall 2025 semester. Head to shockerstore.com to order and be prepared for the start of the school year. Depending on your class, options may include rentals, new books, used books, digital materials and more.

Four opt-in Advising Communities of Practice (CoP) will be launched for 2025-26 on several topics that have previously been presented at workshops and webinars by the Advising Network Team. These four advising CoPs will be opportunities for all who advise (academic advisors, specialized advisors and faculty advisors) to foster collaboration, shared learning and innovation in advising practice.

Each CoP is grounded in three essential components:

• Domain: a shared area of interest in advising that brings community members together.
• Community: a group of advisors who engage in discussions and knowledge-sharing.
• Practice: resources, experiences and tools that community members share, develop and refine together.

All CoPs will gather monthly in September, October, November, January, February, March and April as follows:

• The Advising First-Generation Students Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to explore strategies, share resources and build community around supporting the needs and strengths of first-generation college students. This CoP will gather on the first Friday of each month from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m.
• The Advising Transfer Students Community of Practice will provide a space focused on the advising experience and success of transfer students through shared practices. This CoP will gather on the second Friday of each month from 9 to 9:45 a.m.
• The Assessment of Advising Community of Practice will provide a space dedicated to developing, implementing and refining meaningful assessment practices that improve effectiveness and student learning outcomes in advising. This CoP will gather on the third Thursday of each month from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.
• The Career Advising Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to exchange ideas, tools and approaches that integrate career development into advising conversations and planning. This CoP will gather on the fourth Friday of each month from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.

Individuals interested in joining an Advising Community of Practice can indicate their interest using the form. Calendar invitations will be sent out for those interested in joining an Advising CoP.

For more information, contact Brett Bruner, assistant vice president for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

The July myShockerhealth newsletter is out now, complete with a new look.

Articles this month include:

• No more shoeless TSA checks
• Learn how to do a skin cancer check
• Job interview tips for neurodivergent applicants
• Treadmill mistakes
• Heat stroke doesn’t look good on anyone
• Employee Corner: Annual exam and laboratory screening appointments for WSU employees will be extended through Dec. 1, 2025

As the next academic year approaches, Fairmount College announces its newest chairs and directors.  

• Elliott School of Communication: Lisa Parcell is a professor and the Kansas Health Foundation Director of the Elliott School of Communication. Her main research area is media history, particularly the promotion of American food products between 1880-1960.
• Geology: Andrew Swindle is associate professor and chair of the Department of Geology. He researches the reactivity of nanoscale materials in the subsurface, which play major roles in the chemistry that happens in the soils, sediments and rocks near the Earth’s surface. 
• School of Social Work: BreAnn Gilkey is a clinical professor and the interim director of the School of Social Work. She holds professional affiliations with the State of Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board as a Licensed Master Social Worker and the Kansas Council on Social Work Education.  

The 2025 issue of Kansas English, the award-winning peer-reviewed journal of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English (KATE), is now available on WSU’s Open Journal Systems. Katie Cramer, professor of English education, has served as editor-in-chief of Kansas English since 2017 and collaborates with Susan Matveyeva, journal manager of University Libraries, to publish the journal each year.

This year’s issue of Kansas English was published July 25 and features the work of several WSU-affiliated faculty, graduates and students in addition to scholarly and creative work from authors across the state and region:

• Caleb K. Thornton, WSU alum and KATE president, published “Presidential Perspectives.”
• Reagan Murnan, assistant professor of special education and program coordinator of the M.Ed. in special education alternative certification programs, co-authored with Sandra Bequette a practitioner piece entitled “Sound Foundations: Strengthening Reading Development through Phonological Awareness and Phonics Integration.”
• Lael Ewy, WSU lecturer in English, published a reflective essay “Dualities of Dual Enrollment: Navigating the Literal and Liminal Spaces of a Community College Outreach Program.”
• WSU students Kaitlyn Chain, Avery Gathright, Alice Huelskamp and Sophia Loerke published a reflective essay entitled “All American Boys Has Staying Power a Decade Later: Here’s Why.”
• 2025 WSU graduate Jayden Mitchell published a poem called “Something More.”
• Nathan G. Whitman, WSU alum and faculty and KATE past-president, published “2025 KATE Conference Preview and Invitation.”
• Katie Cramer published a YA book review (“Resilience in the Face of Traumatic Brain Injury in Jacqueline Woodson’s Before the Ever After”), a teaching tip (“Reading Response Framework for Student-Led Discussion in an English Methods Course”) and the editor’s letter (“Let’s Affirm and Celebrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”).
• In addition, the 2025 editorial review board includes several WSU faculty and alumni: Robin Folkerts, Krystal Iseminger, Sally Kimball, Victoria Opalewski, Blake Overman, Nancy Sturm, Keely Tolbert, Nathan Whitman and Kim Wilson. Reagan Murnan will join the board in 2026.

Those interested in submitting their work to Kansas English can review the call for general submissions as well as the call for column submissions.