Allan Wicker
Allan W. Wicker (born 1941) studied with the founders of ecological psychology, Roger G. Barker and Herbert Wright, in the social psychology program at the University of Kansas, where he earned the Ph.D. in 1967. He taught at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana before taking a position at Claremont Graduate School (now Claremont Graduate University) in 1971, where he was a professor of psychology until early retirement in 1999. He is currently an emeritus professor.
Best-known contributions.
Wicker is recognized for significant contributions to ecological psychology and for a widely cited paper on the attitude-behavior relationship.
Ecological Psychology.
His "Introduction to Ecological Psychology" (1979) was praised by reviewers for providing a readable and personal account of the empirical and theoretical works of ecological psychologists. One reviewer noted these contributions of the text: connection of ecological psychology with other specialties in psychology and with related disciplines, revision of traditional positions that Wicker viewed as unnecessarily restrictive, and "development of original, constructive advances within the [ecological psychology] framework".
In subsequent publications, Wicker sought to refine and elaborate the basic environmental unit of ecological psychology, the behavior setting. According to Scott, "Wicker emerged as the individual in this group of researchers [ecological psychologists following Barker] who has taken the theoretical conceptualizations the farthest. Wicker (1987) proposed four extensions of behavior setting theory, now adding considerations of the life cycles of behavior settings, the larger contextual environments of the molar level setting environments, the individuals within the settings (this point brought him into some disagreement with the classicists), and more practical applications of settings".
Social Psychology.
In 1969, Wicker published a review paper on the relationship between verbal expressions of attitudes and overt behaviors that stimulated much debate and research in social psychology. The paper was designated a "citation classic" in 1980.
Honors and recognition.
Wicker was elected a Fellow of the following divisions of the American Psychological Association: Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Society for Community Research and Action, and Division of Population and Environmental Psychology. He was president of the last-mentioned division in 1985–1986. He is a Charter Member Emeritus and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. Wicker has held Fulbright appointments in Zimbabwe (1989), Ghana (1993), Malaysia (1997), and Japan (2009). His "Working in Ghana" project, which documents the work lives of more than 50 Ghanaian and expatriate workers, grew out of the Ghana appointment (see External Links below).
Selected publications.
Book.
Wicker, A. W. (1984). "An introduction to ecological psychology". New York: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1979)
References.
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University of Kansas
Public university in Lawrence, Kansas, US
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. There are also educational and research sites in Garden City, Hays, Leavenworth, Parsons, and Topeka, an agricultural education center in rural north Douglas County, and branches of the medical school in Salina and Wichita. The university is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Founded March 21, 1865, the university was opened in 1866 under a charter granted by the Kansas State Legislature in 1864 and legislation passed in 1863 under the state constitution, which was adopted two years after the 1861 admission of the former Kansas Territory as the 34th state into the Union.
As of fall 2022[ [update]], 23,872 students were enrolled at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses with an additional 2,836 students enrolled at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) for a total enrollment of 26,708 students across the three campuses. Overall, the university (including KUMC) employed 3,196 faculty members (faculty, faculty administrators, librarians, and unclassified academic staff) in fall 2022[ [update]].
Kansas's athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I sports as the Jayhawks, as members of the Big 12 Conference. They field 16 varsity sports, as well as club-level sports for ice hockey, rugby, men's volleyball, soccer, basketball, rock climbing, triathlon, cross country, track, swim, pickleball, table tennis, and water skiing.
History.
On February 20, 1863, Kansas Governor Thomas Carney signed into law a bill creating the state university in Lawrence. The law was conditioned upon a gift from Lawrence of a $15,000 endowment fund and a site for the university, in or near the town, of not less than of land. If Lawrence failed to meet these conditions, Emporia instead of Lawrence would get the university.
The site selected for the university was a hill known as Hogback Ridge (later known as Mount Oread), which was privately donated by Charles L. Robinson, the Republican governor of the state of Kansas from 1861 to 1863, and one of the original settlers of Lawrence, Kansas. Robinson and his wife Sara bestowed the site to the State of Kansas in exchange for land elsewhere. The philanthropist Amos Adams Lawrence donated $10,000 of the necessary endowment fund, and the citizens of Lawrence raised the remaining money themselves via private donations. On November 2, 1863, Governor Carney announced Lawrence had met the conditions to get into the state university, and the following year the university was officially organized.
The school's Board of Regents held its first meeting in March 1865, which is the event that KU dates its founding from. Work on the first college building began later that year. The school opened for classes on September 12, 1866, and the first class graduated in 1873. According to William L. Burdick, the first degree awarded by the university was a Doctor of Divinity, bestowed upon noted abolitionist preacher Richard Cordley.
During the early development of the University of Kansas, Chancellors Joshua Lippincott, Francis H. Snow, and Frank Strong, along with the Kansas Board of Regents, worked to establish the university as not only a center for higher education but also a representative agency of the state. Snow, who served from 1890 to 1901, emphasized scientific research and public engagement, while Strong, beginning in 1902, advanced the university’s role in public service. This vision aligned with the sentiments expressed by Professor M. S. Ward, who stated in 1891 that "Students should find in the University preparation for all the various pursuits and callings of society. The ultimate aim of our own State University ought to be [promoting] the highest Christian culture, an ample professional training, [which] will make our civilization the highest possible on earth."
In an effort to appeal to the predominantly Christian population of Kansas, many of who in the early history of the university were critical of state money being used to fund a secular institution, Chancellor Lippincott sought to reassure the public that the University of Kansas maintained strong Christian values. In response to a concerned parent questioning the university’s mission, Lippincott wrote, "The University is a Christian institution founded by a Christian state. We have daily prayers conducted for the most part by members of the Faculty of whom nearly all are Christian and several ministers of the Gospel."
Although the university was a secular institution, religion remained a central cultural force among students. In an 1880 community letter, an anonymous student reflected on the broader moral and spiritual purpose of education at KU, writing, "We are all seeking the truth, we are all earnest in our effort to correctly solve the great problem of a worthy and useful existence—we all recognize the wonderful features of a Christian age and a Christian country and we all hope to be true men and women [of the country] and almost all acknowledge that in accomplishing this we need an inspiration which is not of this earth nor fashioned after this world."
