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May 6, 2020 - In a true testament to his love for Wichita State University, Rick Muma didn’t hesitate when he was asked to lead the university through a pandemic and an overall trying seven months as interim president. On May 6, the Kansas Board of Regents showed its appreciation and confidence in his leadership, giving Muma its nod of approval and making him the official 15th president of the university.

May 5, 2021 - Tara Nolen, a 2012 health services management and community development graduate of Wichita State, is community health manager at Hunter Health, which has three locations in Wichita. She oversees outreach programs and coordinates COVID-19 vaccines. “This is what we do in public health - when there’s a crisis we try to work to stop it,” she said.

May 3, 2021 - The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has launched its Executive-in-Residence program. This program will provide Barton School students, faculty and the Wichita community with vital perspectives and knowledge from industry leaders. Tom Gentile, president and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, will serve as the program’s first resident for the Fall 2021 semester.

March 25, 2021 — The fourth class of Rudd Scholars includes 19 Kansas high school seniors who will attend Wichita State University. Each recipient will receive a full-ride scholarship, which includes tuition, fees, on-campus housing and considerable networking/coaching support along the way. All Rudd Scholars are from Kansas and will attend Wichita State, Emporia State or Fort Hays State.

March 23, 2021 — Wichita State University has been designated a Voter-Friendly Campus by the Campus Vote Project and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

March 17, 2021 – Wichita State began developing the Shocker Neighborhood coalition to engage and empower the neighborhood communities surrounding campus. Since then, the commitment has expanded to include 10 neighborhoods and now engages with the community to provide resources, scholarships, academic support programs, mentoring and additional enrichment programs for neighborhood students.

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.

March 3, 2021 - Dr. Larisa Genin wants the W. Frank Barton School of Business to be the best business school in the nation. The plan to reach that status starts with creativity, an entrepreneurial mindset and teamwork. “I’m really hoping that anything we do in the Barton School of Business would revolve around three words – innovation, engagement and impact,” she said. She hands out black and yellow rubber bracelets with the words “Happiness” and “Joy” stamped on as a reminder of her philosophy to emphasize a positive mindset and celebrate achievements.

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.

Feb. 17, 2021 — Wichita State University will be offering free COVID-19 testing to the public beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at the Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex.

Feb. 11, 2021 - Wichita State University’s Community Engagement Institute helped by working with the City of Hutchinson and Hutchinson Parks and Recreation on its Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. The city and the recreation commission used the money to pay for a parks and recreation master plan. The plan targeted Bernard White Park, which scored lowest for amenities and improvements in the master plan, as one of the prime places in need of updates and a better connection to its neighborhood.

Feb. 10. 2021 — Eight high school seniors have been named Klose Scholars after the annual Doris and Ralph Klose Scholars Day competition, which was held remotely this year.

Feb. 9, 2021 — Wichita State University’s Community Engagement Institute (CEI) is working to put a spotlight on an underutilized and underrecognized profession: community health workers (CHW).

Feb. 3, 2021 — Kapow! Zap! Pop! Zoinks! A Wichita State University researcher is working to develop an app to make those words come alive for visually impaired comic book readers, Dr. Darren DeFrain, associate professor of English and director of Wichita State’s writing program, has recently been granted $11,000 from the John A. See Innovation Award to develop Vizling.

Feb. 1, 2021 — Five minutes of scrolling through social media, and it’s evident that many people need a lesson in civil discourse. Wichita State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) is working to change that through Real Talk discussions to promote respectful dialogue among people with varying viewpoints.