University Leadership

Dr. William "Bill" Tsutsui is an award-winning historian, a passionate classroom teacher, and a seasoned academic leader with a record of innovation. Born in New York City and raised in Texas, he holds degrees from Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton. He began his academic career at the University of Kansas, where over 17 years on the faculty, he served as Acting Director of KU’s Center for East Asian Studies, Chair of the Department of History, and Associate Dean for International Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. From 2010 to 2014, he was Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. From June 2014 through December 2019, he served as President of Hendrix College, a top-tier national liberal arts college founded in 1876 and located in Conway, Arkansas. In 2020-2021, he was the Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Visiting Professor at Harvard University.

At the University of Kansas, Bill led the planning and establishment of the Center for Global and International Studies; coordinated efforts to win $8 million in federal funding for KU’s five area studies centers; and created a range of new programs for study abroad in East Asia, service learning, distance education, and professional development for K-12 teachers. As Dean of Dedman College at SMU, Bill led the development and implementation of Dedman College’s first strategic plan; raised over $25 million for the college as part of SMU’s Second Century Campaign; oversaw the creation of a new visual identity and marketing plan for the college; and established the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute, the Center for Drug Discovery, Design, and Delivery, three new majors, three new minors, two master’s degrees, and a joint Ph.D. in biostatistics with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

At Hendrix, Bill stressed accessibility and affordability, diversity and inclusion, a commitment to the core values of a residential liberal arts education, and connecting with the college’s United Methodist and Arkansas heritage. Under his leadership, Hendrix gained national attention for initiatives including the Hendrix Arkansas Advantage (which offered scholarships covering full demonstrated financial need to qualified Arkansas high school graduates), the Aspire Scholars (which created partnerships with eight schools and organizations to bring Pell-eligible students to Hendrix), and Career Term (an intensive boot camp in employment-focused skills and mindsets for all sophomores). During his presidency, Hendrix recruited the most diverse classes in college history and set a record 70% four-year graduation rate. Bill secured three of the five largest individual gifts ever given to Hendrix, including $26 million from the estate of Mary Ann Dawkins and $10.5 million from the Windgate Foundation. Be Hendrix, launched in 2016, surpassed $103 million—the most ever in a Hendrix fundraising campaign—by 2019. Two donor-funded new facilities transformed the core of the Hendrix campus: a 16,000-square-foot welcome center opened in September 2017 and the Miller Creative Quad, a $17-million mixed-use project combining student housing, a museum of art, music facilities, and an auditorium, opened in 2019.

In his first year at Ottawa University, Bill led a broadly based and inclusive strategic planning effort, spearheaded an initiative to build endowed scholarship funds for students in need, and stewarded the creation of the institution’s first doctoral degree and a new master’s in applied psychology.  To encourage engagement and collaboration across the University, Bill established new forums for communications and community input, stressed transparency in decision-making, and sought to build a University-wide problem-solving culture.

Bill is the author or editor of eight books, including Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters (2004), which was called a “cult classic” by the New York Times. At KU, he received a 2001 Kemper Award for Teaching Excellence and won the Steeples Faculty Award for service to the people of Kansas. He has served on the NCAA D–III Presidents Council and is currently on the boards of the Association for Asian Studies, the US–Japan Council, and the Japan–US Bridging Foundation.  In 2020 he was appointed a Commissioner of the Japan–US Friendship Commission and a Panelist on CULCON (the US–Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange).

He has been married for 33 years to Dr. Marjorie Swann, a professor of English at Hendrix, and they are caregivers to two cats and a dog. Bill is passionate (and opinionated) about BBQ and slightly ashamed to be level 40 on Pokémon Go.

Dr. Bangs was named as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost as of January 1, 2023.

Dr. Bangs brings more than 20 years of higher education experience to OU, most recently as the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Cottey College, an independent women’s liberal arts institution located in Nevada, MO.

