ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved the appointment of Cynthia Wilbanks Thursday (April 19) as interim vice president for communications.

Wilbanks, currently the vice president for government relations, will serve a dual role until a permanent communications leader is identified, President Mary Sue Coleman said in the resolution creating the appointment.

“Vice President Wilbanks brings to her new responsibilities a thorough understanding of the public and external dimensions of the University’s work, broad knowledge of the local, state and national contexts in which the University operates, and a working knowledge of issues from a public relations and communications standpoint,” Coleman wrote of the appointment. “I have enormous respect for Vice President Wilbanks, for the leadership skills she brings to the University as an executive officer, and I am grateful that she is willing to take on this important role.”

A search advisory committee has been working to fill the position since February, when Vice President Lisa Rudgers resigned to pursue a consulting business. The interim position was filled by Julie Peterson, former associate vice president for media relations and public affairs, who will leave at the end of May to become vice president for communications at the University of Chicago, effective July 1.

Wilbanks, who earned her degree in political science from the University in 1973 joined U-M as associate vice president for university relations in 1995 and was named vice president for government relations in 1998.

Wilbanks began her professional career as a staff assistant to U.S. Rep. Marvin L. Esch of Ann Arbor. In 1977, she joined the office of U.S. Rep. Carl D. Pursell of Plymouth, first working as his Washtenaw County field representative and later as his district director, responsible for supervising a field staff for all of the representative’s district operations.

She later served as president of Michigan’s Children, a nonprofit, statewide child advocacy organization.

She is active in the local community, currently as a board member of the Bank of Ann Arbor and the Riverside Arts Center, and a member of the Community Leadership Committee of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. She has previously served as board member and chair for Glacier Hills Retirement Center and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, and board member of the Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW Center) and the State of Michigan United Way. Earlier she served on the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and served as chair of the Innovation Center, and as co-chair of the Michigan Technology Council Government Relations Committee.

Her past involvement also includes serving on the advisory boards of Motor Meals of Ann Arbor and the Junior League of Ann Arbor. Wilbanks is a member of the Rotary Club, the Michigan Alumni Association and the Detroit Symphony Volunteer Council.

Her honors include the Michigan Technology Council Director’s Award for Outstanding Service, the Washtenaw United Way Volunteer Service Award, the Spectrum Prevention Services Toast of the Town Spirit Award and the Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of the Huron Valley Council. In 2002, she was named one of the 100 most influential women in metro Detroit by Crain?s Detroit Business, and in 2004 she was named one of the most influential women by Business Direct Weekly of Ann Arbor.