Wichita State University
Encyclopedia
Wichita State University (WSU) is a NCAA Division I public university
in Wichita, Kansas
with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents
. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs.
Wichita State University offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in six undergraduate colleges: W. Frank Barton School of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering, College of Fine Arts, College of Health Professions and Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Graduate School offers an extensive program including 44 master's degrees in more than 100 areas and a specialist in education degree. It offers doctoral degrees in applied mathematics; chemistry; communicative disorders and sciences; psychology (programs in human factors, community and APA-accredited clinical psychology); educational administration; and aerospace, electrical, industrial and mechanical engineering.
With an enrollment of more than 14,000, the university's students come from almost every state in the United States and 110 foreign countries. 87 percent are from Kansas, representing nearly all counties in the state. Wichita State has 479 full-time faculty and 41 part-time faculty. Of the total, 73 percent have earned the highest degree in their field.
The 330-acre (1.3 km²) campus has one of the largest outdoor sculpture collections of any U.S. university. Approximately 1,000 students live in campus dormitories. The main campus is within short driving distance from Interstate 135
and the K-96 expressway
in north Wichita.
Wichita State University also hosts classes at four satellite locations. Wichita State University West Campus is located in Maize, Kan. This 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) campus hosts 100-150 university classes each academic semester. The university's South Campus began offering Wichita State University coursework at a new facility in Derby in January 2008. The WSU Downtown Center houses the university's Center for Community Support & Research and the Department of Physical Therapy . A quarter-mile northeast of campus, the Advanced Education in General Dentistry building, built in 2011, houses a classrooms and a dental clinic. It is adjacent to the university's 75,000-square-foot Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex, where many of WSU noncredit courses are taught.
school, in 1886 by the Rev. Joseph Homer Parker. The college continued the preparatory program of Fairmount Institute, which started in 1892. Collegiate classes began in 1895. In 1926, by a vote of the citizens of Wichita, the college became a public non-denominational institution named the Municipal University of Wichita (popularly known as "Wichita" or "WU"); it was the first municipal university west of the Mississippi.
After 38 years as a municipal university, WSU changed its status on July 1, 1964, when it officially entered the state system of higher education. Wichita State University is one the three research institutions in Kansas, along with the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.
and Georgia Institute of Technology
, respectively. Wichita State's W. Frank Barton School of Business was listed in The Princeton Review 2011 "301 Best Business Schools," ranked as the 11th best program in the country for students seeking an undergraduate degree in entrepreneurship for 2007 In addition, Wichita State University is 32nd in the ranking of American Business Schools for Entrepreneurs (Success magazine, 2000).
and according to the data are at the average selective for any public university in Kansas
. The 2007 freshman class had an acceptance rate of 86 percent, and the enrolled freshman class had the following composition: students graduating in the top 10 percent of their high school class (57 percent); the top 25 percent of their high school class (91 percent); the top 50 percent of their high school class (99 percent). 27 percent of the freshman class scored in the top 1 percent of the SAT or ACT, while 72 percent scored in the top 35 percent. The middle 40 percent range of ACT scores for the enrolled class was 26-30, with an average ACT score of 27. Of the 6,122 members of the 2006 freshman class, 290 had been named valedictorian
of their high school's graduating class.
Tuition for full-time, Kansas residents attending Wichita State for the 2010-2011 academic year is $5,890. While fees for out-of-state residents for the 2010-2011 academic year are $13,924, tuition at Wichita State for Kansas residents placed it as the exemplary public university, slightly beneath the weighted average tuition among Kansas's six public four-year universities.
Division I institution and fields teams in tennis, cross-country, basketball, track, golf, men's baseball and women's volleyball and softball. Also, it offers club sports such as crew, bowling and intramural sports.
The men's baseball
team is college baseball
's highest winning team for the past 31 years, with numerous conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances. The baseball team won the national championship in 1989 and was runner-up in 1982, 1991 and 1993. They play at Eck Stadium
.
The men's basketball team
reached the Final Four in 1965, the Elite Eight in 1981 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2006. The men's basketball team won the 2011 National Invitation Tournament
Championship, beating the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The men’s and women’s bowling teams have won numerous USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships http://bowl.com/tournaments/usbcitc/, including the men’s 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010 title and the women's 2005, 2007 and 2009 title.
