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Stephanie and Matt Clark

March 7, 2022 - Wichita State alums Matt and Stephanie Clark taught English to students from fifth grade to high school in Ukraine from 2006-08 as Peace Corps members. Their friends and their warm memories are in turmoil as the Russian invasion wears on in their adopted country. They rely on social media to hear from former students, host families and friends, as they try to sort good information from bad and bring attention to the crisis.

students in front of the RSC

March 3, 2022 — In accordance with recently updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, effective Friday, March 4, masks will no longer be required for students, employees or visitors, regardless of vaccination status, while on or in Wichita State University premises or while attending campus activities or athletic events (unless otherwise noted). This includes all indoor and outdoor campus locations.

Researchers at Wichita State University's Molecular Diagnostics Lab test a specimen.

March 1, 2022 — Wichita State’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) is re-opening COVID test collections to the public starting today (March 1).

Campus aerial

Jan. 18, 2022 — Wichita State’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) is open and continues to process thousands of COVID tests with 24-hour results. However, the lab has indefinitely suspended its COVID test collection service.

Wichita State's Molecular Diagnostics Lab

Dec. 2, 2021 — In an effort to meet community needs, Wichita State University’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) has developed a test to detect all three viruses — RSV, influenza and COVID-19 (RIC) — from one nasal swab. The RIC test is available to all individuals and partners who test via the MDL.

Student Involvement

Nov. 30, 2021 — Wichita State University's efforts to recruit and retain students from historically underserved and underrepresented areas rank it in the top 28% of the 2021 Social Mobility Index (SMI). The 2021 SMI, calculated by CollegeNET Inc., benchmarks 1,549 four-year colleges and universities in the United States according to how effectively they enroll students from low-income backgrounds and graduate them into well-paying jobs.

Masks

Nov. 1, 2021 - Helped by six grants from Kansas Leadership Center, Wichita State University’s HEALTH Student Association is working to end the pandemic and support students with information and resources to keep them healthy. HEALTH distributed more than 6,000 free and reusable masks, some with “Shockers United” branding, some plain black and sequined masks for the inauguration of president Rick Muma. It assembled gift boxes for quarantining students with information on COVID-19 vaccines and testing and gifts such as Wichita State water bottles, stickers and lanyards.

The American Athletic Conference logo

Oct. 29, 2021 - The American Athletic Conference is investing in big cities and the state of Texas with its addition of six new members recently. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Florida Atlantic University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Texas, Rice University and University of Texas at San Antonio had their applications for membership approved last week.

Louisa Brunt

Oct. 11, 2021 - Louisa Brunt, from Manchester, England, transferred to Wichita State from Texas Tech University to golf and to earn her master’s degree in criminal justice. Brunt graduated from Texas Tech, where she earned Academic All-Big 12 honors three times, with a major in criminology and a minor in forensic science. Brunt expects her career path to take her into police work or the FBI.

COVID-19 vaccination

Oct. 3, 2021 — Wichita State is partnering with Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in an initiative to increase COVID-19 vaccinations to underrepresented communities across Kansas.

MDL

Sept. 24, 2021 — Wichita State University’s Hughes Metropolitan Complex has switched to drive-thru testing – a move that will allow the Wichita community to spend less time in line and get test results faster. The Metroplex Testing Site (5015 East 29th St. North) is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Results of the PCR test are available within 24-36 hours after testing. No appointment is needed.

Members of Music Theater Wichita perform as part of MTW's 50th anniversary show.

Sept. 23, 2021 – The show must go on, and thanks to Wichita State’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab, Music Theatre Wichita has been able to keep its doors open to audiences.

Dr. Bill Groutas

Sept. 23, 2021 — A Wichita State University scientist is part of a team that has recently been awarded a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to further research a treatment for COVID-19.

Prisca Barnes (right) reads to a student at Storytime Village.

Sept. 22, 2021 — What started as one woman’s passion project has flourished into a literacy empire that serves thousands of children in schools across the Wichita area — helped along the way by the people and services of Wichita State University.

John Lee, director of Campus Recreation

Oct. 16, 2021 - Later this fall, pickleball becomes permanent on campus at the Heskett Center’s Outdoor Sports Complex.  When it became necessary to resurface six tennis courts, John Lee, director of Campus Recreation, decided to do something different. The complex will feature four pickleball courts, two courts for tennis and two existing courts for half-court basketball and one for futsal.