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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).

J. Robert Young

Feb. 23, 2022 — Wichita State alumnus J. Robert Young has pledged a gift of $3 million to provide resources that will help students build successful careers. Of that total, $2 million will endow the J. Robert Young Executive-in-Residence Program in the W. Frank Barton School of Business. The remaining $1 million will support the Shocker Success Center project, which will consolidate 17 student services in Clinton Hall.

Group of individuals standing

Feb. 9, 2022 — A bequest from the estate of Richard "Dick" Smith will provide about $5.5 million each to Wichita State University and the University of Kansas to endow full-ride scholarships for students at those schools.

Valeria Paunetto is standing in front of the brick laid Morrison Hall and there is a tree in the background. The sun is shining. Paunetto is wearing her shocker gear with some yellow earrings and she is smiling.

Jan. 24, 2022 — Valeria Paunetto, originally from Puerto Rico, won the Adelante Scholarship in 2021, which has helped her pursue a degree in social work at Wichita State.

Darren DeFrain holding up phone with Vizling app

Jan. 20, 2022 — The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a grant of $243,922 to a Wichita State University researcher for his work on an app that will allow people who are visually impaired to read comic books, graphic novels and other digitized graphic materials on their devices.

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.

Lillian Nieman plans to apply to several different areas of medical devices to put her degree in biomedical engineering to use.

Dec. 6, 2021—Lillian Nieman learned how to find confidence and advocate for herself while attaining a degree in biomedical engineering from Wichita State University. Nieman is one of more than 1,100 students eligible for fall 2021 graduation.

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.

Pedro Piña-Guerrero is sitting on some long limestone steps with his hands crossed and a smile on his face.

Nov. 24, 2021 – It was a bright and sunny afternoon in August 2021 when Pedro Piña-Guerrero received a call that would change his life: He had won the Adelante Scholarship to attend Wichita State University.

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.

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.