The school discontinued its football
program following the 1986 season due to poor attendance, financial red ink, NCAA recruiting violations, and the state of disrepair of Cessna Stadium
. Legendary NFL
coach Bill Parcells
was a linebacker at WSU in 1962 and 1963 before serving as a graduate assistant in 1964. Wichita State University was also the first Division 1-A school to hire a black head coach in College Football
, Willie Jeffries
in 1979.
Once Elsea's mascot was adopted by the university, which by that time was known as the Municipal University of Wichita, all that was needed was a name. The Oct. 7, 1948, issue of The Sunflower, the student newspaper, ran an advertisement urging students to submit names for the school's new mascot. It was freshman Jack Kersting who suggested the winning name, "WuShock."
In 1998, WuShock, also referred to as "Wu," marked his 50th birthday by undergoing a redesign and getting a pumped-up physique and revved-up attitude. The mascot's costume has changed over the years, as well. With the redesign, a new costume was introduced in fall 1998. In fall 1999, the head of the new costume underwent another redesign after a number of supporters suggested the mascot needed a more intimidating look. In 2006 it was decided to once again update the Wu costume. The general consensus was that many wanted the costume to more accurately reflect the depiction of WU in the school's logo. The new WuShock now has the ability to run, jump, and walk up stairs without help. Many officials feel that a more professional and intimidating mascot on the field will certainly bolster WSU's image.
airport after refueling, bound for Logan, Utah
, for a game against Utah State University
. It flew into a mountain valley too narrow to enable it to turn back and smashed into a mountainside, killing 31 of the 40 players, administrators and fans near a ski resort 40 miles (64.4 km) away from Denver
. President Richard Nixon
sent the president of the university a note which read, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to you in this time of sorrow."
, Boeing
, Bombardier-Learjet
, Cessna
, Hawker Beechcraft
, Spirit AeroSystems
, and other Wichita
aviation
concerns.
The Cooperative Education Program facilitates placements for students while they are in school. Outstanding students work as co-ops or interns locally and at NASA
(including the Johnson Space and Dryden Flight Research Centers).
National Science Foundation
and U.S. News & World Report
statistics, for fiscal year 2008, ranked Wichita State University as Top 3 among all U.S. universities in money spent on aerospace research and development, with $32.9 million in expenditures. That's an improvement from the previous year's fourth-place ranking, and it places WSU in the company of Johns Hopkins University
and the Georgia Institute of Technology
, which were first and second, respectively. While ranking higher than Princeton University
, MIT and Stanford University
. WSU faculty, staff, and students participate in this research. Wichita State University is also among the few institution granting a doctorate degree in Aerospace Engineering
which is of global repute.
The department teaches in the areas of composites, structures, Engineering mechanics
, computational Fluid dynamics
, applied Aerodynamics
, and Flight simulation. Related facilities, in the Aerospace Engineering department and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), provide students an opportunity to experience the use of aerospace design tools.
Stands Proudly on the hill;
Our sons and daughters bow to thee,
Our hearts with praise we fill.
Then, hail! Alma Mater!
Hail, thee, Grand and True,
Long wave the Yellow and Black,
O Wichita, Here's to you!
Around our lives are memories
That tenderly entwine; And
Thru the midst of the rolling years,
Of thee we build a shrine.
Then, hail! Alma Mater!
Hail, thee Grand and True,
Long wave the Yellow and the Black,
O Wichita, Here's to you!
Thy call to all that life hold dear
Is a clear and constant guide;
With Love and Truth and Loyalty,
And may they e'er abide.
Then, hail! Alma Mater!
Hail, thee Grand and True,
Long wave the Yellow and the Black,
O Wichita, Here's to you!
(Before basketball games, when the Alma Mater is sung, it is traditional for the entire crowd to shout "BLACK!" along with the song.)
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents
Kansas Board of Regents
The Kansas Board of Regents is a body consisting of nine members which governs six state universities in the U.S. state of Kansas. In addition to these six universities, it also supervises and coordinates nineteen community colleges, five technical colleges, six technical schools and a municipal...
. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs.
Wichita State University offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in six undergraduate colleges: W. Frank Barton School of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering, College of Fine Arts, College of Health Professions and Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Graduate School offers an extensive program including 44 master's degrees in more than 100 areas and a specialist in education degree. It offers doctoral degrees in applied mathematics; chemistry; communicative disorders and sciences; psychology (programs in human factors, community and APA-accredited clinical psychology); educational administration; and aerospace, electrical, industrial and mechanical engineering.