Chancellor Lippincott emphasized the importance of individual development in higher education, distinguishing universities from more rigid collegiate institutions in other parts of the country. In a lecture to students, James Marvin, the third Chancellor of the University stated, "Higher education should aid students to realize all their potentialities, but only in a university are all individualities respected. Colleges that require all students [to] follow the same course have a factory air about them. Students go through the same milling process and come out machines, but God did not intend man to be a machine, and the University of Kansas should be about His work."
Beginning in 1880, the University began to field intercollegiate athletics programs, starting with baseball. The University would introduce football in 1890, men's basketball in 1898, a women's club basketball team in 1902, and various other varsity athletics programs throughout the 20th century.
During World War I, the University of Kansas became a key training ground for military personnel, and courses were added for male students to reflect this. Military drills and coursework in military science were made mandatory for male students, and in 1918, KU established a unit of the Students' Army Training Corps (SATC) to provide academic and military instruction. Faculty contributed to war-related research, while female students supported Red Cross efforts. Chancellor Frank Strong emphasized KU’s role in preparing students for both military service and national responsibility. Strong was a vocal opponent of the United States entering a foreign war, and helped found the Kansas Branch of the League to Enforce Peace in 1915, which was a collection of activists who were opposed to American involvement in foreign conflicts. Strong advocated for patriotism during his later years as Chancellor, stating at the University Assembly in 1915 that "it is America's destiny to preserve Western Civilization, which seems to be destroying itself abroad. While the youth of Europe are on its battlefields, the youth of America must seek higher education to enable them to carry on the material for the leadership of the world. America and its universities, with the University of Kansas having a big place among them, must become the center of the greatest intellectual life that the next generation should know." In April 1917, after Congress declared a state of war, Strong sent a letter to Congress stating that the University "has always been loyal to country and to the flag, and always will be."
During World War II, Kansas was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which offered students a path to a Navy commission.
Landmarks and structures.
KU is home to the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, the Beach Center on Disability, Lied Center of Kansas and radio stations KJHK, 90.7 FM, and KANU, 91.5 FM. The university is also host to several significant museums. These include the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, founded in 1927, which contains important collections in mammalogy, ornithology, vertebrate paleontology, and entomology; and the Spencer Museum of Art, founded in 1928, home to a wide variety of cultural materials from all around the world, with a particular emphasis on American Indian materials. The libraries of the university include Watson Library, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, the Murphy Art and Architecture Library, Thomas Gorton Music & Dance Library, and Anschutz Library. Of athletic note, the university is home to Allen Fieldhouse, which is heralded as one of the greatest basketball arenas in the world, and David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which is the eighth oldest college football stadium in the country.
Academics.
The University of Kansas is a large, state-sponsored university with five campuses. KU is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". KU features the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, which includes the School of the Arts and the School of Public Affairs & Administration; and the schools of Architecture, Design & Planning; Business; Education; Engineering; Health Professions; Journalism & Mass Communications; Law; Medicine; Music; Nursing; Pharmacy; and Social Welfare. The university offers more than 345 degree programs. In 2017 Johnson County accounted for most of instate enrollment.
According to the National Science Foundation, KU spent $339 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 74th in the nation.
School of Architecture and Design.
The University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design (ArcD), with its main building being Marvin Hall, traces its architectural roots to the creation of the architectural engineering degree program in KU's School of Engineering in 1912. The Bachelor of Architecture degree was added in 1920. In 1969, the School of Architecture and Urban Design (SAUD) was formed. In 2001, architectural engineering merged with civil and environmental engineering. The design programs from the discontinued School of Fine Arts were merged into the school in 2009, forming the School of Architecture and Design.
The Department of Design began in 1921. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program began eight years later. Industrial Design was added in 1941, interior design in 1946, jewelry and silversmithing, art history, and the Masters of Fine Arts program in 1948.
In 2009, the university reorganized the School of Fine Arts. The professional design practice programs became the Department of Design, administratively located in the School of Architecture and Design.
School of Business.
The University of Kansas School of Business is a public business school on the main campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The KU School of Business was founded in 1924 and has more than 80 faculty members and approximately 1500 students.
Named one of the best business schools in the Midwest by Princeton Review, the KU School of Business has been continually accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for its undergraduate and graduate programs in business and accounting.
For 2021, "U.S. News & World Report" ranked KU's business school 68th out of 477 evaluated.
In 2016, The University of Kansas completed construction on a new home for the business school, named Capitol Federal Hall. It is located at 1654 Naismith Drive, near KU's Rec Center and across the street from Allen Fieldhouse. Capitol Federal Hall is a 166,500 square-foot building complete with state-of-the-art technology and several research labs.
School of Law.
The University of Kansas School of Law, founded in 1878, was the top law school in the state of Kansas, and tied for 70th out of 198 nationally, according to the 2021 "U.S. News & World Report" rankings. Classes are held in Green Hall at W 15th St and Burdick Dr, which is named after former dean James Green.
School of Engineering.
The KU School of Engineering is a public engineering school located on the main campus. The School of Engineering was founded officially in 1891, although engineering degrees were awarded as early as 1873.
In the "U.S. News & World Report"'s "America's Best Colleges" 2021 issue, KU's School of Engineering was ranked tied for 102nd among 218 engineering schools whose highest degree is a doctorate.
Notable alumni include Charles E. Spahr (1934), the former CEO of Standard Oil of Ohio.
School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
In addition to its academic programs, the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications sponsors publications including "The University Daily Kansan", "Jayplay" magazine, and KUJH TV.
Medical Center.
The University of Kansas Medical Center features three schools: the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Health Professions that each has its own programs of graduate study. As of the Fall 2013 semester, there were 3,349 students enrolled at KU Med. The Medical Center also offers four-year instruction at the Wichita campus, and features a medical school campus in Salina, Kansas devoted to rural health care.
The University of Kansas Health System is co-located at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Edwards Campus, Overland Park.
KU's Edwards Campus is in Overland Park, Kansas. Established in 1993, its goal is to provide adults with the opportunity to complete undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs. About 2,000 students attend the Edwards Campus, with an average age of 31.
University of Kansas Leavenworth.
Near the beginning of the 2018–2019 school year, KU launched classes in Leavenworth, Kansas, offering classes to "both civilian and military" students, emphasizing a "high priority in supporting military-affiliated students". The Leavenworth classes offer both undergraduate and graduate courses.
Computing innovations.
KU's School of Business launched interdisciplinary management science graduate studies in operations research during Fall Semester 1965. The program provided the foundation for decision science applications supporting NASA Project Apollo Command Capsule Recovery Operations.
