Spring 2023 Newsletter

The Fairmount College newsletter is published two times a year. For information, contact Cheryl K. Miller, writer and coordinating editor, at 316-978-6659 or cheryl.miller@wichita.edu.

Photo credits: Cheryl K. Miller; courtesy photos; Wichita State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives

Newsletter Section Menu

Fairmount College Women in STEM Dean's Message NSF Grant Assists Wichita State Hall of Fame Inductees Science Students Recognized Watkins Visiting Professorship Sunflower Earns Recognition Student Accolades  Senior Honors Awards  Faculty and Staff Accolades  In Memoriam Retirements Annual Report Public Affairs Program Nationally Ranked

Fairmount College Women in STEM Share Experiences, Advice

If you were to walk into a classroom at Wichita State, it wouldn’t be unusual to find a woman teaching students in the class or lab section.

Historically, though, finding women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics professions was extremely rare.

World War II has been widely identified as opening the door for women to enter STEM fields. The war required mass changes in employment practices and women began entering the workforce in roles traditionally held by men. Since then, women have expanded considerably their presence in STEM careers.

However, the road for STEM women is still bumpy. Research done by the American Association of University Women shows that women considering STEM fields have different concerns than their male counterparts.

Many times, barriers to females getting into these career disciplines begins early in life. STEM fields are often presented as something boys do, and the myth that girls aren’t as good in math, which is used in all STEM fields, is perpetuated.

These obstacles and attitudes often carry into STEM employment, resulting in male-dominated cultures that aren’t attractive to or supportive of women and underrepresented minorities.

Things are improving, though. Four women faculty with tenure in Fairmount College STEM-related areas spoke of their experiences as women in STEM career fields.

Coleen Pugh is the dean of the graduate school and professor of chemistry. She describes the path to her professional training as circuitous.

“I did not plan to be a chemist by any means, and I didn’t even know what polymers were when I graduated from high school,” Pugh said.

However, she did want to be a fashion designer. She loved creating clothing and working with fabrics to make costumes for various activities. She enrolled at the University of California, Davis for its textiles and clothing program.

“The program required a chemistry class,” Pugh said. “I took the majors chemistry class, and I kept taking chemistry classes, and I ended up double majoring in chemistry and textile science.”

After working with a professor in the textiles department, she realized she wanted to be a polymer chemist, which would require advanced study. Pugh recounted one of the first experiences she had to push through when she was in graduate school.

“The person I worked with did not want me in his research group and I was basically forced on him,” Pugh said. “He said he didn’t want a woman because she would not be independent and he wouldn’t be able to yell at her.”

“The expectations were so low, anything I did was basically a success,” Pugh said. “I’ve found that if you prove people wrong, they seem to become your biggest supporters.”

Now in administration, Pugh believes more representation is needed.

“People become much more well behaved when women and other cultures become part of the faculty,” Pugh said.

Pugh’s proudest achievement as a scientist was developing chemistry to make hyperbranched analogs of a linear type of polymer.

“We could make hyperbranched polyacrylates by homopolymerization,” Pugh said. “Our goal was always to change the chemical structure as little as possible and this was a way that we could make a hyperbranched analog of the linear polymer. It looks the same spectroscopically as the linear polymer, but it behaves very differently. It really hadn’t been done before.”

An active researcher, Pugh holds nine patents and is waiting for a 10th to be issued, for her work in polymer chemistry.

Mary Liz Jameson is recognized internationally as a biodiversity scientist whose research focuses on evolutionary patterns and species diversity. An entomologist, Jameson and her laboratory students study scarab beetles, dung beetles and other insects.

Jameson, a professor of biological sciences,  said she’s always had a general curiosity about the world. As a child she wanted to work with birds and had a dream of doing things in the tropics.

“When I started learning about plants and birds and bugs, it seemed like what we really needed to learn more about was insects in the tropics,” Jameson said. “And now I think one of the biomes that’s critically endangered is grasslands, so contributing to our understanding of why the grasslands are in dange, is, I think, a good focus.”

She cites both men and women as being her mentors, but three women were her biggest supporters.

“Early on when I was volunteering as a wildlife and raptor rehabilitator, there were two women who were very important to me in understanding science and women’s role in science,” Jameson said. “Carol McMurtry and Betsy Finch were wildlife scientists at a time when positions were dominated by men in state and federal wildlife agencies, and as veterinarians and outdoorsmen. Carol and Betsy were respected for their knowledge and determination; they received accolades and awards for their wildlife work.”

Her mother also supported her career choice, though she was initially reluctant.

“My mother didn’t want me to study insects,” Jameson said, “but since my great grandfather studied insects, she thought it was in my genes.” 

For young women considering STEM careers, Jameson encourages them to follow their passions.

“Don’t put up your own hurdles,” she advised. “Everybody likes to create hurdles or walls for themselves and say, ‘I can’t do this.’ It might take a little extra time and effort, but if you have the passion and the drive for it, you can do it.”

Jameson’s proudest scientific achievement has been her contributions to biodiversity science.

“That includes all the specimen data that we’ve distributed and released that helps people understand how the planet works, which is derived from the biodiversity research we have done,” she said, referring to herself, her students and colleagues.

Catherine Searle, professor of mathematics, loved math from an early age, and her mother encouraged her to pursue her interests. She also had support from some female mathematics teachers who were passionate about mathematics.

However, the overwhelming message she heard from others around her, including some of her teachers, was that mathematics was not for women.

“I got told from elementary school onward that girls don’t do math, and I internalized this,” Searle said. “I should not have because I always excelled at math.”

She found a nurturing atmosphere at her alma mater, Bryn Mawr, a women’s college, and met a new math faculty member named Rhonda Hughes.

