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Inneke Vargas, from Houston, appreciates the interdisciplinary approach of her liberal arts degree from Wichita State University. After graduate school, she wants to work on policy changes to help eliminate health disparities. “My research broadly focuses on the effects of mental health stigma, particularly among African Americans, across the lifespan,” she wrote. “More narrowly, I am currently interested in the ways mental health care inequities disproportionately affect minority men during adolescence and very late adulthood.”

Oct. 22, 2020 — Alumni, donors and officials from Wichita State University gathered Thursday, Oct. 22 for a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall, the new home for the W. Frank Barton School of Business.

Oct. 20, 2020 — The Kansas Legislature in 2011 made a commitment to invest $105 million statewide over the next decade with the purpose of increasing the number of engineers available to industry. For its $35 million share of that money – granted under the University Engineering Initiative Act (UEIA) – Wichita State College of Engineering pledged to double the number of bachelor’s degrees it awarded annually. The aggressive goal was surpassed this past academic year as the college awarded 380 bachelor’s degrees.

Oct. 20, 2020 -- Fall can be a dreary and difficult time for some Wichita State University students. Here are some tips on making it through the season.

Oct. 16, 2020 — The Center for Educational Technologies to Assist Refugee Learners is working to improve the lives of more than 70 million forcibly displaced refugees worldwide by making education more accessible.

Oct. 9, 2020 — Thousands of school principals are faced with a challenge no other living school leader has faced: leading their schools through a pandemic. We're featuring two principals with roots in Shocker Nation.

Sept. 30, 2020 - The annual ceremony of remembrance for those who died in the 1970 Wichita State University plane crash will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at Cessna Stadium. There will be a reception immediately following the remembrance on the Cessna Stadium concourse. Enhancements have been made to Memorial ’70, located near the 18th Street and Hillside entrance to the university. Those additions to Memorial ’70 will be officially be revealed on Oct. 2.

Sept. 30, 2020 — Over the years, many hikers have trekked to the crash site of the plane that claimed the lives of 31 souls — including 14 members of the Wichita State University football team, 14 staff and boosters, and three crew members.

Sept. 30, 2020 - Wichita State athletic trainer Tom Reeves was known as a man devoted to his athletes on the football team. His sense of humor and caring touch helped them through injuries and difficulties. On Oct. 2, 1970, he helped survivors escape the wreckage of the Martin 404 after it crashed in Colorado. Badly burned, Reeves got them away from the plane and down the mountain to help before he fell unconscious. Reeves died on Oct. 5 in a Denver hospital.

Sept. 29, 2020 -- Wichita State University is taking a step forward with community discussions about a University Village initiative, which seeks to create a community destination of dining, entertainment and shopping adjacent to campus.

Sept. 28, 2020 - A new sculpture recognizes the survivors of the crash at Memorial '70 at Wichita State University. The names of teammates who landed safely in Utah that day are a fitting addition to the existing upright Memorial ’70 monument. “One of the main reasons we did what we did, was so the future generations would know that there were survivors,” architect Randy Phillips said. “And how their lives were impacted, especially since they lived when so many didn’t. Most, if not all, suffered greatly in silence.” The desire to honor teammates by telling the story of the crash motivated Phillips, as it has driven so many connected to Oct. 2, 1970 near Silver Plume, Colo.

Sept. 23, 2020 - Darren Defrain is the social professor of English and director of the writing program at Wichita State. Defrain has written novels, memoirs and essays, created a graphic novel, teaches on graphic novels/storytelling and is actively working on a graphic novel app.

Sept. 23, 2020 - Bill Burch played linebacker for the Shockers in 1970 as a senior. As fate would have it, a knee injury kept him from traveling to Utah State on Oct. 2. He had expected to travel with the team, but instead was forced to stay home and heal. On that day, the Martin 4-0-4 airliner that carried the Shocker starters crashed near Silver Plume, Colorado, killing 31 people – 14 student-athletes, 14 staff and boosters, and three crew members.

Sept. 16, 2020 - Deja Young is a returning Paralympian in track and a Wichita State alumna. Casey Ralzlaff is a first-time Paralympic hopeful in wheelchair tennis and current student at Wichita State. Both of their sports are cancelled due to COVID-19.

Sept. 16, 2020 -- A first-of-its-kind WuShock sculpture was unveiled and dedicated Tuesday at the entry plaza of the Steve Clark YMCA and Student Wellness Center.