Mark Bannister

Dean
Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship

Mark Bannister is the Dean of the Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Fort Hays State University. The college offers significant business, information technology, and media programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels on-campus, through domestic distance learning, and international partnerships. He is a Senior Policy Fellow of the Docking Institute of Public Affairs and a principal in Bannister Capital Advisors.

Bannister teaches course work on legal issues and management of information technologies. Bannister supervises and participates in research and programming on telecommunications, strategic planning, and community development. Bannister has published academic articles in publications including The Federal Communications Law Journal, Economic Development Review, Economic Development Journal, Kansas Policy Review, Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, the proceedings of the Colloquium on Information Systems Security, Journal of Business and Leadership, and the Kansas Business Review. His writing and research focuses on telecommunications and technology regulation, intellectual property, information security, and economic development.

As Chair of the Department of Information Networking and Telecommunications at Fort Hays State University from 1999-2009, he led the growth of the program from 58 undergraduate students to more than 350 undergraduate and graduate students. The Department was named the “Outstanding Undergraduate Program of the Year” in 2008 by the International Telecommunications Education and Research Association and was designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance in 2009.

Bannister previously served as Director of the Docking Institute of Public Affairs and Executive Assistant/General Counsel to the President of Fort Hays State University. Prior to arriving at Fort Hays State University, Bannister served professionally as Chief of Staff for the Kansas Senate President and as Associate General Counsel to the Kansas Board of Regents. Bannister earned a Juris Doctorate in Law and a Masters of Communication Studies from the University of Kansas. His Bachelors degree is from Fort Hays State University.

Bannister has been recognized by the International Telecommunications Education and Research Association as a Senior Fellow.