BEEP BEEP
Shockers catch a Wuber to class
TALIYAH WINN editor@thesunflower.com
Starting at 7:15 a.m. on the first two days of classes, a fleet of golf carts deploys onto Wichita State’s campus, aimed at helping students navigate the beginning of the semester.
Wuber is a staple of Wichita State’s first week programming — students who are lost, running late, or just need to get off their feet can catch a ride to their new classes on the golf carts.
The idea started in 2019, when the vice president and assistant vice president of student affairs, Teri Hall and Alicia Martinez Newell, were preparing for move-in and the start of the semester.
“We use golf carts to transport people, mostly parents, back and forth from parking lots,” Hall said. “And Alicia Newell and I ... we’re sitting around that table, and we were like, ‘Why don’t we do that the first couple of days of school?’
And then she turned to me and she said, ‘We could call it Wuber.’”
Since then, Wuber has evolved into a yearly staple, guided and organized by Newell, self-dubbed
“Shocker mom,” alongside a team of administrators.
“One thing you should know about me is I treat all of our students like they’re mine,” Newell said.
On the rides, students are offered a pocket guide — a small 8-fold pamphlet that lists phone numbers, buildings and resources.
For students, it’s a way to get quicker transportation, but members of administration say it’s more than that.
“It started with just being a student affairs thing and really trying to get our senior-level administrators out of their office as well,” Newell said. “So we have
It’s not standing at a table handing out maps, you know, the traditional welcome back type stuff.”
ALICIA MARTINEZ NEWELL Assistant of Student Belonging and Affairs
their president, we have the first gentleman, the provost, our VP, our directors, and so it’s getting them out of the office so that they can welcome students back.”
When students get into a Wuber, the focus is on them.
“It was awesome,” freshman Ava Bradshaw said. “I was with the President and the Director of Student Affairs… I had a really great conversation with them, and they were super welcoming and interested in what I plan on doing.”
Newell greets students with a “want a ride, babe?” and spends the ride asking about them: year in school, major and what class they are going to. She says that she wants to help freshmen, but will give anyone a ride.
“It’s not standing at a table handing out maps, you know, the traditional welcome back type stuff,” Newell said. “It’s different. And I think that’s why it stuck around so long.”
Rick Case, first gentleman of the university, says he takes a parental role in these discussions.
“What would I want someone to do with my kid?” Case said. “...Rick (Muma) and I kind of approached this that we raised two boys of our own, and now we have 17,000 more kids.”
Case compared getting students to accept a ride to fishing.
“Throwing your line out there, and every once in a while, you hook a kid,” Case said. “And you
want to make a difference in whether they’re successful or not.”
Though Wubers only run the first two days of classes, Hall said that she’s always mused that someone could start their own Wuber business.
“If they got certified and trained and wanted to offer Uber rides throughout the year, they could do that, but no one’s taken me up on that idea yet.”
Hall hopes that when she’s driving a Wuber, she can connect students to the people riding alongside her, such as the new Liberal Arts and Sciences dean
“Dr. Sarah Beth Estes is going to ride with me, so I’m excited … to help her get to understand campus better,” Hall said. “But inevitably, when we pick up a new student, they’re going to have LAS classes. So for me to get to introduce a brand new student to their dean, …. I love that part.”
In her last semester before retirement, Hall said the beginning of the year is bittersweet.
“My hope is to have, you know, some closure in some spaces,” Hall said. “But also part of that closure is I want to spend as much time with students as I can in this last semester.”
Picking up multiple students a day, Newell said she doesn’t always remember the individual’s name, but understands the impact a short Wuber ride has.
“I’ll be honest, I will give a lot of student rides, and I will not remember their name because there’s so many of them,” Newell said. “But when I’m walking across campus and they say, ‘Hey, Miss Alicia, hey, that’s the lady that gave me a ride, like, it’s like, okay, like that moment mattered to that student, right? And then it’s an opportunity for us to have a continued conversation.”
Photo illustration by Emma Wilks, Mikah Herzberg and Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
1. Charles Koch Arena
Charles
2. Rhatigan Student Center
The Rhatigan Student Center is a focal point on the west side of campus. The building houses various fast food restaurants like Chicfil-A and Starbucks, and downstairs is Shocker Grill & Lanes. Floor two houses some student organizations and many conference rooms. Beggs Ballroom is located on the top floor.
3. Shocker Hall
Shocker Hall is one of three student housing facilities on Wichita State’s campus. Mostly housing first-year students, it features double, triple and quad units with shared or private rooms. Each of the four floors has a lounge, a kitchen
4.
building previously housed the Barton School of Business, but was renovated and reopened for the fall 2024 semester.