Prior to Cottey, Bangs was the Associate Provost of the College for Women, Dean of the School of Business and Professional Studies, and Professor of Economics at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, one of the largest private women’s universities in the nation.  She has also taught at DeVry University Online and at Oakland University in Rochester, MI.  She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota and holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.  Dr. Bangs co-authored an annual research report on women in corporate leadership in Minnesota from 2008 to 2018 and has published numerous journal articles and textbook chapters on pedagogy in economics. In 2021, she participated in Bravely Confronting Racism in Higher Education, a workshop offered by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

At Cottey College, Dr. Bangs led the self-study process for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, collaborated with faculty on a complete revision of the Faculty Handbook, and oversaw the creation of new academic programs in psychology, secondary education, and elementary education.  At St. Catherine University, she developed strategic initiatives for the School of Business and Professional Studies and the College for Women, implemented an academic program prioritization process, and launched a new MBA program.

Dr. Bambi Burgard was named the interim Campus President for OUKS beginning June 1, 2024.

Dr. Burgard is an associate professor, program director, and licensed psychologist. In addition to teaching in the counseling master’s program, Dr. Burgard maintains a small private practice as a provider at Behavioral Health Specialists. She helped introduce the counseling program at the university’s Kansas City campus, and she also teaches courses for OU Online.

Dr. Burgard earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology at University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she was awarded the Kemper post-doctoral fellowship. Her graduate training included practicum experiences at Children’s Mercy Hospital, the VA Medical Center, a community mental health agency, and the university counseling center. Her APA-approved predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship were completed at University of Missouri-Kansas City’s counseling center.

Following the completion of her doctoral degree in 1999, Dr. Burgard began working in administrative roles and teaching undergraduate psychology courses at Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI). She served as executive vice president for academic affairs at KCAI from 2012-2022 before joining Ottawa University in 2023. Dr. Burgard is a member of the Kansas Psychological Association.

Craig Kispert came to Ottawa University in December of 2021 following an almost 29-year career at Seattle Pacific University, where he served a Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the last eight years there.  In that role, he had responsibilities for all financial management and investment functions of the University along with Auxiliary Services, Computer and information Services, Facilities, Human Resources, and Risk Management/Campus Safety/Legal.  Prior to moving into the role of CFO, he served in a range of increasing roles throughout the financial operations of Seattle Pacific University.

Mr. Kispert has substantial experience in financial modeling, endowment investing, debt structuring and issuance, budget planning, new program modeling, software system implementation, risk management, business insurance, facility development, and staff development/supervision. In addition to his campus roles, Mr. Kispert also served on the boards of several higher education focused captive insurance entities, various committees for higher education professional associations, and an accreditation evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.  He also has been a speaker at a variety of higher education related conferences for higher education chief financial and business officers.

Mr. Kispert earned a BA in Business Administration (Finance major) from Seattle Pacific University, an MBA (Management focus) from Seattle University, and became a Certified Public Account in 1991.

Dr. Chantell Link was named President of OU Online beginning May 13, 2024.

Dr. Link brings more than 15 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, having served in various executive leadership roles in online education, academics, and student services. Her journey in higher education commenced at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, igniting her interest and dedication to fostering accessibility and opportunity for all learners. With a passion for innovation in online programming, Dr. Link has worked at some of the leading institutions in online education, having served as Assistant Vice President of Student Experience for Southern New Hampshire University, Kenzie and previously as the Director of Student Persistence and Academic Services at Western Governors University (WGU) where she was responsible for introducing peer-based academic supports, automated student achievement awards, chatbot outreach to increase student engagement, and the First Year Experience Initiative, to name a few.

Prior to WGU, Dr. Link served as the Assistant Provost for Academics and Executive Director of Texas Southern University (TSU) Online and was responsible for rebranding and expanding online programs and instructional support services for online students at TSU, increasing their online enrollments. Additionally, she has experience in the community college setting, having served at Lone Star College, one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing community college systems,  in various roles including Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Success, Vice President of the North Harris satellite campuses, and Executive Director of LSC-Online.

Committed to service, Dr. Link is passionate about community outreach and development, where she's actively involved with several organizations, including the Texas Spring Cypress Chapter of the Links and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and has served on various community boards, including Leadership Houston. She previously served as the Treasurer for the Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA).

