Shocker art exhibition, “Atesorando el momento,” opens in Lima, Peru
Photo by Centro Cultural Peruano Japonés
Chiyoko Myose ’07/11, who has made Wichita her home base for making art for some 16 years now, is exploring new territory, quite literally. This past summer, she traveled to Peru, where one of her scheduled stops was for the installation and opening of “Atesorando el momento,” her solo exhibition at the Galeria de arte Ryochi Jinnai in the Centro Cultural Peruano Japonés in Lima. The exhibition, whose title means “treasuring the moment,” featured both installation art and paintings.
Her first stop in Peru had been at the Museo Convento de Santo Domingo — Qorikancha in Cusco. At the museum’s July 2 opening for her thread installation “UN HILO X UN HILO,” exhibition-goers were invited to dance to music played and sung by a performer of Quechua descent. “I felt that this resembled the process of creating my own work,” Myose says. “Just like threads are connected to one another, when we dance together, our hearts naturally become connected. In this chaotic and separated world we live in, we need more dancing!”
WILLIAM “BILL” E. SIMON ’70, MATH/PHYS, ’71 M PHYS, founder of Sun Nuclear Corp., which specializes in medical physics in radiation oncology, was inducted into the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame during a Feb. 4 ceremony on campus. Now retired, he lives in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida.
MARK G. WENTLING ’70, POL SCI/ANTHRO/ECON, who posted a 40-year foreign service career, working primarily in Africa for the Peace Corps and USAID, was inducted into Fairmount College’s Hall of Fame during a Feb. 4 ceremony. The author of 12 books, he lives in Lubbock, Texas, where he is a senior consultant for Africa with Breedlove Foods, a nonprofit food processor dedicated to humanitarian aid.
CATHERINE ALEY ’72, BIOL S, ’78 M BIOL S, and her husband, Tom, are the owners of Tumbling Creek Cave. Open to the public for research and educational visits, this conservation site, protected by the Ozark Underground Laboratory, underscores the importance of karst environments and maintains the native flora and fauna of the ecosystem. The Aleys live in Protem, Missouri.
ALAN J. FEAREY ’75, CHEM, was inducted into the WSU College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame during a ceremony April 10 in Wiedemann Hall. A retired internal medicine physician, Fearey — along with his wife, SHARON ’80 — has a long history of support for the arts at Wichita State, as well as throughout the wider community. He resides in Wichita.
L. JANE GABBERT ’77, SP-THEA, returned to campus in March as a guest director for the production of the award-winning play “The Angel of Death,” written by current WSU student Amanda Schmalzried. The professional actor lives in New York.
JACK D. WILSON ’78, PAINTING, ’85 PRINTMAKING, is the featured artist in “Domino Effect: The Extrovert’s Intuitive Collection” at Art and Frame in Wichita. He lives in Valley Center, Kansas.
SHARON K. (MCCREERY) FEAREY ’80, M BUS ADM, was inducted into the WSU College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame during an April 10 ceremony on campus. An advocate for both public schools and public art, the Wichita resident has served two terms on the Wichita City Council.
ROBERT “BOB” D. LUTZ ’84, GEN ST, sports journalist and founder of the youth baseball organization League 42, was inducted into the 2025 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in August. He was recognized for his contributions to sports writing in Kansas, especially for his 42-year tenure at the Wichita Eagle.
NANCY E. MCCABE, ’84, ENG CR, professor of writing at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, is the author of eight books, including her debut middle grade novel, “Fires Burning Underground” (Fitzroy Books/Regal House, 2025). She has taught nonfiction, fiction, journalism and poetry at six universities and colleges, and lives in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
CONNIE (DUMENIL) BONFY ’86, M ART ED, has been appointed the first-ever executive director of Wichita’s Arts Council. An arts advocate, educator and fundraiser, Bonfy has raised more than $44 million for arts and education initiatives and earned two Kansas Governor’s Arts Awards. She lives in Wichita.
MITCHELL W. SLAPE ’89, FIN, has retired from his position as CEO of Massmart in Johannesburg, South Africa. The former Walmart executive and his wife, ANGELA (SCHOMMER) ’90, reside in Dallas.
LINDA S. (FRICKEY) STARKEY ’90, M COMM, was inducted into the WSU College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame during a ceremony on campus April 10. A musician, performer and educator, she began teaching at Wichita State in 1980 as an adjunct voice instructor. In 1997, she took up full-time duties in the School of Performing Arts and then served as director from 2009 until her retirement in 2022. She lives in Wichita.
CURTIS “CURT” R. RIERSON ’93, COMM-EL MEDIA, is creative manager in the video services department of Wichita State’s Media Resources Center. The producer of award-winning video content, including documentaries and multi-media campaigns, he resides in Wichita.