5. Ablah Library
Ablah Library houses not only books, but also movies, computers, other equipment and study rooms. With designated quiet areas, the library is where some students go to study and do homework.
6. The Flats
The Flats is designed to closely resemble apartment style living rather than traditional dorms. Each unit features a full kitchen, a living space, laundry facilities and a balcony. The Flats also has underground parking for an extra cost.
7. The Suites
The Suites is one of the new additions to student housing near the Innovation Campus. These dorms have single to four person units, each with its own kitchenette and laundry facilities.
buildings Advising Offices
FIND YOUR WAY
Hall, Room 129
College of Applied Studies pending name change
And other updates from the Fall Address
BY KASS LEWIS news@thesunflower.com
The College of Applied Studies is pending approval of a name update to become the College of Education, according to an announcement made during Wichita State’s 2025 Fall Address.
The current name came in June 2018 in order to better describe the college’s focus, which went further than just education programs. But, the dean said the new chance will reflect the college’s focus.
“‘College of Education’ is a name that reflects who we are; a community committed to education, learning and leadership in every setting,” said Jennifer Friend, the dean of the College of Applied Studies.
The name is still in the approval process within the university and the Kansas Board of Regents, the governing body that oversees state higher education.
$750,000 approved to study potential dental school
BY AINSLEY SMYTH managing@thesunflower.com
Wichita State changed plans to fund a feasibility study on creating a dental school — adding an additional challenge to a financial shortfall. The university’s Board of Trustees recently approved up to $750,000 for the study after the Kansas legislature denied it a place in its budget in March.
WSU plans to partner with Fort Hays State University on the dental school. The universities have cited a lack of access to dental care for rural Kansans and the state’s absence of a dentistry school as reasons to look at starting a school.
WSU currently has related programs; they consist of a dental hygiene program and a postdoctoral residency program.
The school would be located in Wichita and be part of WSU’s downtown Biomedical Campus, which is set to open summer 2027.
The dental school would be included in the second phase of the biomedical campus, located across the street from the first installation.
Fort Hays State would provide additional programming to serve rural communities.
The feasibility study is scheduled to be completed by fall 2026. It will investigate details such as the number of faculty and staff, as well as accreditation and facility needs. In addition, the study will look at potential partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers, a variety of medical networks and hospitals which qualify for certain federal reimbursement.
Market-based compensation
University President Rick Muma said WSU will renovate the market-based compensation program the university has been using since 2021.
“While everyone may not agree with market-based compensation, I want you to know we’ve made significant progress helping ensure our faculty and staff are recognized and rewarded for their talent and dedication,” Muma said at the address.
Market-based compensation is the process of adjusting salaries in comparison to similar jobs within a specific job’s market.
In the Frequently Asked Questions on market-based compensation section of the WSU website, some responses admit to hearing complaints of compensation being too low in the past.
This new plan is in place to make
salaries and wages for faculty and staff more competitive compared to similar jobs in their field.
Biomedical campus
Also mentioned in the Fall Address was the new biomedical campus downtown and the research looking into the addition of a dental school.
The first phase of the 350,000-squarefoot biomedical campus began last year in May. The $222 million project has a planned opening in the summer of 2027 in partnership with the University of Kansas.
Earlier this month, the WSU Board of Trustees approved a study into the feasibility of a dental school at WSU. Muma said in the address that WSU expects to have a clearer picture of what a dental school would look like by the end of 2026.
Grant fuels new innovation, real-world opportunities for students
BY PIPER PINNETTI piperpinnetti12@gmail.com
The College of Engineering at Wichita State University will see expanded hands-on learning opportunities thanks to a state grant awarded to Groover Labs. Groover Labs is a nonprofit in downtown Wichita which provides resources to people creating start-ups, particularly in technology.
Leah Lamunyon, director of marketing and communications for WSU’s College of Engineering, said the partnership with Groover Labs, which began in December 2024, already gives students access to projects from local businesses and entrepreneurs.
“It was just a way to provide more opportunities for students
to work on real-life projects,” Lamunyon said. “Now that they’ve received this grant, which is pretty awesome … we’ll be expanding that even more.”
The grant comes from the Kansas Department of Commerce, which split the $800,000 between Groover Labs and KU Innovation Park in Lawrence.
The Accelerating Concept to Commercialization in Kansas program is a statewide initiative with a goal of providing financial support to help launch startups, fuel local economies and create quality jobs in Kansas.
