History, Affiliations and Rankings
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas which began in 1886. Initially it was referred to as "Young Ladies College", "Wichita Ladies College", and "Congregational Female College". It was founded during a boom in college and university creation and it was envisioned to admit women twelve years and older who were "able to read, write, spell and recite the parts of speech. Wichita State University aims to be an important educational, economic and cultural driver of development for the city of Kansas. It was formally established in 1895 as Fairmount College, and then turned into Municipal University of Wichita (WU) in 1926 and finally received its current moniker, WSU in 1964. Reverend Joseph Homer Parker founded Fairmount College in 1886 and the classes began in the year 1895. Further, in 1963, a new state university was approved and the natives of Wichita raised $1.5 million for the endowment of the university Since private ownership was not allowed in early 1900, the university required endowment funds for its establishment. Academically, it is a part of the Space Grant. It also holds regional accreditation since 1927 from the Higher Learning Commission.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
Wichita State University is a public institution which is spread over an area of 330 acres. It is located in the southern part of Kansas, which is the largest city in the state. In addition to the spectacular main campus, they also have six satellite locations - WSU Old Town-A, WSU Old Town-B, WSU Old Town-C, WSU Haysville, WSU South and WSU West. Wichita State University's Innovation Campus brings together resources, ideas, expertise and student talent to make the world a better place. The university has 6 academic colleges under its name and the graduate students are offered the option of choosing from numerous and also the option of earning degrees from the W. Frank Barton School of Business and the other schools of Engineering and Education.
Accomplishments and Alumni
WSU is one of three research institutions in the state of Kansas, along with Kansas State University (KSU) and the University of Kansas (KU). As of 2018, the university has an endowment of $264.3 million. The University has been ranked #1 by the National Science Foundation in industry-funded aerospace research. WSU has a long tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship that spurs the economy and serves the needs of the local community. WSU is an NCAA Division I institution competing in the American Athletic Conference and fields teams in tennis, cross-country, basketball, track, golf, men's baseball and women's volleyball and softball. Also, it offers club sports such as crew, bowling, shooting sports, and other intramural sports. The notable alumni from WSU include Valerie Baldwin (Assistant Secretary of the Army), Jim Bede (founder of Bede Aviation), Dan and Frank Carney (co-founders of Pizza Hut), Vivel Lall (CEO of Reliance Industries) and Dwane Wallace (Former CEO and Chairman of Cessna).
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
WSU has international students from about 100 countries, out of which 73% are enrolled in undergraduate courses and 27% in graduate ones. Moreover WSU has about 16,000 students, of which approximately 1,700 are on non-immigrant visas. In 2019, the University had 230 graduates. Further, it has an International Student Hardship fund, whose purpose is to provide interim financial support to qualified international students in need of emergency financial assistance to enable them to continue their academic pursuits at Wichita State University. WSU’s Innovation Campus has partnerships with global, national and regional brands which include but are not limited to Airbus, Boston Consulting Group, Hyatt Place, NetApp, Martin Defense Group and YMCA. Alumni from WSU are notably recruited by Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing, Amazon, Cisco and BOMBARDIER.
