Barton School News - All Stories

The W. Frank Barton School of Business proudly welcomes Gene and Yolanda Camarena as its dynamic Entrepreneurs-in-Residence duo for the Spring 2024 semester. Gene, serving as the President and CEO of La Raza Pizza, Inc., brings unparalleled expertise in the business realm. Complementing his prowess, Yolanda, a dedicated leader with a significant career as a social justice and equity advocate in education, enriches our community with her invaluable insights. Together, they form an exceptional team poised to inspire and elevate our academic and entrepreneurial landscape.

Barton School of Business is delighted to announce that Tom Gentile, the inaugural Executive-in-Residence back in 2021, will now serve as the Executive Advisor to the Dean. Mr. Gentile, a distinguished global leader with a background in top executive roles at Spirit AeroSystems, GE Capital, and other esteemed organizations, has also been an engaged member of the School's Dean's "Fabulous 50" Advisory Board for the past two years. His commitment extends to lending invaluable expertise and insight, significantly elevating the collaborative endeavors of the board.    Mr. Gentile earned his bachelor’s degree in economics magna cum laude and MBA from Harvard University and studied international relations at the London School of Economics.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University is excited to announce a $100,000 commitment from T. Michael Young, a retired managing partner at The CapStreet Group, to create a new Barton School scholarship for business students with financial needs. Young was a first-generation college student who graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from WSU while married and working full-time.

Isaac Wayne Woolsey, who was instrumental to the creation of the new home for W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University, has passed away at age 92. The facility, located on the Innovation Campus at WSU, was named the Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall in honor of Wayne and his wife for their donation of $10 million to the Barton School followed by another $1.3 million gift to create the Kay Woolsey Gardens and Woolsey Hall Technology Fund.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and the Kansas Insurance and Financial Services Education Foundation (KIFSEF) have joined forces to create a new Certificate in Financial Services through the Barton School. This certificate reflects the modern and interconnected financial services sector, and comes as the result of a direct need for banking, insurance, healthcare and other industries.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University is pleased to announce the addition of Mike Daood, president of LodgeWorks, to its Dean’s Advisory Board.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University is adding John Cantele, co-founder and principal at Lexima Hotel Management Services, to its Dean’s Advisory Board.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University welcomes Darren Ercolani to its Dean’s Advisory Board. Ercolani serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP.

The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has hired four new faculty members in the areas of accounting, human resource management and supply chain management who joined us this Fall 2023 semester.

The Widener Global Leaders Program (WGLP) has announced that Jamie Harrison, chief growth officer at Meritrust Credit Union, will be joining its advisory board. WGLP is led by the W. Frank Barton School of Business in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Fine Arts at Wichita State University. It is an interdisciplinary program designed to create, nurture and empower the next generation of global leaders, and to provide a transformative multidisciplinary educational experience in business, communication and arts during college that enables these leaders to be ahead-of-the game upon graduation.