Michael D. Barnes has served as BYU’s Associate Academic Vice President for Faculty Development since 2023. In this role, he oversees university-level rank advancement and continuing faculty status (CFS) reviews, as well as professional development opportunities. He works closely with the BYU Faculty Center, the Harold B. Lee Library, the Faculty Advisory Council, and the Wheatley Institute, while also chairing various councils that support CFS and faculty career development. He also trains and advises department chairs in their supervisory roles.
As a professor of Public Health, Barnes joined the BYU faculty in 1997. His research examines the impact of family health and emotional well-being on public health outcomes, often using large language models. In 2008, he co-founded BYU’s computational health science collaborative, uniting faculty and students from computer science, statistics, and public health. Alongside his colleagues, he has published more than 75 peer-reviewed articles and secured $2 million in research funding.
Barnes teaches courses in public health policy, applied communication strategies, and BYU Foundations for Student Success. He previously served as associate dean of the BYU College of Life Sciences and as chair and graduate coordinator of the Department of Public Health. His university-level honors include BYU’s Wesley P. Lloyd Award for Distinction in Graduate Education and New Mexico State University’s Donald C. Roush Excellence in Teaching Award.
Barnes earned a doctoral degree in public health from Southern Illinois University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in community health from BYU.
He and his wife, Stephanie, are the parents of four married children in Minnesota, Nevada, Tennessee, and Texas. They are particularly fond of their six grandchildren and rejoice whenever they can visit them. Mike enjoys serving in his YSA stake, riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and fostering hobbies in woodworking, photography, and micro-gardening.