FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2019
KBOR appoints members to Wichita State University Presidential Search Committee
(Topeka, Kan.) - The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) today appointed 20 members to the committee that will assist and advise the Board in the search for the next president of Wichita State University (WSU). The search committee includes representation from university students, faculty, staff, alumni and the Wichita community. The Board named Steve Clark of Wichita as chair of the search committee. Clark, a former Regent, is chairman of Clark Investment Group. He previously chaired the search committee that advised the Board in the hiring of former WSU president, Dr. John Bardo.
“The members of the search committee possess a wealth of experience and bring a variety of important perspectives to the search process,” said Regent Mark Hutton, Vice Chair of the search committee. “I’m confident the committee will identify several highly qualified finalists to recommend to the Board.”
Search committee members from the campus community include Kitrina Miller, Wichita State University Student Body President; Brandon Eckerman, President of the Student Ambassador Society at Wichita State; Dr. Rhonda K. Lewis, professor and chair of the psychology department at Wichita State University; Dr. Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn, Director of the School of Music at Wichita State University; Shirley Lefever, Dean of the College of Applied Studies at Wichita State University; Camille Childers, Director of Student Health Services at Wichita State University; and Lou Heldman, Wichita State University’s Vice President of Strategic Communications and member of the Board of Directors of the Wichita State Innovation Alliance.
Search committee members from the WSU Foundation and Wichita community include Dr. Alicia Thompson, Superintendent of Wichita Public Schools; Lyndon Wells, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Wichita State University Campus of Technical and Applied Science (WSU Tech); Jerry Aaron, member of the WSU National Advisory Committee; Dan Unruh, partner with InSite Real Estate Group and adjunct professor with the WSU Finance, Real Estate and Decision Sciences department; Tom Gentile President and Chief Executive Officer of Spirit AeroSystems; John O’Leary, Vice President of Engineering at Airbus Americas; David D. Mitchell, Managing Partner of Mitchell & Richards, member of the WSU National Advisory Council and board member of the Wichita State Innovation Alliance; Dr. Debbie Haynes, Chair of the Wichita State University Foundation board of directors; Steve Feilmeier, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Koch Industries; Sheryl Wohlford, President and Co-Owner of Automation-Plus and member of the WSU Board of Trustees and the WSU National Advisory Council.
Search committee members representing the Board of Regents include Mark Hutton, Regent, and Dr. Blake Flanders, KBOR President and CEO.
Please find bios for all committee members here.
The Board also approved the hiring of Wheless Partners as a search firm to assist with identifying and recruiting potential candidates for the position of Wichita State University president. In addition, the Regents approved a formal committee charge, which is available here.
For more information, please contact Matt Keith at (785) 430-4237 or
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About the Kansas Board of Regents:
The nine-member Kansas Board of Regents is the governing board of the state’s six universities and the statewide coordinating board for the state’s 32 public higher education institutions (six state universities, one municipal university, nineteen community colleges, and six technical colleges). In addition, the Board administers the state’s student financial aid, adult education, high school equivalency, and career and technical education programs. Private proprietary schools and out-of-state institutions are authorized by the Kansas Board of Regents to operate in Kansas.