Awards

IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 2021

About Sandra Petronio

Dr. Sandra Petronio and Dr. Charles Bantz have been Communication Studies faculty for more than 40 years—the last 17 at IUPUI in the School of Liberal Arts. Dr. Petronio’s scholarly contributions, particularly her development of Communication Privacy Management Theory, led the National Communication Association to name her a Distinguished Scholar and the International Association of Relationship Research to name her a Fellow. Dr. Petronio’s leadership was essential in the development of two different PhD programs, including IUPUI’s PhD in Health Communication. After 20 years of full-time faculty contributions, Dr. Bantz focused on campus and university service and joined IUPUI as chancellor in 2003. In his 12 years as chancellor, there were major improvements in student success, dramatic expansion of new degree programs, deeper community engagement, growth in research funding, and completion of two successful fundraising campaigns. Charles and Sandra believe that the ability to present research, participate in scholarly meetings and conferences, and network are essential in the professional development of graduate students, which inspired them to create the Petronio-Bantz Graduate Student Travel Award in the Department of Communication Studies in the School of Liberal Arts. This award supports graduate students in Communication Studies, who will present their research at a conference. The award received the Bicentennial Faculty-Staff Match, doubling the impact it makes for student recipients.