With an enrollment of more than 14,000, the university's students come from almost every state in the United States and 110 foreign countries. 87 percent are from Kansas, representing nearly all counties in the state. Wichita State has 479 full-time faculty and 41 part-time faculty. Of the total, 73 percent have earned the highest degree in their field.
The 330-acre (1.3 km²) campus has one of the largest outdoor sculpture collections of any U.S. university. Approximately 1,000 students live in campus dormitories. The main campus is within short driving distance from Interstate 135
Interstate 135
Interstate 135 is a 95.7-mile-long Interstate Highway in central and south-central Kansas, USA. I-135 runs between the cities of Salina and Wichita. The interstate's northern terminus is at the junction of Interstate 70 and its southern terminus is with Interstate 35 .Until 1976, I-135 was...
and the K-96 expressway
K-96 (Kansas highway)
K-96 is a state highway in central and southern Kansas. Its western terminus is at the Colorado state line east of Towner, Colorado, where it continues as Colorado State Highway 96; its eastern terminus since 1999 is at U.S. Route 54/U.S. Route 400 east of Wichita.The eastern terminus was once at...
in north Wichita.
Wichita State University also hosts classes at four satellite locations. Wichita State University West Campus is located in Maize, Kan. This 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) campus hosts 100-150 university classes each academic semester. The university's South Campus began offering Wichita State University coursework at a new facility in Derby in January 2008. The WSU Downtown Center houses the university's Center for Community Support & Research and the Department of Physical Therapy . A quarter-mile northeast of campus, the Advanced Education in General Dentistry building, built in 2011, houses a classrooms and a dental clinic. It is adjacent to the university's 75,000-square-foot Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex, where many of WSU noncredit courses are taught.
History
Wichita State University began as Fairmount College, a private CongregationalCongregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
school, in 1886 by the Rev. Joseph Homer Parker. The college continued the preparatory program of Fairmount Institute, which started in 1892. Collegiate classes began in 1895. In 1926, by a vote of the citizens of Wichita, the college became a public non-denominational institution named the Municipal University of Wichita (popularly known as "Wichita" or "WU"); it was the first municipal university west of the Mississippi.
After 38 years as a municipal university, WSU changed its status on July 1, 1964, when it officially entered the state system of higher education. Wichita State University is one the three research institutions in Kansas, along with the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.
Rankings and recognition
Wichita State is ranked at 505 among the top 1,000 universities in the United States. They are also placed among Tier 2 National Universities in the United States (US News & World Report Best Colleges 2011).For all engineering research and development expenditures, WSU ranked No. 88 in the USA for year 2009, with $21.8 million, down from No. 70 previous year. WSU aeronautical engineering research ranked third in the U.S., with expenditures of $32.4 million on aeronautical engineering research and development in 2007, the most recent numbers tracked by the NSF. Ahead of Wichita State in this ranking are Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, respectively. Wichita State's W. Frank Barton School of Business was listed in The Princeton Review 2011 "301 Best Business Schools," ranked as the 11th best program in the country for students seeking an undergraduate degree in entrepreneurship for 2007 In addition, Wichita State University is 32nd in the ranking of American Business Schools for Entrepreneurs (Success magazine, 2000).
Admissions and tuition
Undergraduate admissions to Wichita State are classified as “selective” by US News & World Report and The Princeton ReviewThe Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...
and according to the data are at the average selective for any public university in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. The 2007 freshman class had an acceptance rate of 86 percent, and the enrolled freshman class had the following composition: students graduating in the top 10 percent of their high school class (57 percent); the top 25 percent of their high school class (91 percent); the top 50 percent of their high school class (99 percent). 27 percent of the freshman class scored in the top 1 percent of the SAT or ACT, while 72 percent scored in the top 35 percent. The middle 40 percent range of ACT scores for the enrolled class was 26-30, with an average ACT score of 27. Of the 6,122 members of the 2006 freshman class, 290 had been named valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of their high school's graduating class.
Tuition for full-time, Kansas residents attending Wichita State for the 2010-2011 academic year is $5,890. While fees for out-of-state residents for the 2010-2011 academic year are $13,924, tuition at Wichita State for Kansas residents placed it as the exemplary public university, slightly beneath the weighted average tuition among Kansas's six public four-year universities.
