William J. Banis, vice president for student affairs, will retire before August 31, 2011. Provost Daniel Linzer released the news in a letter addressed to the Northwestern University community emailed to students around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Banis has worked at Northwestern for 16 years, and has served as vice president for student affairs for 10 years. Linzer’s letter highlighted Banis’s involvement in expansions to CAPS, the creation of Judicial Affairs and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and improvements to Safe Ride.
“During his tenure at Northwestern, Bill has led initiatives that have significantly improved student life on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses in numerous areas, including new programs, enhanced services, campus safety, facilities, and campus inclusion,” the letter said.
Over the past year, Banis has overseen changes to campus shuttle routes, worked with ASG on the initiative to build a new student center and developed a plan to install a companion to Lisa’s Café in Willard Residential College.
In an interview last week, Banis stressed his efforts reaching out to students for input on initiatives. “Whatever we do, we like to include students and make sure that students are engaged and part of the process,” he said. He meets regularly with ASG, and also interacts with the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee.
The university will begin the search for a replacement, Linzer said in the email.