May 2025

Wichita State celebrates 2,289 stories of grit, growth and graduation

As we close out another academic year, I want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible achievements of our spring 2025 graduates.

This spring, Wichita State awarded 2,289 degrees — 27 associate’s degrees, 1,428 bachelor’s degrees, 574 master’s degrees, 74 doctorates and 186 certificates – to students from 37 states and 53 countries. While more than 70% of our graduates call Kansas home, nearly 15% came to Wichita from out of state, and 13% came from abroad. That variety of experience and perspective helps define the Shocker experience, expanding minds and preparing students to lead in a rapidly changing world. Of this spring's graduates:

• 43.6% are first-generation college students.
• 8.1% are veterans, active-duty military or their dependents.
• Students collectively earned more than $33 million through internships and on-campus jobs — experiences that are central to our applied learning model.

May's 'Forward Together' podcast episode features students in ROTC

Join Wichita State University President Rick Muma for a conversation with ROTC students about how Wichita State and ROTC has shaped their Shocker journey, as well as their education and leadership development.

Click above to watch the videos of the podcast. The podcast is also available on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts or Apple Podcasts (iTunes).

President Rick Muma celebrates distinguished faculty and staff members

Several outstanding employees through the University Staff Senate and University Faculty Senate were recognized with the President’s Distinguished Service Award at the Shocker Pride Celebration May 9.

These employees have demonstrated outstanding service to Wichita State and the campus community:

• Amber Anderson, associate director of enrollment and retention, Office of Online and Adult Learning
• Susan Castro, associate professor of philosophy, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Stephanie Cockrell, director of graduate programs, W. Frank Barton School of Business
• BreAnn Gilkey, director of field practicum, School of Social Work, Fairmount College
• John Hammond, senior educator and director of GTA instruction, Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Fairmount College
• Sharmon Holcomb, records and registration specialist - academic records, Registrar's Office
• Susan McCoy, laboratory coordinator and Chemistry and Science Olympiad director, Department of Chemistry, Fairmount College
• Christopher Leonard, director of counseling services, received the Wayne Carlisle Distinguished Service Award for his exceptional service to the university.

Faculty recognized for their accomplishments at annual University Faculty Awards

The University Faculty Awards recognizes faculty who are setting the gold standard for teaching, research and creative activity at Wichita State University.

• Faculty Risk Taker - Angela Beeler, associate professor of school psychology, Department of Intervention Services and Leadership in Education, College of Applied Studies
• Leadership in the Advancement of Teaching - Jen-Chi Cheng, associate professor, Department of Economics, W. Frank Barton School of Business
• Excellence in Research - Shuang Gu, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Academy for Effective Teaching - Mary Liz Jameson, professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Excellence in Online Teaching - Kate Kung-McIntyre, senior educator, Department of Management, Barton School of Business
• Excellence in Accessibility - Jason Li, associate professor of counseling, Department of Intervention Services and Leadership in Education, College of Applied Studies
• Excellence in Research - Xiaolong Li, assistant professor, Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Fairmount College
• Young Faculty Scholar - Reagan Murnan, assistant professor, Department of Teacher Apprenticeship Pathways, Literacy and Special Education, College of Applied Studies
• Excellence in Teaching - Brian Rawson, associate educator, Department of Management, Barton School of Business
• Excellence in Community Research - Rachel Showstack, associate professor of Spanish, Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Fairmount College
• Young Faculty Risk-Taker - Davi Soares, assistant professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
• Excellence in Creative Activity - Robert Thomas, director of filmmaking, School of Digital Arts, College of Fine Arts
• Academy for Effective Teaching - John Watkins, professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering

Wichita Biomedical Campus marks one year since its groundbreaking

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.

In the time since the groundbreaking, the vision and promise of the Wichita Biomedical Campus has expanded greatly. Read more about the last year.

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 Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy.

Wichita State, Connected Nations, Newby Ventures break ground on new Internet Exchange Point at WSU

Representatives from Wichita State University, Connected Nations, Newby Ventures, the city of Wichita and the state of Kansas gathered May 15 at the site of Kansas’ first Internet Exchange Point (IXP), located at Wichita State.

“Connected Nations was founded on the premise that everyone should have the opportunity to change their lives and their communities regardless of who they are, where they are or how they begin,” said Tom Ferree, chairman and CEO of Connected Nations, at the groundbreaking.

The IXP will increase high-speed internet accessibility, affordability and performance for WSU, Shocker Neighborhood and many others across the Kansas region.

Relive Shocker Nation's 2024-25 academic year in photos

Relive the major moments and milestones of Wichita State University in the last academic year, including:

• The openings of the Shocker Success Center and the Milly Marcus Annex of the Marcus Welcome Center, home to Shocker Career Accelerator.
• 50th anniversary celebrations for Shocker rowing and the Ulrich Museum of Art.
• Another year of Shocker traditions in the books with the College of Health Professions winning Clash of the College and Shocktoberfest.
• Shocker volleyball winning the AAC Championship and our women's bowling team advancing to the NCAA Final Four in its first season as part of Shocker Athletics.
• Welcoming Dr. Monica Lounsbery as Wichita State's next senior executive vice president and provost.