KU's academic computing department was an active participant in setting up the Internet and is the developer of the early Lynx text-based web browser. Lynx provided hypertext browsing and navigation prior to Tim Berners Lee's invention of HTTP and HTML.
Student activities.
Athletics.
The University of Kansas has had teams representing them athletically since at least 1867, a year after classes officially started. Starting in 1866, a baseball team made up of KU students represented the University of Kansas in games played at the Kansas State Fair against local teams from around the state of Kansas.
The school's sports teams, wearing crimson and blue, are called the Kansas Jayhawks. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big 12 Conference. The University of Kansas has won thirteen National Championships all-time: six in men's basketball (two Helms Foundation championships and four NCAA championships, most recently in 2022), three in men's indoor track and field, three in men's outdoor track and field, one in men's cross country and one in women's outdoor track and field. The home course for KU Cross Country is Rim Rock Farm. Their most recent championship came in 2022, the men's basketball team won the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Kansas football dates from 1890 and is one of the oldest continuous programs in the nation. They have played in the Orange Bowl three times: 1948, 1969, and 2008, as well as nine other bowl games. They are currently coached by Lance Leipold, who was hired in May 2021. From its inception in 1890 to 1929, the program saw consistent success, winning several conference titles in 4 different conferences. After joining the Big 6 Conference (which would eventually become the Big 8) in 1929, Kansas began to struggle in the win-loss column. With the formation of the Big 8 conference in 1960, Kansas became a consistent winner again and fielded legendary coaches like Pepper Rodgers, Don Fambrough, Bud Moore, and Glen Mason. In 2008, under the leadership of Mark Mangino, the #7 Jayhawks emerged victorious in their first BCS bowl game, the FedEx Orange Bowl, with a 24–21 victory over the #3 Virginia Tech Hokies. This capstone victory marked the end of the most successful season in school history, in which the Jayhawks went 12–1 (.923). The team plays at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which recently underwent an $85 million renovation to add an indoor practice facility with a 120-yard field, an outdoor practice facility with 2 full fields and three partial fields, new locker rooms, a new weight training facility, new residencies for players, new offices, new turf, new seats, and a state-of-the-art video board.
The KU men's basketball team has fielded a team every year since 1898. The Jayhawks are a perennial national contender, coached by Hall of Fame coach Bill Self. The team has won six national titles, including four NCAA tournament championships in 1952, 1988, 2008, and 2022. The basketball program is currently the winningest program in college basketball history with an overall record of 2,355–877 up to their Final Four appearance in the 2021–22 season. The team plays at Allen Fieldhouse. Perhaps its best-recognized player was Wilt Chamberlain, who played in the 1950s, later becoming an NBA star and Harlem Globetrotter.
Kansas has counted among its coaches James Naismith (the inventor of basketball), Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Phog Allen ("the Father of basketball coaching" and a Kansas alumnus himself), Dick Harp, Ted Owens, Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Roy Williams, and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and former NBA Champion Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown. Currently, Kansas is coached by Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Bill Self. In addition, legendary University of Kentucky coach and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Adolph Rupp played for KU's 1922 and 1923 Helms National Championship teams, and NCAA Hall of Fame inductee and University of North Carolina Coach Dean Smith played for KU's 1952 NCAA Championship team. Both Rupp and Smith played under Phog Allen. Allen also coached Hall of Fame coaches Dutch Lonborg and Ralph Miller. Allen founded the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), which started what is now the NCAA Tournament. The Tournament began in 1939 under the NABC and the next year was handed off to the newly formed NCAA.
Kansas fielded its first women's soccer team in 1995. The women's soccer team launched in 1980 as a club sport, but was promoted to varsity play in the NCAA in 1995 when Lori Walker was hired as the head coach. Since 1995 they've appeared in the NCAA tournament ten times, and have won the Big 12 championship three times. They compete at Rock Chalk Park, a 2,500 seat stadium built in 2014. In cooperation with Kansas Athletics, FIFA is using Rock Chalk Park as a training facility and team base camp for the 2026 World Cup, with one of the host sites being nearby Kansas City.
Notable non-varsity sports include rugby, men's hockey, and men's soccer. The rugby team owns its private facility and tours internationally every two years. The men's hockey team plays at AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park, Kansas. They also practice in Topeka and Lawrence. They compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association. Men's soccer competes in the South Conference of the Upper Midwest Collegiate Soccer League. They play on an artificial turf field next to student dorms next to Allen Fieldhouse.
Debate teams.
The University of Kansas has had more teams (70) compete in the National Debate Tournament than any other university. Kansas has won the tournament 6 times (1954, 1970, 1976, 1983, 2009, and 2018) and had 15 teams make it to the final four. Kansas trails only Northwestern (15) and Harvard (7) for most tournaments won and is tied with Dartmouth (6). Kansas also won the Copeland Award in 1981–82 and 2017–18.
Media.
The university's newspaper is "University Daily Kansan", which placed first in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition of the prestigious William Randolph Hearst Writing Foundation competition. In the winter of 2008, a group of students created KUpedia, a wiki about all things KU. They received student funding for operations in 2008–09. The KU Department of English publishes the "Coal City Review", an annual literary journal of prose, poetry, reviews, and illustrations. The "Review" typically features the work of many writers, but periodically spotlights one author, as in the case of 2006 Nelson Poetry Book Award-winner "Voyeur Poems" by Matthew Porubsky.
The "University Daily Kansan" operates outside of the university's William Allen White School of Journalism and reaches at least 30,000 daily readers through its print and online publications.
The university houses the following public broadcasting stations: KJHK, a student-run campus radio station, KUJH-LP, an independent station that primarily broadcasts public affairs programs, and KANU, the NPR-affiliated radio station. Kansas Public Radio station KANU was one of the nation's first public radio stations. KJHK, the campus radio has roots back to 1952 and is completely run by students.
Center for Community Health and Development.
The university's Center for Community Health and Development (formerly KU Work Group) was designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Community Health and Development in 2004. It is affiliated with the Department of Applied Behavioral Science and the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies at the university, and supports community health and development through a variety of means, including its free online resource, the Community Tool Box.
Foundations.
University of Kansas Memorial Corporation.
