Bantz to be recommended as new IUPUI chancellor

Indianapolis --- Indiana University Interim President Gerald Bepko announced today (Jan. 13) that he will recommend that Charles R. Bantz be named as the new chancellor of IUPUI, effective June 1. Bepko's recommendation will be considered by the IU Board of Trustees at its regular monthly business meeting Jan. 31 in Bloomington. Bantz has served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Wayne State (Mich.) University since August 2000. He was previously the vice provost and director of university continuous improvement at Arizona State University. Bantz had also been the chair of the Department of Communication at Arizona State and has been a faculty member at Arizona State; the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

"Dr. Bantz offers a broad range of experiences as an academic leader. His current position, in which he has taken a leadership role in the strategic planning process for a major urban university, would serve him particularly well here at IUPUI. Based on the report of the search committee, discussions with university leaders who participated in the search process and my meetings with Charles, I am confident he is the right person for the job," Bepko said.

Bepko will also recommend to the trustees that Bantz serve as vice president for long-range planning for Indiana University, the same post Bepko held while chancellor of the IUPUI campus.

"I am excited about the opportunity here at IUPUI," Bantz said. "This university has an outstanding reputation in research, and it is an emerging leader in urban education. I am pleased both to be part of IUPUI's continuing effort for excellence and to join the leadership team of IU. I welcome the opportunity to serve one of the nation's premier multicampus universities."

Bantz's appointment will not become official until it is acted upon by the Board of Trustees. The trustees interviewed the finalists for the position in executive session Dec. 20 in Indianapolis.

Bantz is married to Sandra Petronio, a professor in the Department of Communication at Wayne State University, who also holds an appointment in the School of Medicine at the Detroit-based research university. Petronio will become a faculty member in the Department of Communication Studies at IUPUI and join the Center on Bioethics at the IU School of Medicine.

In March 2001, Bepko announced he would be stepping down as IUPUI chancellor at the end of the 2002-03 academic year to return to teaching and research. A 30-person search committee chaired by John Walda, IU's executive director for federal relations and corporate partnerships, conducted the search for Bepko's successor. IU School of Nursing Dean Angela McBride was vice-chair of the committee. The committee conducted a national search and considered well over 100 candidates for the leadership post at the Indianapolis campus.

Bepko was appointed as interim president of Indiana University in November 2002 after Myles Brand announced he would be leaving the presidency of IU to become president of the NCAA. Bepko will serve as interim president until a new president is chosen.