IUPUI to Honor Bantz
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIUPUI will honor Chancellor Charles Bantz Tuesday during a celebration on campus. Bantz will be stepping down in August.
June 1, 2015
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The community is invited to attend a celebration in recognition of the legacy and leadership of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Chancellor and IU Executive Vice President Charles R. Bantz as he steps down from leading one of the state’s largest universities for 12 years.
WHAT: A celebration to honor IUPUI Chancellor and IU Executive Vice President Charles R. Bantz
WHEN: 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2; remarks begin at 5 p.m.
WHERE: IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Blvd., fourth floor, Room 450 (corner of Michigan Street and University Boulevard)
The celebration, which will be live tweeted by @UnivEventsIU using the hashtag #BantzDay, will feature remarks from IU President Michael A. McRobbie; Brian Payne, president and CEO of the Central Indiana Community Foundation; Mariana Lopez-Owens, IUPUI’s top female student; and others. The event will also include the presentation of the Bepko Community Medallion, which honors an individual who has made a significant and ongoing commitment to strengthening the bonds between IUPUI and the larger community.
Acknowledging the indelible impact Bantz has had on the Indianapolis community and beyond, Mayor Greg Ballard proclaimed June 2 “Charles R. Bantz Day” and Gov. Mike Pence and Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks both signed separate resolutions honoring Bantz.
A tribute website has been created for Bantz, and the community is invited to sign the virtual guestbook.
About Chancellor Bantz
Bantz, 65, joined IUPUI as chancellor and IU vice president for long-range planning in 2003 and was named IU executive vice president in 2006. He will be stepping down as chancellor effective Aug. 15.
Highlights of Bantz’s academic leadership include making IUPUI Indiana’s destination for health and life sciences and strategically focusing campus efforts on Indiana’s economic clusters; being a persistent advocate for undergraduate, graduate and professional programs that help keep graduates in Indiana; and fostering diversity and encouraging better math, science, engineering and technology education.
Bantz also oversaw substantial growth of student life on the IUPUI campus. During his tenure, IUPUI completed two fundraising campaigns, one of which was the largest campaign in IU’s nearly 200-year history, that have named three schools and transformed the campus.
Bantz earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Minnesota and his doctorate in communication at Ohio State University. He has published books and articles on subjects such as organization communication, television news and social conflict, and he speaks and writes about student success, transformational change and internationalization.