Endowment and fund-raising
David Jackman, who died Jan. 27, 2009, bequeathed $4 million to the WSU Foundation for the David and Sally Jackman Endowment for Anthropology.South Campus
Wichita State University's South Campus began offering Wichita State University coursework at a new facility in Derby, Kan., in January 2008.West Campus
Wichita State University West Campus is located in Maize, Kan. This 9-acre (36,000 m2) campus hosts 100-150 university classes each academic semester.Athletics
WSU is an NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I institution and fields teams in tennis, cross-country, basketball, track, golf, men's baseball and women's volleyball and softball. Also, it offers club sports such as crew, bowling and intramural sports.
The men's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team is college baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
's highest winning team for the past 31 years, with numerous conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances. The baseball team won the national championship in 1989 and was runner-up in 1982, 1991 and 1993. They play at Eck Stadium
Eck Stadium
Eck Stadium is the home of the Wichita State Shockers baseball team in Wichita, Kansas. It has played host to the Shockers since its completion in 1984. Officially called Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field it is sometimes informally referred to as Eck.The stadium, which has gone through numerous...
.
The men's basketball team
Wichita State Shockers men's basketball
The Wichita State Shockers basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Conference...
reached the Final Four in 1965, the Elite Eight in 1981 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2006. The men's basketball team won the 2011 National Invitation Tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
Championship, beating the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The men’s and women’s bowling teams have won numerous USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships http://bowl.com/tournaments/usbcitc/, including the men’s 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010 title and the women's 2005, 2007 and 2009 title.
The school discontinued its football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
program following the 1986 season due to poor attendance, financial red ink, NCAA recruiting violations, and the state of disrepair of Cessna Stadium
Cessna Stadium
Cessna Stadium, located in Wichita, Kansas, is the home of the Wichita State University Shocker track and field and soccer teams with a 30,000-seat capacity...
. Legendary NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
coach Bill Parcells
Bill Parcells
Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...
was a linebacker at WSU in 1962 and 1963 before serving as a graduate assistant in 1964. Wichita State University was also the first Division 1-A school to hire a black head coach in College Football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, Willie Jeffries
Willie Jeffries
Willie Jeffries, was a college football coach. In his 29-year career, Jeffries compiled a 179-132-6 record. He coached 19 years at his alma mater South Carolina State University in two stints, five years at Wichita State University, and five years at Howard University...
in 1979.
Shockers
The name for WSU's athletic teams is the Shockers and, collectively, students are also referred to as being "Shockers". The name reflects the University's heritage: Early students earned money by shocking, or harvesting, wheat in nearby fields. Early football games were played on a stubbled wheat field. Pep club members were known as Wheaties. Tradition has it that in 1904, football manager and student R.J. Kirk came up with the nickname Wheatshockers. http://www.wichita.edu/my/wushock.asp Although the Wheatshockers name was never officially adopted by the university, it caught on and survived until it was later shortened to Shockers. Until 1948, the university used a nameless shock of wheat as its symbol. WuShock came to life when junior Wilbur Elsea won the Kappa Pi honorary society's competition to design a mascot typifying the spirit of the school. Elsea, who had been a Marine during World War II, decided that "the school needed a mascot who gave a tough impression, with a serious, no-nonsense scowl."Once Elsea's mascot was adopted by the university, which by that time was known as the Municipal University of Wichita, all that was needed was a name. The Oct. 7, 1948, issue of The Sunflower, the student newspaper, ran an advertisement urging students to submit names for the school's new mascot. It was freshman Jack Kersting who suggested the winning name, "WuShock."
In 1998, WuShock, also referred to as "Wu," marked his 50th birthday by undergoing a redesign and getting a pumped-up physique and revved-up attitude. The mascot's costume has changed over the years, as well. With the redesign, a new costume was introduced in fall 1998. In fall 1999, the head of the new costume underwent another redesign after a number of supporters suggested the mascot needed a more intimidating look. In 2006 it was decided to once again update the Wu costume. The general consensus was that many wanted the costume to more accurately reflect the depiction of WU in the school's logo. The new WuShock now has the ability to run, jump, and walk up stairs without help. Many officials feel that a more professional and intimidating mascot on the field will certainly bolster WSU's image.
Football team plane crash
On October 2, 1970, the first, or "gold" plane (the twin plane to the second, or black, plane) carrying players and staff of the WSU football team took off from a ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
airport after refueling, bound for Logan, Utah
Logan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
, for a game against Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
. It flew into a mountain valley too narrow to enable it to turn back and smashed into a mountainside, killing 31 of the 40 players, administrators and fans near a ski resort 40 miles (64.4 km) away from Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
sent the president of the university a note which read, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to you in this time of sorrow."