“She was extremely enthusiastic about doing math and she kept encouraging me to continue going on," Searle said. “I ended up double majoring in math and physics.”

However, her graduate school experience was different.

In addition to being told females couldn’t do math, she experienced harassment, including sexual harassment, almost daily by other graduate students and some faculty while she was in graduate school.

She believes the discipline’s atmosphere has improved somewhat since then, mainly due to the slightly increased presence of women and underrepresented minorities in the field. She thinks it is likely, as more women enter math, and more are hired, that things will evolve and change, creating a more welcoming atmosphere for women.

“It’s extremely hard to retain women in academia,” Searle said, “and the system doesn’t accommodate women very well.”

She points to the expectation that culturally, women are expected to tend to children, the elderly, and the sick. This requires access to childcare or parental leave, or to be able to take care of others longer term as needed without penalty.

As a mathematician, Searle’s most proud of her body of research. Her doctoral thesis on classifying positively curved manifolds of maximal symmetry rank was extremely influential in her field. In her recent work with Christine Escher , professor of mathematics at Oregon State University, they have made significant progress in understanding how to approach a classification of closed, simply connected, non-negatively curved manifolds of maximal symmetry rank, including achieving a classification of such manifolds through dimension 9. Her current $261,767 grant from the National Science Foundation supports her continued study of the symmetries of Riemannian manifolds with lower curvature bounds, a largely unknown class of spaces.

As an archaeologist, Crystal Dozier uses several science disciplines daily.

“Archaeology is an estranged relative from the traditional hard sciences. In my specific work, I rely heavily on geology, the study of the natural world and how landscapes are formed and changed," Dozier, associate professor of anthropology, said. “I also rely heavily on chemistry because I research the history of food and the kind of remains that are left behind from past people’s meals. I also borrow heavily from biology because I study plant remains in archaeological contexts, so I need to know about plants and cells and how they’re formed.”

Throughout her academic experiences, Dozier’s parents were her strongest supporters. When she started her doctoral program, she was lucky to find Alston Thoms.

“Dr. Thoms was a really supportive mentor for me,“ Dozier said, “and he was always very aware that the challenges for women in the field were different than the challenges for men. He was able to navigate that well.”

“The field component of sciences have extra pressures as a potential space for harassment, to put it quite harshly,” Dozier said. “Recognition and the ability to talk about that has lifted the ways in which we can ensure that these spaces are safe and supportive for not only women, but people outside of the binary as well.”

Some of the changes Dozier has seen were propelled by a 2014 study.

“There’s been a true push in providing methods of support specifically for gender-based issues in archaeology,” Dozier said. “Kathryn Clancy wrote a paper exploring survey results of field scientists who reported harassment and assault in their academic field experiences. About 70% of women have borne some form of sexual-based harassment in the field.”

For her own field projects, Dozier includes guidelines that explicitly state zero tolerance for any form of harassment.

As an early career scholar, Dozier is concentrating her research on indigenous people of Texas.

“The motivation for the scope of my research is to tell human stories that humanize past people, because as anthropologist first and archaeologist second, I think it's important to understand and respect human diversity.

“I’m looking at the diets of past indigenous people. The way in which past people processed their food is just as sophisticated as European techniques,” Dozier said. “My work on the production of wine and other mind-altering substances by the indigenous people of Texas is aligned with the goal of saying that people do what people do and there is not a hierarchy of invention.

“Inclusivity is at the heart of what I do and in my career.”

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Dean's Message

Dear Fairmount College alumni, faculty, staff and friends:

One of the highlights of this past academic session was the visit to campus by Sarah Hart, who holds the Gresham Professorship of Geometry at Gresham College, London. She was invited as a Watkins Visiting Professor, and as such, the intention of the visit was special: to open up the mysteries of mathematics to the general public. The Watkins speaker series has always been about “opening up” scientific research, theory and practice to a public audience, but Hart’s visit marked the first time we ventured into public engagement with mathematics. I believe this to be a significant milestone in Fairmount College’s mission to provide access to learning and discovery: The most basic and most pervasive, and yet in a sense the most impenetrable knowledge is mathematical knowledge.

As it happens, the two lectures that Hart gave on mathematics in literature and on mathematics in art had the highest attendance I have witnessed at a Watkins event, and I received the most notes of appreciation after these lectures. To me this is evidence of a thirst for the very thing that universities produce-- knowledge, and a satisfaction of that thirst by sensitivity to audience and careful exposition of knowledge. She also spoke about the history of Gresham College. The institution was established and organized as an access college: to bring free new learning to the public. And it has been doing that since 1597.

I would like to think that the Watkins series is an expression of what we are doing throughout Fairmount College, after the fashion of Gresham College. We conduct groundbreaking research in the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. This constitutes “new learning,” and our mission is to share the fruits of our labor with business, industry, nonprofits and government. And we also share it with people who are outside the college, but who are interested and curious about the new learning, and want to become familiar with it, and take pleasure in accessing it. This way we bring the public in, and we include them in the joy of discovery. At every Watkins talk there is an opportunity for the audience to ask questions. The dialog between audience and speaker is essentially the public’s participation in the expert’s discovery.

When we talk about the importance of access to higher education, the audience is not only our enrolled students but also our curious public. It is important we never forget this. As successful as the Watkins Visiting Professor series has been, it touches on only a subset of our disciplines. A speaker series that expands the access mission to the humanities and social sciences would provide a new opportunity for public participation in our joy of discovery. It’s time to start thinking about how to make this expansion a reality.

Yours,

Andrew Hippisley, Dean

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

NSF Grant Assists Wichita State with Increasing, Advancing Women Faculty in STEM

From its beginning in 1895, Fairmount College has hired women, as well as men, for faculty positions. The earliest women on faculty included Hazel Branch, biology; Flora Clough, English and literature; Della Smoke, Latin and Greek; and Elizabeth Sprague, art.

