12.12.22
Welcome (Back) to The Shocker
In 2021, Wichita State University President Rick Muma chose this phrase as the theme of his inauguration: “Inspired by the past, focused on the future.” The return of The Shocker print magazine for fall/winter 2022 — with its new look, format, content and reach — is one of myriad examples that have taken shape from that presidential directive.
We’re excited to introduce you to our revamped print magazine, which will be published twice a year and mailed to Wichita State alumni, donors, and other university friends, as well as to this blog, where you can find the articles and stories printed in each issue of the magazine conveniently online.
Whether online or between the covers of the print mag, you’ll find university news that will keep you in the know about what’s happening at Wichita State — from WSU’s opening of Woolsey Hall, the new home for the W. Frank Barton School of Business, to what our new AD Kevin Saal’s plans and priorities are for Shocker athletics, to how the university’s leading effort in winning $51.4 million in a national Build Back Better competition will bolster regional economic development via smart manufacturing in south Kansas.
We’ll also introduce you to key Shocker personalities who hail from right here in Wichita to across the United States and around the globe. As you can tell from our cover image, we’re featuring President Muma in this issue. You’ll also run across news about Mona Nemer ’77, who has served as Canada’s chief science adviser since 2017; Ron Draper ’01, president and CEO of Textron Aviation; Shirley Lefever, executive vice president and provost at Wichita State; plus way too many others to mention here.
Together, we’ll be exploring worlds as diverse as you’d expect to find at an urban public research university. Some of our stories and departments are light and lively, they’re just for fun. Others get right to the heart of the matter.
We enjoy gathering the information and putting together The Shocker magazine and blog. One of the things we like the most is doing it for you. We want you to let us know what you’d like to see in future issues. As a matter of fact, we want you to be an active part of this enterprise and our university. We invite you to write us letters to the editor, and just for fun, we are launching a Shocker photo contest. Post your Shocker-related photos with the hashtag #ShockerShots on social media. We’ll select the most spirited, colorful, meaningful, quirky, Shocker-y photos to repost on our social media sites.
You are our partners in this adventure. And we like that fact the very most of all.
Go, Shockers!
Connie Kachel White & The Shocker staff
We welcome letters from readers. Please address them to The Shocker at connie.white@wichita.edu. Please include your WSU graduation year, if applicable. Letters may be selected and edited for reasons of clarity and length.
#ShockerShots Photo Contest
Post your most spirited, colorful, meaningful, quirky photos from today or decades ago on your favorite social media platform using the hashtag #ShockerShots. The Shocker staff will select the most “Shocker-y” photos to repost.
Share