Wichita State University’s president Richard Muma tapped into his personal history with the university to write his newest book titled “Student Centered, Innovation Driven.” The book looks at the university’s history and analyzes what went right and wrong, then uses that to pave a way forward.
“I think that my fifty-plus-year connection to Wichita State gives me a unique front-row seat and credibility to tell the contemporary story of Wichita State,” Muma wrote in the preface. “It needs to be told, so here goes.”
Muma’s history with WSU started when he was a child.
“More than fifty years before I became president of WSU, I was a little kid running through campus, visiting my grandparents who worked there,” Muma wrote.
His grandparents, Mary and Edward Blowers, worked for WSU from the 1950s-80s as a secretary in the philosophy department (Mary Blowers) and a purchasing director (Edward Blowers).
As the title suggests, the book delves into the students and the innovation that happens on campus. It looks deep into the makings of new and evolving school programs — mostly within Innovation Campus — to better understand what made the programs thrive.
By analyzing these parts of WSU’s history, Muma hopes that other institutions can learn from the mistakes and successes of WSU and its leaders.
Muma said in an interview that he wrote the book with people in higher education in mind. Each chapter ends with a “considerations for the reader” section, which poses questions for other higher education leaders to ask themselves both introspectively and about their campus.
But the book is also for “people who are, you know, industry folks; people who want to potentially partner with a higher education institution,” Muma said.
WSU takes much pride in its industry partners, and this book continues that trend. Muma writes proudly of the collaborations WSU undertakes.
The applied learning model
Part of the innovation discussed in the book is the connections WSU has made with industries. This includes connections within Innovation Campus, but also the applied learning opportunities within every program that connect students with companies in their field.
The applied learning model merges education with industry partners to bring real-world opportunities to students. This allows students to step out of the classroom and learn hands-on.
Muma thinks that the applied learning model sets WSU apart from other universities. More than once in the book, Muma discusses WSU distancing itself from the elitist culture of some other universities.
“Wichita State is not — and does not want to be — an elite private East Coast or flagship institution,” Muma wrote.
When asked why accessibility is more important than prestige, Muma said the “main function” in higher education is accessibility.
“I can’t get my head wrapped around exclusivity in higher education,” Muma said.
He said he doesn’t understand how this exclusivity could be a good idea for society as a whole.
Diversity
While the university has been rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion language in line with trends in higher education across the U.S. pushed by federal and state restrictions, the book repeatedly boasts the campus’ diversity.
After calling Wichita “one of the state’s most diverse communities,” — based on an article looking into diverse cities in America — Muma wrote, “This array of diversity generates a wealth of opportunity, and it’s a guiding star on our path to achieving excellence.”
In Chapter 5 — titled “Embrace Your Identity” — Muma writes, “We have a distinct culture, we’re not afraid to get our hands dirty, and we serve a diverse community of students.”
Muma said in an interview that these messages were important because multiculturalism is a “learning opportunity for students to be able to understand people’s differences, but still have a civil discourse with them.”
“I can’t imagine any time where I would not think that that’s important,” Muma said.
Muma said that “the most exciting thing” about his job is being able to talk to the diverse group of individuals on campus. Muma said that despite any law or lawmaker, diversity is inevitable.
“Gay, straight, black, brown, white, whatever,” Muma said. “It’s who we are. It’s our future, and we’re here to support them.”
Learning from Bardo
Muma wrote frequently about former university president John Bardo. His perspective is that Bardo, while not being a perfect president, was a “visionary” that did a lot for the university.
“He wasn’t without faults, right?” Muma said. “And, you know, he was moving a vision forward that was at the time controversial… He sometimes wasn’t a great communicator at times, and that caused some friction.”
Jay Price, a history professor, was quoted saying, “There’s a difference between feeling heard and feeling like you were part of the process. There was a feeling that you could vent, but it wouldn’t do any good.”
While some faculty members weren’t fans of Bardo’s way of moving forward because they felt left out, engineering professor Jan Twomey felt it was something the university needed.
“Bardo kind of bulldozed over everyone, but someone needs to be a leader,” Twomey was quoted saying. “Someone needs to say, ‘This is what we’re going to do. This is the direction we’re going.’ And as an engineering faculty, when it came to the Innovation Campus, I didn’t mind that. Other people on campus were upset because they didn’t have a voice in all of this. But, you know, we don’t need to have a voice in everything.”
Despite that friction, Muma still respects Bardo for the innovation that he brought to WSU. That innovative mind is what Muma said he tries to learn from going forward, but he also wants to be a better communicator than Bardo was.
“One of the things that I feel like I do a lot is communicate with the constituency groups and students and interact with people as much as I can,” Muma said.
And for students and faculty, Muma encourages bringing ideas to him if they feel they are being left out of the innovation.
“Don’t wait on me or the provost or a dean,” Muma said. “Figure out how you can be a part of that (innovation).”
