Biography
Executive Vice President, Indiana University
Chancellor, IUPUI
Charles R. Bantz was appointed Indiana University vice president for long-range planning and chancellor of IUPUI on January 31, 2003, by the Trustees of Indiana University. He assumed his duties as the fourth chancellor of IUPUI on June 1, 2003. He holds faculty appointments at IUPUI as professor of communication studies in the IU School of Liberal Arts and professor of management in the IU Kelley School of Business. In 2007 Chancellor Bantz also assumed the title of Executive Vice President, Indiana University.
He brings to IUPUI and IU a long-term focus on organizational change for excellence, stemming from his scholarly work and building through a series of leadership roles as journal editor, chair, vice provost, provost, and chancellor.
A native of South Dakota, Bantz is an organizational communication expert, having published on organizational behavior, culture, and change. His disciplinary leadership is evident in his election to numerous posts in national and international organizations, in receiving an award for his book Understanding Organizations, and in his election to the editorship of Communication Monographs.
Bantz developed an international dimension to his scholarship and teaching through a multinational research project known as the Salzburg Seminar's Universities Project, which was created to help promote higher education reform in Central and East Europe and in the Russian Federation. The Universities Project and its adjunct Visiting Advisors Program were funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
From August 2000 to May 2003, Bantz served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and professor of communication at Wayne State University, which is located in Detroit and serves more than 31,000 graduate and undergraduate students.
As provost at Wayne State, Bantz was a leader in the university's strategic planning effort. Among the initiatives he led were the establishment of a biomedical engineering department, Wayne State's first university-wide capital campaign, the reorganization of university success services, and expansion of the honors program.
Bantz came to Wayne State from Arizona State University. On ASU's main campus at Tempe, Bantz served as vice provost from 1995 to 2000 and as director of university continuous improvement from 1996 to 2000. From 1989 to 1995 Bantz was chair of the ASU Department of Communication (now the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication).
He has also been on the faculties of Arizona State, the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), and the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Bantz earned a bachelor's degree in English education at the University of Minnesota, a master's degree in speech-communication from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. degree from Ohio State University in communication.
Bantz is a member of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, Indianapolis Downtown Inc. Board of Directors, Indiana INTERNnet Advisory Board, Indiana Sports Corporation Board of Directors, and United Way of Central Indiana Board of Directors. He is a member of the Coalition of Urban & Metropolitan Universities Executive Committee and currently chairs the Nominating Committee. Professional memberships include the Academy of Management, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association for Higher Education, American Association of University Professors, Association for Quality and Participation, International Communication Association (Life Member), National Communication Association (Life Member), and Western States Communication Association.
Bantz is married to Dr. Sandra Petronio, an expert on medical privacy and disclosure issues, health communication, family communication, and interpersonal relationships. She holds faculty appointments in the Department of Communication Studies at IUPUI and the Center on Bioethics at the IU School of Medicine.
