May 2021

Congratulations, Shocker graduates!

As with the close of every semester, we celebrate our Shocker graduates. But this semester, it’s more than that. Though all graduates deserve recognition for earning a degree, our 2021 grads accomplished their academic goals under the cloud and uncertainty of a global pandemic. Your grace, flexibility, and perseverance, during what was undoubtedly a hectic year, are applauded by all of Shocker Nation. We could not be prouder nor more in awe of their success. Congratulations. There’s another reason why this particular graduating class is special to me: This is my first graduating class since being named president of Wichita State University earlier this month. Just like I’ve watched our grads grow from students to career-ready professionals for the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to witness the innovation explosion of Wichita State over the past 25 years.

Read more of Dr. Muma's message

In the News at Wichita State

Meet some of Wichita State's 2021 Shocker graduates

More than 3,500 Shockers are eligible for graduation in spring 2021. While each of their journeys is unique, they all share a common connection to Shocker Nation. Here's what some of our graduates have to say about their time at Wichita State and the future.

Read about Shocker grads

Shocker alum helps lead vaccine strategies at Hunter Health

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed public health into the forefront and Wichita State University graduates such as Tara Nolen are leading the effort. “Working in public health – people don’t really know what we do,” Nolen said. “It shone a light on what public health is and activated us all. What I’m doing impacts patients and everybody every day.”  Nolen, a 2012 health services management and community development graduate, is a community health manager at Hunter Health, which has three locations in Wichita. She oversees outreach programs and coordinates COVID-19 vaccines.

Read more about Tara Nolen

Airline Quality Rating reveals effect of pandemic on airlines

Customer complaints filed against major U.S. airlines soared amid the coronavirus pandemic, even as the carriers generally did better with on-time arrivals and baggage handling during the health crisis, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating released today by Wichita State University.   Complaints against the carriers climbed by nearly 400% from 2019 to 2020, driven by aggravation over refund requests as many travelers canceled their flights, AQR researchers Dr. Dean Headley and Dr. Brent Bowen found. Refund-related grievances amounted to nearly 83% of all complaints last year, pushing down overall quality scores for most airlines included in the report.

Learn more about the AQR

Barton School launches Executive-in-Residence program, names Spirit AeroSystems CEO as first executive

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has launched its Executive-in-Residence program. This program will provide Barton School students, faculty and the Wichita community with vital perspectives and knowledge from industry leaders. Tom Gentile, president and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, will serve as the program’s first resident for the fall 2021 semester.

Read more about the Executive-in-Residence program

NASA awards $2 million for professor to study the sun

Wichita State University’s Dr. Nick Solomey, professor of physics, has been awarded a $2 million grant from NASA for his work on developing a neutrino detector to work in space and close to the sun.  Solomey’s grant was one of five grants NASA announced earlier this month from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.

Learn more about Dr. Solomey's research

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