The grant will allow students to use Groover’s downtown facility, help fund a new studio course co-taught by WSU faculty and Groover mentors, and
Vice President for Student Affairs announces retirement plans
In May Wichita State University announced that Vice President for Student Affairs Teri Hall will retire at the end of the fall 2025 semester. An employee since 2017, Hall oversees many aspects of the university from Student Engagement & Belonging to Housing and Residence. She plans on moving to Delaware to conserve marine wildlife among other things.
Tuitions on the rise
The Kansas Board of Regents, the body that oversees the state’s public higher education, approved a 3.5% tuition rate increase for the 2025-2026 school year at Wichita State. WSU President Richard Muma presented the tuition proposal to KBOR in May, asking for the increased rate across all tuition rates and a 4.8% reduction on WSU’s General Use budget. The proposed changes were based on budgetary challenges. The university faced a 4-5% budget shortfall for fiscal year 2026, partially due to decreased enrollment.
President Muma gets a raise
The Kansas Board of Regents approved a 4% compensation increase for Wichita State President Richard Muma, as part of an annual review of CEO compensation among Kansas Universities. The CEOs’ increases ranged from 4% to 12% overall. Muma’s previous total compensation was $610,000; the approved increase adds another $25,000. Muma is the third highest paid public university president in Kansas.
Faculty and staff told to eliminate pronouns from email signatures
Wichita State is mandating faculty and staff to update their email signature blocks and ensure compliance with new state legislation related to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, following guidance from the Kansas Board of Regents. Kansas Senate Bill 125 bans the use of public funds for DEI programs in public universities. It also requires employees to remove gender pronouns and references to gender identity from email signatures and other official communications.
Demolition of former dorm building underway
The demolition process of Brennan Hall III, the last legacy dormitory on Wichita State’s campus, has begun across the street from the 17th Apartment complex south of campus. Brennan Hall has been part of WSU’s campus since 1953 and started as a single building, originally built as a men’s dorm to house an influx of students post-World War II. In 1962, it expanded into a coed dormitory — the Brennan Residence Hall. After closing and re-opening twice between 1990 and 2011, Brennan closed again a few years later. The building has since been home to several programs on campus, including TRIO and Upward Bound, which have moved to the new Shocker Success Center. After the demolition of Brennan III, Brennan II and I will follow.
provide resources for students to build prototypes of their own ideas.
“If a student had an idea and wanted to create a prototype … there could be some funding for the materials and different things to be provided for that student,” Lamunyon said.
K-12 events will also have money set aside from the grants, which Lamunyon said reflect WSU’s mission of applied learning.
“Ultimately our graduates, when they get that first job opportunity, they can hit the ground running because they’ve already experienced so much of what they will in their first job,” Lamunyon said.
WSU Tech expanding to Southeast Kansas
A new partnership between WSU Tech and the Career and Technical Education Center was announced on Aug. 4. The partnership is geared toward enhancing and expanding career and training opportunities for high school students and adult learners in Southeast Kansas. The new collaboration is a continuation of CTEC’s already established relationship with Pittsburg State University in Kansas.
President Richard Muma claps to congratulate Provost Monica Lounsberry and Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Sarah
Beth Estes on stepping into their new roles. The two will begin their first full year on campus with the start of the fall 2025 semester. Photo by Zachary Ruth/The Sunflower
Written by Maleah Evans/Aug. 6
Students work on parts to repair a waterjet machine inside the Project Innovation Hub. The Lab was built in collaboration with Groover Labs, a Wichita-based nonprofit.
Photo by Zachary Ruth
SPORTS SUMMER RECAP
Shocker Athletics news from May to August.
MAY 21 - Wichita State’s baseball team lost its second game in the American Conference Championship in Clearwater, Florida to South Florida, 4-3, ending the Shockers’ season with a 20-36 overall record. The 36 losses last season tied for second-most losses in a single season in program history.
Tied at three runs in the eighth inning, USF’s Matt Rose sent his second home run of the season to take the go-ahead lead. The Shockers went down quitely in the ninth to take the season-ending loss.
MAY 30 - Wichita State’s men’s 4x400-meter relay team became the first since 1975 to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in that event. The Shockers’ team of Joakim Genereux, Yared Kidane and twin phenoms Josh and Jason Parrish set a program record time of 3:06.38 at the NCAA West Preliminaries, but missed qualification by one spot.
Luckily, a raised flag signaled that a review of the race was underway. Officials determined that Cal Poly stepped multiple times on the lane line, which resulted in an immediate disqualification and bumped the Shockers into the final qualification spot.
