photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Leaders of the ROTC programs at the University of Kansas salute the flag during a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11, 2021.

As the University of Kansas aims to do more work with the U.S. Department of Defense, it is creating an entirely new office to boost the effort.

KU leaders on Wednesday announced the creation of the Office of National Defense Initiatives and added a new assistant vice chancellor position to its management ranks to oversee the project.

Mike Denning, who has served as KU’s director of Office of Graduate Military Programs since 2011, has been appointed to the vice chancellor role. He’ll oversee a staff that includes members of the former Office of Graduate Military Programs and with KU’s three ROTC programs.

“The creation of ONDI amplifies the message that national security research and education are not just important, but vital to our academic mission,” said Jen Roberts, senior vice provost for academic affairs.

The new office is a continuation of efforts by KU to become a bigger player in the world of research and collaboration on national defense issues. Last year KU hired a director of national security research, Kurt Preston, a 35-year Army engineer and researcher.

KU also had a big announcement in the space last year when it received $22 million in federal funding to create a new national security research center on KU’s West Campus. KU leaders have said that center likely will be a home for researchers ranging from cybersecurity to radar technology to artificial intelligence.

The center will be built on KU’s West Campus, which is north and west of 23rd and Iowa streets, as part of the KU Innovation Park development. Innovation Park currently has three buildings that house largely startup technology companies, and plans call for this new 80,000-square-foot center will be constructed near those buildings.

The building is expected to add about 250 jobs at the park initially, but the development is projected to spur interest from companies that want to be close to national security researchers and students.

In addition to overseeing projects that are directly related to national security and defense initiatives, the new Office of National Defense Initiatives will assume oversight of KU’s ROTC programs.

Denning said he’s optimistic the new office and reorganization will help KU’s research rise “to the forefront of numerous DoD opportunities.”