Then, as now, female faculty members and administrators served as role models for students interested in their career fields.

Today, women make up nearly 39% of the tenure-track faculty in Fairmount College. However, in the traditional STEM disciplines of biological sciences, chemistry, geology, math, and physics, the percentage of women tenure-track faculty is only 17%.

A few years ago, Jan Twomey, professor of industrial, systems and manufacturing engineering, sought to determine the barriers for female STEM faculty at Wichita State.

“Why aren’t we getting them?” Twomey wondered. “If they’re here, why aren’t they advancing to full professor?”

In 2019, Twomey acted as the principal investigator on a $299,734, two-year National Science Foundation ADVANCE Catalyst grant. She worked with several co-PIs in Fairmount College and researchers to analyze Wichita State practices and underlying systemic issues impacting the participation, success and retention of women and underrepresented minority faculty in STEM fields.

“Our first discovery was that the pool of applicants for STEM faculty positions was so low for women and minorities,” Twomey said.

The ADVANCE research team compared the number of applicants to degree data in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

“IPEDS gave us the number of females in each of the disciplines who graduated with the PhD, and we were able to see the differences were pretty large, comparing our pool versus what was available here for women.”

Through review of practices and faculty search documents, the ADVANCE research team realized that there were more effective ways of searching for faculty which would reduce the implicit bias against women applicants, such as writing ads that were more female friendly and providing anti-bias training for faculty involved in searches.

Andrew Hippisley, dean, took note, and developed search advocate positions within Fairmount College. Jean Griffith, associate professor of English and a co-PI on the ADVANCE grant, works directly with search advocates.

“Advocates help faculty search committees follow best practices and deal with biases that may exist in the decision-making process,” Griffith said. “The advocate does not contribute to discipline-specific discussions, nor do they vote, although they are present for all search committee meetings.”

In order to assess the second concern of advancement, the ADVANCE research team worked with Harvard University’s Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education to survey tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty about their satisfaction with teaching, scholarship, service, academic leadership and governance.

Following this work, the ADVANCE research team developed a five-year strategic plan to remove barriers and increase female and minority STEM faculty numbers, and to support their advancement into leadership positions.

In July 2023, Twomey and the ADVANCE research team applied for a second NSF grant of $1 million for the purpose of making changes based on the strategic plan’s goals and objectives. The major outcome of that grant will be the establishment of a faculty development office to support faculty in ways that will encourage them to advance in their careers. The team expects to hear from NSF by August 2024 about funding.

Goals of the Advance Catalyst Grant Strategic Plan

• Goal 1: Increase and advance faculty from underrepresented groups, females in STEM, racial and ethnic minorities.
• Goal 2: Ensure that the process for tenure and promotion is transparent, equitable, and free from explicit or implicit bias.
• Goal 3: Create and foster a culture at all levels (department, college and university) that supports recruitment, retention and advancement of women and under-represented minorities (American Indian/ Alaskan native, Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander).

Advance Catalyst Research Team

• Moriah Beck, professor of biochemistry
• David Eichhorn, associate dean for faculty development and research
• Tiffany Franks, senior research analyst
• Linnea GlenMaye, associate vice president for academic affairs
• Jean Griffith, associate professor of English
• Rhonda Lewis, professor of psychology
• Stormy Malone, assistant professor of psychology, Texas Lutheran University
• Gery Markova, professor of management
• Jan Twomey, professor of industrial, systems and manufacturing engineering
• David Wright, chief data officer

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Fairmount College Hall of Fame Inductees are Unique Voices of North America

You may have heard or seen them on television: A sportscaster who was part of the American cultural fabric for more than 40 years. An immigrant who always knew she would be a scientist and did not let sexist attitudes or her country's civil war stop her from becoming one. A life force for promoting equity, illuminating social issues, and proclaiming the value of a liberal arts education.

The Fairmount College alumni possessing these voices of North America, Gary Bender, 1962, Mona Nemer, 1977, and M. Lee Pelton, 1973, were inducted into the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame on Feb. 6.

“When we say that this is an occasion to honor highly impactful alumni, all three of our inductees are exactly that, sitting at the highest level of government, influencing the trajectory of higher learning institutions, and reaching national and international audiences,” Andrew Hippisley, dean, said. “The vision of the Hall of Fame truly comes to life with such a fellowship of inductees.”

Induction into the Fairmount College Hall of Fame is the highest recognition of outstanding alumni who have had a significant impact on the region, nation and world.

Bender, the sportscaster, said the induction was one of the finest honors he could ever receive.

“While I was very humbled by the honor, I felt so blessed,” Bender said. “Being back on campus brought back so many memories for my wife, Linda, and me. I still am amazed that a farm boy from western Kansas could ever experience such an occasion!” 

For Nemer, chief science advisor for the Canadian government, the experience was meaningful on several levels.

“Returning to campus was amazing, especially catching up with old friends from my years in Wichita, and particularly two of my best friends at the time, who happen to be women in science and WSU alumnae,” Nemer said. “Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is a humbling experience and my hope is that other women and international students who see this will be inspired to pursue their dreams. I also hope that my career illustrates the infinite potential of a liberal arts degree.”

Pelton, CEO and president of the Boston Foundation, had previously returned to Wichita State for university events but had not had the opportunity to spend much time on the campus.

"Returning for the Hall of Fame award allowed me to tour the campus, and most importantly, it gave me an opportunity to understand the growth in academic programs, as well as how much more diverse the student body and faculty had become,” Pelton said. “It is an impressive institution. When I enrolled, it was chiefly a ‘commuter’ university. Happily, that university no longer exists.”

