CONTENTS

Shockers celebrate their first homecoming in decades with bears, bonfires, buttons and banners, tiaras, pancakes, parade floats — and MC Hammer.

Amidst the glitter and gleam of the disco-themed Studio 54th WSU Alumni Awards ceremony at the Wichita Marriott Hotel, five outstanding Shocker alumni, faculty, staff and one organization were spotlighted for their professional achievements and service.

For 30 some years and counting, this Kansas-born artist has been using the land as both palette and canvas.

Readers share what's on their minds.

Shockers everywhere, at events long ago or happenings just the other day, always have something interesting to say.

Shockers converged in St. Louis March 5-7 for the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, where the 10 MVC member teams vied for the annual championship — and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Members of the University of Wichita’s Class of 1959 returned to campus Oct. 2-3 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation.

Shocker Faces are spotted just about everywhere -- from Little Cayman in the Caribbean, to right here in Wichita, to Bar Harbor, Maine.

Check out this run-down of alumni activities.

Debbie Kennedy, WSU Alumni Association executive director, provides a spring line-up of alumni activities -- and remembers George Fahnestock '69.

Collin Stieben '00 gives his final The Shocker message as 2009-2010 president of the WSU Alumni Association.

James J. Rhatigan, WSU dean emeritus of student affairs, will be honored as the 2010 Humanitarian of the Year during the sixth annual An Evening of Note, Mon., May 3 at the Crown Uptown Dinner Theatre in Wichita.

Thanks to the quick action of alert fans at the Wichita State men’s basketball game on New Year’s night, Ab Carnahan is still alive.

These Gleanings entries survey the current university scene and feature original illustrations by Scott Dawson ’86.

Levente Sulyok, WSU assistant professor of painting and drawing, was born in Hungary, where he was raised in the twilight years of communism.

The product of three Shockers and an artful idea, Fract/ons is an independent arts journal put together and printed in Wichita. Its debut edition, out in December 2009, and its second installment feature works by poets, fiction writers, artists, photographers and a Q&A piece on a selected artist.

The goal was to package 1 million meals for victims of the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti Jan. 12 and left millions homeless and hungry. Nearly 3,000 people showed up at Wichita State’s Metropolitan Complex Feb. 5-7 to help in the effort, packaging 641,000 meals over the course of the two-and-a-half-day event.

Women of note, including the late Laura (McMullen) Cross ’25, were recognized at the annual Honoring Our Heroines event, which took place March 8 (2010) at Wichita State’s Marcus Welcome Center.

This April 14-17, the Wichita Jazz Festival cues up a new thematic note: a celebration of women.

A gallery of both literary and visual art, Shock Art showcases work by Wichita State University alumni, faculty and students.

The Shockers took on the Wolf Pack of Nevada in the first round of the 2010 National Invitational Tournament in front of a home crowd of 9,112.

Sara (Dickenson) Quinn ’86, shown here as editor of WSU’s yearbook, the Parnassus, is the 2009 Elliott School of Communication outstanding graduate. She teaches journalism, leadership and multimedia at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

Roger F. Rand ’78 is a man on the move. As performance project supervisor for oil services company Baker Hughes’ African operation, his current territory covers 22 districts across the continent. His assignments have included two weeks in Equatorial Guinea and a fortnight in Ghana.

As she strolled down the red carpet at the 2010 Grammy Awards, Kim Cameron '88 might not have been the absolute center of attention — she happened to be walking in next to pop superstar Lady Gaga.

Wichita State senior Dustin Garza hasn’t just kicked his golf game up a notch, he’s taken it into overdrive.

Cody Lassley hits a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Shockers battle back to sweep the series against the Bradley Braves in March.

From baseball Hall of Fame inductees to a Shocker House and more, Sports Briefs covers a lot of spring 2010 real estate.

Comings, goings, appointments, retirements, honors, accolades and other personal alumni news.

George Angle, George Fahnestock and these Wichita State graduates and friends leave lasting legacies.

A thank-you note from Wichita State University, its alumni association and athletics department to the hundreds of sponsors, contributors, event volunteers and attendees of the annual fundraising extravaganza.

Jewelry shoppers at The Bag Ladies, a Wichita accessories store, are taking a shine to Chelsea Eck’s creations.

When Boeing’s first 787 lifted off on its maiden flight at 10:28 a.m., Dec. 15, 2009, from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., a Shocker was at the controls. Mike Carriker ’78, Boeing’s chief pilot for the 787 Dreamliner, was captain.

Boonmark Sirinaovakul ’87 believes in continuous achievement, and his track record of accomplishments, both in and out of academe, proves it.

This past fall Michael Pointer ’02 was in Afghanistan, where he helped set up a full-service dental laboratory and taught dental technology with the Afghanistan Dental Relief Project.

Check out the news about a jack-of-all-trades, game show results, John-Deere green and more — with illustrations by Wade Hampton.