WSU News - All Stories

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. 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. 21, 2020 -- Saying she wants to help build a new generation of business leaders with a world view, Wichita State alumna Peri Widener has pledged $275,000 to her alma mater. A portion of the gift will launch a program to help develop students into global business leaders.

Aug. 31, 2020 -- Gene and Yolanda Camarena are well known for helping underserved Kansas youth improve their lives through education and other causes. Now the Wichita couple is enhancing that legacy with a $1 million gift to Wichita State University to give students of color opportunities they otherwise might not have.

Aug. 10, 2020 — Dr. Cory Gibson, superintendent of the Valley Center School District and graduate of Wichita State University, has been named the Kansas Superintendent of the Year for 2019-20.

July 23, 2020 — The Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute, which receives funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, recently awarded Wichita State $250,000 to assist in creating a workforce development database focused on compiling a map of educational programs and resources that provide skills required for today’s advanced robotics and manufacturing careers.

July 22, 2020 - The Wichita State University College of Engineering sponsors GoBabyGo, an interdisciplinary program that modifies toy cars for use by children with disabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the semester and several students returned over the past month to help finish and deliver the six cars.

July 7, 2020 -- Nearly 70 years after John and Colleen Wooley first met as students at the University of Wichita, they have established a legacy that will touch the lives of Wichita State University students for generations to come. The couple’s $2.2 million estate gift will provide more than $100,000 in scholarships each year for students with financial need.

June 8, 2020 -- In the recent partnership among Wichita State University, Airbus and Tango Flight, the sky is the limit. Tango Flight, a program that launched in 2016 in Georgetown, Texas, provides students the tools to build a two-seat airplane. The young learners are given applied-learning experiences before graduating high school.

May 22, 2020 - Wichita State runner Rebekah Topham needed help with reading when she arrived in 2015. She made great strides with the help of tutors and athletic department resources and carries a 3.89 grade-point average. She wants other struggling students to know her story.

May 20, 2020 — Jay Price, director of the public history program at Wichita State University, decided to make a series of graphic novels to commemorate the trail."

May 18, 2020 — COVID-19 might have forced Wichita State’s Ulrich Museum of Art to close its doors, but the museum has found new avenues to shine and thrive: an ambitious public art project and building the Ulrich’s online presence into a teaching and learning resource.

May 15, 2020 -- The America Reads Challenge is an initiative started in 1996 by the Clinton Administration. At Wichita State  six students participated in the work-study program during the spring semester. But when the pandemic hit, the students were out of work with no pay so they facilitated a way to move the program virtually.

May 12, 2020 - Terry Blount, 38, is a non-traditional student who is married with two children. He returned to school at Wichita State University nine years ago with the goal of teaching science in middle school.

May 11, 2020 - Rachel Wiebe earned a bachelors degree in exercise science.