Tamara Bauer

Over more than 15 years of teaching, Dr. Bauer has taught more than 75 courses and worked with over 3,500 students at Kansas State University. Her teaching draws on adaptive leadership theory, Appreciative Inquiry, experiential learning, and asset-based pedagogy to help students develop the capacity to exercise leadership in ways that foster connection and belonging. She has taught courses across the Leadership Studies minor — including Introduction to Leadership Concepts, Leadership in Practice, Culture and Context in Leadership, and Senior Seminar — as well as the capstone course for the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate and a peer leadership development practicum. She also taught a first-year connection course designed specifically for first-generation college students. Her course designs range from large-scale, community-engaged courses (including a citywide food security service-learning project engaging hundreds of first-year students) to intimate seminars focused on ethics, civic engagement, and personal development. She has also co-facilitated international service-learning and leadership development programs in Ghana and Tanzania. Dr. Bauer is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at Kansas State University (2019).