Distinguished professor to discuss changes in higher education over recent decades in inaugural lecture
LAWRENCE — Lisa Wolf-Wendel has spent much of her career exploring faculty issues ranging from the needs of international and historically underrepresented faculty groups to understanding the academic labor market. More recently, she has examined the roles of associate professors and department chairs, as well as the effects of COVID-19 on faculty life.

Wolf-Wendel, Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, will bring many aspects of her research portfolio together as she delivers her inaugural lecture, "The Evolution of Academic Life,” at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Alderson Room of the Kansas Union. This lecture will explore the evolution of academic life over the past three decades, drawing on existing scholarship to identify key factors driving change and how transformations in academic life have both facilitated and hindered the success of students, faculty and institutions.
Individuals can register to attend the lecture in person or via livestream, and a recording of the lecture will be posted afterward on the Office of Faculty Affairs website.
“In the last 30 years, higher education has transformed dramatically,” Wolf-Wendel said. “The traditional tenure-track professor is now a rarity, with nearly 70% of faculty in nontenure track positions. This shift, driven by economic, technological and social pressures, has reshaped the academic landscape, making flexibility the new norm."
Wolf-Wendel is editor of the New Directions in Higher Education journal and serves on several editorial boards. She has written numerous books and scholarly articles on topics related to equity issues in higher education. Her book “Academic Motherhood” received the Outstanding Publication Award by the American Educational Research Association in Division J in 2013.
Wolf-Wendel has been recognized for numerous achievements in teaching, research and service. Some include the School of Education & Human Sciences Faculty Research Achievement Award, the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Early Career Achievement Award, the ASHE Distinguished Service Award, the Ned Fleming Trust Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Gene A. Budig Writing Professorship, the Gene A. Budig Teaching Professorship and the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching and Advising Excellence.
Wolf-Wendel earned her bachelor’s in psychology and communications from Stanford University and her doctorate in higher education from Claremont Graduate University.
"I'm thrilled to be named a Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor, a recognition I owe to my amazing family, friends and colleagues at KU and beyond,” Wolf-Wendel said. “Giving this talk is both exciting and nerve-wracking, and I can't wait to see everyone there.”
The first distinguished professorships were established at KU in 1958. A university distinguished professorship is awarded wholly based on merit, following exacting criteria. A complete list is available on the Distinguished Professor website.