More than 2,400 students are eligible to participate in Wichita State University’s 127th spring commencement ceremony on Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 in Charles Koch Arena. There will be four ceremonies to celebrate the graduates: 

• All graduate degrees will be awarded at 7 p.m. Friday, May 16. The featured speaker will be Wichita State Graduate Student of the Year, Donna Tran.

• 9 a.m. — Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Fine Arts, and the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College. The featured speaker will be Danielle Johnson, executive director of Wichita Habitat for Humanity.
• 1 p.m. — The College of Applied Studies and the College of Health Professions with featured speaker Matt All, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.
• 5 p.m. — The W. Frank Barton School of Business and the College of Engineering with featured speaker Laura Bernstorf, director of special missions program management at Textron Aviation.

All graduates will walk across the stage and be individually recognized. Doctoral candidates will be hooded at the ceremony.

All graduation attendees will be required to be screened by security personnel and metal detectors as they enter the arena. Koch Arena will open one hour before each ceremony is scheduled to begin. It’s recommended that audience members arrive early to allow sufficient time to get through security. There will also be a clear-bag policy for all those in attendance.

Please note that guest seating will be on a first-come basis, and no tickets will be required for entrance.

For those who are not able to attend in person, the ceremony will be available via online livestream. To view the ceremony, go to wichita.edu/commencement, scroll down to “Watch the livestream,” and select the ceremony you’d like to watch.

For more information regarding commencement, consult the commencement FAQ.

About the commencement speakers

• Donna Tran, who will be awarded a Master of Social Work Degree, was named Wichita State’s 2025 Graduate Student of the Year. Through her applied learning experiences at United Way of the Plains and Comcare Crisis of Sedgwick County, she connected vulnerable populations to housing and mental health resources while developing her voice as a social justice advocate. Supported by the Applied Learning Fund, Donna now plans to become a licensed master social worker and continue uplifting underserved communities across Kansas.
• Matt All is president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, the state’s largest health insurer serving more than 900,000 Kansans. All served as assistant insurance commissioner and later as chief counsel to the governor. He is known for his commitment to community health and his deep ties to Kansas, including his ongoing support for Wichita-area initiatives.
• Danielle Johnson, a proud Wichitan and two-time Wichita State graduate, serves as executive director of Wichita Habitat for Humanity. With more than 20 years of experience in education, advocacy and community empowerment, she is a vocal champion for affordable housing and equity. Danielle also lends her leadership to several local and statewide boards, including the Habitat Kansas Affiliate Organization and the United Way Coalition to End Homelessness.
• Laura Bernstorf is director of special missions program management at Textron Aviation and a two-time Wichita State graduate. With more than 20 years in aerospace and innovation, she has also served as a WSU Honors College lecturer and received honors including the WSU Young Alumni Award.

Wichita State graduates are also invited to celebrate their achievements at The Toast at 5 p.m. Friday, May 16 in the east courtyard of the Rhatigan Student Center. Attending graduates will have an array of graduation cords to choose from to express their cultural and academic backgrounds, and they will also receive a commemorative WSU champagne flute after brief remarks from President Rick Muma, Vice President of Student Affairs Teri Hall and Vice President of Alumni Engagement Stacie Williamson.

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Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 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-funded engineering R&D and No. 8 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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