Community college leader to serve as campus' interim associate dean
Monday, May 15, 2023 | Written by Beth Jones
OLATHE — Michael L. Banks, Ph.D., joins Kansas State University Olathe as interim associate dean of undergraduate programs and administration, effective May 15. He will operate in the role while a search for a permanent associate dean is conducted.
In this position, Banks serves on the K-State Olathe leadership team and helps develop and oversee programming that is relevant to workforce development through innovative approaches to the changing demands of higher education. He provides leadership in the development, application and assessment of integrated and interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate programs, with particular emphasis on transfer students and students who also are working professionals.
The interim associate dean position also focuses on establishing partnerships with community, private and public colleges in the region to further develop a pipeline to K-State's degrees for students living and working in the Greater Kansas City region.
"Michael will play a pivotal role as K-State Olathe moves forward with onboarding more bachelor's degree completion programs,” said Ben Wolfe, dean and CEO of K-State Olathe. “His experience and connections with the region's community colleges will be advantageous as we establish these new programs at our campus and develop easy transfer pathways for students in those community colleges."
Before coming to K-State Olathe, Banks served in various roles in higher education, including as the president of Metropolitan Community College, Blue River, the vice president for academic and student affairs and the dean and division chair of arts and humanities at St. Charles Community College.
In addition to academic leadership, Banks has extensive teaching experience at St. Charles Community College, Lindenwood University, Urbana University and Xavier University. His teaching credentials include classes in theatre, oral communications and stagecraft. He also has extensive speaking experience and has presented at multiple conferences and special events, including the Missouri Community College Association, Higher Learning Commission and Missouri Transfer and Articulation Conference.
Banks holds a B.A. in Theatre and a Ph.D. in American Studies from St. Louis University, as well as an M.F.A. in Theatre, Technical Direction and Design from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.