Read on to learn about the career trajectory of the honorees. To view the 2024 ceremony, which includes an inductee panel discussion about the liberal arts and sciences, visit www.wichita.edu/AllHoF.

Gary Bender spent more than 40 years in sports broadcasting, covering nearly 30 sports, including college football and basketball, the 1988 Olympics, and professional league football, basketball and baseball. Throughout his career in sportscasting, Bender was known for his research, preparedness and accuracy in his commentary. 

A coach’s son, his passion for sports began on his family’s farm near Ulysses, Kansas, where he spent long hours on the tractor, and used his vivid imagination to create and narrate play-by-play for ball games. Bender attended the University of Wichita on a football scholarship, and played fullback and defensive back positions until a shoulder injury took him off the field. Apart from sports, he acted in or worked as a crew member for several campus plays. He was also a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, where he participated in Hippodrome and served as treasurer. He eventually worked for KMUW, then the university’s student-run radio station, and covered Shocker football games. 

Bender attended graduate school at the University of Kansas, and served as the Voice of the Jayhawks before working for radio stations in Hutchinson and Topeka. In 1969, Bender moved to Wisconsin, having accepted a role as the sports director of a Madison television station. His big break came a year later when he was hired as the voice of the Green Bay Packers. 

Over the course of his national broadcasting career, Bender worked with many industry greats including John Madden, Johnny Unitas, Sonny Jurgensen, Bill Russell, Reggie Jackson, Dick Vermeil, Al Michaels and Billy Packer. In 1975, Bender joined CBS doing play-by-play for the professional sports leagues and college sports. Two of his most memorable broadcasted games include the 1975 Cowboys vs. Vikings Hail Mary football game won with Cowboy Roger Staubach’s completed pass, and the 1982 NCAA Final Four basketball championship game decided by freshman Michael Jordan’s winning shot for the North Carolina Tarheels. 

After 12 years at CBS, Bender began broadcasting for ABC, calling professional football and baseball games. In 1991, he became the lead announcer for TNT Sunday Night Football and NBA basketball. Bender soon moved on to Fox Sports Network, where he called play-by-play for the Phoenix Suns for 18 years, and covered his last game for the team in 2011. For many years, in the Suns’ offseason, he called radio play-by-play for the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears. 

Bender won three Emmys for his work in sportscasting. His book “Call of the Game” shares broadcasting tips he learned firsthand. In 2008, Bender was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2012, the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He received the President's Medal from Wichita State University in 2013. 

Bender is a 1962 graduate of the University of Wichita with a bachelor’s degree in speech. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Kansas in radio-television-film studies. 

Mona Nemer is the chief science advisor to the Canadian government. Her passion for science began at an all-girls school in Beirut, Lebanon. When she first enrolled, there was no program available for students to study science, so she and a group of her peers successfully advocated for its creation. 

In the mid-1970s, Lebanon faced civil war. Knowing she wanted to continue her studies in science, Nemer decided to complete her undergraduate degree in the U.S. She came to Wichita to live with an aunt and her family, and enrolled at Wichita State University. Her transition was made somewhat easier by the city’s large Lebanese population, and she quickly gained her academic footing. After graduation, she pursued a doctorate at McGill University in Montreal. Upon its completion, she held professorships at the University of Montreal and the University of Ottawa.  

Throughout her studies and professorial career, Nemer pioneered research focusing on heart development and function in relation to heart failure and diseases. Her work led to the development of diagnostic testing for heart failure and cardiac birth defects. Nemer has published more than 200 scientific articles from her research, but her proudest achievement is the collaborative discovery of the GATA4 gene, which is essential to the body’s production of heart cells. 

In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Nemer as Canada’s chief science advisor, where she guides Canada in becoming a leader in global science and works to keep government conducted science publicly accessible. In both 2020 and 2022, Trudeau reappointed Nemer to serve additional two-year terms in the role. Perhaps most notably, Nemer helped lead the country through the COVID-19 crisis, and Trudeau commended her work in helping Canadians understand and respond to the pandemic. 

Nemer has earned numerous recognitions. She received the McDonald Scholarship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada; Women of Distinction Award from the Women’s Y Foundation of Montreal; Léo Pariseau Prize in Biological and Health Sciences from ACFAS; Jeanne Manery Fisher Memorial Lectureship Award from the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology; Marcel-Piché Prize; Arthur Wynne Gold Medal; and McLaughlin Medal of the Royal Society of Canada. Additionally, she is a Member of the Order of Canada, a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec, a Knight of the French National Order of Merit, and a Knight of the French Legion of Honor. She is an elected fellow of four national science academies. 

Nemer is a 1977 graduate of Wichita State University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and minors in French and mathematics. She earned a PhD from McGill University in bioorganic chemistry. Additionally, Nemer holds honorary doctorates from Wichita State University and universities in France, Finland and Lebanon. 

M. Lee Pelton is the CEO and president of the Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations. Born and raised in Wichita, a first-generation college student and the grandson of sharecroppers, Pelton attended Wichita State University and pursued his passion for literature and poetry. He developed a desire to continue deep learning and to find a community of intellectuals with shared interests. This led him to Harvard University on a full scholarship for his graduate work.

Pelton’s administrative career in higher education started a few years after earning his doctorate and teaching at Harvard. He accepted the role of dean of students at Colgate University in 1986 and became dean of the college in 1988. He left in 1991 to be the dean of the college at Dartmouth College. He filled that capacity until he left for the presidency of Willamette University. In 1998, he was inaugurated as its 22nd president and he led the institution to recognition as a top-tier liberal arts college. Thirteen years later, in 2011, Pelton became president of Emerson College and served the institution for 10 years, stewarding it to higher academic ranking and admission selectivity.

