Category: News

The Barton School of Business has chosen Paul R. Attwater III as the Erin and Kyle Cummings Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) industry faculty advisor. Attwater is a senior vice president and founder of his team at a major financial institution. As advisor, he will engage students participating in SMIF (recruitment will begin in fall 2023 semester) to invest $250,000 in stocks, bonds and other securities. Proceeds from the portfolio will be reinvested into the program, with a percentage going to strengthening student experience and success initiatives further.

Attwater has more than 38 years of experience in the financial services industry – focusing on comprehensive wealth management for high-net-worth families and small foundations. A native of Wichita, he graduated from Wichita Collegiate School, and then earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kansas State University.

The Barton School has partnered with Helm Inc., a leading technology and services provider serving the automotive aftermarket, to initiate a collaborative research project to create “data-driven consumer insights.” With substantial undergraduate students’ involvement, the project investigates consumer attitudes and preferences toward extended warranties across multiple product lines and identifies the key factors driving consumer decisions to adopt extended service programs.

The project will be split into three parts concluding at the end of the fall 2023 semester. Students will produce a comprehensive report of in-depth analysis of business models employed by companies offering extended warranties in the consumer electronics, consumer appliances, and vehicle industries. Students will also identify key factors driving consumer decisions in the aforementioned industries. Finally, the research team will conduct additional data analysis by implementing advanced machine learning techniques on consumer reviews for extended warranties to determine the driving factors of extended warranty adoption.

The Barton School announced the selection of three distinguished industry leaders to be inducted into its inaugural “Beyond” Hall of Fame. The inaugural group of inductees will be recognized for their visionary leadership and outstanding contributions to the Barton School and community during an induction celebration Feb. 17, 2024:

• Frank Barton: President of Barton Distributors from 1952 until 1979 and co-founder of Rent-A-Center in 1973 with partner Tom Devlin. In May 1987, he and his wife, Patsy, gave $12 million to endow WSU’s Business School, which was later dedicated in his name. He passed away in September 2000. His son, Craig Barton, will accept the honor on his behalf.
• Clark Bastian: Chairman of the board at Fidelity Bank. He served a three-year term as chairman of the dean’s advisory board of the Barton School of Business. He is also a member of WSU’s National Advisory Council. He has served on numerous boards, including those of the Wichita Community Foundation, WSU Foundation and Rotary Club of Wichita.
• Fran Jabara: Founded the Center for Entrepreneurship at WSU, which was the first of its kind on a college campus and has been recognized internationally as one of the finest, most comprehensive programs in the nation. He was a former dean of the Business School and in 1996, Jabara Hall was dedicated in his honor. Jabara passed away in 2015, and his family will accept the honor on his behalf.

The application process for the 2023-24 Widener Global Leadership Program cohort are now open. It is currently seeking 8-10 undergraduate women students from either the Barton School of Business, Elliott School of Communication or College of Fine Arts.

Interested applicants should submit a resume along with a statement of interest by Friday, July 7.

The Widener Global Leaders Program is designed to foster an inclusive community for women majoring in business, communication, or fine arts at Wichita State.

The Office of Admissions at Wichita State invites Innovation Campus partners and their high school or transfer students to get an exclusive look at what Shocker Nation is all about from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 27 starting in the John Bardo Center lobby.

During the event, students and parents will have the opportunity to take a tour of campus and hear from Admissions staff about admission requirements, scholarship opportunities and everything in between at Wichita State. They will also hear from a student panel to learn more about the Shocker experience.

Tentative agenda for the day:

• 5-6 p.m.: Optional campus & housing tour
• 6-6:30 p.m.: Check-in opens, refreshments available
• 6:30-7 p.m.: Welcome and Admissions presentation
• 7-7:20 p.m.: Current student panel
• 7:20-7:30 p.m.: Questions and closing

This event is available at no additional charge, and refreshments will be provided. All students in attendance will receive a gift from WSU. RSVPs should be sent no later than 5 p.m. Monday, July 24. For more information, contact Rosie Lager at rosie.krenek@wichita.edu or 316-978-5698.

The Shocker Printing online storefront will be upgraded Monday, June 26. The site will be down until approximately 9:30 a.m.

Shocker Printing apologizes for any inconvenience.

Dr. Janet Twomey, associate dean of research, graduate studies and faculty development in the College of Engineering, will once again serve as a professor in the Department of Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering.

The College of Engineering will host a celebration of Twomey’s service to the college in the fall. Additionally, there will be a search for the next associate dean of research, graduate studies and faculty development.

Twomey was the first associate dean for research at WSU and has served in the role for seven years. She has led many important initiatives, including helping to start the cybersecurity program, ensuring the program earned designation from The National Security Academy and developing a cybersecurity graduate certificate and hub. Additionally, Twomey has won two National Science Foundation (NSF) awards totaling $2 million to address graduation for minority and economically challenged engineering students, and she has mentored faculty submitting NSF CAREER grants, six of whom have won awards.

Timesheets and leave reports are currently not available. The Payroll Office is diligently working on the position budget load for fiscal 2024.

Once completed, Payroll will send out further communication. It hopes to have timesheets and leave reports open by Monday, June 19 and will follow up with an email letting faculty and staff know when they are open and ready for entry.

Dr. Steven Skinner, associate dean of undergraduate studies, finance and administration in the College of Engineering, will once again serve as a professor and resume researching in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The College of Engineering will host a celebration of Skinner’s service to the college in the fall. Additionally, there will be a search for the next associate dean of academic affairs.

Skinner has served in the associate dean role for 11 years and twice served as the interim dean of the college. He has led many important initiatives, including the Engineering+ Program, ABET accreditation and the planning and oversight of the John Bardo Center construction.

Learn more about the newest research and innovation coming out of Wichita State by reading the June 2023 edition of Research & Innovation News.

Learn more about research Mathew Muether, associate professor of physics, is conducting on neutrinos; a group of students who are attempting to create soundless propellers for drones; and a WSU professor, Dr. Mark Schneegurt, who is working with NASA to help evaluate the possibility of life on other planets.

Research & Innovation News publishes every other month. Subscribe to the mailing list.