Innovation Campus
A big part of WSU President John Bardo's vision for the future of the university is the Innovation Campus, which offers outside companies the opportunity to build infrastructure on school grounds — and to bring with them new ideas, technology, jobs and internships.
To help give Bardo's vision substance, Wichita State will receive $2 million in funding from the Kansas Legislature toward the development of the Innovation Campus, which will be used to increase high-tech business start-ups.
The university has selected WDM Architects to design the first building of what is expected to be a five-building campus, which will be built on the southeast portion of WSU's campus.
The first building is set to be constructed on the site where the Wheatshocker Apartments now stand. The Innovation Campus is also expected to be home to WSU's W. Frank Barton School of Business. WDM will work with Perkins & Will, a global architecture firm, on the design. Wichita-based Professional Engineering Consultants PA will handle the engineering work. Construction is expected to begin in February 2015.
NetApp, a Silicon Valley-based data storage company that employs about 500 people in Wichita, is the first announced tenant of the Innovation Campus.NetApp and Wichita State already have a partnership that allows students to obtain real-world experience — the Innovation Campus is designed to create and expand such partnerships, supporting experience for students and technology development for business.
ABI Group of Companies, which has business interests that range from transport to information technology and the media industry, has also been announced as a future tenant of the Innovation Campus. ABI is building a manufacturing plant and hangar in Newton, Kan., for the purpose of producing a next-generation aerospace coating associated with chemical milling. As ABI enters the fold of the Innovation Campus, the company — which is headquartered in Wichita's Delano district — is also partnering with the National Institute for Aviation Research at WSU. NIAR will be helping fine tune the coating being produced at the new facility to be marketed to the aerospace and related industries.
Wichita State's Newest Dean
Kimberly Engber, who joined WSU's faculty in 2007, has served as dean of WSU's newest college since Jan. 19. The Honors College was approved by the Board of Regents this fall and will welcome its first class in August 2014. Since July 2012, Engber has been director of the Emory Lindquist Honors Program, now part of the Honors College.
Thanks, Bruce Cutler
Founded in 1974 by Bruce Cutler, the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing became one of 13 programs nationwide. Whereas most MFA programs were two years in length, Cutler shaped WSU's MFA to be a three-year, in-residence, studio-academic program. Using the same model today, the program is competitive and attracts students wanting an immersive experience. For more on the history of the program, visit TheShockerMagazine.com and search for "Wordcraft."
Welcome, Debra Fraser
KMUW will welcome new general manager and director Debra Fraser to the Wichita Public Radio station July 1. Fraser comes to Wichita from Houston Public Media/University of Houston, where she served as COO and station manager from 2007 to 2013.
