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Juneteenth Graphic. Juneteenth (a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth”) is the day that federal troops came to Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 and made sure that enslaved people in the area were set free. This was two-and-one-half years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Media and the community are invited to attend the JunteenthICT Parade, sponsored by Wichita State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The parade celebrates the 156th anniversary of Juneteenth during the JuneteenthICT Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 19. The parade route will begin at 17th Street and Hillside, going west, and eventually ending at McAdam’s Park, where the all-day Juneteenth ICT celebration will take place.

Courtney Calder

June 9, 2021 - Wichita State’s Esports director Courtney Calder played soccer more often than video games growing up in California. Those experiences, however, helped prepare her for running the Esports program, as did her time working in sales for Apple after graduating from Northwestern University. Wichita State’s varsity program, housed in the Heskett Center, offers four teams competing in Overwatch, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Valorant.

FirePoint

May 20, 2021 — The FirePoint Innovations Center at Wichita State University has welcomed the first class of students into its Future Innovators Program, a new engineering internship opportunity aimed at introducing historically underrepresented students into the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) technical talent pipeline.

Lydia Melles and Lucy Hoang, Wichita State University computer science major students, work on an autonomous robot that uses ultraviolet C-lights (UVC) to fight COVID-19 at the McConnell Air Force Base Innovation Lab.  The two senior students partnered with the McConnell Innovation Lab as part of their is part of their senior design class.

May 12, 2021 — Two Wichita State University seniors have partnered with the McConnell Air Force Base Innovation Lab to help fight COVID-19 – by using robotics. Computer science majors Lucy Hoang and Lydia Melles are creating an autonomous robot that uses ultraviolet C-lights (UVC) to clean grocery stores.

Dr. Richard Muma, the 15th president of Wichita State University

May 6, 2021 -- The Kansas Board of Regents has appointed Dr. Richard Muma as the 15th president of Wichita State University. Muma is currently interim president at Wichita State.

special anouncement

May 5, 2021 — The Kansas Board of Regents has announced a meeting of the board at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 6, in the Rhatigan Student Center’s Shirley Beggs Ballroom (third floor).

Social Tap Drinkery partners

April 23, 2021 - By mid-July, Neel and partners Luke Luttrell and David Hopkins expect to open Social Tap Drinkery and Create Kitchens in a 5,680 square-foot space at Braeburn Square (4510 E. 19th St.) on Wichita State University’s campus. Create Kitchens will feature two restaurant spaces - Sungrano Pizza and one to be named later. Both are virtual kitchens with carry-out only and a multitude of ways to order and pay – apps, QR codes, kiosk and in-person.

Kristi Parker

April 23, 2021 — Wichita State University’s first Belonging Plaza will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 24, directly east of Weidemann Hall. Belonging Plaza is an outdoor pop-up commemorative gathering and programming tool designed to move to different locations on campus.

Campus aerial

April 2, 2021 -- While the future of this pandemic and its effect on our daily lives still remains somewhat unknown, we are pleased to be coming to you with a message of cautious optimism as we continue our transition to a pre-pandemic mode of operation. Sedgwick County Commissioners voted to rescind all local COVID health orders, effectively immediately. Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have followed all guidance and orders issued by state and local public health authorities. Accordingly, WSU has rescinded all guidance requiring masks, social distancing and mass gathering limitations on our campus. However, we continue to strongly encourage our entire campus community to engage in these practices whenever possible. We also encourage everyone to get the vaccine when they become eligible.

Wichita State students

March 19, 2020 - For the second year in a row, Wichita State University is one of the “Top 25 Brands in Kansas” as recognized by Ingram’s, a Kansas City business magazine. Ingram’s goal is to “identify brands that have carved out national reputations for excellence by drawing on the best of what the Sunflower State offers in its people and its business leaders.”

In 2014, John A. See donated $1 million to provide prizes to Wichita State faculty and students conducting outstanding research.

March 16, 2021 — Wichita State University faculty and student researchers have been awarded the 2021 John A. See Innovation Award.

Pile of shoes

March 10, 2021 – A class project in Kara McCluskey’s environmental and engineering technology class this semester set out to tackle an immense issue: The fact that each year in America, 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown away, taking an average of 30 to 40 years for just one pair to decompose.

Freedom of Expression graphic

March 1, 2021 - Wichita State University will present a virtual panel on freedom of expression from 3-4:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 31. The event will be moderated by Lee Pelton, a WSU alumnus who has been president of Emerson College in Boston the past 10 years.

Veterans Upward Bound Program of Wichita State University

February 23, 2021 — The purpose of the Wichita State Upward Bound Program is to improve participants’ academic performance, to assist with enrolling into a post-secondary institution and to ensure enrolled participants will graduate from their chosen program.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will be the the keynote speaker.

Feb. 23, 2021 — The Department of Women’s Studies, in a partnership with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and League of Women Voters of Kansas, will hold the annual Diverse Women’s Summit (DWS) of individuals and groups from different backgrounds on local, regional and global diversity issues affecting women and gender on March 8.