ERIC B. ZOLLER ’94, COMM-EL MEDIA, is owner and director at Wichita-based Digital Brand, a video production firm whose broad-spectrum projects range from concert filming and music videos, to TV spots and documentaries. He lives in Wichita.
BIKKI A. BEVELHYMER ’97, BUS ADM, was inducted into the WSU College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame during an April 10 ceremony in Wiedemann Hall. A staunch supporter of the arts, she is a certified HR professional with more than 25 years of experience working in internal audit and corporate services. She lives in Wichita.
SHEILA R. (BALL) KRUG ’98, ACCT, ’99 M ACCT, who previously served as associate vice president and controller at the WSUFAE, was named vice president of finance and operations in July. She has held roles at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and at Ernst & Young. She lives in Winfield, Kansas.
NATHAN K. HARPER ’99, ANTHRO, ’03 M ANTHRO, archaeologist for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, appeared on season 29 of the PBS series “Antiques Roadshow,” providing historic insights for episodes filmed at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas. While a WSU grad student, he received a Fulbright Fellowship to research at a settlement called Khirokiti in Cyprus. He lives in Henderson, Nevada.
NICOLE STOCKDALE ’00, JOURN, in January, assumed the role of executive editor at The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun, regional newspapers in North Carolina. She started her career at the Wichita Eagle before working for the Dallas Morning News and, later, the Sacramento Bee. She resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.
COLLIN G. STIEBEN ’00, FIN, co-owner and president of Encore Pavement LLC, headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, serves on Wichita’s Exploration Place Board of Trustees. Since 2021, he has also served on WSU’s Barton School of Business Advisory Council. He lives in Wichita.
GENEVIEVE A. WALLER ’01, ART HIST, is an artist, curator, writer, historian and founding editor of the magazine DARIA: Denver Art Review, Inquiry and Analysis, a publication that focuses on art writing and criticism of the Denver and Front Range visual art scene. Noted for her photograms, sculpture, installations and drawings, she lives in Aurora, Colorado.
AIMEE L. (HOSIE) GEIST ’03, ART HIST, is recruitment and communications specialist for the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries at WSU. Her work history includes serving as public relations coordinator for the Wichita Art Museum and curator of education at the Ulrich Museum of Art. She lives in Bel Aire, Kansas.
TRISH A. (INSLEE) GANDU ’04, MKT, former director of marketing and advertising in the WSU Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing, is WSUFAE senior director of events and donor experience. She lives in Andover, Kansas.
MARY KATE LAW ’81, GEN ST, educator and actor, has been on the musical theater faculty at Pace University in New York since 2004. Her Broadway credits include roles in the latest revival of “Inherit the Wind,” as Sister Berthe in the revival of “The Sound of Music” and as Schotzi in “Starmites.” She lives in New York.
JACQULYN ANDREWS-ASHCRAFT ’83, M ED, having taught in Kansas schools for 55 years, including Halstead, Buhler, Nickerson and Hutchinson, was inducted into the 2025 Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame in April. Now an active substitute in USD 308, 309 and 313, she lives in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Marc Farha ’86 likes Shocker athletics, applied studies, sports venues…
Bruce Springsteen — and other icons. Farha, who’s co-chief executive officer at ICON, the division of Creative Artists Agency specializing in sports and entertainment venue development, has 30 years of experience with public and private sector clients in the sports facility industry. Among CAA ICON’s portfolio of major projects are Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Milwaukee Bucks Entertainment District, where the photo here was taken in 2016, and Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. The latter, he says, “was very special, as it’s the project closest to Wichita, which allowed me to see my parents more often. They attended the opening concert, Elton John, in 2007.” Farha traces his career in sports back to 1984 and his days as a student manager for men’s basketball. “That was,” he says. “the pinnacle for me and my days at WSU.” The sports business management grad has stayed connected to his alma mater not only by keeping up with fellow Shockers and university news but also by setting up scholarship programs, three to date, that benefit College of Applied Studies students and basketball and baseball student-athletes. As for his liking of Springsteen, that first fired up, he says, “in 1980 with the release of the River Album. I must have listened to it a hundred times, repeatedly. I was hooked.” Since then, he adds, he’s seen The Boss in concert at venues around the world, many of which he helped develop, including one of his favorites, the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
SARAH C. KEPHART ’04, ART SCULPT, is a multi-disciplinary artist, educator and leader in disability arts and accessibility design. A twice-certified expressive arts facilitator and consultant, she works as art education teacher, senior manager and gallery director for the Envision Arts Program at Envision Inc. in Wichita, where she resides.
YOGITA MEHTA ’05, M EL E, senior data engineer at technology consulting firm Ventera, has written her first children’s book, a collection of short stories titled “Heartfelt Stories for Young Hearts.” She lives in Dublin, California.