While serving in each of these academic posts over his career, Pelton emerged as a powerful national voice on diversity, social issues and the value of a liberal arts education. He has held the distinction of being the first African American dean at Colgate and Dartmouth, and the first African American president at Willamette and Emerson. His written address to the Emerson community in the days following the murder of George Floyd, “America is on Fire,” was nationally recognized for its powerful, stirring message, and was read by more than six million people.

Since joining the Boston Foundation in 2021, Pelton has positioned the organization as an agent for social change by centering equity in its programs, grantmaking and civic leadership. Under his direction, the Foundation’s defining ambition is to achieve equity, by acknowledging and then seeking to eliminate the structural and underlying causes of outcome disparities for historically marginalized communities. Its current primary focus is to close the racial wealth gap in Boston.

Pelton’s numerous awards and recognitions include the Champion of Freedom Award; Boston 50 on Fire; Sabra Award; Diversity Leadership Award; Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color; Robert Coard Distinguished Leadership Medal; Governor’s Award from Mass Humanities; Leader of Change Award; Academy of Distinguished Bostonians; Living Legend, Boston Museum of African American History; Lifetime Achievement, Boston Arts Academy; and six appearances on Boston Magazine’s annual list of 150 most influential Bostonians, where he was ranked third in 2023.

Pelton is a 1973 graduate of Wichita State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in English. He earned a doctorate in English literature from Harvard. He also holds honorary doctorates from Wichita State and institutions in Boston and Japan.

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Science Students Recognized at K-INBRE Symposium

Six undergraduate students from Wichita State University were recognized for their presentations at the 22nd annual Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence symposium in Manhattan, Kansas.

Yousaf Khan, senior in chemistry, gave the poster presentation “A new vaccine platform based on the selective targeting of dendritic cells by the binding component of the anthrax toxin, protective antigen.” Jim Bann, associate professor of biochemistry, is his advisor.

Alia Michaelis, senior in biochemistry, gave the oral presentation “Characterization cardiomyopathic point mutations of the Ig3 domain of myopalladin.” Moriah Beck, professor of biochemistry, is her advisor.

Bao Nhu To, junior in biological sciences and health science, gave the poster presentation, “Microbial Survival and Partitioning in Layered Ices Relevant to Mars.” Mark Schneegurt, professor of biological sciences, is his advisor.

Julie Tran, junior in chemistry, gave the poster presentation “Characterization of Cardiomyopathic Point Mutations in the Ig3 Domain of Myopalladin.” Moriah Beck, professor of biochemistry, is her advisor.

Wael Yessin, senior in biological sciences, and Tariq Izard, senior in chemistry pre-medicine, received honorable mention for their poster presentation “Role of Palladin in Actin Dynamics Revealed by Quantitative Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy.” Moriah Beck, professor of biochemistry, is their advisor.

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Nobel Laureates, International Scholars Participate in Watkins Visiting Professorship Series

Jane Goodall, Steven Jay Gould, and Linus Pauling are just a few of the superstars who share the distinction of being Watkins Visiting Professors at Wichita State.

The professorship series, celebrating its 50^th year, was created in 1974 by the Watkins Foundation and brings four or five speakers to campus annually. The departments of biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, geology, and physics each host a guest scientist.

George Pearson, an original Watkins Foundation board member, spoke of the scientists he’s seen over the years.

“Nobel laureates, well-known experts in the field, their topics were good things for the public to be informed about,” Pearson said. “My wife, Marilyn, and I really enjoyed learning from Dr. Vamsi Mootha, where he explained the critical nature of mitochondria and how they affect a person's health and life span. Mitochondria's effect is as significant to a person's health and longevity as diet and exercise.”

Bill Braun, also an original board member, recalled that the series was intended to educate two audiences.

“One lecture was to inform the public about a subject,” Braun said, “and the scientific lecture was more for the faculty.”

In addition to providing two lectures, the visiting speakers meet with students and department faculty. They also attend a dinner with college faculty, staff and Watkins board members, and take part in a Q&A session with attendees. Braun and Pearson spoke of the speakers’ caliber and accessibility.

“They are high quality scholars who speak about their subject at our level,” Braun said.

“We’ve had an amazing quality of people who came to give programs,” Pearson added.

The Watkins program has also brought scientists to campus to be part of conferences and symposiums. In 2001, Fairmount College, along with public television station KPTS, USD 259 Wichita Public Schools, Hesston College and the Watkins program, sponsored a special multi-week, college-credit program for teachers and science education majors that included classes on teaching evolution as a theory. The Watkins program brought Niles Eldridge, curator of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, to campus—his second visit—to be the keynote speaker on evolution.  In 2001 and 2019, Watkins Visiting Professors Ahmed Zewail and Fraser Stoddart gave the keynote addresses at the Midwest Regional American Chemistry Society meetings, with more than 700 chemists from Kansas to South Dakota in attendance.

“This program makes Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences unique, since its aim is an intentional public engagement with science experience,” Andrew Hippisley, dean, said. “Over the years it has brought the wonders of science to the general public, and so delivered a university’s community engagement goal at the intellectual level. Now we need to start thinking seriously about a sister program for the humanities and social sciences.”

Nobel laureates as Watkins speakers

• Mario Capecchi: 2007 Nobel Prize, physiology or medicine; 1991, 2001 speaker
• Allan Cormak: 1979 Nobel Prize, physiology or medicine; 1986 speaker
• James Cronin: 1980 Nobel Prize, physics; 2010 speaker
• William Lipscomb: 1976 Nobel Prize, chemistry; 1995 speaker
• Linus Pauling: 1954, 1962 Nobel Prizes, chemistry and peace; 1984 speaker
• Fraser Stoddart: 2016 Nobel Prize, chemistry; 2008, 2019 speaker
• Ahmed Zewail: 1999 Nobel Prize, chemistry; 2001 speaker

To view a complete list of Watkins Visiting Professors, visit www.wichita.edu/watkins.

