Hall Center Staff

Director - Victor Bailey
vbailey@ku.edu

The Director provides leadership in the humanities at the University of Kansas. The Director develops and supports broadly conceived interdisciplinary activities that benefit humanists both inside and outside the university, maintains contact with state and national humanities programs and foundations, actively promotes external funding from both public and private sources, and furthers the exchange of ideas in the humanities in a variety of settings. The Director fosters quality public programs that engage the citizens of Kansas and the region in the national conversation about the humanities. The Director mentors junior faculty and resident scholars and represents the Hall Center and humanities research at the Provost's Council and other entities on campus. The Director serves as chief executive officer of the Hall Center and is the liaison between the humanities faculty and the KU Center for Research, Inc.

Victor Bailey has been Hall Center Director since 2000. He is the Charles W. Battey Distinguished Professor of Modern British History at the University of Kansas. His research interests include the history of criminal law and criminal justice. His most recent book is "This Rash Act": Suicide Across the Life Cycle in the Victorian City (Stanford University Press, 1998). He is currently finishing a book on the history of punishment in England, supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the American Philosophical Society and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1998, he won the Walter D. Love Prize of the North American Conference on British Studies for best article in British history by a North American scholar. In 1999, he received a W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. In the same year, he was Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London.

Bailey has degrees from Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the Centre for the Study of Social History, Warwick University, and has held teaching appointments at the Universities of Oxford and Hull in England and the University of Rochester and Hamilton College in the U.S.

Associate Director

The Associate Director provides leadership for the Center's programming for both faculty enhancement and public outreach, including program development and implementation, public relations, staffing plans, resource acquisition and allocation and evaluation processes to ensure program quality and mission fulfillment. The Associate Director is also responsible for the day-to-day management of the Center and assists the Director in promoting the humanities on campus and off.

Grant Development Officer - Kathy Porsch
kporsch@ku.edu

The Grant Development Officer directs the activities of the Grant Development office. She facilitates and enhances the grant and fellowship activities of KU faculty and graduate students in the humanities, alerts them to external funding opportunities, encourages them to apply to external sources for funding of their research, curriculum, and institutional development initiatives, assists them through the application process and tracks the results of their efforts.

Kathy Porsch has held this position since April 20, 1998, when the University of Kansas renewed its commitment to the humanities with the appointment of a full-time grant development officer to expand and direct the activities of the Humanities Grant Development Office in the Hall Center. She has more than 20 years of grant development experience in the humanities, arts, sciences, and engineering. She holds a BA in English from Fort Hays State University and an MS in Journalism and Mass Communications (honors) from KU. Her professional background also includes teaching, journalism, public relations, magazine layout and design and business management.
Program Administrator - Jeanie Wulfkuhle
jeaniew@ku.edu

The Program Administrator manages events both on and off campus, maintains the Hall Center website, creates and maintains internal databases, supervises the Center's undergraduate and graduate student interns, serves as overall office manager, and is responsible for computer hardware and software trouble-shooting and maintenance. The Program Administrator also serves as the Center's public relations coordinator by developing and implementing advertising plans for Hall Center programs and chairing the KU Connections Committee.

The current Program Administrator, Jeanie Wulfkuhle, joined the Hall Center July 12, 2004. She holds a BFA in Ceramics and an MSE in Sports Administration and Business, both from KU. Jeanie previously worked for the KU Athletics Corporation, The Kauffman Foundation, and, just prior to coming to the Hall Center, she managed her own home-based business.
Accountant - Jay Coffman
hchaccounting@ku.edu

The Accountant is responsible for tracking, updating and maintaining all of the fiscal and accounting records and activities of the Hall Center, including developing and maintaining electronic means of tracking the Center's accounts and providing regular financial reports showing the status of all accounts, interfacing with Human Resources regarding payroll issues, interfacing with the KU Endowment Association regarding the Center's KUEA accounts and interfacing with the KU Center for Research regarding grant-related financial administration.

The present Accountant, Jay Coffman, has held the position since February 2, 2004. Along the way, he acquired additional duties which included Grant Administration and Payroll Administration. His previous experiences as Clerk of District Court and Operations Manager prepared him for the demands of his present position. He holds a BGS in Economics from Kansas University and an MBA from Baker University.
Administrative Associate - Betty Vincent
hallcenter@ku.edu

The Administrative Assistant assists visitors, faculty and guests to the Hall Center by welcoming them and providing information about the historical background of the building and schedules of upcoming events at the Hall Center. This position helps to maintain the up-to-date calendar for the administration and student interns. The Administrative Assistant works closely with the Program Administrator to facilitate Hall Center events and to facilitate correspondence and mailings.

The present Administrative Assistant, Betty Vincent, joined the Hall Center March 8, 2005. She was selected University Support Staff Employee of the Month for February 2007 and has been a part of the university staff for 20 years, providing secretarial assistance in several departments. Her most recent position was receptionist at Printing Services.