Geoffrey Bannister

Geoffrey Bannister - Advisor to GlobalEd

Chair

Dr. Bannister was most recently the President of Schiller International University. Previously, he was the President of Cultural Experiences Abroad, one of the U.S.’s largest study abroad providers, and founding president, The Forum on Education Abroad, the only national membership organization in the United States devoted solely to the production and oversight of Standards Development in U.S. study abroad. From 1989 to 2000 he served as the 17th President of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before that he was, for a decade, the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Boston University.


Highlights of his career at Boston University included raising external research support from $3.8 million to over $15 million per year; securing NEH funding for a $1 million challenge grant to create a Humanities Foundation in the college; and raising $13.5 million in gifts for the College of Liberal Arts. At Butler University, he was noted for raising the size of the student body from 2,300 to 3,300 with another 3,000 on study abroad programs; increasing the full-time faculty from 167 to 240; completing the university’s first ever capital campaign ($75 million); raising $35 million in post campaign funds; and revitalizing the athletics program with an emphasis on breadth and equitable access.

He was the principal architect of Boston University’s study abroad programs, and the catalyst to the development of Butler University’s Institute for Study Abroad. He was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors for the in Washington, D.C., and he has served on leadership committees and boards for the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), the American Council on Education (ACE), the College Board, Indiana Campus Compact, the NCAA, USARowing; on the boards of various corporations and business organizations; and as a Legal Advisor for the U.S. Department of State.

He has been recipient of the King, Walker, Wilkins, Young award for service to the minority community in Indiana; Indiana International Citizen of the Year, 1992-93; and he is a Sagamore of the Wabash (Governor Evan Bayh). He was born in the United Kingdom, raised in New Zealand, received his Ph.D.in geography from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 1974 and became a United States Citizen on July 4th 1989. Dr. Bannister is a former New Zealand cycling champion and record holder. He is married to Jerri Ross, a former marketing executive in the travel industry, and is the proud father of Kate and grandfather of Sophia.