IUPUI Chancellor Emeritus Charles R. Bantz received the IUPUI 50th Anniversary Chancellor’s Medallion from his successor, Chancellor Nasser H. Paydar on April 9, 2019, during the Bringle and Hatcher Civic Engagement Showcase. Bantz was recognized for the tremendous growth IUPUI experienced during his service as chancellor, as well as his deep commitment to connecting IUPUI’s campus to the city of Indianapolis and beyond.
Bantz was installed as the fourth chancellor of IUPUI and IU vice president for long-range planning in 2003 and was named IU executive vice president in 2006. During his 12 years as chancellor, IUPUI underwent incredible physical changes, including the opening of the Campus Center in 2008 and the increase of student beds in residence halls on campus to more than 1,400, which increased the number of students living on campus by 250 percent. During Bantz’s tenure, IUPUI became home to the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, initially funded by a $25 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. In 2007, Bantz and his wife Dr. Sandra Petronio established the Center for Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) to celebrate the positive impact that research done by IUPUI faculty has on the Indianapolis community, the state, and beyond. Bantz also oversaw the establishment of the Fairbanks School of Public Health and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Bantz’s commitment to making IUPUI a diverse and inclusive campus doubled IUPUI’s international student population and also led to the establishment of the Multicultural Center in 2010.
Under his leadership, IUPUI received many accolades, including being named a top 200 National University by U.S. News and World Report in 2014 and “8th Best Public College in the Midwest” by Forbes Magazine in 2009, and being a five-time recipient of the President’s Higher Education Community Service Award, among others. For his incredible contributions to campus, Bantz received the Gerald L. Bepko Outstanding Administrator Award in 2015 and was recognized by the Purdue University Board of Trustees the same year.
Bantz stepped down from his position as chancellor in 2015 and is currently a professor of communications studies in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI and an affiliate faculty member in the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.