Karen S Wilson

is honored with a Brick from Zachary Brown

The Barton School of Business Student Success Center would like to recognize Karen Wilson for more than 20 years of dedicated, professional service to our students, faculty, staff, and college. We wish her well as she celebrates her retirement beginning in September 2023! Karen can be best described as the glue that held everything together. She never sought to be the forefront of attention, but she was absolutely indispensable in making sure everything was just right. Karen held a variety of roles during her time at Wichita State beginning in the registrar's office. She later worked as an office coordinator in the FREDS (finance, real estate, decision sciences) department in the Barton School of Business, followed by the WSU Financial Aid office, and she concluded her employment at Wichita State as the office coordinator for the Barton School of Business Success Center. Karen worked to make sure that the office ran effectively and smoothly. She supervised our student assistants and made sure each of them felt valued and important while making sure that they were meeting high expectations. She was always the "go-to" person anytime anybody in the office didn't know how to do something. Karen may not have always known the answer right away, but she would always follow up and get back with that person with the answer in a prompt and diligent manner. Beyond her professional skills, Karen brought a calming presence and quiet grace to our office. She was warm, approachable, and friendly to all who crossed her path. She never stopped expanding her horizons and she tackled the project of being the resident webmaster for our office. She was adored by our student assistants who she hired and mentored through their time in our office. Several of our student assistants called her "the best boss ever!" and they were right. Karen was named the Barton School of Business Staff Member of the Year for 2022, and this award was well deserved. As her colleagues, we are grateful to have had the time to work with Karen. She made each of us better and she will be missed. We wish her all of the best in her future adventures in this next phase of life! Thank you Karen and happy retirement! Sincerely, Your colleagues in the Business Student Success Center.