The Sunflower Earns Top National Recognition; Students Present and Win Awards            

At the recent National College Media Convention, the Associated Collegiate Press named The Sunflower’s website as a Pacemaker winner for 2023-2024. Considered one of the highest honors in college media, the Pacemaker was awarded to 18 student media outlets from across the country, with The Sunflower being the only one from Kansas. Amy DeVault, senior educator in communication, is the advisor.

Four students earned individual awards for work completed this year: Kristy Mace, junior in psychology, first place and ninth place in sports photo; Courtney Brown, senior in English and psychology, fifth place in news writing; Mia Hennen, junior in English, 10th place in feature writing; Thy Vo, senior in graphic design, third place in print advertising and honorable mention in digital advertising.

Amy DeVault and Mia Hennen

Two students also gave presentations, speaking to college journalists and advisors from across the country. Mia Hennen, editor-in-chief of The Sunflower, presented a session, “Excellence and Mental Health can Co-Exist.” Melanie Rivera-Cortez, senior in communication (journalism) was an invited panelist for the session “Representation in Sports Media.”

The Sunflower staff also earned the All-Kansas Award (first place) among four-year public universities for both print and digital publications in the Kansas Collegiate Media contest. Individually, staff earned 58 awards for work published in 2023, with 17 of those being first places. The 2023-2024 editor-in-chief, Mia Hennen, was recognized as the Kansas College Journalist of the Year (four-year schools) for not only their reporting and photography work, but also for the leadership shown with a young and large staff. Hennen also won the on-site editing contest for the second year in a row.

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Student Accolades

Thomas and Travis Babcock, both seniors in political science, competed in the National Debate Tournament, finishing 12th in the nation with a 6-2 preliminary record. They defeated Michigan State in the first elimination debate to reach the “Sweet 16.” This is the first time Wichita State has made it to the Sweet 16 of the NDT since 2012, when the debate team made it to the “Elite Eight.” The debate team won the national title in 1968. The debate team is directed by Phil Samuels, assistant professor of communication.

Courtney Brown

Courtney E. Brown, senior in English and psychology, is the recipient of the William H. Swett Prize for Efficiency, which is attained by the student with the highest GPA during their last year at Wichita State. Factors such as the highest number of completed upper-division courses and extracurricular involvement are also considered in the selection process.

Elena Kuckelman, senior in integrated marketing communication, won second place for feature writing in the Kansas Professional Communicators 2024 Communications Contest.

“Mexican Americans Hit Homeruns in Kansas,” a documentary by Derek Landwehr, graduate student in history, and Anita Mendoza and David Rodriguez, both from the North End Historical Society, was shown at XicanIndie FilmFest XXVI, in Denver.

Rory Mata, senior in chemistry and Spanish, and Cohen Honors student, was selected to present “Characterization of Neutral Sulfur Reactions at Low Temperatures: An Investigation of Europa's Subsurface Ice Composition” at the Great Plains Honors Council conference.

She worked with Doug English, associate professor of chemistry and department chair, and Katie Mitchell-Koch, professor of chemistry, and Ryan Steinert, researcher, on this study into one of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and the possibility of the existence of life in its subsurface ocean. She also was recently selected for NASA’s Applied Learning Program.

Max Proctor, graduate student in biological sciences, won a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

The program recognizes and supports outstanding domestic graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines and STEM education who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions.

Students receive a stipend of $37,000/year for three years over a five-year fellowship period to attend graduate school, plus an additional $16,000/year for tuition, fees and supplies.

His current research aims to determine how temperature and larval nutrition (dung) interact to influence the expression of horns in the dung beetle Digitonthophagus gazella. Mary Liz Jameson, professor of biological sciences, is his advisor.

Two graduate students earned awards at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit. Jade Driggs, psychology human factors, first place, presented her poster on “Reverse Fundamental Attribution Error for Automated Systems: Implications for Kansas Agricultural Operations.” Carryl Baldwin, Carl and Rozina Cassat Professor in Aging, is her advisor. Jorge de la Hoz, Spanish, second place, presented his poster “Spanish Heritage Learners in Kansas: Students Neglected by the Education System.” Rocío del Águila, associate professor of Spanish and department chair, is his advisor.

Students from the WSU Japanese-language program competed in the annual contest hosted by the Heart of America Japan-America Society at Johnson County Community College. Caleb Buhler, senior in applied linguistics, first place in the speech contest and second place in the JLPT N5 Grammar and Vocabulary Quiz. Eve Moore, senior in international studies, second place in the Culture Quiz. Julia Gonzalez, senior in women’s, ethnicity and intersectional studies, first place for 4-panel manga. Ricardo Castillo, undeclared, first place for English-language tanka poem, Sean Hall, junior in computer science, third place for English-language tanka poem, Quyen Tran, senior in computer science, first place for Japanese-language tanka poems and Sheridan Peterson, senior in media arts, second place for Japanese-language tanka poems.

Max Gosch, sophomore in anthropology, presented “AI Archaeology- Using AI to write Python for GIS."

Two Fairmount College students participated in the Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol. Max Gosch, sophomore in anthropology and Cohen Honors student, presented “AI Archaeology: Using AI to write Python for GIS.” Matt Howland, assistant professor of anthropology is his advisor. Bayle Sandy, senior in political science and Cohen Honors student, presented her senior thesis and McNair Scholars research project, “Heat Waves in the Heartland.” Alex Middlewood, assistant professor of political science, is her advisor.