JUNE 5 - Koch Arena was announced as host of the 2026 and 2027 NCAA Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament semifinals and finals at a Mayor’s Briefing. NCAA Assistant Director of Women’s Basketball said Wichita was selected to host the WBIT because of its “proven track record of hosting major sporting events,” the success of previous NCAA Tournament first and second rounds and Wichita’s “central location and accessibility.”
Before WBIT’s inauguration in 2024, only 68 Division I women’s basketball teams had the opportunity to play in a postseason tournament. Now, 100 Division I women’s basketball teams can be selected to compete for a postseason title in either the NCAA Tournament or the WBIT.
JUNE 11 - Former Wichita State softball player, Lauren Lucas, made her big league debut for the New York Rise in the Fastpitch United Pro Series. The Rise toppled the KC Diamonds in an 11-0 season-opening win in which Lucas hit 1-for-1 with a double and crossed the plate for New York’s final run of the game.
JULY 12 - Fred VanVleet, former Shocker basketball star and 2019 NBA champion, was voted as the National Basketball Players Association’s president. He’s the first Wichita State alum to serve in the role.
VanVleet succeeds the Washington Wizards’ CJ McCollum, who served as the NBPA’s president from 2021-25 and vice president from 2018-21.
JULY 14 - Wichita State’s Nick Potter became the second pitcher in two years to be drafted by an MLB ball club. Potter was selected in the fifth round, 156th overall, by the Houston Astros.
His selected came 364 days after former ace Caden Favors was selected in the sixth round in 2024 by the Cleveland Guardians. A WSU baseball player has now been picked in 45 straight MLB drafts, excluding the 2020 shortened draft. Potter became the 99th Shocker to sign with an MLB team since 2000.
JULY 18 - The AfterShocks, a Wichita State alumni team in The Basketball Tournament, won their first round game in TBT after breezing past No Excuses, 74-51.
Every players on the AfterShocks’ roster scored a bucket in the 23-point win over the team of Houston-based pro-am players. The AfterShocks held No Excuses to 22-of-73 shooting and 2-of-20 from 3-point range during the game. No Excuses’ 51 points marked the lowest-ever score against the AfterShocks in their six TBT runs.
JULY 22 - Wichita State men’s basketball player Henry Thengvall was awarded a scholarship after spending his first three seasons in the program as a preferred walk-on.
Because of recent rule changes surrounding the House vs. NCAA Settlement, which allows universities to pay studentatletes directly, the Wichita native received a scholarship. Despite this, head coach Paul Mills thinks his scholarship is well deserved because of what goes on away from the spotlight.
AUG. 3 - The AfterShocks won their first crown and $1 million prize in The Basketball Tournament by beating Eberlein Drive, 82-67, in front of a championship game record crowd of 9,029 fans.
Both the third and fourth quarters became championship game shootouts, as the AfterShocks took a 74-64 lead into the Elam Ending, with the target score set at 82. Guard Marcus Keene would win the game with $1 million free throws.
Photo by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
BLACK AND YELLOW ‘SUBMARINE’
Volleyball searching for depth
BY OWEN PROTHRO sports@thesunflower.com
Wichita State volleyball head coach Chris Lamb began fall practice on Aug. 4 with what’s become known as his “submarine speech.”
In it, Lamb compares the course of a season to working in the depths of the ocean: You don’t have a full idea of where you’re going, but you know the job you have to do.
“I feel like the submarine ride starts for us today,” Lamb said after the Shockers’ first practice. “It goes until our season ends — and there’s no getting out.”
After two strong back-to-back finishes, the expectations are high. Last season, the Shockers won the American Conference tournament and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017. The team won the program’s lone national postseason title a season before then.
Senior outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett described those teams as having a strong core and sense of urgency during those runs.
Wichita State dropped just a single set in the eight combined National Invitational Volleyball Championship and American tournament games in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Developing a similar urgency and core early will be pivotal for the Shockers’ success in 2025.
“That way we can build on it, and fix any problems maybe in the past,” Leggett said.
Having spent time together over the spring and summer has given the Shockers a leg up, especially with getting incoming freshmen and transfers on the same foundation as the returners. And with team leaders like Izzi Strand and Morgan Stout graduating after last season, there are still big shoes to fill.
“Somebody had to replace Babe Ruth in right field for the Yankees,” Lamb said. “Not every year does Joe Montana have a Steve Young waiting in the wings. You do what you can, and you design your team and your system around strengths that we
Sometimes you just have to have fun with it. There’s tough days that you have to get through in order to have that. I think we’re good at getting through it by having that energy, having fun with it.”
KATIE GALLIGAN Senior, Wichita State Volleyball
do have.”
