FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 16, 2020
KBOR appoints members to Wichita State University Presidential Search Committee
(Topeka, Kan.) - The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) today appointed 22 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. Last month the Board named Dan Peare of Wichita as chair of the search committee.
Student search committee members include Rija Khan, WSU Student Body President, Corinthian Kelly, WSU Graduate Student Council Representative, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Sierra Bonn, senior at WSU studying Engineering Technology Management with minors in Anthropology and Marketing.
Faculty, staff and administrative representatives include Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn, Faculty Senate President and Director of the School of Music, Melissa Walker, Professor College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Mehmet Bayram Yildirim, Professor, College of Engineering, Shirley Lefever, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost, Trish Gandu, Unclassified Professional Senate President, Randy Sessions, University Support Staff Senate President, Sheree Utash, President of Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology, and John Tomblin, Sr VP for Industry and Defense Programs and the Executive Director of the National Institute for Aviation Research.
The WSU Foundation and alumni are represented on the search committee by Elizabeth King, CEO of the Wichita State University Foundation, Jeff Turner, WSU alumnus, retired President and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., and Junetta Everett, WSU alumna, VP of Professional Relations for Delta Dental of Kansas.
Wichita community representatives include Charles Chandler, IV, CEO, INTRUST Bank, Steven Packebush, Founder and Partner, Elevar Partners, LLC, Yolanda Camarena, Board Member, Kansas Hispanic Education and Development Foundation, John Rolfe, Chief Business Officer, Kansas Leadership Center, and Paul Allen, Chief Executive of Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C.
Search committee members representing the Board of Regents include Allen Schmidt, Regent, and Dr. Blake Flanders, KBOR President and CEO.
Bios for all committee members are available here.
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.