The first union was built on campus in 1926 as a campus community center. The unions are still the "living rooms" of campus and include three locations – the Kansas Union and Burge Union at the Lawrence Campus and Jayhawk Central at the Edwards Campus. The KU Memorial Unions Corporation manages the KU Bookstore (with seven locations). The KU Bookstore is the official bookstore of KU. The corporation also includes KU Dining Services, with more than 20 campus locations, including The Market (inside the Kansas Union) and The Underground (located in Wescoe Hall). The KU Bookstore and KU Dining Services are not-for-profit, with proceeds supporting student programs, such as Student Union Activities.
KU Endowment.
KU Endowment was established in 1891 as the university's primary institutional foundation to manage and build the university's endowment.
Notable alumni and faculty.
Affiliated with the university as students, researchers, or faculty members have been 325 Fulbright Scholars, 27 Rhodes Scholars, 10 Marshall Scholars, 2 Mitchell Scholars, 12 MacArthur Fellows, 7 Pulitzer Prize winners, 5 NASA astronauts, 3 Nobel Prize laureates, 2 Fields Medal winners, 3 Hugo Award or Nebula Award winners and 1 Academy Award winner.
Additionally, two people associated with the school have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Dean Smith, who played basketball at Kansas from 1949 to 1953 and was a Hall of Fame men's basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was given the award by Barack Obama in 2013. Politician Bob Dole, who played football and basketball at the school but did not graduate, was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom award by Bill Clinton in 1997.
References.
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Anja Wicker
German cross-country skier and biathlete
Anja Wicker (born 22 December 1991) is a German disabled cross-country skier and biathlete. She represented Germany at the 2014 Winter Paralympics claiming a gold and a silver medal in the biathlon events. She also represented Germany at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics.
Wicker was also the recipient of the Silver Laurel Leaf, the highest sport award in Germany.
Career.
Anja Wicker took the sport of Nordic skiing in 2006 and started to compete in international arena from 2010. She was qualified to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, which was her first Paralympic event and participated in the cross-country skiing and biathlon events. She claimed her first gold medal in the women's 10km sitting biathlon event and also clinched a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in the women's 12.5km sitting biathlon event while the gold medal was claimed by Svetlana Konovalova of Russia in the relevant event.
She won the gold medal in the women's 6km sitting biathlon event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway. She also won the bronze medal in the women's 7.5km sitting cross-country skiing event.
References.
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Alena Analeigh Wicker
American student
Alena Analeigh (Wicker) McQuarter (born November 19, 2008) is an American student who is the youngest person to be accepted into medical school in the United States, and the second-youngest person to be accepted into medical school overall. She is also the youngest person ever to work as an intern at NASA.
Personal life.
Wicker was born in Fontana, California, and grew up outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Her mother is Daphne McQuarter, and she has two sisters.
Wicker began reading chapter books when she was three years old, and developed a love for Lego the following year. In elementary school, she was bullied, and her principal said she "couldn't get all A's because of [her] skin color". Shortly after, McQuarter opted to homeschool her, though Wicker returned to school in fifth grade, continuing an advanced curriculum to complete high school requirements.
She spent time living abroad in Amman, Jordan, which inspired her to learn Arabic and Spanish.
Education.
Wicker graduated from her high school near Fort Worth, Texas at age 12, after which she began attending Arizona State University. She initially double-majored in astronomical and planetary science and chemistry, hoping to one day be a NASA engineer. After a trip to Jordan with the Brown STEM Girl foundation, she became interested in viral immunology and switched her major to pre-med.
On May 13, 2022, the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Heersink School of Medicine offered Wicker admission in 2024 through the school's Burroughs Wellcome Scholars Early Assurance Program, "which partners with several Black schools in Alabama to offer students early acceptance as they plan to enter medical school." She accepted the offer later that summer.
Career.
While completing high school, Wicker "noticed the racial and gender disparities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields," which led her to develop the Brown STEM Girl (BSG) website. She imagined using BSG to "create this culture of Brown girls in STEM." She developed a business plan and contacted business people to get the foundation started. BSG provides scholarships, mentorships, internships, and other support to girls of color pursuing education in STEM. BSG also offers opportunities for girls of color to study abroad in Singapore. Wicker founded Dorm Room Makeover™ as part of her First Year College Initiative for first year girls of color majoring in STEM Fields.
In 2021, Wicker became the youngest person to intern for NASA. There, she "worked on various assignments including remote research for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California."
On July 28, 2022, Wicker appeared on "Good Morning America" to discuss her early acceptance into medical school and to offer advice to other young people.
Awards and honors.
Because of Wicker's work, multiple mayors have proclaimed April 30 "Brown STEM Girl STEM in the City Day Honoring Women of Color in STEM." The governor of Texas has also included a proclamation.
She is an Ambassador for Saving Our Daughters/Keke Palmer Foundation.
References.
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Addison Wiley
American middle-distance runner
Addison "Addy" Wiley (born October 24, 2003) is an American professional middle- and long-distance runner and the American Record Holder in the 1000m.
Wiley is an eight-time NAIA national champion in cross country and track and field. She holds the high school national record for the 1600m with a time of 4:26.16 and the collegiate record for the 1500m with a time of 3:59.17. She placed 5th in the World Athletics U20 Championships in the 1500m in 2022 and won gold in the NACAC U23 championships in 2023. She placed 2nd at the USATF indoor championships in the 800m to qualify for the 2024 world indoor championships in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
High school career.
Wiley attended Huntington North High School in Huntington, Indiana. She was a multi-sport athlete that did not fully commit to running until her senior season. She played on the varsity soccer team and was named All-Conference all four years, earning First Team honors as a sophomore, junior, and senior while leading her team in goals scored. She also played varsity basketball as a freshman and sophomore.
2019.
In her freshman track season, Wiley ran the fastest time ever by an Indiana freshman in winning her first state championship in the 1600m in 4:46.93. She added another All-State performance by placing 7th in the 800m in 2:13.26.
As a sophomore in the fall, she competed in cross country for the first time. Despite limited running training due to being a member of the soccer team, Wiley achieved All-State by placing 10th at the state championships in 18:28.6.
2020.
Wiley was unable to defend her 1600m state championship title in spring of her sophomore year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the fall of her junior year, Wiley achieved All-State status in cross country again by placing 6th with a time of 18:25.9.
2021.
On March 26 & 28, Wiley competed in the NSAF USA Meet of Champions in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where she won the mile in 4:48.23 and placed second in the 5000m in 17:16.15.