Lamb admitted that losing a player like Stout, who led the team in points, kills, total attacks and was a First Team All-Conference selection last year, has naturally raised some questions about who is going to fill that middle position throughout this season. He said after the first practice, up to 10 players are fighting for minutes.
“One through 10 is about as close as it’s ever been around here,” Lamb said. “Whatever that’s worth, it’ll be very competitive in our gym.”
Though the team has nine true freshmen and three incoming transfers, players like senior libero Katie Galligan have been there to show them what the culture within the program is about. It seems they’ve caught on quick, as the team was cheering on and hyping each other up as early as the first practice.
“A rowdy bunch,” Galligan said. “Sometimes you just have to have fun with it. There’s tough days that you have to get through in order to do that. I think we’re good at getting through it by having that energy, having fun with it.”
One thing Lamb is excited about is the team’s depth, especially at the setter position. Three players are competing for the starting role: redshirt freshman Sarah Musial and junior transfers Hannah Hawkins (High Point) and Jordan Heatherly (Memphis). Lamb said he doesn’t know if he’s had three
Men’s basketball non-conference slate revealed
BY OWEN PROTHRO sports@thesunflower.com
Wichita State men’s basketball released its 13-game nonconference schedule Friday morning.
Two opponents from last season’s non-conference schedule are on the Shockers’ slate this year; they’ll play five teams they’ve never played before and will make a return to the Battle 4 Atlantis for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Northern Iowa and DePaul are on WSU’s schedule again this season. Except this time, the Shockers will travel to play Northern Iowa on Saturday, Dec. 6, and DePaul visits Koch Arena for the first time since 1978 on Saturday, Dec. 13. Boise State, Eastern Kentucky, Wofford, UNC Asheville and Mount Marty (NAIA) are set to play WSU for the first time in the programs’ history. Late in November, the Shockers will play Saint Mary’s in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, which will stream on ESPN2.
setters this good from day one.
“What you see out there at the setting position is just terrific,” Lamb said. “Hopefully, we’ll get that kind of balance in the middle, and we’ll see how that goes. But I feel pretty good with depth all over the place.”
Another position group that’s shown it has depth this season is in the back row defenders. The Shockers are returning three liberos who have proven to set the tone. Galligan averaged a team-high 2.98 digs per set a season ago, and sophomore Grace Hett racked up 83 digs in 66 sets during her freshman campaign.
Junior Gabi Maas is returning this season after missing all of last year with a knee injury. Her experience and defensive prowess at the libero position can add layers to that side of the ball. Lamb compared her ability to cover one side of the court to a boundary cornerback in football.
“You’ve got a person here that you can kind of give man coverage to one-third of the field, and feel good about it,” Lamb said. “I think we’ve got a few players like that, to be honest, but we lost a lot when we lost that in Gabi. She gives us defensive options that we didn’t have when we lost her.”
The Shockers face their first measuring sticks of the season when they compete in their home-opening Shocker Volleyball Classic Aug. 29 and 31 against Kennesaw State and Arkansas, respectively.
“Anything could happen in that,” Lamb said. They then dive deeper into their non-conference schedule and will play a total of seven teams that finished top-100 in the RPI last season, including three teams that reached the NCAA Tournament (Kansas, South Dakota and BYU).
Wichita State’s slate in the American starts Friday, Sept. 26, at UAB. The team will hold a preseason intersquad scrimmage at 3 p.m. Aug. 23 in Koch Arena.
Head coach resigns from women’s tennis team
BY OWEN PROTHRO sports@thesunflower.com
Colin Foster has resigned as Wichita State women’s tennis head coach and accepted the position of director of tennis at the Wichita Country Club, WSU Athletics announced the morning of Aug. 11.
The announcement added that he will step down from permanent to interim head coach until the program hires a permanent coach “through an
immediate national search.”
The women’s tennis team finished last season with a 13-10 record. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranked them at No. 60, the first time the Shockers finished in the ITA’s end-of-season top-75 poll since 2018. They finished 15th in the ITA MidMajor poll and seventh in the ITA’s Central Region.
Foster coached the Shockers for 16 years, from 2009-25, including eight conference titles.
FOSTER’S RESUME
Of the known NCAA Division I non-conference opponents — the team’s final opponent in the Battle 4 Atlantis is still to be determined — the average Rating Point Index (RPI) from last season is .520. This is an increase in difficulty of opponents compared to last season, when opponents averaged an RPI of .504.
The Shockers will kick off their season on Tuesday, Nov. 4, against UNC Asheville in the Roundhouse.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Brooklyn Leggett and her teammates celebrate after scoring a point in the third set against Rice on Oct. 6, 2024.
