Charles Brooks Handy was born April 26, 1924, in Coffey, Missouri. He received his B.A. (1947) in economics from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, his M.A. (1956) in accounting from the University of Iowa, and his Ph.D. (1970) in economics from Iowa State University.



Handy started his professional career as a staff accountant (1955-1958) with McGladrey, Hansen, Dunn and Company. He joined the faculty at Iowa State as an Instructor (1958-1960) and Assistant Professor (1960-1970) in the Department of Industrial Administration. He was promoted to Associate Professor (1970-1975), Professor (1975-1992) and Chair (1978-1980) of Industrial Administration. Handy served as Director (1980-1984) of the School of Business Administration when that was formed and then as the first Dean (1984-1989) of the College of Business Administration (later renamed the College of Business). Handy retired in 1992 and was named Professor Emeritus.



Handy was a respected authority in the field of managerial accounting and auditing. In 1974, Handy received the certificate of merit literary award from the National Association of Accountants for an article on valuation procedures for convertible debt. He was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Accounting Association, and the National Assocation of Accountants, among others. In 1989, the first endowed chair in Iowa State University's Department of Accounting was named the Union Pacific/Charles B. Handy Professorship.



Charles Handy and his wife, Donna, had two children.