At the 2021 IHSAA State Track and Field Championships, she became the first Indiana runner to win both the 800m (2:08.62) and the 1600m (4:45.27). She was subsequently named the 2020–2021 Gatorade Player of the Year award winner for Indiana Girls Track and Field.
On June 12, Wiley competed in the RunningLane Track Championships in Madison, Alabama. She won the mile in a new personal record of 4:38.14, the fastest high school time in the nation in 2021 and the fastest ever by an Indiana runner. Her time also ranked No. 9 on the all-time high school list for the outdoor mile.
Wiley next traveled to Renton, Washington to compete in the Brooks PR Invitational. Despite finishing second, her time of 2:04.41 was a new Indiana state record and the No. 5 fastest time in the nation for 2021.
Wiley ended her track season on July 3 at the Nike Outdoor National Championships at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. She won her first high school national championship in the mile with a time of 4:42.78.
On October 30, Wiley finished her high school cross country career, achieving All-State status for the third time by placing 7th with a time of 18:40.2.
Wiley signed her National Letter of Intent with the University of Colorado on November 22, but would de-commit the following summer to enroll at her hometown college, Huntington University.
2022.
Wiley opened her senior track season on March 12 at Nike Indoor Nationals at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island, New York. She earned All-America honors in both the 800m (3rd in 2:09.52) and the mile (2nd in 4:52.55).
At the 2022 IHSAA State Track and Field Championships on June 3, she repeated as state champion in both the 800m and 1600m. For the second consecutive year, she completed the double that no other Indiana runner has ever accomplished. She won the 1600m in 4:38.69 and the 800m in 2:06.26, both of which were state meet records. She then finished third in the 3200m in 10:38.57, and finally anchored the 4x400 relay team with a split time of 57.03. All four races were run within a timespan of only two hours, 17 minutes.
Wiley finished her high school career as a five-time Indiana State Champion and holder of six school records – 200m (26.24), 400m (57.12), 800m (2:04.40), 1600m (4:37.98), mile (4:38.14), and 3200m (10:13.40). For the second consecutive year, Wiley was honored as the 2021–2022 Gatorade Player of the Year award winner for Indiana Girls Track and Field.
On June 11, one week after the state championship meet, Wiley competed in the Midwest Redemption Meet at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Her 1600m time of 4:26.16 broke the national high school record of 4:33.29, set by Alexa Efraimson in 2014. Her time converts to a 4:27.71 for the mile, faster than the overall national record of 4:28.25 set by Mary Cain in 2013 and the outdoor mile record of 4:33.87 set by Katelyn Tuohy in 2018.
Wiley next competed in the Nike Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 19. She won her second national title, this time in the 800m. Her winning time of 2:04.64 was the No. 5 fastest time in the nation for 2022.
The following weekend, Wiley again competed in Eugene in the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships. She won her first USA Track & Field national title in the 1500m with a time of 4:15.53. Her placing earned her a spot on the United States team that would compete in the World Athletics U20 Championships the following month.
At the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, Wiley qualified for the final by placing second in her heat with a time of 4:19.39. In the final, Wiley placed 5th with a personal record of 4:11.43.
College career.
2022.
Wiley began her collegiate career at Huntington University in the fall of 2022. She won her first three cross country races, the Louisville Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, the Great Lakes Challenge in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Crossroads League Championships hosted by Marian University in Shelbyville, Indiana. At the 2022 NAIA Cross Country Championships held in Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida, Wiley finished in second place to earn her first collegiate All-America honor with a time of 16:58.9. Huntington placed 13th overall in the team standings.
2023.
Wiley opened her track season at the Camel City Elite Races at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her mile time of 4:32.15 set a new NAIA national record and was the fastest collegiate time ever run at the Camel City Elite Races. She had to decline the $6,000 winnings due to NAIA regulations. It was the first time a collegiate athlete had won an Elite Race at Camel City.
On February 18, Wiley competed in the 1500m at the 2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In a field consisting of 10 professional runners and only two collegiates, Wiley led the race for the first 1200m before ultimately placing 4th with a time of 4:18.84. She again had to decline the $1,500 prize money.
At the 2023 NAIA indoor track and field championships held in Brookings, South Dakota, Wiley won five national championships and broke one meet record in a span of only three hours, 55 minutes. She started the day by winning the mile in 4:48.04. An hour later, she won the 600m in a meet record time of 1:29.47. Forty-five minutes later, Wiley won the 800m in 2:10.93 and only thirty-five minutes later, she won the 3000m in 9:47.57. She finished the day by anchoring Huntington's Distance Medley Relay team to victory in 11:46.74. Only 13 female athletes in NAIA history have won five or more indoor titles in a four-year career; Wiley accomplished it in less than four hours. She was named the meet's Most Valuable Performer and the Huntington women's team finished as the national runner-up.
Wiley was named the 2023 NAIA women's indoor track & field National Track Athlete of the Year and the 2023 NAIA Women's Indoor Track & Field National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. In addition to her five national championships, she maintained a 3.512 cumulative GPA.
Wiley began her outdoor season on the roads, competing in the USATF Mile Road Championships in Des Moines, Iowa on April 25. Despite being the only non-professional runner in the 20-woman field, she placed 3rd with a time of 4:30.94. Her time was the 6th fastest in the nine-year history of the event. As an amateur, she had to decline the $1,500 prize for third place.
Wiley remained in Des Moines to compete against another professional field in the Drake Relays. She placed 4th in the 1500m with an NAIA record time of 4:12.53. She suffered her only loss of the year to a collegiate runner in a track final, losing to Canadian Simone Plourde of the University of Utah.
At the end of May, Wiley competed in the NAIA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. She added two more national championships to her résumé, winning both the 800m (2:04.29) and the 1500m (4:14.56), along with running a leg of Huntington's 5th place 4 × 800 m relay in 2:01.25. The Huntington women's team placed 6th in the team standings.
Wiley was named the 2023 NAIA women's outdoor track & field National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and the Crossroads League Female Athlete of the Year. In total, she won seven NAIA national championships, nine NAIA All-America honors, nine Crossroads League Athlete of the Weeks honors, six NAIA Athlete of the Week honors, and was the NAIA Runner-up in cross country during her freshman year. Wiley also set five NAIA records and established two more NAIA all-conditions/out-of-competition records.