Photo by Kristy Mace / The Sunflower
OPINION
It’s going to be a busy year.
The beginning of the school year is always one of my favorite times. Excitement, nerves, new school supplies, syllabi — but this year it feels especially different.
Partially, because this year I’m leading The Sunflower, preparing my team for the tough and wonderful road ahead.
I spent my childhood dreaming about my college experience, but I never had any idea what it might look like.
Like more than 40% of our students, I’m first generation. I moved here in 2022 from Omaha, Nebraska.
I found The Sunflower my sophomore year knowing very little about reporting, WSU or how to transition into adult life. What I did know is that I could write, and I wanted my writing to be important and serve a purpose that helps people.
The Sunflower has served Wichita
For Withyou& you
State’s campus for 130 years for a reason: because student journalists are necessary on this campus. Without us, there wouldn’t be consistent, verified and transparent coverage on the things that touch our community day to day.
Sure, local news organizations would cover big news, but what about the individual stories and small meetings?
In a bloated media landscape, we remain dedicated to our audience: the Wichita State community, and to issues that affect you — and we’ve been doing that for a long time.
What scares me going into this year is that some elements, experiences and freedoms I had freshman year are dwindling. I’m scared of threats to the First Amendment and the five freedoms listed within.
But fear is normal, at a healthy amount, because it helps prepare and address the reality ahead. And our editorial staff is prepared for a steep road ahead.
Unlike university members or strategic communications, our job is not to protect the image of the university. Our job is to ensure university decisions, activities and
funding stays transparent.
And at the end of the day, the university is a business operation intended to generate revenue and protect its image.
The Sunflower, on the other hand, is a group of 20 or so students trying to get the truth out to our readers on a smaller than average operating budget by the year.
We write well about the community because we are a part of it. This is the avenue where you can hear diverse perspectives from voices on Wichita State’s campus about issues that matter to you.
I’m not from Wichita, but over the past three years, it’s become my home.
For those who have lived here their whole lives, or just moved here this month, I hope The Sunflower will remain a part of your life during your time at WSU and make your lives a better place. Know we are here looking out for the information that impacts you. Look for our papers on racks Tuesdays this semester on campus.
Stay informed and stay hopeful, Taliyah Winn The Sunflower Editor-in-Chief
From the provost: Hitting the right notes
Welcome back to campus, Shockers! I hope your semester is off to an inspiring start. Whether you’re just beginning your journey here or wrapping up the final leg of your journey, I’m glad we get to share this academic year together.
I’m Monica Lounsbery, and I started as Wichita State’s senior executive vice president and provost in January.
If you’re wondering exactly what a provost does, here’s the short version: I work with faculty, staff and university leadership to ensure you have the best academic experience possible. That includes overseeing academic programs, student success initiatives and the resources that support your learning. In short, my job is to help create the conditions for you to thrive.
Since joining Shocker Nation, I have been endlessly impressed with the opportunities the university provides for our students — hundreds of majors, certificates and badges; hands-on learning and research jobs; and extracurricular experiences that make your time here as rich outside the classroom as it is inside.
I grew up in Green River, Wyoming, where my curiosity for science led me to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Dakota Wesleyan University. I went on to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for both my master’s and Ph.D. in sport pedagogy and educational research methods. My career has taken me to many places, including Long Beach, California — where I also had a little fun outside academia as the lead vocalist in a band called Higher Ed.
I’m excited to get to know you, to hear your ideas and to work together to continue building a university that meets your needs today and prepares you for the opportunities ahead. This is your time to stretch, grow and discover what’s possible, and I’m so honored to be part of that journey with you.
Here’s to a semester full of learning, connection and maybe even a few unexpected harmonies — just like in my Higher Ed days.
The first week of college is the second worst time of a student’s year, right behind finals week. Emotions are running high as frazzled parents leave their babies to care for themselves for maybe the first time ever and nervous students try to find their place away from everyone and everything they know. During this time, it is primarily up to the university to make a student feel comfortable on campus and to help parents feel better about where their children chose to go to school.
A year after I arrived at Wichita State, I find myself wondering if Wichita State does a good job of welcoming students onto campus.
I know I said the first week is the second-worst, but to be honest, feeling accepted on campus begins during orientation, the mandatory day you must spend on campus as a freshman, learning about resources and preparing before the semester begins.
My freshman year I honestly wasn’t looking forward to orientation, and if you asked me now, I wouldn’t want to do it again, but I can see the benefits of it. You meet people from your college and learn about important programs listed on pamphlets you probably threw away after your campus tour, and it’s a chance to get any lastminute questions answered.
