Category: Wichita Biomedical Campus

Wichita State is pleased to announce the naming of the Ascension Via Christi — Wichita State University School of Nursing, reflecting a decades-long partnership between the university and one of the state’s leading health care providers.

The naming recognizes an investment from Via Christi in support of the Wichita Biomedical Campus, a joint initiative of WSU, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas, that will redefine health care education in Kansas by strengthening collaboration across disciplines and supporting interprofessional health care learning.

“Via Christi’s support of the Wichita Biomedical Campus highlights their commitment to improving health care across our city and state, and we are proud to recognize that support with this naming,” President Rick Muma said. “This project requires significant partnership from our community, and we are proud to build on the longstanding relationship between WSU and Via Christi as we enter a new era of health care education.”

Representatives from Wichita State University, the University of Kansas and the State of Kansas commemorated the placement of the final steel beam on Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus Aug. 26.

Jeff Fluhr with the Greater Wichita Partnership emceed the event, with remarks from President Rick Muma; Doug Girod, chancellor of KU; Sen. Jerry Moran; Ty Masterson, president of the Kansas Senate; and Alex Breitenbach, Wichita office lead at JE Dunn Construction.

Phase 1 of the location is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, in downtown Wichita. Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology’s health care program, and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

Steel on the last floor of Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus has started being placed earlier this month, giving a first look at the final size of the location. In just six months, the Wichita Biomedical Campus went from a flat slab of concrete to the towering structure visible now in downtown Wichita. You can see that rapid transformation in the latest timelapse of the construction.

Currently, steel is continuing to be placed every day and the building is starting to take shape downtown. You can watch a continuous livestream of the construction site online.

Phase 1 of the location is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, in downtown Wichita. Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology’s health care program, and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

Construction on Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus continues as work on floors eight and nine has begun, leaving only the roof left to be put up, nearly extending past the construction livestream.

Concrete pouring has been completed up to the third floor and will begin on the fourth floor this week. Steel will begin being placed on floors seven through nine for the remainder of the week, and the first floor has seen duct work installed.

Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus — a joint venture of Wichita State, the University of Kansas and WSU Tech — is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, located at the southeast corner of Broadway and William. Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, including the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, WSU Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

Despite heavy rainfall in early June, steel sequence six began on Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus, covering the north half of floors six and seven.

Concrete was poured at the south end of the third floor and at the stairs at the southeast corner of the building. By May 30, steel decking was almost complete through floor five, and the final second floor concrete pour was completed. The three-story portion of the building also showed substantial progress. Earlier in May, steel sequence 5 started, focusing on the south areas of floors six and seven, with beams for floor seven beginning to go in.

Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus — a joint venture of Wichita State, the University of Kansas and WSU Tech — is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, located at the southeast corner of Broadway and William. Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, including the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, WSU Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

May 8 marked the one-year anniversary of the Wichita Biomedical Campus Phase 1 groundbreaking, signaling the beginning of a game-changing project among Wichita State, WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), and the University of Kansas that will revolutionize health care in the state.

Phase 1 of the location is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, in downtown Wichita. Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, WSU Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

To facilitate coordination among WSU, WSU Tech, KU and the construction company, Stacy Christie was brought on as project director in early 2024. In the time since the groundbreaking, the vision and promise of the Wichita Biomedical Campus has expanded greatly:

• A $1 million grant will go towards purchasing audiology equipment that will directly benefit students in the Doctor of Audiology and Master of Arts in speech-language pathology programs as well as support Wichita State’s Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, which will be relocated to the Wichita Biomedical Campus following completion of Phase 1.
• Wichita State launched the Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine and Assistive Technology in November 2024, which will support patient-driven R&D on innovative new technologies that will improve the lives of those with physical and cognitive disabilities. In collaboration with inaugural partners Ascension Via Christi’s Rehabilitation Hospital, Heartspring’s Outpatient Services and the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, the institute will move into the Wichita Biomedical Campus in 2027.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas committed to supporting the Wichita Biomedical Campus with a $2.5 million investment, which will be split between supporting the site and developing two endowed nursing scholarships for College of Health Professions students.
• The Kansas Center for the Advancement of Healthcare (KCAH) will help support health care initiatives across the state by developing a systematic approach to health care. Leaders and representatives convened at the KCAH statewide retreat earlier this year to discuss continued collaborative efforts to improve health care in Kansas. The Wichita presence of KCAH will be in the Wichita Biomedical Campus.
• Wichita State is committed to improving oral health care in the state and is moving forward with a study to determine the feasibility of a dental school housed within the Wichita Biomedical Campus, a first of its kind in Kansas, bringing in students and professionals from across the country to benefit Kansans in need of dental care.