Wiley began her summer racing schedule at the Music City Track Carnival at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee on June 3, part of the American Track League professional series. Her winning time of 4:03.22 time was the second fastest collegiate time in history behind only Jennifer Simpson, who won four Olympic and World Championship medals in the 1500m including the 2011 World Championship gold medal. The time broke the meet record of 4:03.64 set by 2021 Olympian Cory McGee and also met the World Athletics Championships standard of 4:03.50. Wiley again had to decline a cash prize, this time for $2,000.
Wiley next competed in the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. On July 6, Wiley won her semi-final heat with a time of 4:09.53, finishing ahead of 2021 Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu and Olympian Cory McGee. Two days later, she finished 5th in the final with a time of 4:04.25. As a result of her placing, Wiley earned a spot on the United States team that would participate in the NACAC U23 Championships later that month but had to decline another $2,000 prize.
On July 23, Wiley represented the United States in the NACAC U23 Championships in San José, Costa Rica. The meet consists of athletes from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Competing in the 1500m, she won the gold medal and set a new meet record with a time of 4:05.84, her third sub-4:06 performance since the start of June. The previous record of 4:15.52 was set in 2014 by Canada's Jenna Westaway.
Wiley continued her 2023 track season at the Ed Murphey Classic held at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, another stop on the American Track League professional series. She defeated a professional field that included 2023 World Championship team member Kaela Edwards to win in a personal record of 1:59.00, the fastest collegiate time in the nation in 2023. Wiley became the only female collegiate runner to ever run under 2:00 in the 800m and under 4:04 in the 1500m in her career. The following day, she competed on the roads again, this time in the Beale Street Murphey Mile against another field of professionals. Wiley bested a field led by three-time NCAA Champion Dani Jones to win in 4:37.7. Wiley earned $1,000 for each win but was required to decline it as an amateur athlete.
In September, Wiley made her first appearance on the European track circuit at the Galà dei Castelli meet in Bellinzona, Switzerland. She placed 2nd to Jamaica's Natoya Goule with a new PR of 1:57.64, making her the second fastest collegiate 800m runner of all-time behind only Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu. Both Wiley and Goule broke the meet record. Wiley's time ranks No. 3 in the US and No. 8 in the world for 2023 and makes her the 11th fastest American of all time.
On September 8, Wiley competed in her first Diamond League event, the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium. She placed 8th in a field of 15, all but one of whom had previously competed in the Olympics and/or World Championships. Her time of 3:59.17 broke the all-time collegiate 1500m record of 3:59.90 set by Jennifer Simpson in 2009. It also made her the 10th fastest American of all-time and ranks her No. 2 in the US and No. 19 in the world for 2023. Wiley joined Mary Slaney as the only American women in history to run both sub-1:58 for 800m and sub-4:00 for 1500m during a career. She became the third youngest runner to ever accomplish the feat at the age of .
Wiley represented the United States at the World Road Mile Championships in Riga, Latvia on October 1. She placed 9th with a time of 4:36.03.
On November 17, 2023, Wiley won the NAIA cross country national championship in Vancouver, Washington, in a time of 21:04.2.
2024.
On January 9, Wiley was named to the 2024 Bowerman Preseason Watch List, becoming the first NAIA athlete to ever receive the honor.
Professional career.
On January 23, 2024, Wiley announced that she had signed a professional contract with Adidas and would forgo her final three seasons at Huntington University. Three days later, she made her professional debut at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational at the University of Louisville where she won the 800m.
At the USATF Indoor Championships, Wiley placed 2nd in the 800m in a new indoor personal best to qualify for the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, United Kingdom. In Glasgow, she placed 3rd in her first-round heat but failed to qualify for the semifinals.
Wiley opened her outdoor season in Xiamen, China, competing in her second Diamond League event. She ran her second best ever 1500m in Atlanta on May 31 in her final tune-up for the Olympic Trials. Unfortunately, a bout of food poisoning sent her to the hospital and shortly afterward she injured her hamstring, forcing her to miss a lot of training in the weeks before the Trials.
At the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Wiley competed in both the 800m and 1500m. She advanced to the semifinals of the 800m and then advanced to the final of the 1500m, where she placed 11th.
Following the Trials and having recovered from her injury, Wiley proceeded to win five of her next six races while running three of her four fastest times ever in the 800m. On August 28, she ran a new personal best and meet record in the 800m of 1:56.83, making her the 5th fastest American of all-time. It also ranked as the 5th fastest time in the world (#1 in the US) for 2024 at the time it was run. This performance made her one of only 22 runners in history to run under 1:57 for 800m and under 4:00 for 1500m during a career. She is the second youngest runner to ever achieve this honor.
On August 31, Wiley set her first American Record while competing in the Mityng Ambasadorów Białostockiego i Podlaskiego Sportu meet in Białystok, Poland. Her time of 2:31.49 broke the 1000m record held by four-time Olympian Regina Jacobs that had stood for 25 years. Wiley’s time ranks as #12 all-time on the world list.
Personal life.
When Wiley was 10-years-old, doctors discovered an extremely rare tumor known as an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor between her right lung and her diaphragm. An IMT occurs in less than one in one million people and roughly 150–200 cases occur in the United States each year. The tennis ball sized tumor was pressing on her lung and causing high fevers, extreme fatigue and headaches. IMT's are usually benign but Wiley's was not. Doctors were able to completely remove the tumor surgically and no further treatments were necessary other than routine checkups. During the surgery, parts of her lung and diaphragm were removed and are held together today by two titanium staples.
In September 2023, in conjunction with her first track meets on the European circuit and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Wiley announced a fundraiser for patients at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, the hospital where she received her life saving cancer treatments ten years earlier. She promised to match donations up to $5,000. She has previously stated in an interview, "As a cancer survivor, I also like advocating for other children battling cancer, as a professional runner someday I plan to donate a large portion of my prize money to support children experiencing cancer."
References.
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Janeene Vickers
American former athlete (born 1968)
Janeene Hope Vickers-McKinney (née Vickers, born October 3, 1968) is an American former athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres hurdles. She won bronze medals in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1992 Olympic Games and the 1991 World Championships. She also won the 1990 US Championship.
Career.
Born in Torrance, California, Vickers is a graduate of Pomona High School, where she had an outstanding high school career. She dominated the CIF California State Meet winning both the 100 meter and 300 meter hurdles in both 1986 and 1987, adding the flat 100 meter title in 1987. She was "Track and Field News" "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1987. She continued to UCLA to where she won three straight NCAA Championships in the 400 hurdles.
