Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Technology Robert Arthur Banzhaf was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Pleasant Ridge Elementary School there and graduated from Woodward High School. He received his B.S. degree in education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, while serving his apprenticeship in offset lithography, and later received an M.S. degree in guidance from the university. He earned his Ed.D. degree in occupational education from North Carolina State University. Banzhaf and his wife, Carolyn, have two daughters, Elizabeth Ann (March 17, 1966-) and Margaret (April S, 1969-). Before joining the faculty at Appalachian State University, Banzhaf acquired seven years of teaching experience in industrial arts at Fairmont East and West High Schools in Kettering, Ohio. He also taught for seven years in the Kettering schools adult program. Banzhaf was director of printing services for the Kettering Board of Education from 1959 to 1966 while also working for and consulting with several local printers and publishers, including laboratory work on an emerging product, "No Carbon Required" (NCR) paper for NCR Corporation (1960). Work was begun at the Battelle Institute on a camera/plate-maker which ultimately became the Xerox copier in 1961. Banzhaf also owned and operated a specialty die-cutting shop called Kettering Printery from 1961 to 1966. Dr. Banzhaf came to Appalachian State University in 1966 as an assistant professor of industrial arts and was promoted to associate professor in 1972. He became a full professor in 1976. While at Appalachian, Banzhaf was appointed coordinator of internship programs for the Department of Industrial Education and Technology and served as director of the Mountaineer Printing Service. He also was credited with generous contributions to upgrading the facilities of the graphic arts program. During his academic career, Banzhaf completed the following books and manuals: The Bookbinder's Manual, Graphic Design and Color, Hand Bookbinding, The History and Practice of Letter Press Printing, The History of the Technology of the Graphics Arts, The Internship Manual, Printing Inks, The Printer's Dictionary, and Screen Process Printing and Paper: The Basics. Dr. Banzhaf also authored forty-one articles, including: "King Super Joosts With Ye Olde Print Shoppe," "The Extent of Technology in a Free Society," "Technology and Industrial Arts," "The Role of Industrial Arts and Assisting Youth," and "An Analysis of the Culture with Regard for Industrial Arts." Screen Process Printing has been used as a textbook at over one hundred schools in the United States and in nine foreign countries, from elementary to senior institutions. Additionally, his book Paper: The Basics (McKnight) was used as a reference guide by many teachers and businesses and as a textbook by several schools. Banzhaf graduated from the Heidelberg Pressman School in Queens, New York in 1971. In 1981, Banzhaf received a certificate of completion from the NPES/GATF Advanced Teacher Institute, sponsored by the National Printing Equipment and Supply Association and conducted at the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation in Pittsburgh. During his tenure, Dr. Banzhaf served on the College Publications Committee, the University Committee on Research, the Faculty Senate, the University Patent Committee, the Military Science Scholarship Board, the Traffic Committee, the Communications Media Committee, the Committee on Affirmative Action, and the Committee on Communications Curriculum. He envisioned the program of printing production management, developed it, and presented it to his department, college, university (Communications Media Committee) and the University of North Carolina for approval. The program and the development of it was the only reason Banzhaf stayed at Appalachian State and did not go to Arizona State University in Arizona. He also served as director 98 and advisor of printing production management and was responsible for redeveloping the curriculum for graphic arts. He was a consultant to the Oxford Orphanage printing department and in charge of library acquisitions for IA/TE. Dr. Banzhaf's professional affiliations include membership in the following organizations: Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, International Graphic Arts Education Association, American Industrial Arts Association, North Carolina Industrial Arts Association, North Carolina Association of Educators, Printing House Craftsmen of America, American Vocational Association, Epsilon Pi Tau, Phi Delta Kappa, Kappa Phi Kappa, National Education Association, and Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio. Dr. Banzhaf retired from Appalachian State in 1996. The Board of Trustees awarded him emeritus status in June of the same year. Sources: Appalachian State University files. -Dr. Richard D. Howe
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