Wichita State University will be celebrating the inauguration of Dr. Richard Muma, 15th president of Wichita State University, at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29.
Several local and state diplomats will be in attendance, including Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, who will be presenting the Presidential Medallion to Muma. Also in attendance will be several Wichita State leaders, student organizations and delegates from several other educational institutions.
The announcement will be streamed live for anyone who wants to watch.
Muma was named president of WSU on May 6, 2021, following a term as interim president. He has been a cornerstone of the campus community for over 25 years as a professor, department chair, executive vice president and provost and acting president.
Personal and family
Muma lives in Wichita with his spouse, Rick Case. Case is recently retired as the district director for the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They have two adult sons Drew and Collin and a daughter-in-law, Abi.
Muma and Case are members of the WSU Foundation’s Society of 1895. In 2011, they established Richard D. Muma and Rick A. Case Equality Scholarship in 2011 for student members of Spectrum: LGBTQ & Allies, a WSU student organization.
Richard Muma background
Muma, who goes by Rick, was born in Wichita but raised in Houston. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston, a Master of Public Health in Community Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
He has more than 30 years of experience as a professor, administrator and physician assistant in internal medicine and infectious diseases.