Category: Foundation and Alumni Engagement

Elizabeth King, Wichita State Foundation and Alumni Engagement (WSUFAE) president and CEO emeritus, was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame as one of the 2024 honorees.

The recognition honors members of the Wichita business community who have shown an ability to be successful not only in business, but in their commitment to the local community and state as a whole.

Begin your legacy at Wichita State by being part of the graduating class gift program. Give $20.24 to the scholarship, college or program of your choice and you’ll receive an exclusive zipper pull for your graduation gown in recognition of your generosity.

Wichita State’s Ulrich Museum of Art won’t officially turn 50-years-old until Dec. 7, but the birthday celebration has already begun. First on the museum’s slate of special anniversary exhibitions, programs, events and unveilings is “Fully Dimensional: Artists of the Outdoor Sculpture Collection.”

Elizabeth King arrived on campus as WSU’s youngest vice president in 1991, and she’ll take her leave from the university this year as a Shocker Forever. Working with six WSU presidents throughout her career, she has helped Wichita State attain many achievements that are now part of our institutional history.

A new article in the winter/spring edition of The Shocker magazine explores the sight lines the Wichita Biomedical Campus project will bring to downtown Wichita. The move downtown will centralize health education, collaboration and research from Wichita State’s College of Health Professions, WSU Tech’s healthcare programs and KU’s Wichita schools of medicine and pharmacy.

Elizabeth King, president and CEO of the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement, will be retiring from the university after nearly 33 years of service. Join WSUFAE for a reception in her honor on Monday, Feb. 12, in the Marcus Welcome Center. The campus community is encouraged to drop by between 3-4 p.m., with the reception opening to the many donors, alumni and university friends King has worked with from 4-6 p.m. Special remarks will take place at 5:15 p.m.

After an extensive national search, the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement is welcoming Telly McGaha as the next president and CEO of the organization. McGaha is joining Wichita State from Georgia State University and is expected to start on Feb. 12.

Mark, 1976, and Laurie, 1975, Finucane believe that traveling is crucial to a complete liberal arts education, and they recently established a scholarship to help students do exactly that. The Mark and Laurie Finucane Travel Seminar Scholarship helps fund students as they attend conferences and participate in abridged study-abroad programs throughout the semester.

“If you’re going to have a liberal arts education, a logical extension of that education is to experience other cultures and nations and parts of the world,” Mark said. “It teaches you something that you can’t read.”

The WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement remind employees about year-end deadlines:

• Foundation accounts payable: No special dates and times. Business will continue as usual.
• Foundation Year-End Gift Receipt Information for 2023 Tax Credit: Checks without a postmarked envelope will need to be delivered to the Foundation Finance Team Office by 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29. Checks with an envelope postmarked by Dec. 31 need to be at the office by end of business Monday, Jan. 8.
• Information for credit or debit cards to be processed in the office will need to be submitted by 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29.
• Online bank drafts and online credit cards will be able to be processed until midnight Sunday, Dec. 31.

The WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement team is excited to invite the community to the inaugural Heritage Gala, a combination of the past Alumni Awards and President’s Club events, at 6:45 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Wichita Marriott, 9100 E. Corporate Hills Dr.

WSUFAE will recognized its 2023 alumni award winners Roy Moye III, 2015, who will receive the Young Alumni Award; Jessica Provines, 2001/04/06, who is receiving the Social Impact Award; and Alicia Thompson, 2015, receiving the Alumni Achievement Award.

Join WSUFAE for an evening of celebration as it honors the changemakers who inspire past, present and future generations of Shockers.