Wichita State University’s College of Education will induct six Shockers into its Hall of Fame during a celebration on Sept. 25. The inductees represent a variety of backgrounds and are being recognized for their contributions to Wichita State and their communities.  

The College of Education Hall of Fame recognizes individuals or groups who have positively impacted the college at any point since its founding. This includes the full range of people and programs that have been associated with the college throughout its history. Hall of Fame members reflect the college’s shared values of collaboration, leadership, community, innovation and learning. 

Brad Pittman serves as senior associate athletic director for facilities and operations at Wichita State, where he has helped bring major sporting events to Wichita and created opportunities for students to gain professional experience. Pittman has been a longtime partner of the sport management program and has worked with Wichita State faculty to create assistantships, internships, practica and event staffing opportunities for students. He has also served as a lecturer for more than a decade, helping students connect classroom learning with professional practice.  

Debbie Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in education from Wichita State in 1979 and a Master of Arts in communication disorders and sciences in 1980. She later returned to WSU to complete certification and licensure in early childhood special education. Her commitment to lifelong learning and deep connection to the College of Education inspired her to partner with Wichita State Foundation and Alumni Engagement to establish a scholarship supporting students in the Teacher Apprentice Program™. Together with her husband, Jay, Smith has achieved Fairmount Society Lifetime Achievement status in recognition of more than $1 million in lifetime giving to Wichita State. 

Marc Farha, a 1986 Wichita State graduate, is co-CEO of CAA ICON and a longtime supporter of the College of Education’s sport management program. Farha established the Fire Down Below Endowed Scholarship to support sport management students and has provided additional scholarship support for students working with WSU’s men’s basketball and baseball programs. He has also shared his professional experience through classroom presentations, student mentorship and career guidance. In 2026, Farha returned to campus as keynote speaker for the Kansas Sport Summit and delivered the address at the College of Education’s spring commencement ceremony. 

Dr. Maurine A. Fry was an educator, scholar and academic leader whose career included leadership roles at Arizona State University and Wichita State. From 1988 to 1993, Fry served as dean of WSU’s College of Education and later became professor emerita. Before coming to Wichita State, she held several leadership positions at Arizona State, including department chair, assistant vice president for academic affairs and vice president of ASU Publications in Education. Fry, who died in 2021, is also recognized in Wichita State’s Plaza of Heroines for her contributions to education and support of women in leadership. 

Nathan Whitman, a 2012 Wichita State College of Education graduate, is an English teacher and department chair at Derby High School and an adjunct instructor at WSU Tech. He serves as central region co-representative for the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Affiliates and is set to become chair of the committee in November. Whitman also served as president of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English from 2018 to 2024 and now serves as past president, mentoring new organizational leaders. His work has included professional presentations and publications, educator development and the revival of KATE’s student literary journal, Voices of Kansas. 

Distinguished Career Award: Dr. Rae Niles 

Dr. Rae Niles is a Wichita State alumna whose career has included roles in teaching, educational administration and professional learning. She began her career with Sedgwick Public Schools and later served as the district’s director of curriculum and technology. After more than two decades in public education, Niles joined Apple Inc. as senior manager for Apple Professional Learning, leading a team of more than 150 educators who provided professional learning and leadership development in the United States and internationally. She returned to Sedgwick Public Schools in 2023 to serve as superintendent. Niles also serves on the College of Education Advisory Board, established the Dr. Rae Niles Fellowship for Education and continues to mentor educational leaders across Kansas. 

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 25,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry- and defense-funded engineering R&D and No. 9 overall for engineering R&D.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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