Charles E. Bayless (born November 2, 1942) is a former president of

West Virginia University Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

and a regional vice president of

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

. He retired from WVU Tech on June 30, 2008.

Early life

Charles E. Bayless is a native of

Dunbar, West Virginia Dunbar is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Kanawha River. The population was 7,479 at the 2020 census. History Dunbar was incorporated on April 19, 1921, by an Act of the West Virginia Legislature. ...

. In High School, he attended Nitro High School and Greenbrier Military School. He graduated from

, in 1968 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. At Tech he was Vice-President of the Student Council and a member of

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity in North America. As of 2021, it had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni. The fraternity is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded on February 26, 1897, at Vincennes Uni ...

fraternity. He received an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in finance from

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, an MSEE degree in Electric Power Engineering and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

, both from WVU.

Professional life

During college, Bayless worked several summer jobs for Kentucky Power and

PPL Corporation PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as and is part of the S&P 500. As of 2022, the compa ...

. From 1972 to 1981 he was an attorney, then Director of Nuclear Fuel Supply and later Director of Special Corporate Projects for Consumer's Power Company of

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

. From 1981 to 1989, he was Senior VP and

CFO A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, re ...

of Public Service Company of New Hampshire. He was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Tucson Electric Power Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is an electric utility company serving southern Arizona in the United States. It is a subsidiary of Fortis, which announced its acquisition of parent company UNS Energy in 2013. Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, a baseb ...

from 1989 to 1998. He then served as CEO of Illinois Power Company and later became President of West Virginia University Institute of Technology in 2004. Bayless has served on the

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

for several different companies. These were:

Dynegy Dynegy Inc. is an electric company based in Houston, Texas. It owns and operates a number of power stations in the U.S., all of which are powered by fossil fuels. Dynegy was acquired by Vistra Corp on April 9, 2018. The company is located at 601 ...

, Primary Energy, REcycled Energy Development, Commerce Energy, Thermon,

Ontario Power Authority The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) was an independent, non-profit corporation established through the Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004 (Bill 100). Licensed by the Ontario Energy Board, it reported to the Ontario legislature through the Ministry ...

, Patina Oil and Gas, Pike Electric, Trigen Energy Inc, Aquilon Energy Services, West Virginia American Water, EPRI, TS Conductors, The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, and

Edison Electric Institute The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is an association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. In its official communications, EEI mostly cast doubt on climate change in the 1990s. In the 2000s, EEI no longer cast doubt on clim ...

and was a founder and Board Member of New Energy Ventures. He was the

Chairman of the Board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

for Independent Wireless One. He is a Member of the Judging Panel for the Platts Global Energy Awards. He serves on the Advisory Boards of The Angeleno Group and Energy Impact partners.

Volunteerism

Bayless has been extensively involved with the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, he has been a council President, a former member of the National Executive Board, where he was Vice president for venturing and is currently a member of the National Advisory Board. He is a recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

Silver Beaver Award The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of Scouting America. Recipients of the award are registered adult leaders who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council. Those deemed ...

, and

Silver Antelope Award The Silver Antelope Award is a distinguished service award presented by Scouting America for outstanding service to young people within one of the organization’s divisions. Since 2022 award has been presented for service to a Council Service T ...

. He served as the chairman of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council. He was a member of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Business School Board of Advisors and the

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Commission on Appellate Judicial Appointments. He was also vice president of the

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. and is past Co-Chair of the Climate Institute.

References

1942 births Living people West Virginia University Institute of Technology alumni Ross School of Business alumni People from Dunbar, West Virginia Nitro High School alumni Greenbrier Military School alumni Sigma Pi members {{US-academic-administrator-1940s-stub