Wichita State’s school of nursing is now the Ascension Via Christi School of Nursing because of the health care group’s investment into Wichita State and the Wichita Biomedical Campus. The new name went into effect Thursday.
“The College of Health Professions, as well as the university itself, has a decades-long partnership with Ascension Via Christi,” said Telly MaGaha, president and CEO of the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement. “And that has really been centered around delivering health care education, not just in Wichita, but throughout the state of Kansas.”
The Wichita Biomedical Campus is currently under construction off Broadway and Douglas. The biomedical corridor would include nearby healthcare facilities, including Ascension Via Christi St. Francis, COMCARE and the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Kevin Strecker, Ascension Via Christi’s CEO, said the nursing school’s name change reflects a shared commitment to healthcare in Wichita.
“It’s an opportunity to tie our names and our futures more closely together,” Strecker said. “Today’s announcement reflects more than an aim, and represents a shared commitment to the biomed corridor.”
Officials announced the change at the Marcus Welcome Center Thursday morning with around 100 people attending, including Wichita Mayor Lily Wu, WSU administrators, deans and faculty from the College of Health Professions.
In the announcement, Strecker said that the partnership will benefit students’ learning experiences and opportunities, as well as serve Kansas patients.
“We’re deepening our investment, not just in Wichita State but in the biomedical campus and the future healthcare workforce that it will shape,” Strecker said. “Next year, that campus will open and be a space where nurses, doctors, technicians and researchers will learn and grow side by side. That kind of interdisciplinary training is exactly what the city’s health care environment demands, and it’s exactly what our patients deserve.”
College of Health Professions Dean Gregory Hand said that the naming will elevate the school and the students beyond the money invested.
“To have a school, like a school of nursing, that is named by a national organization, elevates the schools way beyond the money,” Hand said. “And so for the university, it elevates us, it elevates the school. It elevates the College of Health Professions. It puts us on the national stage.”
Hand said he has worked closely with Ascension Via Christi during his five years as dean, but he thinks there is more to do.
“They became our designated – our affiliated teaching hospital in 2022, and this is the next step,” Hand said. “It’s not the last step. There’s more to do, but I’m very excited about moving to this level, and I look forward to moving to the next level.”
Ascension Via Christi currently employs more than 400 WSU alumni as nurses in its hospitals.
“Nearly 500 Shocker alumni are employed at Ascension where they care for patients, lead teams and bring our mission to life in ways both seen and unseen,” WSU President Rick Muma said in the announcement presentation. “Their support, especially in developing Kansas nursing workforce, has made a real and lasting difference.”
Phase One of the biomedical campus is expected to be open for students to attend in summer 2027.
