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Jenna Maxwell Fall 2020 Grad

Nov. 16, 2020 – Since kindergarten, Jenna Maxwell knew she wanted to be an elementary school teacher and decided to attend Wichita State for its teaching program. Jenna is one of more than 1,200 students eligible for fall 2020 graduation.

Convergence Sciences

Oct. 30. 2020 — A team of interdisciplinary researchers at Wichita State University is using artificial intelligence and big data to digitally transform the way communities predict and respond to natural disasters.

Woolsey Hall

Oct. 29, 2020 - Campus construction continues and new partners continue to join Wichita State University. An update on progress around campus includes Woolsey Hall, new home to W. Frank Barton School of Business, Hyatt Place and The Smart Factory @ Wichita.

Hyatt Place at Wichita State

Oct. 26, 2020 — Hyatt Place at Wichita State University, the first Hyatt Place in Wichita, is officially open, expanding the Hyatt Place brand’s footprint globally in markets that matter most to guests and World of Hyatt members.

Molecular Diagnostics Lab

Oct. 19, 2020 — Wichita and southcentral Kansas' only high-volume test lab opened at Wichita State University. The Molecular Diagnostics Lab can test up to 4,500 tests per day at its full capacity.

Molecular Diagnostics Lab

Oct. 15, 2020 — Wichita State University will celebrate the opening of its Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) at 10:45 a.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at the John Bardo Center on WSU’s Innovation Campus.

Cindy Graves

Oct. 9, 2020 — Thousands of school principals are faced with a challenge no other living school leader has faced: leading their schools through a pandemic. We're featuring two principals with roots in Shocker Nation.

Memorial '70 ceremony

Sept. 30, 2020 - The annual ceremony of remembrance for those who died in the 1970 Wichita State University plane crash will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at Cessna Stadium. There will be a reception immediately following the remembrance on the Cessna Stadium concourse. Enhancements have been made to Memorial ’70, located near the 18th Street and Hillside entrance to the university. Those additions to Memorial ’70 will be officially be revealed on Oct. 2.

Memorial '70 memorial

Sept. 30, 2020 — Over the years, many hikers have trekked to the crash site of the plane that claimed the lives of 31 souls — including 14 members of the Wichita State University football team, 14 staff and boosters, and three crew members.

Memorial '70 monument

Sept. 30, 2020 - Wichita State athletic trainer Tom Reeves was known as a man devoted to his athletes on the football team. His sense of humor and caring touch helped them through injuries and difficulties. On Oct. 2, 1970, he helped survivors escape the wreckage of the Martin 404 after it crashed in Colorado. Badly burned, Reeves got them away from the plane and down the mountain to help before he fell unconscious. Reeves died on Oct. 5 in a Denver hospital.

Memorial '70 tribute to survivors

Sept. 28, 2020 - A new sculpture recognizes the survivors of the crash at Memorial '70 at Wichita State University. The names of teammates who landed safely in Utah that day are a fitting addition to the existing upright Memorial ’70 monument. “One of the main reasons we did what we did, was so the future generations would know that there were survivors,” architect Randy Phillips said. “And how their lives were impacted, especially since they lived when so many didn’t. Most, if not all, suffered greatly in silence.” The desire to honor teammates by telling the story of the crash motivated Phillips, as it has driven so many connected to Oct. 2, 1970 near Silver Plume, Colo.

Bill Burch with Shocker decanter

Sept. 23, 2020 - Bill Burch played linebacker for the Shockers in 1970 as a senior. As fate would have it, a knee injury kept him from traveling to Utah State on Oct. 2. He had expected to travel with the team, but instead was forced to stay home and heal. On that day, the Martin 4-0-4 airliner that carried the Shocker starters crashed near Silver Plume, Colorado, killing 31 people – 14 student-athletes, 14 staff and boosters, and three crew members.

Paralympic wheelchair tennis team

Sept. 16, 2020 - Deja Young is a returning Paralympian in track and a Wichita State alumna. Casey Ralzlaff is a first-time Paralympic hopeful in wheelchair tennis and current student at Wichita State. Both of their sports are cancelled due to COVID-19.

WuShock sculpture

Sept. 16, 2020 -- A first-of-its-kind WuShock sculpture was unveiled and dedicated Tuesday at the entry plaza of the Steve Clark YMCA and Student Wellness Center.

Convergence sciences awards

Sept. 18, 2020 -- Wichita State University today announced the inaugural awardees of the highly competitive President’s Convergence Sciences Research Initiative. The initiative brings together the intellectual curiosity and strengths of faculty and students from a range of disciplines and gives them the support to develop research programs that drive the diversity and growth of the Kansas economy while addressing global challenges.