Students enrolled in the Shocker Ad Lab course won several awards in the Kansas Professional Communicators 2024 Communications Contest. Iván Ortiz, Madison Murray, Isabelle Jantz, David Williams and Spencer Harris won first place for special interest video “Many Hats.” Brianna Nguyen, Angelina Phan and Alexandra Gracia won first place for advertising campaign, “Grid Iron, Royally Funny.” Logan Martin, Madison Murray, Spencer Harris, David Williams, Chris Harris and Iván Ortiz, won second place for public relations campaign “Elliott Dream School, Comm Week 2023.” Madeline McCullough, associate educator in communication, teaches the course.

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Senior Honors Awards

Jessica Baughman, biological sciences, is the 2024 recipient of the Rosalee and Alvin Sarachek Award for Scholarly Excellence in the Natural Sciences. She studied the globally rare Oklahoma phlox (Phlox oklahomensis) with James Beck, associate professor of biological sciences, and conducted fieldwork in the few remaining P. oklahomensis populations. Research results show clearly that Oklahoma phlox is a morphologically and genetically distinct lineage, and she and Beck are currently preparing a manuscript for submission. She will pursue a master’s degree in biological sciences at Wichita State, and is planning an outreach program funded by the Natural Resource Conservation Service. She is also a poet and volunteer, striving to bring a scientific-naturalist lens to wherever she is fortunate to be.

Luke A. Cole, chemistry pre-med major, has participated in undergraduate research under James Bann, associate professor of biochemistry. With Bann, he investigated the physiological function of capillary morphogenesis protein 2, and presented their work at the 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum. He leads a small group Bible study every week that he initiated as a project for his Leadership in Self and Society Honors course. Outside of Wichita State, he has acted as a personal chauffeur and patient access representative, with the latter role granting connections for clinical shadowing experience for further understanding of his career path.

Bethany Scott Hollingsworth, social work, has worked as a student assistant at the Shocker Support Locker and as a civic engagement fellow in the Student Engagement, Advocacy and Leadership Office. Hollingsworth, who uses she and they pronouns, has been involved as a youth development professional with the Boys and Girls Club and as a peer tutor at TRIO Disability Support Services. They also participate in grassroots initiatives Root the Power and Loud Light. She has held leadership roles as president of the Community Service Board, alongside executive board positions in Focus and Green Group. Academically, they have excelled as an undergraduate research assistant in sociology, placed on the Dean's Honor Roll, and been awarded the prestigious Rudd and Morrison Merit scholarships. She has received accolades from Outside the Box and Service Engagement student employee awards for outstanding contributions to civic engagement.

Elena Kuckelman, integrated marketing communication, started at Wichita State working for The Sunflower as a reporter and designer. For the past three and a half years, she has worked as the content writing and outreach student assistant for the Office of Online and Adult Learning. In 2022, she worked as a communication intern for the Wichita Public Library over the summer and is currently the media intern for the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Office. She won second place for feature writing in the collegiate division of the 2024 Kansas Professional Communicators Communication Contest, for her Fairmount College newsletter article, “Student Wins Prestigious Grant, Plans to Finish Novel.”  After graduation, she will work as a communication professional in the Wichita area

Trinity Ramm, English, has worked for both The Sunflower and the Writing Center. She was awarded the Engber-Pfeiffer Humanities Award for her junior year. During the summers in her home state of Texas, she works with high school students to prepare them for Latin quiz bowl competitions at the national level, of which one team brought home the national title in 2021.

Neva Sanders, Spanish and international studies, began studying at Wichita State in 2020 and spent the 2023 spring semester studying at Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso in Valparaíso, Chile. She has also worked at the International Rescue Committee in Wichita since August of 2021. She currently works as a Department of Justice accredited legal representative in the immigration legal department where she represents clients, primarily of refugee backgrounds, in areas such as green card and citizenship applications and family reunification petitions.

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Faculty and Staff Accolades

Rocío del Águila, center, was recognized by the Peruvian government for her work on behalf of Peruvians. Andrew Hippisley, dean, and Linnea GlenMaye, associate vice president for academic affairs, presented her with the plaque.

Rocío del Águila, associate professor of Spanish and department chair of modern and classical languages and literatures, was recently recognized by the Consulate General of Peru and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dallas for her work on behalf of Peruvians. This includes  improving the living conditions of the Peruvian community in a state of vulnerability, as well as strengthening its presence in different areas of Kansas society. Del Águila is a technical advisor for the Kansas Commission of Hispanic and Latin American Affairs, and she also works with groups to promote Latin American culture and Peruvian culture. She is the secretary/treasurer of the Latin American Studies Association Peru Section, where she supports Peruvian academia.

Crystal A. Dozier, associate professor of anthropology, gave an invited keynote lecture, "Where Did All the Little Mounds Go?: Ancestral Caddo Landscape Erasure by Archaeology, Looting, and Modernity" at the 29th Annual East Texas Archeological Conference in Tyler, Texas. The talk highlighted the work by Wichita State students and faculty at the Boxed Springs archaeological site.

Brian Hepburn, associate professor of philosophy, received the 2024 John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching Award. It recognizes a well-established record of excellence in teaching; an impact on the lives and career choices of students; and the ability to apply the results of research or the experience of community or professorial service to enliven teaching and enrich the understanding of students.

Mythili Menon, associate professor of linguistics, received the 2024 President’s Distinguished Service Award in recognition for her exemplary, dedicated and caring service to the Wichita State community.

Shaunna Millar, clinical professor of social work, was featured by the Wichita Business Journal as an Excellence in Health Care honoree. 

