Mark Bannister is the Chair of the Department of Information Networking and Telecommunications at Fort Hays State University. He is also a Senior Policy Fellow of the Docking Institute of Public Affairs. Bannister teaches course work on legal issues and management of information technologies. Bannister supervises and participates in research and programming on telecommunications and community development. From 1993-1999, he headed the Telepower Conference -- a long running annual conference on telecommunications and rural development. Bannister has testified several times before the Kansas Legislature on telecommunications issues, has contributed to research documents cited by both Senators Pat Roberts and Tom Daschle on the U.S. Senate Floor, and has provided formal and informal consulting for the state telecommunications plans of Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. Bannister has published articles in such publications as the Federal Communications Law Journal, Economic Development Review, Economic Development Journal, Kansas Policy Review, and Kansas Business Review.

Bannister has consulted for organizations including the Kansas Governor's Office, Kansas Legislature, Kansas Supreme Court, Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Chief Information Architect, Kansas GIS Policy Board/Kansas Water Office, Midwest Energy, Kansas Justice Initiative, Northeast Kansas Regional Economic Development, St. Catherine's Hospital, Hays Medical Center, Kansas Health Institute, National Conference of State Legislatures.

In his career, he has previously served as Director of the Docking Institute of Public Affairs, Chief of Staff for the Kansas Senate President and Associate General Counsel to the Kansas Board of Regents.

Courses taught in INT Department:

Fall
Campus
INT 450 Leadership in INT
INT 658 Law of Cyberspace

Spring
INT 610 Policy, Law, and Ethics in INT
INT 490 Capstone in INT

Virtual College
INT 490 Capstone in INT

Summer
IDS 803 Emerging Knowledge Society