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A longtime employee at Kentucky State University is retiring after 44 years of service.

Dr. Joanne Bankston previously served as coordinator of family and consumer sciences, and as a state specialist for family economics management for the Cooperative Extension program at Kentucky State. Bankston has served in various capacities within Cooperative Extension at Kentucky State.

Bankston’s career has been highly recognized within her field. Bankston was honored as a legend in family and consumer sciences at the annual conference and expo of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2016. Bankston was also one of 130 leaders from across the country whose biographies were unveiled and published in the publication, Leaders in Family and Consumer Sciences.  In 2016, Bankston  received the award for Excellence in Extension from the Association of Extension Administrators for her outstanding contributions to Cooperative Extension work at 1890 Historically Black Land Grant Universities.

Bankston and other team members received the 2010 Outstanding Program Award for LSYFF (Legally Secure Your Financial Future) from the Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE). She also received the Outstanding Extension Specialist Award from Kentucky State University in 2013.

In 2002, Bankston was nominated by Kentucky Congresswoman Anne Northrup as a delegate to attend the National Summit on Retirement Savings sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Congress, and the President of the United States, George W. Bush. Bankston was invited in 2011 to the Federal Reserve with a select group of participants to discuss the research and evaluation priorities for the Financial Literacy and Education Commission.

Bankston has held several leadership roles including  2010-11 president of the Kentucky chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi, the Extension professional organization and served as 2012 chairperson of the Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP). Bankston was also president of the Association of Home Equipment Educators (AHEE) from 2011-13.  She is the 2017-18 vice president of the Council of Administrators in Family and Consumer Sciences.  Bankston also serves on the Kentucky Attorney General’s Consumer Advisory Council.

Bankston also provided statewide leadership for Extension programs in family financial management and consumer education.? She served as director of the Cooperative Extension System National Center for Diversity (NCFD), located at Kentucky State from 1992 until 1999. Prior to working for Cooperative Extension at Kentucky State,  Bankston was a home economics teacher in Louisville.

Bankston holds a bachelor’s degree in vocational home economics from Morehead State University; a master’s in family economics and management from Southern Illinois University; and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Extension education with minors in family resource management and research. Bankston also holds a leadership certificate from The Center for Creative Leadership in San Diego, California.