Cheryl Miller, senior assistant dean for academic and staff operations, won several awards in the 2024 Communications Contest held by the Kansas Professional Communicators. They include first place, publications regularly written by entrant, Fall 2023 Fairmount College newsletter; first place, publications regularly edited by entrant, Spring 2023 Fairmount College newsletter; first place, feature story “Science Olympiad National Tournament brings thousands together on campus to celebrate science.”

Jenny Pearson, professor of sociology, served as program chair for the 2024 annual meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society. She transitioned into the role as president of MSS at the meeting.

Sam Taylor, associate professor of English, was awarded a James Merrill Fellowship Residency from the Vermont Studio Center and a fellowship residency from the Volland Foundation.

College and University Awards

John Hammond, senior educator in mathematics, Academy for Effective Teaching

Mythili Menon, assistant professor of English, Young Faculty Scholar

Lisa Parcell, associate professor, communication, Excellence for Community Research

Carolyn Shaw, professor of political science, President’s Distinguished Service

Rannfrid Lasine Thelle, associate professor of religion, John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching     

Li Yao, associate professor of biological sciences, John See Award

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

In Memoriam

Viktor Butnev, 64, research associate in biological sciences, died Dec. 14, 2023.

---

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Retirements

Martha Smith, professor of criminal justice

---

Wilson Baldridge, professor of French

---

Paul Johnson,  instructor of mathematics

---

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Annual Report

The Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences continues to grow and provide new academic program offerings. 

Our graduates complete their programs having gained the hard-earned skills of critical thinking, analyzing, problem-solving, collaborating, listening and communicating. Our students are equipped to pursue a lifetime of fulfillment in the workplace and in society.

As the largest college at Wichita State University, we offer the greatest diversity of programs, so all students can find something to fit their interests. For those who want a more individualized program of study, academic advisors can help students tailor a bachelor of general studies degree or a field major — both of which include focus on three content areas. 

Ways We Support Students Outside of the Classroom

Liberal Arts and Sciences Advising contacts

Jan.1 – Dec. 31, 2023

• Advising appointments: 5,460
• Triage meetings: 1,284
• Campus visits: 102
• LAS advisor emails answered: 762

Our academic advisors do more than show students how to build schedules. They also help students understand the purposes of higher education; define and develop unique abilities, goals, and aspirations; clarify values and educational and life goals; define realistic academic and professional goals; and create an individual academic plan of study for the student’s selected major. The LAS Advising Center offers in-person and virtual advising appointments.

Scholarships awarded

Aug. 1, 2021-July 31, 2023

• 2023: $811,326 — 480 awards
• 2022: $775,971 — 430 awards
• 2021: $638,356 — 445 awards 

Scholarship support can make the difference for students who want to enroll in college. Our generous donors have made scholarships possible for hundreds of students.

Fundraising

July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023

• Undergraduate scholarships (current plus endowed): $2,308,064
• Graduate assistantships and fellowships: $111,210
• Program initiatives: $593,058

Program initiatives include projects that are not in direct assistance to students, faculty or staff, such as a speaker series or providing lab equipment.

Thank you for your financial support of Fairmount College!

Social media

Followers or subscribers as of April 1, 2024

• Facebook, started in 2015: 917
• Instagram, started in 2023: 150
• X/Twitter, started in 2016: 367
• YouTube, started in 2020: 70

We use social media channels to inform our followers of upcoming events, study tips, majors and careers, important deadlines, and current event discussions.

Faculty productivity

Just as students are expected to engage in activities that support their learning, faculty are expected to remain at the forefront of their research and creative activity. They are also expected to procure funding to support it. Fairmount College faculty have much knowledge to share and strive to add to the knowledge base.

Faculty publication and presentation activity 

Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023

• 4 books published
• 128 book chapters/journal articles published

Faculty awarded grants

July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023

• External awards: $13,157,840
• Internal awards: $80,907

For more information, see the Spotlight on Funding. 

Return to Newsletter Section Menu

Wichita State's Public Affairs Program Ranked Nationally By U.S. News

Wichita State’s public affairs program has been ranked near the top third of all graduate school programs of its kind in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for the 2024-2025 academic year. The program, housed in the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs, emerged in 99th position, moving up from 118th place last year.

Additionally, the public affairs program’s specialty area of public finance and budgeting has been ranked 27th by U.S. News, tied with the University of Central Florida and the University of Michigan.

“The Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs has been acknowledged by our peer institutions as one of the top 100 best public affairs schools,” said David Guo, interim director of the Hugo Wall School and Regents Distinguished Professor of Public Finance. “This acknowledgment is a testament to the dedication of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni to the field of public administration and the local community.”

“The Hugo Wall School is a leader in Fairmount College for community engagement and applied learning,” Andrew Hippisley, dean, said. “Its new ranking speaks to the high value it holds for connecting students and faculty with local government, state government and nonprofit organizations, to the benefit of our students and the community.”

Wichita State’s program is ranked second in Kansas, and 18th in the Midwest, according to Guo. The public finance and budget specialty area was first ranked more than 15 years ago, and to Guo’s knowledge, this is the first time it has appeared in ranking again in the last decade. 

“The Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs has consistently earned peer recognition, with the program's core strengths lying in public finance and city/county management,” Guo said.

Students with a master’s of public administration degree are prepared to make important management and policy contributions in public and nonprofit organizations, and civic and nonprofit leadership roles. For the spring 2024 semester, 53 students enrolled in the degree program. On average, for the academic years 2020-2023, 23 students graduated each year.

“The typical career trajectory of our students often begins within the finance or budget department of a local government, progressing towards roles as city or county managers,” Guo said. “Our graduates are renowned for their readiness to assume greater responsibilities, attributed to their hands-on experience gained through the MPA curriculum.”

Return to Newsletter Section Menu