Vickers achieved her lifetime best in the 400m hurdles at the 1991 World Championships, where she won the bronze medal in 53.47 seconds, finishing behind the Soviet Union's Tatyana Ledovskaya (53.11) and Great Britain's Sally Gunnell (53.16), but ahead of her American team-mates Sandra Farmer-Patrick (53.95) and Kim Batten (53.98). This performance moved Vickers to seventh on the world all-time list and second on the US all-time list at the time. As of 2018, she ranks 14th on the US all-time list.
Vickers won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games, running 54.31 secs to finish behind Gunnell (53.23) and Farmer-Patrick (53.69), and narrowly ahead of 1991 World champion Ledovskaya, who also clocked 54.31.
On November 4, 2011, Vickers (now Vickers-McKinney) was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.
Honours.
1× Olympic Games Bronze medalist.
1× World Championships Bronze medalist.
1× World U20 champion.
1× In Top 8 at World U20 Championships.
2× NCAA champion.
References.
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Mary Wixey
Mary M. Wixey (23 January 1921 – 21 December 2017) was a British track and field athlete based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. At the time of her death, she was one of Great Britain's oldest Veteran Track and Field Athletes, and regularly competed on the veterans' circuit.
Career.
Wixey taught at Churchdown Primary School, and then was a secondary school physical education teacher at Charlton Kings Secondary.
She was a member of St Gregory's Athletic Club, and later was a committee member and team manager for the Gloucestershire Schools Athletics Association.
She has competed in Veteran Track and Field Athletics for South-West Veterans' Athletics Club both nationally and internationally since before 1986, at that time as a Veteran 60.
In 1996 she could jump further in both the long jump and the triple jump than anyone in the world of her age, and won European Masters gold medals in triple jump and long jump. In 1997 she was named best senior sportswoman in the United Kingdom by the "London Mirror".
In 2007, aged 85, she took part in triple jump, and was still high jumping at the age of 75. In 2008, she competed in shot put at the Tipton Games. In 2010, she held regional titles in discus, shot put and javelin.
As of 2012, at the age of 91, Wixey continued to compete regularly at Veteran 90 level, alongside track and field athletes of all ages at Open Meetings in England and with Veteran athletes at British National, European and World Masters Championships. In April 2012, Wixey travelled to Jyvaskyla, Finland where she competed in the World Masters Athletics Championships, achieving silver medals in five events: 60m sprint, discus, shot put, javelin and long jump. A week later she attended the Tipton Harriers Open Meeting, competing in the long jump, shot put and discus events. In May 2012 she was an Olympic torch bearer for the Cheltenham area.
Wixey died at the age of 96 in December 2017.
References.
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Roger Wicker
American lawyer and politician (born 1951)
Roger Frederick Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is an American politician, attorney, and Air Force veteran serving as the senior United States senator from Mississippi, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, Wicker was a Mississippi State Senator from 1988 to 1995 and the U.S. representative from Mississippi's 1st congressional district from 1995 until 2007.
Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Wicker is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He was an officer in the United States Air Force from 1976 to 1980 and a member of the United States Air Force Reserves from 1980 to 2003. During the 1980s, he worked as a political counselor to then-Congressman Trent Lott on the House Rules Committee. In 1987, Wicker was elected to the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 6th district, which included Tupelo.
Wicker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, succeeding retiring 27-term Democratic Congressman Jamie Whitten. Wicker served in the House from 1995 to 2007, when he was appointed to the Senate by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Lott. Wicker subsequently won a special election for the remainder of the term in 2008 and was reelected to a full term in 2012. Wicker served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2015 to 2017 and is a deputy Republican whip. He was reelected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee David Baria. He was reelected again in 2024, defeating Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins.
Wicker serves on four committees in the 119th Congress: the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Senate Armed Services Committee, which he chairs.
Early life and education.
Wicker was born on July 5, 1951, in Pontotoc, Mississippi, to Wordna Glen (née Threadgill) and Thomas Frederick "Fred" Wicker, a lawyer and onetime Mississippi state senator. At age 16, Wicker worked as a United States House of Representatives page for Representative Jamie L. Whitten of  congressional district. He graduated from Pontotoc High School in 1969.
Wicker attended the University of Mississippi, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and student body president. He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa for his student leadership and academic merit. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science in 1973 and a J.D. degree in 1975 from the university.
After graduation, Wicker commissioned into the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate from 1976 to 1980. Starting in 1980, he was a member of the Air Force Reserve; he retired from the reserve in 2003 as a lieutenant colonel.
Early political career.
Wicker began his political career in 1980 as House Rules Committee counsel to U.S. Representative Trent Lott. He was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1987, spending $25,000 on the race. He represented the 6th district, which included Tupelo, from 1988 to 1994. He amended a 1994 state Medicaid bill to authorize the Mississippi Attorney General to contract private attorneys on contingency.
U.S. House of Representatives.
Elections.
In 1994, Jamie Whitten declined to seek reelection; he had represented the 1st District for 53 years, longer than any other congressman at the time. Wicker ran to succeed him, spending $750,000 on his campaign. He finished first in a crowded six-way Republican primary with 7,156 votes (26.62%) and proceeded to a runoff with attorney Grant Fox, who received 5,208 votes (19.37%). Former U.S. Attorney Bob Whitwell finished 600 votes short of the runoff with 4,606 votes (17.14%), 1992 nominee Clyde E. Whitaker came fourth with 4,602 votes (17.12%), 1986 nominee Larry Cobb came fifth with 4,162 votes (15.48%) and 1990 nominee Bill Bowlin took the remaining 1,147 votes (4.27%). In the runoff, Wicker defeated Fox, 11,905 votes (53.07%) to 10,527 (46.93%).
In the general election, Wicker defeated Fulton attorney Bill Wheeler, 80,553 votes (63.06%) to 47,192 (36.94%), making him the first Republican to represent the 1st district in over a century. This was not considered an upset, as the 1st has always been a rather conservative district (especially in the Memphis suburbs). The district had only supported the Democratic nominee for president once since 1956, when Jimmy Carter carried the district in 1976. Although Whitten had a nearly unbreakable hold on the district, it had been considered very likely that he would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.
