University leaders addressed the student body in a virtual town hall, sharing updates on construction, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and campus safety. Student government leaders spoke with President Richard Muma, Vice President for Student Affairs Teri Hall, Provost Shirley Lefever and WSU’s Chief of Staff Zach Gearhart.

10-year master plan and current construction developments

Muma discussed campus projects on the horizon, highlighting plans to build new academic facilities, renovate others and remove those that are “out-of-date.” 

“(These out-of-date buildings) are not really positioned well for the future, or even current needs that students and faculty and staff have in terms of how they’d like to cover content in their classes,” Muma said.

Displaying a map of the various proposals, he said the plan would unify the campus and create more cohesiveness between its east and west sides. 

Muma also said students will also likely see development south of the campus, near the Fairmount neighborhood, over the next few years. 

Muma continued, speaking on some of the current construction projects occurring on campus, such as a facility for manufacturing research, the Wilkins Stadium expansion and a research facility for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

The panel was asked how the university is adapting to new legislation regarding DEI in public institutions in Kansas while still promoting a sense of belonging for students. 

“For us, the focus is on, how do we promote connection and truly belonging among students?” Hall said. “We found that many of the staff members had similar roles — just worked in different departments (referring to Student Engagement And Leadership and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion) and so by creating the Student Engagement and Belonging unit, it not only was more efficient, but actually brought more students — more staff members — to work together to really help create this notion of belonging for students … beyond diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Campus safety

While Hall said Wichita State has been increasing the number of security cameras to promote the safety of students on campus, she said that better communication was something the administration was working on to promote safety.

“We’re being better connected and communicative … making sure that we are having the right people communicate and work together to solve problems,” she said

Hall also said student feedback is important to addressing safety concerns and by looking at their experiences, administration can better help students gain access to the resources they need. 

The next town hall

The SGA hosts a town hall once a semester and the panel is usually the same. Students can submit questions for the next town hall by emailing [email protected] for consideration either before or during the next event. The official date for the next town hall has not been announced. 

Editors note: This story has been updated to accurately name the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine.