WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY

'Wichita State University' (WSU) is an American state-supported university located in the city of Wichita, Kansas. 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 A.P.A. accredited clinical psychology); educational administration; and aerospace, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering.
With an enrollment of more than 15,000, 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 is modern and accessible and at the same time retains the flavor of the University's 110-year heritage. The campus also has one of the largest outdoor sculpture collections of any U.S. university. Approximately 1000 students live in campus dormitories.

Contents

History

Alma Mater

Athletics

Shockers

Football team tragedy

Faculty Awards

Notable alumni

WSU Gallery

External links

History

Wichita State University was instituted as Fairmount College, a private Congregational school, in 1886 by the Rev. Joseph Homer Parker. The college continued the preparatory program of Fairmount Institute which began 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; it was the first municipal university west of the Mississippi.
After 38 years as a municipal university, WSU again changed its status on July 1, 1964, when it officially entered the state system of higher education. Now, Wichita State University is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents.

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.)

Athletics

WSU is a NCAA Division I institution, and fields teams in tennis, cross-country, basketball, track, golf, crew, bowling, men's baseball, and women's volleyball and softball. The men's baseball team is one of college baseball's most successful programs since the late 1970's, 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. The men's basketball team reached the Final Four in 1964, the Elite Eight in 1981 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2006. The men’s and women’s bowling teams have won numerous USBC Collegiate Bowling Championships, including the men’s 2003 title and the women's 2005 and 2007 title.

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. [1] 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.
The "Shockers" are also known for the hand gesture used by many students and fans, often referred to as the shocker. The Shocker is held up during free throws and three point shots at basketball games. It has evolved from a sexual reference to just a general hand signal identifying the team.

Football team tragedy

:''Main article: Wichita State University Crash''
On October 2, 1970, the first, or "gold" plane (the twin plane to the second, or black, plane) took off from a Colorado airport after refueling, bound for Logan, Utah for a game against Utah State University. It would never reach its destination.
It pulled into a mountain valley too narrow to turn back. The plane smashed into a mountainside, killing 31 of the 40 players, administrators and fans near a ski resort 40 miles 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."

Faculty Awards

★ Wilson Baldridge MCLL, 2006 PEN award for Poetry in translation.

★ Albert Goldbarth, 1991 and 2001 National Book Critics Circle awards.

Notable alumni

★ Frank Barton - co-founder of Rent-A-Center

★ Casey Blake - Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians

★ Rebecca Brandewyne - author

★ Dan and Frank Carney - co-founders of Pizza Hut

★ Antoine Carr - retired National Basketball Association player

★ Joe Carter - retired Major League Baseball player

★ Dean Corrin - Member of the Playwrights Ensemble at Chicago's Tony award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre

★ Tom Devlin - co-founder of Rent-A-Center

★ Joyce DiDonato - Opera Star

★ Darren Dreifort - retired Major League Baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers

★ P.J. Forbes - retired Major League Baseball player

★ Patrick Healey Jr - professional bowler

★ Koyie Hill - Major League Baseball player for the Chicago Cubs

★ Mike Lansing - retired Major League Baseball player

★ Cliff Levingston - retired National Basketball Association player

★ Braden Looper - Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals

★ Xavier McDaniel - retired National Basketball Association player

★ Pat Meares - retired Major League Baseball player

★ Doug Mirabelli - Major League Baseball player with the Boston Red Sox

★ Bill Parcells - Former Head Coach in the National Football League

★ Femi Pedro - Deputy Governor of Lagos State,Nigeria

★ Michael Pelfrey - Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets

★ Roy Phillips - Cessna Engineer, Athletics Supporter

★ Jessica Hughbanks - Castmember on Big Brother 8

★ Dennis Rader - serial killer known as BTK

★ Samuel Ramey - Opera star

★ Sean Rash - professional bowler

★ Nate Robertson - Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers

★ Ryan Schaefer - Works at the Office of Management and Budget Science and Space Branch.

★ Stanley Schaefer - Division Chief at NASA, former flight controller in mission control, first WSU graduate to co-op at NASA.

★ Tom Sawyer (Kansas politician) - Kansas Politician, Democratic State Party Chair 1999-2003, Kansas House Majority Leader 1991-92 (only Wichitan to serve in that post in last 30 years, only 4th Democrat to ever hold that position), House Minority Leader 1993-1999, Democratic Nominee for Governor- 1998.

★ Dave Stallworth - retired National Basketball Association player

★ Nicole Stockdale - newspaper copy editor, blogger

★ Dwane Wallace - Former chairman and president of Cessna Aircraft Co.

★ Eric Wedge - Manager of Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians

★ Paul Wight - professional wrestler known as "The Big Show"

★ Shane Dennis - traded by the San Diego Padres to Japan for Hideki Irabu

WSU Gallery

External links

★ Wichita State University

★ History of Wichita State University

★ Ulrich Museum of Art

★ W. Frank Barton School of Business

★ Devlin Hall, Center for Entrepreneurship

★ Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs

★ Wichita State University Athletics

★ Holmes Museum of Anthropology

★ Department of Anthropology

★ The Wichita State University Sunflower