Since the groundbreaking, the site has seen rapid progress in only one year. Key milestones:

• Much of 2024 was marked with digging out the old foundations at the site to install the current foundation of Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus.
• Early 2025 saw a tower crane constructed, which is facilitating rapid vertical construction on the site.
• Coinciding with the tower crane was the completion of the first storm shelters, which marked the first sections of the building that were fully walkable.
• Later in March 2025, ramps were built to connect the two levels of the ground floor of the building, offering a first glimpse of what the interior will look like.

Currently, steel is continuing to be placed every day and the building is starting to take shape downtown. You can watch a continuous livestream of the construction site online.

And hear from Dr. Sheree Utash, president of the WSU Tech, and Dr. Greg Hand, dean of the College of Health Professions, as they sat down with President Rick Muma for the April episode of the Forward Together podcast, where they further discussed the progress and future vision for the Wichita Biomedical Campus.

The Kansas Center for the Advancement of Healthcare (KCAH), a statewide collaborative managed through KUMC and WSU and dedicated to transforming healthcare through data science, convened a pivotal retreat recently in Kansas City bringing together leaders from across the healthcare ecosystem. The event marked a significant step toward achieving KCAH’s vision: to improve the health of all Kansans through data science.

The retreat gathered representatives from hospitals, higher education institutions, health-focused foundations, insurance and biotech industry leaders, government agencies, and national consultants. This cross-sector collaboration is at the heart of KCAH’s mission to advance healthcare by aligning expertise, sharing data and driving systemic change through evidence-based approaches.

Discussions at the retreat focused on pressing healthcare challenges as well as innovative approaches to the use of health data analytics. Participants worked together to identify key priorities for the coming year, including expanding data-sharing initiatives, supporting workforce development in health analytics and launching pilot projects to improve health in Kansas.

KCAH’s statewide approach ensures that the voices of Kansans — urban and rural alike — are represented in shaping the future of healthcare in the state. The retreat concluded with a renewed commitment from all participants to work collaboratively toward a strong collaborative and a healthier Kansas.

KCAH is a groundbreaking collaborative designed to meet the need for a systematic, statewide approach to health data management and analytics across Kansas. By leveraging advanced data science techniques, KCAH will support a wide range of healthcare activities — from generating new ideas and evaluating clinical practices, to disseminating information that leads to improved patient care and enhanced disease prevention at both individual and population levels. This transformative initiative has been in development since 2022, and the recent leadership retreat marks a pivotal step toward building a healthier Kansas.

The Wichita presence of KCAH will be in the Wichita Biomedical Campus building, with other locations across the state.

The Wichita Biomedical Campus is a cooperative effort among Wichita State, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas to centralize health care education and research. Join Wichita State President Rick Muma when he sits down with WSU Tech President Sheree Utash and Greg Hand, dean of the WSU College of Health Professions, to talk about programs, collaborations, partnerships and progress of the Wichita Biomedical Campus.

Watch the episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts or Apple Podcasts (iTunes).

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Despite the sudden bad weather, progress continued on the construction of Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus. Steel continues to be placed, showing more of the final structure of the building. Hutton also shared with the university drone footage of the construction site, highlighting the scale of the project against the backdrop of downtown Wichita.

Phase 1 of the biomedical campus — a joint venture of Wichita State, the University of Kansas and WSU Tech — is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, located at the southeast corner of Broadway and William. Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, including the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, WSU Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

Construction on Phase 1 is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2026 with the first classes being held in the building in summer/fall 2027.

Construction on Phase 1 of the Wichita Biomedical Campus is well underway and making its presence in downtown Wichita known.

Phase 1 of the biomedical campus — a joint venture of Wichita State, the University of Kansas and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech) — is a $222 million, 350,000-square-foot joint health sciences center, located at the southeast corner of Broadway and William.

Ramps connecting the two levels of the first floor have been poured, providing a glimpse of the final look of the inside of the building. Workers recently built a third storm shelter, and steel columns have been set up to the third floor. Steel installation will be the focus for the next several months, which will show the skeleton of the final building.

Once complete, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, including the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, WSU Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

Construction on Phase 1 is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2026 with the first classes being held in the building in summer/fall 2027.