Dr. Link is married with three children. Her husband works for the French-based oil and gas company TotalEnergies in their trading and shipping division in the downtown Houston location. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, visiting her son in Austin and close friends, and international travel with buddies in Miami.

Janet Peters was named Vice President of University Advancement in August 2020, after serving as Acting Vice President since October 2019. Previously, she served as director of development and planned giving at Ottawa University since March 2011, where she managed the operations of the Office of University Advancement, supervising several employees and functions, including major gifts, annual gifts, planned gifts, alumni programs and administrative support. From April 2006 to March 2011,  Peters served as director of planned giving at Ottawa University, where she was responsible for attracting new gifts to the University through planned giving vehicles, including but not limited to estate gifts, annuities and various trusts. 

Peters came to Ottawa University from a 17-year career at Peoples Bank in Ottawa, Kansas. At Peoples Bank, she served as vice president and trust officer where she managed operations and administration of all trust accounts administered by the bank.

Peters earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism degree in 1983 from the University of Iowa and then worked for the University of Iowa Office of Orientation Services in the admissions department for two years. In 1988, she earned a Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law. Peters is currently a member of the Kansas State Bar. She and her husband, Martin (MA from OUKC), live near Ottawa and have two grown sons. 

Dr. Dennis J. Tyner was named president of Ottawa University-Arizona in May 2019. This came after Tyner had served as senior vice president and provost of OUAZ from its inception in February 2017, helping build the university’s new Surprise, Arizona, residential campus from the ground up. His tireless work in OUAZ’s first two years of existence led to him being named “Most Influential Person in Valley Education” by Arizona Foothills Magazine in its “Best of Our Valley 2020” awards.

Tyner joined Ottawa University in January 2007 as vice president and provost of the university’s 155-year-old campus in Ottawa, Kan.  He has been teaching at the collegiate level since 1986, when he began lecturing at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. Immediately prior to coming to Ottawa University, Dr. Tyner served for eight years as dean of the David Crawford School of Engineering at Norwich University, the oldest private military college in the nation. In that capacity, he helped to reverse a decade long trend of declining enrollment, and was able to substantially increase the number of undergraduate engineering students enrolled at the school. During that time, he was instrumental in the development of new undergraduate program offerings. He also designed an annual Engineering Summer Camp and a semi-annual Engineering Showcase, and he established the school’s first online graduate program.

The Boston native earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University in 1985, 1986, and 1992, respectively.  His primary research focused on applying digital communication methods in magnetic storage systems to increase the storage capacity of magnetic media. He published several articles on his research and presented his results at national and international conferences.  While pursuing his bachelors and masters degrees, Tyner was employed by GTE as a member of the Radio Products Group within the company’s Communication Systems Division. There, he was part of a team that developed the secure communication radios for the aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, and for the NASA Space Shuttle.

After earning his doctorate, Tyner joined the faculty at Norwich University as an assistant professor of Electrical Engineering, where he developed and taught new courses in communications and digital signal processing. In addition to his academic work, he served Norwich University in several other areas during his 14 years of employment with them, including admissions, facilities operations, student activities and athletics.  He also served as a textbook reviewer for Prentice Hall Publishers, and authored two solutions manuals for electric circuits textbooks that he evaluated.

Tyner is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the National Engineering Honor Society, and he served as advisor to Norwich’s student chapter from 1994 to 2006. He was instrumental in helping the chapter achieve national recognition, as they were twice voted as the R.C. Matthews Most Outstanding Chapter, and were twice runners-up.  In 1997, Tyner received Tau Beta Pi’s “Most Outstanding Advisor” award. That same year, he was also selected to serve the organization as a facilitator for their award-winning “Engineering Futures” program, whereupon he traveled to schools across the nation to deliver seminars on public speaking, interpersonal skills, analytical problem solving, meeting management, and team chartering. Additionally, he has taught engineering students for more than 20 years at every institution for which he has served.

Tyner and his wife, Patricia, reside in Surprise, Ariz. They have eight grown children, and a grandchild. His wife and five of their children are graduates of Ottawa University.