Category: News

The Cummings Student-Managed Investment Fund (CSMIF) at the Barton School of Business opened the 2025-26 academic year with serious momentum, announcing a 20% portfolio increase over the previous year — one of the most successful periods in the fund’s history. The news was shared during CSMIF’s annual fall kick-off event, where students and mentors also introduced the fund’s dynamic new leadership team and outlined their vision for the year ahead.

Housed within the Barton School, CSMIF provides students with real-time experience managing an investment portfolio backed by actual capital. The fund is designed to offer practical, real-world learning that supports a variety of career paths while fostering both personal and professional growth.

Four Wichita State faculty and staff members have been named 2025 Faculty and Staff of the Year by the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR), recognizing their excellence in teaching, research, service and student support.

The KBOR awards recognize outstanding contributions by faculty and staff across the state’s universities. 

Wichita State’s 2025 KBOR awardees:

• Dr. Lisa Parcell, Kansas Health Foundation Director of the Elliott School of Communication and professor of communication, Tenured Faculty of the Year. Read more about Parcell.
• Dr. Erin O’Bryan, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, Tenure-Track Faculty of the Year. Read more about O’Bryan.
• Marco Hernandez, assistant teaching professor of print media and foundations coordinator in the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries, Faculty of the Year. Read more about Hernandez.
• Dr. Christopher Leonard, director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Staff of the Year. Read more about Leonard.

Wichita State unveiled the newly named Kiah Duggins Shocker Support Locker during its annual Heritage Gala on Oct. 9, hosted by the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement in celebration of the 2025 alumni award recipients.

The support locker honors the legacy of Kiah Duggins ’17, who died earlier this year aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita to Washington, D.C. At the gala, Duggins was also posthumously awarded the 2025 Young Alumni Award.

As a student leader and co-founder of the original Shocker Food Locker, now located in the basement of the Shocker Success Center, Duggins was a passionate advocate for student support services during her time as chief of staff in student government. She went on to graduate from Harvard Law School in 2021 before beginning her career as a civil rights attorney in Washington, D.C.

To commemorate her legacy of promoting social justice, the 2024-25 administration of the WSU Student Government Association requested the university name the Shocker Support Locker in her honor. The naming was approved as of Oct. 8.

“Kiah was a remarkable Shocker whose passion for justice and care for others left a lasting mark on this university,” said Wichita State President Rick Muma. “She helped create the Shocker Support Locker because she believed every student deserved the resources to thrive. Naming it in her honor is a powerful reminder of her legacy, and it ensures her impact will continue to be felt by students for years to come.”

Wichita State’s Academe newsletter, highlighting faculty and staff achievements, is back after a five-year hiatus. The first edition published Oct. 9 and features faculty and staff from across the university over the last year, with a message from Dr. Monica Lounsbery, senior executive vice president and provost.

Academe is published four times a year, and submissions from faculty and staff are always open. Visit wichita.edu/academesubmission and follow the instructions to submit items for Academe. The deadline for submissions to the next edition of Academe will be shared in a future edition of WSU Today.

If you have questions regarding submissions to Academe, reach out to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu or 316-978-3013.

The Department of Sport and Leadership Studies is delighted to announce the launch of the Journal of Contemporary Issues in Sport (JCIS), a scholarly peer-reviewed journal established by Dr. Wonyoung Kim. It is published by the Department of Sport and Leadership Studies in collaboration with Dr. Susan Matveyeva and University Libraries.

JCIS is committed to exploring and disseminating research, critical analysis and thought-provoking discussions on contemporary issues within the field of sport management and related topics. It serves as a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, educators, students, sport industry professionals, policymakers and anyone interested in understanding the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of the sport industry.

The inaugural issue of JCIS is now accessible online. The Department of Sport and Leadership Studies warmly invites scholars, practitioners and students to explore the journal and consider contributing to its future volumes.

When Wichita State physical therapy students strapped on sunglasses smeared with petroleum jelly, ankle weights and a stiff neck collar, the laughter came quickly. They shuffled around the room, testing their balance in flip-flops to mimic neuropathy and difficulty with walking, while leaning on friends as they struggled through simple tasks.

But as the exercises wore on, the fun gave way to frustration. Hearing became muffled under earmuffs. Vision blurred. Knees stiffened. Students who had just been joking about their new look began to feel something else: the physical and social isolation many older adults live with every day.

That shift — from amusement to awareness — is exactly what Dr. Justin Smith, assistant professor and board-certified geriatric clinical specialist, hoped for when he built a homemade geriatric-simulation suit and launched a pilot study to measure its effect on empathy in physical therapy students.

Niki Noland is a spring 2025 Wichita State graduate who majored in studio art, concentrating in print media. Before leaving Wichita State and the College of Fine Arts, Noland directly impacted Wichita’s art scene, interning for the City of Wichita’s Arts and Cultural Services Department and public art manager, Jana Erwin.

As a student, Noland was active on campus and in the art, design and creative industries program. They were a mentor for the College of Fine Arts You Belong Here: Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program. As a mentor, they developed leadership qualities by assisting mentees with academic and professional work. Noland, true to their major, was also a member of the printmaking club. Additionally, they were involved in the Shocker Sound Machine and the Model UN Board. Active within Shocker Nation’s arts and clubs, Noland’s internship for City of Wichita’s Arts and Cultural Services Department was a perfect match.

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) is thrilled to announce that its graduate student team took home the first place trophy from the 2025 Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (KSHA) Prairie Cup competition.

The annual knowledge bowl was held Sept. 29 at the KSHA Convention, hosted this year in Manhattan, Kansas. The team won by an astonishing 45 points; representing an almost five-question advantage over second place, an extraordinary feat.

CSD could not be prouder of its clinical scholars team: Sabrina Gooch, Alice Keithly, Kayenta Frye, Courtney Toner and Lauren Stephenson (not shown). Congratulations on a well-deserved win.

The College of Applied Studies (CAS) Ambassadors serve as a resource for the college, prospective students and their families. The CAS Ambassadors also serve as representation for their specific academic programs, exemplifying a broad knowledge of CAS culture, programs, and practices.

The Shocker Store is selling a new T-shirt in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For each one sold, $1 will be donated to Victory in the Valley, who provides support to cancer patients, survivors and their families in the area. The tee is available at both the Rhatigan Student Center and Braeburn Square stores and online. The offer is good while supplies last. No discounts accepted on this merchandise.