Shockers everywhere, at events long ago or happenings just the other day, always have something interesting to say. Take this sampling as a Shock Talk example:
“Professionalism is the word that best describes Ceasar as a performer, a teacher, a recruiter and a colleague. In all these areas he reflects innate musical talent, enthusiasm, imagination and personal integrity.”
— Gordon Terwilliger, former WSU fine arts dean, in recommending James Ceasar as WSU Endowment Association Distinguished Professor of Music in 1980. Ceasar, retired professor of violin, died May 4.
“I have never been happier for a player than Clint McKeever. Phenomenal. It’s a storybook ending.”
— Coach Gene Stephenson, in the June 2 Wichita Eagle on McKeever’s 10th inning two-out grand slam, sending WSU to a super regional with an 11-7 win over Oklahoma State, which cut McKeever as a walk-on in 2005.
“When I mentioned the availability of the kitchen to one of the students taking the class, she flashed me a quizzical look and asked, ‘And that would be for…’ ”
— Les Anderson, WSU associate professor, writing in the May 15 Ark Valley News about an extended journalism work trip to tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kan. See On the Hill.
“Mick Jagger said when he was in his mid-20s, ‘If I’m singing Satisfaction when I’m 40, I’m going to kill myself.’ He’s now 65, and I recall that he sang Satisfaction here at WSU less than two years ago. Well, things change, perspectives change, and we all have some way to rationalize what we’re doing and why.”
— Commerce Bank vice chairman Marilyn Pauly ’72, reflecting on her pioneering path as a woman in banking at the April 25 Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series breakfast.
On campus, your alumni magazine is prominently displayed at selected sites. So, for instance, visit the Rhatigan Student Center’s first floor information desk and pick up a copy. Or drop in at LAS headquarters and notice framed covers of the magazine featuring LAS profs (Peer Moore-Jansen and Delores Craig-Moreland are two examples), or check out the framed Coda pages penned by WSU English faculty showcased in Lindquist Hall offices. But what about corporate offices in and outside of Wichita? Turns out, The Shocker, WuShock and WSU memorabilia in general are key decorating elements in a number of business enterprises, including Pizza Huts.
To cite a couple of examples: when the call went out at Pizza Hut’s Dallas corporate office for “hometown” décor to grace the executive conference room, Charlie Short ’89, the company’s director of business analysis and finance, knew it had to include Shocker artifacts, nevermind that Kansas was two states away. The result was a framed collage, pictured here, with — among other Kansas-related items — a Shocker bumper sticker, a smiling WuShock and a cover of the spring 2008 issue of The Shocker magazine. There could be more hometown publicity for WSU, too, if the redecoration of a Pizza Hut on N. Broadway in Wichita goes forward as planned. In this case, a cover of The Shocker magazine would be part of the interior design, so when diners’ eyes wander, they could feast on The Shocker — along with their favorite pizza.