Wicker was reelected six times without serious difficulty, never receiving less than 65% of the vote. In 2004, he was unopposed by a Democratic candidate, facing only Reform Party nominee Barbara Dale Washer, whom he defeated by 219,328 votes (79.01%) to 58,256 (20.99%).
Tenure.
Assuming office in 1995, Wicker was president of the freshman class, which included 53 other new Republican representatives, elected as part of the 1994 "Republican Revolution".
Wicker was a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He was also deputy Republican whip.
In Congress, Wicker worked on issues related to medical research and on economic development for his home state. He advocated private-public partnerships to bring investment to rural areas. Wicker also worked for veterans' issues while serving as a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. In his final year as representative, Wicker topped the list in earmarks.
In 2007, Wicker was criticized after securing a $6 million earmark for a defense company whose executives had made significant contributions to his campaign.
U.S. Senate.
Appointment.
On November 26, 2007, Senator Trent Lott announced that he would resign before the end of the year to become a lobbyist. At a press conference on December 31, 2007, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour appointed Wicker to fill the Senate seat Lott vacated on December 18, 2007. He was sworn in by the Senate clerk just before that news conference.
Elections.
Wicker ran for the remainder of Lott's term in the November 2008 special election against Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, Barbour's predecessor as governor. Wicker defeated Musgrove, 683,409 votes (54.96%) to 560,064 (45.04%). Wicker's resignation from the House also triggered a May 13, 2008, special election to fill the vacancy in the House, which was won by Democratic nominee Travis Childers.
Wicker ran for reelection to a full term in 2012. He was opposed by Robert Maloney and Tea Party activist E. Allen Hathcock in the Republican primary, defeating them by 254,936 votes (89.17%) to 18,857 (6.60%) and 12,106 (4.23%), respectively. In the general election, he defeated Albert Gore, the Chairman of the Oktibbeha County Democratic Party and a distant relative of former Vice President Al Gore, 709,626 votes (57.16%) to 503,467 (40.55%).
Wicker defeated Democratic nominee David Baria, a state legislator, with 58.5% of the vote.
Wicker defeated two opponents in the Republican primary with roughly 60% of the vote and Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins in the general election with 62.8% of the vote.
Tenure.
On September 16, 2010, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Wicker as representative of the United States to the Sixty-fifth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
In the Senate, Wicker is a member of the Senate Republicans' whip team and has repeatedly introduced a bill to overturn "Roe v. Wade", the Supreme Court decision ruling abortion bans unconstitutional. Wicker called the Affordable Care Act the "great fight for the rest of this term, maybe our lifetimes" and later introduced a bill to enable state officials to challenge the law. In the interest of protecting gun owners, he amended a fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill to allow Amtrak passengers to carry firearms and ammunition in checked baggage.
Wicker and Representative Gene Taylor pushed amendments allowing purchasers of federal flood insurance to add wind coverage to their policies, helpful to a hurricane-prone state. As a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) monitoring human rights and other issues, in late 2012 Wicker worked with Senator Ben Cardin to enact a bill imposing penalties on Russians accused of violating human rights. The measure led Russian President Vladimir Putin to announce a subsequent ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian-born children.
Wicker was one of three politicians targeted during the April 2013 ricin letters bioterrorism attack. On April 16, 2013, a letter addressed to Wicker tested positive for the poison ricin as part of a series of letters. The letter was detected by postal officials and law enforcement and prevented from reaching the Capitol. The letter was tested three times, with each test confirming the presence of ricin.
In July 2013, Wicker proposed that the Senate meet to discuss a controversial change to filibuster rules. The Senate held the private meeting in the Old Senate chamber to discuss Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's threat of the so-called "nuclear option", which would change the rules for Senate votes on Obama's executive branch nominees. Wicker said he hoped the chamber's bipartisan past could serve as an inspiration for the debate about the nuclear option: "I think there are concessions that can be made on both sides. And then I would just hope that, institutionally, we can get away from this mindset."
Wicker supported the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 (S. 2363; 113th Congress), a bill related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation, aimed at improving "the public's ability to enjoy the outdoors." He said, "Mississippians know the importance of efforts to preserve our natural resources for future generations."
Wicker was elected chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 114th U.S. Congress on November 13, 2014.
Weeks after the 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign and Umbrella Movement broke out, demanding genuine universal suffrage among other goals, Wicker joined Senator Sherrod Brown and Representative Chris Smith's effort to introduce the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would update the United States–Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 and U.S. commitment to Hong Kong's freedom and democracy. "U.S. should stand steadfast with the people of Hong Kong in their fight to exercise self-determination," Wicker said, and "speak with a unified American voice in support of universal freedom and democratic values. The Congress and the Obama Administration should act to ensure China honors its longstanding obligation under international law to maintain Hong Kong's autonomy."
In March 2017, Wicker co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.
In May 2020, a group of Senate Republicans planned to introduce a privacy bill that would regulate the data collected by coronavirus contact tracing apps. The COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act would "provide all Americans with more transparency, choice, and control over the collection and use of their personal health, geolocation, and proximity data", according to a joint statement. Wicker said the legislation also would "hold businesses accountable to consumers if they use personal data to fight the COVID-19 pandemic." The act would permit the creation of "platforms that could trace the virus and help flatten the curve and stop the spread – and maintaining privacy protections for U.S. citizens", Wicker said.
In September 2020, less than two months before the next presidential election, Wicker supported an immediate Senate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, saying that Senate Republicans had "promised to confirm well qualified, conservative judges" and that there was a "constitutional duty" to fill vacancies. In March 2016, Wicker had taken the opposite position by declining to consider Obama's Supreme Court nominee during a presidential election year, saying that the "American people should have the opportunity to make their voices heard before filling a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court."
Wicker announced before the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count that he would vote to certify the election on January 6, 2021. He was participating in the certification when Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. When the Capitol was secure and Congress returned to complete the certification, Wicker voted to certify the count, with his senate counterpart, Cindy Hyde-Smith objecting to the count. In the wake of the violence and certification, Wicker called for perpetrators to be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law" and said, "we must work together to rebuild confidence in our institutions." Wicker opposed Trump's removal from office, encouraging a peaceful transfer of power on Inauguration Day.
In March 2021, after Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Wicker highlighted on social media that the bill awarded $28.6 billion of "targeted relief" to "independent restaurant operators" to "survive the pandemic". In that post, he neglected to mention that he had voted against the bill