Wichita State University
March 2022
We're doing amazing things at Wichita State
While colleges and universities across the nation are struggling from declining enrollment, Wichita State University is humbled and elated to be celebrating a record number of students.

But our rising enrollment wasn’t simply a stroke of luck. Everyone in Shocker Nation has worked tirelessly and strategically to build our campus, programs and policies in such a way to support our students and our community.

Our efforts have been noticed on a national level. In fact, the Chronicle for Higher Education recently published an article, “The Missing Hispanic Students: Higher ed’s future, and the economy, depends on their coming back to college.” While the article expresses alarm over the declining enrollment of Hispanic students at universities across the country, it lauds Wichita State’s ability to buck that trend.

The Chronicle highlights that Wichita State had “a 25% jump from 2020 to 2021 among Hispanic first-year students. The Kansas institution saw enrollment grow by 3.5% overall in the fall of 2021, and is closing in on 15% Hispanic representation. That bucks the trend in Kansas, where four-year college enrollment declined 8.6% in the past five years.”

So, what are we doing right? And how can we ensure that Shocker Nation will continue to flourish?

Succinctly put: We listen.
In the News at Wichita State
Air Force awards $100 million to continue WSU NIAR's B-1 Digital Engineering program
On March 9, 2022, the B-1 System Program Office (SPO), Tinker AFB, OK awarded a six-year, $100 million follow-on contract to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to continue the B-1’s Digital Engineering (DE) transformation. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) helped form the strategic partnership and created a flexible contract structure, which allows NIAR and the B-1 SPO to adapt requirements real-time to meet critical warfighter needs.
March presidential podcast focuses on women in research
Learn about some of the cutting-edge research being done at Wichita State University in our March Forward Together podcast. To celebrate Women's History Month, President Rick Muma speaks with Dr. Melinda Laubach-Hock, director of sustainment at WSU's National Institute for Aviation Research; and Dr. Coleen Pugh, vice provost for research and dean of Wichita State's Graduate School.
Celebrating women who have helped build Shocker Nation
From its early days as Fairmount College, Wichita State University has celebrated a rich history of women who have worked to build a better community and a better world. In commemoration of Women’s History Month, we’ve compiled a list of just a few of the women who have contributed to the greatness of Shocker Nation.
WSU announces nine new Koch Scholar recipients
Wichita State’s Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College is proud to announce nine recipients of the Koch Scholars Program for the fall 2022 semester. These nine recipients will each be awarded $30,000 over the next four years.
$3 million gift from J. Robert Young dedicated to student success
Wichita State alumnus J. Robert Young has pledged a gift of $3 million to provide resources that will help students build successful careers. Of that total, $2 million will endow the J. Robert Young Executive-in-Residence Program in the W. Frank Barton School of Business. The remaining $1 million will support the Shocker Success Center project, which will consolidate 17 student services in Clinton Hall.

“The connections I made during my time at Wichita State inspired and motivated me to think boldly,” said Young. “I’m grateful for the experiences and opportunities I had throughout my college career to learn from industry executives, whose advice set me up for success in my own business.”
Barton Business School awards Jabara Scholarship to two Wichita-area students
The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has chosen two recipients to receive the 2022 Professor Fran Jabara Scholarship in Entrepreneurship. This year’s winners are Cohen Ayres from Garden Plain and Grace Simon of Wichita. They will each receive $32,700 over four years to attend WSU and major in entrepreneurship.
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