It’s long, and probably hot, but useful and necessary in preparing for college. Plus, there’s always free stuff and high energy as the transition mentors hype students up for the activities.
But after orientation and after move-in, which is fun for nobody, comes WSU’s Welcome Fest. Welcome Fest is four weeks chock-full of mostly free events, activities and give-aways for new and returning students to learn about Wichita State and experience campus life.
It starts after move-in with a week full of evening activities, and it just keeps going. The involvement fair happens around this time, a helpful event for students looking to join clubs but unwilling to scroll through ShockerSync. There’s the annual NXT LVL Garage Party, Meet the Greeks, welcome tables and the annual Clash of the Colleges.
It’s free, it’s most of the time fun, but there are dark clouds within the silver linings.
Welcome Fest can be overwhelming. This year when I
went to the free Shocker bowling event, Shocker Lanes was crowded, loud and definitely past capacity levels. I ended up leaving because there was nowhere to wait comfortably for my turn to bowl without catching an elbow. The times these events happen can also be inconvenient. When school officially begins, many events are between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. which, conflicts with many’s class schedule. Last year, I barely made it to any of the free RSC events because of the timing. But the biggest con is the fact that these events, especially the big ones that happen before school, are really only convenient for on-campus students. As someone who lives on campus, it’s easy for me to attend these fun and free events, but for commuters it becomes a hassle to drive to campus and drive back home,
which can mean these students miss out on the opportunities to make new friends and get to know campus.
I understand not everyone can be happy in these kinds of scenarios, but it’s unfair for people who would want to participate yet find it impossible because of not having time.
To try to make up for this flaw, WSU does hold commuter events, but even those can be a struggle to attend.
Overall, I think Wichita State does a decent job of welcoming students. The Welcome Week activities are free and fun a lot of the time. Even though I mourn our missing commuter community most of the time, I accept WSU’s Midwestern hospitality for the most part and will be enjoying my free pens and stress balls too.
Editor-in-Chief Taliyah Winn records audio at the Flint Hills Symphony. This was the last symphony held in the Flint Hills and Winn helped compile a video and write a script for news channel, KSN. Photo Courtesy of Grant Seymour/ The Flint Hills Media Project
The Office of Student Engagement and Belonging talks to students in front of the RSC on Aug. 18. Photo by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
ARTS & CULTURE
MARCHING
SHOCKERS
Shockfest entering its second year with events geared toward all students
BY MALEAH EVANS
As the start of the semester grows closer, the offices of First Year Programs and Student Success host the second year of the weekend event, Shockfest.
Last year’s Shockfest saw significant turnout according to Eiran Saucedo-Rodarte, the assistant director in the offices of First Year Programs and Student Success. This year, Saucedo-Rodarte is aiming to create programs that focus on different populations of students
compared to last year.
“I do think that we’ll end up having an increase of students coming up this SHOCKFEST compared to last year,” SaucedoRodarte said. “I would highly encourage anyone who is new to our campus or also returning like it’s not just for new students … it’s never too late to get connected to campus.”
This weekend event started as a way to allow students to connect with their classmates and others on campus before classes start.
“We saw that weekend before the first day of classes being as just an opportunity to create something special,” Saucedo-Rodarte said. “We want to try our best to kind of focus on this weekend to be a time and place where we’re kind of highlighting all of campus.”
The event is organized by the Office of First Year Programs, but there are activities for all students on campus, like events geared towards adult learners and commuter students, blending educational forums and events for students to have fun.
Memorial exhibit now open in Clayton Staples gallery
BY MALEAH EVANS arts@thesunflower.com
Clark Britton, professor and former chair of the graphic design department at Wichita State University, was known for his dedication to visual storytelling and for continuing to work on his art well after he turned 90 years old. He died June 2025, at 95. Those who worked with Britton at the university honored him with a showcase of his work in the McKnight Art Center.
Jeff Pulaski, the director and a professor in the school of graphic design, was Britton’s student at Wichita State when he attended as an undergraduate from 1986-1990.
“He was just phenomenal, incredible,” Pulaski said. “I feel like he’s kind of a renaissance man, which is kind of what we tried to show a little bit of (in the exhibit).” Britton used several mediums, from printmaking to three dimensional models in his career. Several of those pieces are on display in the McKnight Art Center. Britton was also known for his discipline, routine and how he navigated social media.
“He would get up every morning, I think at like five or six,” Pulaski said. “Spend a couple hours in the studio, and he posted stuff constantly. That’s kind of how he’s kept communication with his friends and former students and other people.”
Aimee Geist, the communications and recruitment specialist for the College of Fine Arts said that she thought Britton was ahead of his time in the pieces that he created.
