Office of Faculty Affairs expands to offer more support


LAWRENCE — A longtime KU faculty member is bringing her expertise to the Office of Faculty Affairs.

Mary BanwartMary Banwart, associate professor of communication studies and director of the Institute for Leadership Studies, will join the office as associate vice provost for faculty development, mentoring and growth. Banwart also currently serves as the program director for the Women’s Global Leadership Consortium at KU.

In her new role, Banwart will work with academic leaders at KU to support faculty at various stages in their careers. The work will involve design, development and delivery of comprehensive programs to support professional development and personal fulfillment, as well as student outcomes achievement. Assessments and reporting will be conducted to receive faculty input, ensure programs meet faculty needs, benchmark against institutional peers, demonstrate successful outcomes and have broader impact on measures such as faculty satisfaction. Banwart will lead the Center for Faculty Development & Mentoring and will also be involved in review of regulations and policies and development of best practices. In this role, Banwart will team closely with Jenny Mehmedovic, director of Faculty Affairs, who continues her outstanding work with the center.

“In my career at KU, I have had the pleasure of working alongside incredibly talented and dedicated colleagues,” Banwart said. “As academics, we are committed to lifelong learning, which includes continual progress in our profession as scholars and as educators. I’m excited to tailor programming and reduce barriers to help every faculty member succeed and advance throughout their career.”

Banwart’s official duties in the office begin Dec. 11. She will continue to hold a partial appointment in the Institute for Leadership Studies.

As part of her responsibilities, Banwart will also collaborate with a variety of other offices on campus, such as Academic Affairs, the Center for Teaching Excellence, Office of Research, Human Resource Management, the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, and others to identify, develop and integrate holistic programming opportunities that meet faculty needs.

“Adding Professor Banwart to the Faculty Affairs team allows us to strengthen and expand our programming and resources for faculty,” said Lou Mulligan, interim vice provost for faculty affairs. “Her expertise in leadership and professional development directly supports our efforts to build skills that connect to larger personal achievement as well as better student outcomes.”

Banwart came to KU in 2002 and has been the faculty director of leadership studies since 2015. Along with her tenure appointment in communication studies, she holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Political Science. Her teaching focus has been in leadership and communication, and political communication. She has been the principal investigator and academic director of the Kansas Women’s Leadership Institute since 2010. The program integrates Kansas students with young women leaders from around the world who take part in academic programming coordinated through the Women’s Global Leadership Consortium and the U.S. Department of State.

Banwart earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from KU, a master’s degree in speech communication from Western Kentucky University and a doctorate in communication from University of Oklahoma.

In addition to working with academic leaders across campus, Banwart will work closely with Mulligan and with Jennifer Ng, associate vice provost, who continues as a highly valued member of the office focusing on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging matters and faculty policy.

“Adding Professor Banwart to Faculty Affairs is the right thing to do to expand support for our current faculty and reflects an investment and commitment from senior KU leaders to support and develop the great talent we have, as well as to recruit new talent to join our ranks,” Mulligan said.

Wed, 12/07/2022

author

Jill Hummels

Media Contacts

Jill Hummels

Office of the Provost

785-864-6577