As of July 1, Wichita State University faculty and staff will no longer have access to parking lot 34, which is located at the University United Methodist Church at the corner of 21st Street and Yale.

The university had been leasing the parking lot from the church, but very few members of the university community had been using the lot, so the decision has been made not to renew the contract going forward.

President Rick Muma’s “Forward Together” podcast is on hiatus for the summer, but that gives listeners an opportunity to catch up on previous episodes.

  • Episode one: Digital transformation — In this inaugural Forward Together podcast, we focus on digital transformation in the arts. We’re joined by Shocker alum Dean Hargrove — writer, director and producer, whose credits include “Columbo” and “Matlock — and Wichita State’s dean of the College of Fine Arts, Dr. Rodney Miller.
  • Episode two: University annual report — On this episode of the Forward Together podcast, WSU President Dr. Rick Muma and his guests reflect on and celebrate all that Wichita State University has accomplished in 2021. Special guests include James Chung, founder of Reach Advisors and author of the Chung Report; and Dr. Kaye Monk-Morgan, vice president of engagement and planning at Wichita State University.
  • Episode three: Providing access to higher education — On this episode of the Forward Together podcast, WSU President Dr. Rick Muma and his guests discuss WSU’s priority of making higher education accessible and how it helps build a stronger community and a stronger Kansas. Special guests include John Rolfe, president and CEO of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce; and Isaac Brown, WSU men’s basketball head coach.
  • Episode four: Research at Wichita State — Learn about some of the cutting-edge research being done at Wichita State University in our March Forward Together podcast. To celebrate Women’s History Month, President Rick Muma speaks with Dr. Melinda Laubach-Hock, director of sustainment at WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research; and Dr. Coleen Pugh, vice provost for research and dean of Wichita State’s Graduate School.
  • Episode five: Innovation at Wichita State — In this month’s episode of the Forward Together podcast, we talk about all things innovation. Hear about the accessible comic book app WSU’s Dr. Darren DeFrain developed, and learn more about next-generation networking technology with Shocker alum Khalid Raza.
  • Episode six: LatinX Food, Culture and Community in Wichita — Celebrate the food and culture of the LatinX community with WSU President Rick Muma in the latest episode of the “Forward Together” podcast. Dr. Muma speaks with WSU faculty members and LatinX cultural researchers Dr. Enrique Navarro and Dr. Rocío Del Águila.
Dr. Alan Shoho

The EVP/Provost search committee welcomes the WSU community to attend an open forum today with candidate Dr. Alan Shoho, professor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The one-hour forum is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. in 231 Hubbard Hall. If you are unable to attend in person you are invited to interact with the forum online by using the Zoom link below.

You are encouraged to complete an Evaluation Survey on your interactions today with the position candidate. Please complete the Qualtrics survey linked below no later than 5 p.m. Friday, April 8.

Dr. Alan Shoho

The EVP/Provost search committee welcomes the WSU community to attend an open forum Thursday, April 7 with candidate Dr. Alan Shoho, professor in the School of Education at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The one-hour forum is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. in 231 Hubbard Hall. If you are unable to attend in person you are invited to interact with the forum online by using the Zoom below.

Dr. Glen Krutz

The EVP/Provost search committee welcomes the WSU community to attend an open forum today with candidate Dr. Glen Krutz, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, professor of political science, and Puterbaugh Foundation Chair at Oklahoma State University.

The one-hour forum is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. in 208 Hubbard Hall. If you are unable to attend in person you are invited to interact with the forum virtually by using the Zoom link below.

You are encouraged to complete an evaluation survey on your interactions today with the position candidate. Please complete the Qualtrics survey no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 6 using the link below.

Dr. Glen Krutz

The EVP/Provost search committee welcomes the WSU community to attend an open forum Tuesday, April 5 with candidate Dr. Glen Krutz, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, professor of political science, and Puterbaugh Foundation Chair at Oklahoma State University.

The one-hour forum is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. in 208 Hubbard Hall. If you are unable to attend in person you are invited to interact with the forum via Zoom at the link below.

Dr. Shirley Lefever

The EVP/Provost search committee welcomes the WSU community to attend an open forum today with candidate Dr. Shirley Lefever, interim executive vice president and provost, Wichita State University.

The one-hour forum is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. in 208 Hubbard Hall. If you are unable to attend in person, you are invited to interact with the forum via Zoom using the link below.

You are encouraged to complete an Evaluation Survey on your interactions today with the position candidate. Please complete the following Qualtrics survey no later than noon Tuesday, April 5.

Travis Yang, hired in December as WSU’s Esports director, wants to highlight the variety of students and majors in the program. “Our students are spread across all of the colleges,” he said. “Esports should be interdisciplinary. It should be reflected in our students, and it should be reflected in how we work across campus.”

The vision for varsity encompasses much more than people gaming on Cybertron Computers and wearing a Logitech Headset.

While gaming success is important, the program is also seen as way to provide extra-curricular activity and applied learning for students in disciplines across campus.

Travis Yang, hired in December as WSU’s Esports director, wants to build a program that follows that direction. As esports grows in popularity, the program is also a recruiting tool for high school students – Wichita Public Schools offer an esports program at the middle and high school levels.

“It was really cool in the interview process to hear him talk about his vision for what an esports program can be, because it really aligned one-to-one with things we were already talking about,” said Clay Stoldt, interim dean of the College of Applied Studies. “Esports is a lot more than just the varsity competition. Esports is a big part of student life. It can contribute to the student experience for a ton of our students. He had already grasped that vision.”

Wichita State University's engineering graduate program has ranked in the top 60 in the nation and highest in Kansas, by US News and World Report.

In the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings of universities offering a Ph.D. in engineering, the College of Engineering at Wichita State University once again was ranked in the top 100 engineering graduate programs in the country and the only institution in Kansas to make it in the top 100.

The 2023 report by US News and World Report — released today — ranks Wichita State’s graduate program in engineering as No. 59 in the United States. That’s up from No. 77 last year and No. 94 the year before.

Wichita State President Dr. Rick Muma and interim Vice President/Provost Dr. Shirley Lefever will be featured on KMUW’s at 7 a.m. Wednesday, March 30 for the station’s spring fundraiser.

During the show, Muma and Lefever plan to issue a matching-funds challenge, which will be funded by them personally.

Listeners can tune into KMUW at 89.1 on their radios or listen online at www.kmuw.org.