JAVIER IGNACIO fs ’07, who is known for his portrayal of Harry Houdini/Dog Boy in the 2014 Broadway production of Side Show and as Peter in the first national tour of Company in 2023, was inducted into the WSU College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame during a ceremony April 10 in Wiedemann Hall. He resides in New York City.
COREY N. (STEVEN) SALEH ’10, M SP MAN, has been promoted from director of development to senior director of development for the Barton School of Business at the WSUFAE. She lives in Wichita.
KATIE A. (DUNMIRE) LINK ’12, HR MGT, has been promoted from director of human resources executive director of human resources at the WSUFAE. She resides in Wichita.
MIKE D. MILLER ’13, ART-S, led a crew of artists (including MARC DURFEE ’23, BRADY HATTER ’09, LYDIA HUMPHREYS ’22, NAM LE ’12 and MEGHAN MILLER ’09/22) on a return visit to this year’s Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina, Kansas, where their whimsical, interactive installation “The Wavey Fish Bridge of Sphere and Frog” was on display. Miller lives in Towanda, Kansas.
RAMON J. EMMART ’15, PSYCH, talent acquisition manager for CPA firm Adams Brown Strategic Allies, volunteered as a Shocker Pride mentor, providing professional development tips to three students awarded 2024-25 scholarships. He lives in Wichita.
FRED E. VANVLEET ’16, SOC, NBA Houston Rockets guard, has been elected president of the National Basketball Players Association. Formerly with the Toronto Raptors, the standout former Shocker player from Rockford, Illinois, began his four-year term in July.
ZACHARY “ZACH” T. BUSH ’17, SP MGT, coached the AfterShocks, the Shocker alumni-led basketball squad that competes each summer in The Basketball Tournament, to the team’s first TBT championship — and the $1M prize.
AfterShocks net the TBT championship and $1M
The AfterShocks are champions of The Basketball Tournament. They netted the $1 million winner-take-all prize after defeating Eberlein Drive 82-67 in front of 9,029 fans on Sunday, Aug. 3 in Koch Arena. It was the Wichita State alumni team’s second appearance in a TBT Final Four, having reached the semifinals in 2022. Coached by Zach Bush ’17, the AfterShocks started former Shocker standouts Markis McDuffie ’19, Rashard Kelly ’18 and Conner Frankamp ’18 plus Marcus Santos Silva and Marcus Keene in the title game. Keene, who was high scorer with 22 points on 50 percent shooting, earned tournament MVP honors. The Aftershocks have been playing summer TBT ball since 2019 when former guard Karon Bradley ’07 organized the first team.
HUGO N. ZELADA ROMERO ’20, STUDIO ART, a noted interdisciplinary artist, educator and photographer, explores UFO sightings in Kansas and the role that pop culture representations plays in “High Strangeness: Encounters with the Unexplained in Kansas and Beyond,” a Salina Art Center exhibition of his photography on view in summer 2025. He lives in Wichita.
SYDNEY R. MCKINNEY ’23, CJ, No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Athletes Unlimited College Softball draft and professional softball player with the AUCS team the Bandits, is returning to Wichita State as a Shockers softball program graduate assistant for the 2025-2026 season. She is the current
WSU record-holder in no less than 10 categories, including her 34-game hit streak, which stands as the 6th longest in NCAA history.
ANTHONY N. CORRARO ’24, M ART-PR, who began teaching in August at the Kansas City Art Institute, was the 2024-2025 printmaking artist-in-residence at the Lawrence Arts Center, where his solo exhibition “Metamorphic Apertures” explored the shifting intersections of photography, memory and nature through prints made with unfixed dust. His print titled “A Moment” received Best in Show at Paseo Arts and Creativity Center’s annual juried printmaking exhibition. He resides in Lawrence, Kansas.
ALEX LIMON ’24, BIO M E, was selected to represent the United States as a youth ambassador at the World EXPO 2025 in Osaka, Japan. He currently resides in Osaka, Japan.
ANDRES SAENZ JR ’24, MUS, joined the WSUFAE as assistant director of alumni engagement in April from local agency Hexcode Marketing, where he served as a social media strategist. He lives in Wichita.
HANNAH M. KRAUS ’25, MECH E, accepted a full-time position as a design engineer at NIAR after interning for the aviation research institute as a student. She lives in Colwich, Kansas.
CALEB J. PERKINS ’25, AEROS E, competed in the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association’s International Rocket Engineering Competition in Midland, Texas, with the Wichita State Rocket Club in June, serving as the group’s president. The flight engineer at Textron Aviation resides in Mulvane, Kansas.
AIDEN POWELL ’25, ORG LEAD, works at the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement as assistant director of development for the College of Engineering, College of Health Professions and KMUW. He lives in Wichita.
