Both & And
Wichita State provides its growing student base of learners of almost every age and interest a complete array of educational choices — or, as Monica Lounsbery, who has been the university’s senior executive vice president and provost for just over a year now, puts it: WSU offers a singularly unique “both/and” brand of education.
She explains, “Higher education today is about both/and: BOTH the traditional degree programs that remain the gold standard for deep knowledge AND career advancement, and the flexible credentials that allow learners to add skills quickly and employers to fill urgent workforce needs.” Lounsbery, who holds a Ph.D. in sport pedagogy from the University of Nebraska, came to Wichita State from California State University, Long Beach, where she served most recently as dean of the College of Health and Human Services. Well before she officially moved into her first-floor Office of Academic Affairs suite in Morrison Hall on Jan. 5, 2025, she was an enthusiast of Wichita State’s unique take on “both/and” education.
“Here at Wichita State,” she says, “we see strength in the full spectrum of education. Degrees anchor our mission, preparing students with the breadth, depth and critical thinking that will serve them for a lifetime. At the same time, certificates, badges and microcredentials give learners and employers new ways to connect education to evolving careers.”
One of WSU’s greatest assets, she says, is its longstanding collaborative nature that pushes forward scholarship, research and innovation in all fields of learning. “We’re leading the way,” she says. “Our faculty are achieving remarkable results, more students than ever are engaged in paid internships, and WSU once again ranks in the top 10 nationally for total engineering R&D, according to the National Science Foundation.”
Late last year, Lounsbery was featured in a short video about the university’s newly unveiled Scholars Walk, which recognizes some of the exceptional research and classroom accomplishments of WSU’s award-winning faculty. In the video, she reports, “This is a new spot on our campus meant to serve as an inspiration, as a way for us to really communicate the extraordinary work that we do as we accelerate to the future.”