Track and field student athletes show dominance at AAC Outdoor Championship

With the spring semester over, so are many of Wichita State's student athletes finishing their seasons. Read more about the end of the season and what to expect later this year:

• The track and field men placed second in the American Athletic Conference Championships in Charlotte, N.C. Jason Parrish earned Most Outstanding Performance honors for winning the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 49.17 seconds, a meet record and the seventh fastest time in the nation. Twin brother Josh Parrish won the 110-meter hurdles and placed third in the long jump. WSU swept the multi-events with Destiny Masters winning the heptathlon and freshman Rikard Trogen Hedin winning the decathlon. Farrah Miller and Yared Kidane swept the 800-meter titles. The Shocker women finished sixth in the 13-team conference.
• Destiny Masters, from El Dorado, leads WSU’s entrants into NCAA competition. She qualified for the NCAA Championships (June 11-14) in the heptathlon with 5,715 points to rank No. 15 nationally. She is also among the 14 Shockers qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries in College Station, Texas May 28-31. She will compete in the high jump and javelin. Farrah Miller is ranked No. 14 in the 800 in the region. On the men’s side, Jason Parrish is seeded fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. He will also run on the 400-meter relay with Joakim Genereux, Josh Parrish and Jaleel Montgomery and on the 1,600-meter relay with Genereux, Parrish and Yared Kidane. Kidane is seeded 12th in the 800.
• Former Shocker basketball student-athlete P.J. Couisnard returns to Wichita as an assistant coach. Couisnard played for the Shockers from 2004-2008, a tenure highlighted by the 2005 NIT and the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. PJ averaged 10.3 points and 5.4 rebounds for his career. He earned All-MVC Defensive team honors three times and twice an honorable mention All-MVC pick.
• Earlier this month, Wichita State announced new details for 2025-2026 men's basketball season tickets, as well as renewal information about Shocker Athletics Annual Memberships/SASO. In addition to men's basketball information, for the first time, Shocker Athletics is simultaneously launching volleyball and women's basketball renewals. WSU is changing its season ticket and donation model for men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball. One of the highlights: more ways to get a tax deduction.
• Outfielder Lauren Lucas ended her Shocker softball career with National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors. Lucas, a senior from Little Elm, Texas, earned third team honors after hitting .378 with 11 doubles and 13 home runs. Lucas ranks in WSU’s career top 10 in batting average (.377), slugging percentage (.658), on base percentage (.464), doubles (40), triples (11), RBIs (144) and runs scored (138).

For updates on more athletics at Wichita State and to buy tickets, visit goshockers.com.

Wichita State to host AUSL, TBT and NBC games over the summer

Wichita State’s athletic venues stay busy in the summer, and fans are invited to visit for softball, basketball and baseball action.

• Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) will play games at Wilkins Stadium June 7-23. Former WSU All-American shortstop Sydney McKinney will play for the Bandits, who are scheduled to play six games between June 17-23 at Wilkins Stadium. Wichitan Kelsey Stewart-Hunter plays for the Volts, who open the series in Wichita vs. the Blaze June 7.
• The Basketball Tournament (TBT) returns to Charles Koch Arena July 18-23 for the eight-team Wichita Regional. Conner Frankamp, Zach Brown and Rashard Kelly are among the former Shocker stars who will play for the AfterShocks. This is the sixth year for Wichita State to host TBT games.
• The NBC World Series will hold its 91st tournament at Eck Stadium July 24-Aug. 1. Baseball Round the Clock begins on July 26 with 11 games in 33 hours. The NBC championship game is at Equity Bank Park Aug. 2.

Read more about the spring 2025 Shocker graduates

More than 2,400 Shockers were eligible for graduation in spring 2025. As they graduate from Wichita State University, they will share the story of Shocker Nation through their work.

Learn more about some of the graduates and their time at Wichita State and what they are looking forward to in their futures.

President Rick Muma recognizes campus community with Rick Rewards

Every month, President Rick Muma shows his appreciation for the efforts of the campus community with Rick Rewards.

Teams and departments from across campus were celebrated for their work in making Wichita State a better place for students, faculty, staff and the community:

• The Child Development Center staff and teaching assistants were recognized in January for their work for Wichita State and the greater Wichita community in addition to the applied learning opportunities it provides to Shockers.
• President Muma and First Gentleman Rick Case stopped by Landscape and Ground Maintenance in February to recognize the team for working to keep the campus beautiful for the community and their tireless work keeping campus safe during inclement weather.
• All faculty and staff at Wichita State were celebrated with a lunch in the Rhatigan Student Center during National Employee Appreciation Day in March.
• The Office of Human Resources were recognized in April for its successful implementation of WuHire, its new system for streamlining the hiring process for departments and offices across the university.
• The Post Office in Morrison Hall was recognized in May for exemplifying Wichita State's student-centered mentality shown through excellent customer service, which is highlighted by being the go-to destination for many in the city for passport assistance.

‘The College Tour’ episode featuring Shocker Nation is now live on Prime Video

The Wichita State episode of “The College Tour,” an Amazon Prime original series, is now streaming on Prime Video.

The episode offers a unique opportunity to experience campus through the eyes of Wichita State students, highlighting WSU’s student-centered, innovation-driven mindset. Share it with prospective students, families, alumni and anyone interested in life at WSU to give them a glimpse of what it means to be part of Shocker Nation.

In addition to watching on Prime Video, you can also access the episode or explore the 20 individual segments at wichita.edu/thecollegetour.

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