Aerospace Engineering
The department was founded in 1928, the department of aerospace engineering has a long history of academic excellence, scholarship, and commitment to community. Located in the "Air Capital of the World," students and faculty benefit from Wichita's rich aviation heritage and close proximity to major aircraft companies. It has longstanding collaborative relationships with Airbus North AmericaAirbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Bombardier-Learjet
Bombardier Aerospace
Bombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...
, Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
, Hawker Beechcraft
Hawker Beechcraft
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is an aerospace manufacturing company that builds the Beechcraft and Hawker business jet lines of aircraft....
, Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. , based in Wichita, Kansas, is the world's largest first-tier aerostructures manufacturer. The company builds several important pieces of Boeing aircraft, including the fuselage of the 737, portions of the 787 fuselage, and the cockpit of nearly all of its airliners...
, and other Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
concerns.
The Cooperative Education Program facilitates placements for students while they are in school. Outstanding students work as co-ops or interns locally and at NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
(including the Johnson Space and Dryden Flight Research Centers).
National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
and U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
statistics, for fiscal year 2008, ranked Wichita State University as Top 3 among all U.S. universities in money spent on aerospace research and development, with $32.9 million in expenditures. That's an improvement from the previous year's fourth-place ranking, and it places WSU in the company of Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, which were first and second, respectively. While ranking higher than Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, MIT and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. WSU faculty, staff, and students participate in this research. Wichita State University is also among the few institution granting a doctorate degree in Aerospace Engineering
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
which is of global repute.
The department teaches in the areas of composites, structures, Engineering mechanics
Applied mechanics
Applied mechanics is a branch of the physical sciences and the practical application of mechanics. Applied mechanics examines the response of bodies or systems of bodies to external forces...
, computational Fluid dynamics
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
, applied Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, and Flight simulation. Related facilities, in the Aerospace Engineering department and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), provide students an opportunity to experience the use of aerospace design tools.
Notable alumni
- Sam AdkinsSam AdkinsSamuel Adam Adkins is a former professional American football player. He attended Cleveland High School in Reseda, CA and Wichita State University. He played for the NFL Seattle Seahawks from 1977–1983, and is the only member of the Seahawks to wear the number 12...
- National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player for Seattle SeahawksSeattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, 1977–81; television personality for Seahawks broadcasts. - Valerie L. BaldwinValerie L. BaldwinValerie Lynn Baldwin was United States Assistant Secretary of the Army from 2004 to 2006.-Biography:Valerie L. Baldwin received a bachelor's degree from Wichita State University; a graduate degree from the London School of Economics; and, in 1991, a J.D...
- Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller)Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller)Assistant Secretary of the Army is a civilian office in the United States Department of the Army.-History and Mission:...
, 2004–06 - Chris Barnes - PBAProfessional Bowlers AssociationThe Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...
professional bowler (2007-08 PBA Player of the Year) and official USBCUnited States Bowling CongressThe United States Bowling Congress is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress, Women's International Bowling Congress, Young American Bowling Alliance, and USA Bowling...
spokesperson - James BillingsJames BillingsJames Billings is an American operatic baritone, librettist, and opera director. He began his career in the late 1950s in Boston and later became a member of the New York City Opera where he performed regularly from the early 1970s through the 1990s...
- operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, opera librettist, and opera director - Casey Blake - Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player for the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming... - Nate BowmanNate BowmanNathaniel "Nate the Snake" Bowman was an American basketball player....
-"The Snake" retired/deceased National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
Player - Karla BurnsKarla BurnsKarla Burns is an American operatic mezzo-soprano and actress who has performed nationally and internationally in opera houses, theatres, and on television...
- Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
and Laurence Olivier Award winning Actress and operatic mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. - Gary BurrellGary BurrellGary Burrell is an American businessman, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Garmin, makers of popular Global Positioning System devices.-Biography:...
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player - Joe CarterJoe CarterJoseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays....
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player - John CooperJohn CooperJohn Cooper may refer to:* John A. D. Cooper , American physician & educator* John B.R. Cooper , California pioneer* John Cooper, current director of the Sundance Film Festival...
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, and the University of South CarolinaUniversity of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House... - Joyce DiDonatoJoyce DiDonatoJoyce DiDonato is an award-winning American operatic mezzo-soprano particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Handel, Mozart, and Rossini...
- OperaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Star - Darren DreifortDarren DreifortDarren James Dreifort is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers whose career was cut short by numerous injuries.-Early career:...
- retired Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player with the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming... - P.J. Forbes - retired Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player - John FlemingJohn FlemingJohn Fleming was a judge in Cumberland County, Virginia who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses for more than a decade, working with John Robinson and Peyton Randolph. In 1764, he worked with Patrick Henry, George Johnston and Robert Munford on the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions...
- Basketball Shooting Coach known as "The Free Throw Guru" - Clara GuerreroClara GuerreroClara Juliana Guerrero Londoño is a Colombian bowler. She has won Colombian championships and multiple international championships in various competition categories...
- Colombian bowler - Koyie HillKoyie HillKoyie Dolan Hill is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Chicago Cubs.-Baseball career:While attending Wichita State University, Hill compiled a .355 batting average and 186 RBI primarily as a third baseman....
- Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player for the Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National... - Jessica Hughbanks - Castmember on Big Brother 8Big Brother 8Big Brother 8 can refer to:* Big Brother Australia 2008, the 2008 Australian edition of Big Brother* Big Brother 2007 , the 2007 UK edition of Big Brother* Big Brother 8 , the 2007 US edition of Big Brother...
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– retired American Basketball AssociationAmerican Basketball AssociationThe American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
player - Randy Jackson (running back) - (AKA Coach Jackson) National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player, 1972–74. A survivor of the 1970 WSU football team plane crash. Coached at Robinson Middle School in Wichita, Kan. - Shirley KnightShirley KnightShirley Enola Knight is an American stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in 1960 for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and in 1962 for Sweet Bird of Youth....
- Oscar nominated actress - Mike LansingMike LansingMichael Thomas Lansing is a former Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and the Boston Red Sox between 1993 and 2001...
- retired Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player - Lance LeGaultLance LeGaultLance LeGault , sometimes credited as W. L. LeGault, is an American film and television actor, best known as Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series The A-Team.-Personal life:...
- Actor - Cliff LevingstonCliff LevingstonClifford Eugene Levingston is a retired American basketball player in the NBA. Levingston starred at Wichita State University before being drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1982...
- retired National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player - Braden LooperBraden LooperBraden LaVerne Looper is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.-High school:Looper was a scholar athlete while a student at Mangum High School in Mangum, Oklahoma...
- Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
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- retired National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player - Pat MearesPat MearesPatrick James Meares is a former Major League Baseball shortstop.Meares was the 12th round draft pick of the 1990 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins, from Wichita State University....
- retired Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player - Doug MirabelliDoug MirabelliDouglas Anthony Mirabelli is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the San Francisco Giants , Texas Rangers , Boston Red Sox , and San Diego Padres before returning to the Red Sox to end his eleven year career...
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player for the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League... - M. Lee PeltonM. Lee PeltonDr. Marvin Lee Pelton is an academic administrator and college president. A native of Kansas, he held leadership roles at Colgate University and Dartmouth College before becoming the first African-American president of an independent college when he became Willamette University's president in 1998...
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- eminent author, Muslim scholar and US State Department sponsored international relation builder.
Alma Mater
Our alma mater Wichita,Stands Proudly on the hill;
Our sons and daughters bow to thee,
Our hearts with praise we fill.
Then, hail! Alma Mater!
Hail, thee, Grand and True,
Long wave the Yellow and Black,
O Wichita, Here's to you!
Around our lives are memories
That tenderly entwine; And
Thru the midst of the rolling years,
Of thee we build a shrine.
Then, hail! Alma Mater!
Hail, thee Grand and True,
Long wave the Yellow and the Black,
O Wichita, Here's to you!
Thy call to all that life hold dear
Is a clear and constant guide;
With Love and Truth and Loyalty,
And may they e'er abide.
Then, hail! Alma Mater!
Hail, thee Grand and True,
Long wave the Yellow and the Black,
O Wichita, Here's to you!
(Before basketball games, when the Alma Mater is sung, it is traditional for the entire crowd to shout "BLACK!" along with the song.)
Further reading
- History of Wichita and Sedgwick County Kansas : Past and present, including an account of the cities, towns, and villages of the county; 2 Volumes; O.H. Bentley; C.F. Cooper & Co; 454 / 479 pages; 1910. (Volume1 - Download 20MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 31MB PDF eBook)