WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement

We thrilled to be hosting the first-ever Shocktoberfest Entrepreneur Market at Wichita State tomorrow, welcoming nearly 20 local vendors to Woolsey Hall to share their companies with Shocker Nation. This is an exciting opportunity to showcase the talent found right here within our Wichita community, and we can't wait to see everyone who comes out! We have a special giveaway for the first 100 people through the door, so get there early and have a great time exploring some of the niche goods these entrepreneurs are bringing!

Need lunch plans today? Join the Ulrich Museum of Art for an Artist Talk featuring the Sip & Stitch club as they discuss the planning and hours that went into "yarn bombing" Millie the Millipede. Join them in the garden south of the Ulrich Museum at 12:15 p.m. to enjoy food trucks and to hear all about the artists' process. You can read more about their work in our blog article linked below! https://lnkd.in/gygEmuH4

Few collegiate sport histories can match the highs and lows of Wichita State University’s football program. On Oct. 2, 1970, in one of the worst tragedies of college sports history, a plane carrying WSU football players, athletic staff members and team boosters crashed, resulting in the deaths of 31 people. Today, we recognize and remember those Shockers, and honor the moments and the legacies of the many who graced the Shocker playing field. For 90 years, from 1896 to 1986, fall football games were rallying points for many in the Shocker community. Although the sport is no longer played at WSU, football still holds a very special place at our university. Over the past weekend, we welcomed back 75 former players to campus for a reunion, celebrating their history and remembering those who are no longer with us.

Each semester, our National Advisory Council members join us from across the country for our bi-annual business meetings, bringing their talent and expertise to our organization to help us in our mission to advance the university. We were thrilled to welcome members to our fall business meeting and social last week, where we celebrated student success and provided updates on exciting initiatives across campus. We also had the chance to welcome our newest members, Amy M. Williams, MBA, Tadd Fowler, Walter Berry, Kevin Dreiling, Will Cox and Al Alfaro -- thank you for helping us elevate Wichita State University! https://lnkd.in/gJ8e68xJ

Milestone achievements are always exciting to celebrate, and this one is extra special. Lynette Murphy, MA, CFRE reached 20 years of service with our organization this past month - an accomplishment reached over three separate tenures! She started with us in 1999 as a communications specialist, and after moving her way through a few different positions, she now serves as the senior director of development for the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Cohen Honors College. We are incredibly fortunate she's come back twice to champion our university. She is a phenomenal coworker, collaborator and advocate for Wichita State, and we are thrilled to recognize this achievement! Congratulations, Lynette! 

The Shocker Success Center has been open for a few months now, and last week we were honored to celebrate the building's official dedication on campus. We were joined by university and Shocker Success Center staff, members of our National Advisory Council and the many incredible donors who made this project possible. If you haven't had a chance to walk through the building to see its incredible transformation; we can't recommend it enough. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special evening!

We are thrilled to announce the 2024 Board of Trustees award winner: Jill Docking! The Board of Trustees award was established in 1989 to recognize those who strengthen the partnership between the university and community. Jill Docking far exceeds those parameters, serving as an active member in the Wichita community for her entire adult life. She is the founder and president of the Financial Fitness Foundation and has served as a trusted board member for a number of Kansas-based organizations, including the endowment and medical boards for the University of Kansas and the Kansas Health Foundation. Jill currently works as a director at The Docking Group. Join us in recognizing this achievement at our 2024 Heritage Gala on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Get your tickets today: Wichita.edu/HeritageGala.

Join us in congratulating our 2024 Young Alumni Award honoree: Ronald Baker! Ron graduated from Wichita State University in 2016, after an incredible collegiate career as one of college basketball's premier players. He helped lead WSU's men's basketball team to three conference titles and nine NCAA Tournament wins, including the 2013 Final Four appearance. He went on to a four-year career in professional leagues, playing for the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards and CSKA Basket (Moscow). Now returned to Wichita, Ron serves as the Business Operations Manager for Sports Medicine at Ascension Via Christi. We are thrilled to celebrate Ron's accomplishments at our 2024 Heritage Gala on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Get your tickets now: https://lnkd.in/gn5Ggxpg

Congratulations to our 2024 Social Impact Award honoree: Diana Ho! Diana is a 2016 Wichita State graduate, earning her Bachelor of Biology with minors in sociology and chemistry. She received her Doctorate of Optometry in 2020 and currently works as an optometrist serving patients in Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City. She has a deep passion for educating the public on the important connection between the eyes and systemic health, and works to address healthcare barriers in this space. She serves as a clinical director for the Special Olympics Opening Eyes program, where she conducts vision screenings for athletes throughout Kansas, and is an active volunteer beyond that, regularly working local events to champion healthcare in our community. We are thrilled to recognize Diana's work with this award. Join us to celebrate her on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at our second annual Heritage Gala. Get your tickets now: wichita.edu/HeritageGala

We are proud to announce our 2024 Alumni Achievement Award honoree: Junetta Everett! Junetta earned her degree from Wichita State in 1979, becoming the first African American Registered Dental Hygienist to graduate from the university. She joined Delta Dental of Kansas in 1987, serving as the VP of professional relations for 27 years. Junetta is highly involved with Wichita State and the greater Wichita community, serving on the WSU Board of Trustees, the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement board of directors and National Advisory Council, the Kansas Health Foundation board and a number of others. Junetta has an incredible legacy of community support, and we are honored to recognize her achievements with this award. We'll be celebrating her at our second annual Heritage Gala on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Get your tickets now: wichita.edu/HeritageGala