— Former Shocker baseball player Sean Johnson is assistant general manager for the Minnesota Twins. His time at Wichita State, as a player and director of operations for the baseball team, launched his career in professional baseball.
— Former Royals star and future Shocker baseball dad Mike Sweeney talked baseball, raising children, nature, leadership and much more as the keynote speaker for Wichita State's annual baseball dinner. MJ Sweeney, his son, committed to play baseball for the Shockers in 2026 after spending this season at Grossmont (Calif.) College.
— Wichita State University has selected the 2025 recipients of the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships. Each student will receive a $64,000 scholarship to attend Wichita State in August 2025.
— What started as a work study position in the costume shop of her university’s theater department has propelled Melissa Penkava Koza’s sewing hobby into guiding the next generation of costume creators.
— Vintage WuShock logos, from as far back as the 1950s, are enjoying a comeback. In December, Wichita State announced its partnership with Homefield, an Indianapolis company dedicated to vintage college clothing.
— As you return to campus for the spring semester, you will notice ongoing and new construction across Wichita State University’s 330 acres and beyond.
— Seeing an opportunity to support partnerships with the Wichita community, Wichita State University has established the new Office of Community Partnerships.
— The College of Engineering at Wichita State University has partnered with Groover Labs, a nonprofit collaborative workspace, technology hub and rapid prototyping lab in Wichita, to support the regional business community.
— Phase I of the Wichita Biomedical Campus — a collaboration between Wichita State University, University of Kansas and WSU Tech — is making steady progress as it prepares to transform and redefine health care education and research in Kansas.
— Javier Martinez received the Mark and Stacy Parkinson Scholarship, which, alongside Wichita State University’s closeness to home and mechanical engineering program, made it a no-brainer for Javier to attend WSU. He used the opportunities available to him as a Shocker to stay up on his studies and now joins his peers in graduating with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering.
— Carter initially chose Wichita State University for its locality, being able to receive in-state tuition, but he also found a community in the campus and place to call home in the anthropology department in Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. They are now graduating with their master’s in anthropology with a plan to enter a doctoral program in archaeology in the future.
— Following time at another university, Lilith Samples realized her hometown of Wichita was where she belonged and is now the first in her family to graduate from college. While at Wichita State University, she was able to work at the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology in Neff Hall and hopes to continue in the profession after graduating.
— A total of 1,209 students are eligible to participate in Wichita State University’s 127th fall commencement ceremonies Sunday, Dec. 15 in Charles Koch Arena.
For WSU News and WSU Today content older than July 2018, search the WSU News Archive.