“I see online now a lot of kits that you can purchase for little bookshelf rooms that you get to assemble everything,” Geist said. “Clark was doing that decades before it became a thing that you would package and market online.” Geist and Pulaski remembered Britton’s flexibility with the mediums he used in his art. Britton would go from creating something in watercolor — which is fluid — to the meticulous work of papercutting small details and scenes.
“My understanding is the majority of them, he would go and get the scissors in the paper and just start cutting,” Pulaski said. “He wouldn’t draw it out first and then cut the lines.”
When Britton was a professor at WSU, he brought nationally and internationally renowned artists to the university.
“Some of the people that Clark was able to get to come to Wichita State and interact with students are just really, really high up there,” Pulaski said. “He didn’t know them, he just got in touch with them, convinced them to come.”
When Britton transitioned to the role of director, he still kept the role of mentor, even as former students stepped into roles of professionals themselves.
“In my mind, he was always kind of in teaching mode,” Pulaski said. “I think he was probably that way with his coworkers, he liked to share and explain and talk about the work that they did.”
Britton retired from the university in spring of 2000, and Pulaski came to work for the university in fall of 2000, and his role took over some of what Britton was doing.
“I don’t think I could have done this job with Clark,” Pulaski said. “(I’d feel) like a total imposter with Clark there.”
Some of Britton’s work is on display in the Clayton Staples gallery located on the second floor of the McKnight Art Center. The exhibit is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Aug. 28. Other works by Britton can be found at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Wichita Art Museum, WSU Special Collections and Washburn University.
Students in Shocker Sound warm up in front of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center on Aug. 12. Students were split up into winds and drums for practice. Photos by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
Students perform breathing exercises at Shocker Sound Band Camp on Aug. 12. The students practiced from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Freshman Ella Fechter practices with her clarinet on Aug. 12. Musical and visual development took place during camp.
Masters student Makenna Roths plays her Baritone Saxophone on Aug. 12. Students broke out into smaller groups to practice in the afternoon.
Director of Athletic Bands Lucas Hulett holds tempo for the Shocker Sound band on Aug. 12. Hullett is classically trained in the tuba, euphonium and trombone.
Junior Elise Collins plays her sousaphone alongside the Shocker Sound band. Camp was free to attend for Shocker Sound band members.
Students show the WSU sign on Aug 15. Shocker Island was organized by the first year programs at Wichita State.
AJ Haynes from Alpha Psi Alpha dances at the Meet the Greeks events on Friday evening. Photos by Garima Thapa / The Sunflower
MILITARY
CLASH OF THE COLLEGES
Represent your college and compete against others at the 11th annual Clash of the Colleges.
LAST DAY TO ADD FULLSEMESTER CLASSES OR CHANGE SECTIONS OF THE SAME COURSE Friday, Aug. 22
All day
Wichita State University
Add full-semester classes or change sections of a course for the 2025 Fall semester.
FIRST DAY OF SATURDAY/ SUNDAY FULL-SEMESTER FALL CLASSES Saturday, Aug. 23
All day
Wichita State University
Begin Saturday/Sunday classes for the 2025 Fall semester at Wichita State University.
VOLLEYBALL BLACK AND YELLOW SCRIMMAGE Saturday, Aug. 23
3:00 p.m. Charles Koch Arena
Get a first look at the 2025 Shocker Volleyball team with a scrimmage and a
Students gather around Spectrum’s table at the Belonging Bash to play Queeriosity. The event was hosted on the RSC’s east courtyard on Aug. 15. Photos by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
Hispanic American Leadership Organization President Lorena Favela gets water dumped on her after a student hit the target on the splash tower. Students could answer questions for a chance to dump water on various HALO members.
Freshmen Caiden Trione and Omar Mohamed compete in Cornhole at the Belonging Bash. Cornhole, Connect 4, Spikeball and Jenga were offered at the event.
Sophomores Bentley Hagerman and Lin Lindstrom take a picture together on a film camera provided by the event organizers. Students were given film cameras by the Office of Student Engagement and Belonging.
Coordinator of Academic and Retention Programs Bri Bell asks freshman Luke Stovall question as they enter the Belonging Bash. Students could answer questions and spin a wheel for prizes.
Sophomore Decson Chairs explains the Indigenous Student Collective to students at the Belonging Bash on Aug. 15. Various clubs and organizations had tabled to introduce themselves to prospective members.
Director of Student Belonging and Experiences Amy Nguyen hands out a bingo card to a student at the Belonging Bash on Aug. 15. The event was hosted by the Office of Student Engagement and Belonging.