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Karla Burns

June 8, 2021 - Karla Burns’ legacy of music and drama is one of Wichita State University’s most prominent contributions to the performing arts. Burns, 66, died June 4 in Wichita. She attended Dunbar Elementary School and graduated from West High School. At Wichita State, she earned bachelor’s degrees in music education and in speech/theater, both in 1981.

Wichita State University engineering students present Ford Hall with a bicycle they modified to meet his needs.

June 7, 2021 — Five-year-old Ford Hall has had to overcome more in his short life than most do in a lifetime. That’s because immediately after he was born, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The doctors informed his mother he would probably never be able to walk. “It was that conversation with that doctor that really lit a fire in us,” said Cori Hall, Ford’s mother.

FirePoint

May 20, 2021 — The FirePoint Innovations Center at Wichita State University has welcomed the first class of students into its Future Innovators Program, a new engineering internship opportunity aimed at introducing historically underrepresented students into the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) technical talent pipeline.

Students at the The School of Digital Arts (SODA) use motion capture.

May 13, 2021 — Whether their goal is to be Gollum in “Lord of the Rings” or a character in the next version of “Call of Duty,” Wichita State University students now have the option to specialize in motion-capture acting through a new concentration within the School of Digital Arts.

Micah and Ken White

May 13 2021 - On Friday morning, Ken White will receive his diploma from Wichita State University at Charles Koch Arena. Walking nearby will be Micah White, his son, who will receive the degree he completed last fall in the ceremony delayed by COVID-19 restrictions. They will be the first on their side of the family to earn a college degree. Ken White, founder and chief financial officer of Howerton+White marketing agency, earned his Bachelor of Applied Arts in media arts, majoring in audio production. Micah White earned his degree from the School of Music in jazz performance with a guitar emphasis.

Lydia Melles and Lucy Hoang, Wichita State University computer science major students, work on an autonomous robot that uses ultraviolet C-lights (UVC) to fight COVID-19 at the McConnell Air Force Base Innovation Lab.  The two senior students partnered with the McConnell Innovation Lab as part of their is part of their senior design class.

May 12, 2021 — Two Wichita State University seniors have partnered with the McConnell Air Force Base Innovation Lab to help fight COVID-19 – by using robotics. Computer science majors Lucy Hoang and Lydia Melles are creating an autonomous robot that uses ultraviolet C-lights (UVC) to clean grocery stores.

Amber Nguyen came to Wichita State to stay close to home where she was offered scholarships to help cover her tuition.

May 6, 2021 -- Amber Nguyen came to Wichita State to stay close to home where she was offered scholarships to help cover her tuition. She participated in events and organizations on campus to network and gained experience through her design internship with the Office of Strategic Communications.

Tara Nolen

May 5, 2021 - Tara Nolen, a 2012 health services management and community development graduate of Wichita State, is community health manager at Hunter Health, which has three locations in Wichita. She oversees outreach programs and coordinates COVID-19 vaccines. “This is what we do in public health - when there’s a crisis we try to work to stop it,” she said.

Sierra Gladman came to Wichita State to learn graphic design in a beneficial and local environment.

May 4, 2021 — Sierra Gladman came to Wichita State to learn graphic design in a beneficial and local environment. She wants to help a company grow using her graphic design skills.

Andrea Grisanti wants to pursue a career in graphic design.

May 4, 2021 — Andrea Grisanti is graduating with a bachelors of Fine Arts in graphic design

Student professional headshot

May 1, 2021 – Payton Morgan, a native Wichitan, is a Wichita East High School alumnus. He chose to attend Wichita State because of the relationships he already had with Wichita State students and staff.

Kristi Parker

April 23, 2021 — Wichita State University’s first Belonging Plaza will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 24, directly east of Weidemann Hall. Belonging Plaza is an outdoor pop-up commemorative gathering and programming tool designed to move to different locations on campus.

Anna Tri is one of three Gore Scholars of 2019.

April 15 -- Competing in the 2019 Distinguished Scholarship Invitational and winning a Gore Scholarshiphs allowed Anna Tri to focus on her studies without worrying about the costs of college.

Wallace Scholars

April 14, 2021 - Wichita State University’s College of Engineering has named the latest group of high school seniors to be awarded Wallace Scholarships worth $285,000. Wallace Scholarship recipients will receive $28,500 each to attend Wichita State for four years. In addition, one student already receiving the Gore Scholarship also will be designated as a Wallace Scholar.

Wichita State computing

April 7, 2021 - In February, Novacoast announced plans to open a 24/7 security operations center in the Epic Center in downtown Wichita. Novacoast, according to media reports, will hire around 60 employees immediately for positions such as sales, analysts and cybersecurity engineers.“Having a robust computer science department and applied computing department is a good source of interns and future employees to Novacoast,” said Joe Jabara, director of Wichita State’s Hub for Cybersecurity Education and Awareness. “The university’s emphasis on cybersecurity really helped lure them to Wichita.”