What does it mean to be a student-centered university? | |
At Wichita State University, our work begins with students and is shaped by their goals and circumstances.
Understanding who our students are informs every decision we make.
- 47.5% are first-generation college students.
- 42% are Pell Grant-eligible, reflecting the financial realities many face.
- 71% are Kansas residents, with 46% coming from Sedgwick County.
At the same time, these figures represent 18,458 individual students, each with their own histories, aspirations and pathways forward. They are artists, engineers, educators, teachers, health care workers, scientists and entrepreneurs. Some are discovering new possibilities; others are returning to finish what they once started. Many are balancing coursework with responsibilities beyond campus. When we talk about being student-centered, we are talking about designing a university that recognizes those individual journeys and responds with purpose and care.
For many Wichita State students, the path to a degree is shaped by real considerations — how many hours they can work, how far their dollars will stretch and whether support is available when challenges arise. These realities inform how we think about access and affordability, and they guide our commitment to creating conditions that allow students to persist and thrive.
If you would like to know how you can contribute to our student-centered initiatives, visit WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement's website to start supporting our priorities, such as need-based scholarships and other student success opportunities.
| | 'Forward Together' Podcast | | Episode 43: Mike Kennedy - Voice of the Shockers | |
Join President Rick Muma when he talks with Mike Kennedy about his 46-year career as the Voice of the Shockers and his future plans.
Click the photo above to watch the video of the podcast. The podcast is also available on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts or Apple Podcasts.
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| In the News at Wichita State | | Dr. Jamarco Clark named new vice president for Student Affairs at Wichita State | |
Wichita State has named Dr. Jamarco Clark as its next vice president for Student Affairs, effective July 1.
Clark currently serves as vice chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Illinois Springfield. In that role, he provides executive leadership for the Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Athletics, overseeing strategy, operations, fiscal stewardship and personnel across 22 departments and units.
He is an active scholar and graduate faculty member, teaching in online doctoral and master’s programs in higher education leadership. His research and publications focus on workplace wellbeing, trauma‑informed supervision and the experiences of student affairs professionals.
| | Wichita State awards $80K Smith Scholarship to Valley Center and Nebraska students | |
Wichita State University has selected two recipients for the Richard D. Smith Scholarship, the university’s largest scholarship award. Sallie Longwell of Valley Center, Kansas, and Caroline Love of Norfolk, Nebraska, will receive more than $80,000 over four years.
The 2026 recipients of the Smith Scholarship have been active in their schools and communities.
| | Barton School of Business rings the NYSE closing bell | |
Representatives from the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University rang the closing bell for the New York Stock Exchange on April 6.
Dr. Larisa Genin, dean, Barton School of Business, was joined by others from WSU to participate in the historic occasion for the university. Genin and senior Ellie Stringer were interviewed by NYSE host JD Durkin, highlighting WSU's applied learning model and several of the innovative initiatives at the Barton School.
| | Wichita Biomedical Campus sees steady progress inside and out | |
Construction continues to advance across the Wichita Biomedical Campus, with recent progress spanning multiple floors inside and out. Exterior work includes ongoing glass installation on the north side, metal paneling at the rooftop chiller space and efforts to fully enclose the south end. Inside, drywall is progressing on the sixth and eighth floors, while scaffolding has been removed beneath the ground-floor stairs, marking another visible milestone.
And you can follow along with the construction by watching the 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 (WSU Tech) health care program, and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.
| | WSU to be featured at Kansas Sports Hall of Fame; basketball gets head start for 2026-27 |
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Wichita State will be well represented in this summer’s Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Voice of the Shockers Mike Kennedy, pitcher Greg Brummett (1986-89) and basketball star Maurice Evans (1997-99) are part of the class that will be inducted on July 25 at Kansas Star Casino.
- Men’s basketball coach Paul Mills followed a successful run in the NIT with more good news. The Shockers enjoy a head start on next season with the return of much of the roster, including starters Dillon Battie and Michael Gray Jr., and American Conference Sixth Man of the Year Will Berg. TJ Williams and Noah Hill, freshmen who played key roles, are also set for 2026-27.
