The new academic year has officially started and we are excited to welcome these new faculty members to campus!

Wendy Jane Bantam, Visiting Professor of Art
Wendy Jane Bantam received her BFA in Painting with a Minor in Art History from the University of Kansas and her MFA in Painting from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She is a visiting lecturer and teacher on creativity, learning and critical thinking through integrated arts learning. She is an Artist-in-the -Schools-and-Communities for the Nebraska Arts Council, works in private and public schools in Shropshire, England and is an Artist-in-Residence with the Lied Center for Performing Arts-partnered with the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Bantam is a recipient of the Mayor’s Arts Awards for Artistic Achievement in the Arts and a teaching artist in Indonesia, Turkey and Greece. She is a recipient of the Nebraska Arts Council Fellowship Grant, and an artist of the Sheldon Museum of Art’s 50 Years: Permanent Collection.

jared halter, Sociology Teaching Fellow
jared halter joins Midland University as a Sociology Teaching Fellow. He earned his PhD in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Sociology from Clemson University and a M.S. in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs from Syracuse University. He was a student-athlete on the soccer team as an undergraduate at Slippery Rock University. In his free time, jared involves himself in community social justice efforts and is an avid basketball player (along with all other sports), video gamer, sports enthusiast (go Clemson!), guitar player, and traveler. As a critical scholar of race, class, and gender, jared’s research examines social inequality, social justice, and the American Dream. He hopes to create a research group to provide opportunities for students to gain research experience and publication opportunities. He is currently working on a policy brief on the opioid epidemic, a project on intergroup dialogue in high a school classroom, and papers on the American Dream, gender, race, class, and meritocracy.

Larry Hughes, Associate Professor of Business
Larry Hughes comes to Midland University after 15 year careers both in industry and academe. After three years of academic leadership he is returning to focus on what he is most passionate about ... student learning. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master's of Business Administration. He has published a number of scholarly articles on various aspects of leadership and psychological capital including humor, trust, positive emotions, hope, and resiliency. He lives near Omaha with his family.

MJ Kraus-Hier, Assistant Professor of Education
MJ Kraus-Hier was an adjunct for the Para to Teacher program in its inaugural year last year and will be following the first cohort into their methods block as well as supervising their student teaching in the spring. She will also be teaching on campus. She has her Master's in Curriculum and Instruction and is working on a second Master's in School Counseling. She lives in Omaha with her husband Keith and their four kids: Crosby, Poppy, August, and Azalea.