Choose Wichita State with President Rick Muma

Transcript

Wichita State’s tagline, student-centered, innovation driven is a commitment to empowering students through innovation, research, and hands-on learning. I had the privilege to visit with President Rick Muma, to explore how this philosophy shapes student success and the university’s future. Let’s take a look.

I mean, what tremendous growth you have had over the last 10 years, remarkable.

– Yeah. It’s amazing. You know, I’ve been here for 28 years, and in the first 15 years of my career here I thought, well, we’re moving along pretty well, but in the last nine years we’ve developed this innovation campus really with the idea of connecting our students to business and industry much, much sooner in their career as a student, so they’re ready to start working when they graduate.

– Yeah, I mean, how fantastic. What great opportunity like combining the companies with the students that apply learning.

– I wish I would’ve had something like that when I was in school.

– Yeah, me too. This place is insane. Unbelievable. I mean, the applied learning that the students here are getting here, incredible.

– It really is, and when we built this facility, one of the first buildings we built on the innovation campus to give students hands-on experiences with these robots, but there’s all other kinds of things that you are seeing here in this facility that students are working on, and it’s also exploded research at the university. We’ve increased our research by over 200%. We have annual research awards, about $400 million, giving students even more opportunities to work on those research grants that we have now and it’s just amazing.

– Yeah, these are lucky students.

– Well, I got some more stuff to show you.

– Alright, let’s see it.

– Come on follow me. So this is the Shocker Success Center. We just opened it. We really did build this with intentionality, bringing together about 20 different offices to help support students. Tutoring, Shocker support locker, career closet, all kinds of other testing services just for them.

– Yeah. One building.

– And they don’t have to go all over campus, it’s just right here. Took an old building, gutted it down to the concrete studs, and then made this fantastic, fabulous building.

– Yeah, you can tell the students love it. It’s amazing. Thanks for spending the day. This has been great.

– Yeah, absolutely.

– Yeah, it’s awesome. That’s remarkable, President Muma. With Wichita State’s focus on innovation and real world experiences, students are gaining the skills and confidence to tackle any challenge they face ready to lead in today’s ever changing world. Thank you so much for spending time with us.