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Terry Nooner welcomed Melanie Balcomb to the women's basketball coaching staff as associate head coach. Balcomb brings 26 years of head coaching experience to Shocker Athletics. She has led teams to 19 NCAA tournaments and won eight conference tournament titles.
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Softball finishes its regular season with a home series against Memphis April 30-May 2 in Wilkins Stadium.
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Baseball's final home series will be against Florida Atlantic May 8-10 before traveling to Florida to end the season with a series against South Florida May 14-16.
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Jose Miguel Ramirez compiled a career stroke average of 71.24, breaking the previous Shocker men's golf record of 72.07 set by Blake Lorenz (2022-24). Ramirez also recorded the second-lowest single-season stroke average in program history at 71.03.
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Mackenzie Wilson's career stroke average of 75.22 broke the previous Shocker women's golf record of 75.55 set by Taryn Torgerson (2014-18). Kate Tilma also surpassed Torgerson’s mark with a career average of 75.35, ranking second all-time behind Wilson.
For updates on athletics at Wichita State and to buy tickets, visit goshockers.com.
| | National championship appearances | | Women's bowling finishes second at NCAA championship | |
Wichita State’s remarkable run through the NCAA tournament came to an end in the National Championship April 11, as the Shockers fell to #1-seed Jacksonville State 4-1 in the best-of-seven Baker match at Yorktown Lanes.
The team finished its second NCAA campaign with a 79-36 record as NCAA runner-up.
| | Dance finishes runner-up at National Dance Alliance championship | |
The Shocker dance team earned a runner-up finish in the Spirit Rally Division 1 category at the National Dance Alliance National Championships April 11 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The performance marks the team’s first appearance in the Spirit Rally Division and was the first season under head coach Amy Pollard-Yarberry.
| | Women's tennis earns bid to NCAA tourney | |
Shocker women’s tennis earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after a record season, facing SMU May 2.
The team broke the program record win streak, with 19 wins in a row, before falling to Rice in the AC Championship finals.
The Shockers were ranked No. 28 in the ITA rankings heading into the championship, which earned the team the No. 1 seed, and also recorded a perfect 9-0 at home this season.
| | Shocker Studios aims to connect actors with jobs through its casting office | |
Shocker Studios Casting wants to grow into Kansas’ source for matching talent with projects of all types.
Producing a movie or short film that needs a certain actor to fill a role? Is your business launching a market campaign or in need of a voice-over? Are you a student in need of a type of actor for a video project?
“A casting office serves as a tool to connect,” said Kayla Shebshayevich, assistant educator for acting for the digital arts at Wichita State University’s School of Digital Arts. “The casting office reaches out to its network of actors, and they’re responsible for finding that best talent for that project to make it a success.”
| | Wichita State PA student takes compassionate care to new level by donating stem cells to leukemia patient | |
When Joshua Geisler registered as a stem cell donor, he did not expect the decision would lead to a call telling him he was a match for a patient with leukemia.
Geisler, a second-year physician associate student at Wichita State, said his education helped prepare him to step into the role.
“I felt prepared to be a stem cell donor, based on the experience I had at Wichita State. Our professors teach us that one of the values of our program is compassionate care,” Geisler said. “I thought this was kind of a unique way to live out one of the program’s values of compassionate care. Not only can we give medicine and do different procedures, but we can give ourselves.”
Hear more from Geisler about his experience of being a stem cell donor in this video on Wichita State University's YouTube channel.
| | Stay in Touch with President Muma | | FEATURED SOCIAL MEDIA POST | | |
April 20:
Wichita State was honored to host guests from the American Conference for a meaningful time focused on connection, shared experiences and thoughtful conversation.
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About Wichita State University
Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 25,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the United States and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry-funded engineering R&D and No. 9 overall for engineering R&D.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing more than 120 acres, and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
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