Prof. B P Sanjay had his basic academic training in communication and journalism in Bangalore, and obtained a Ph.D from Simon Fraser University, Canada. He taught at Madras University and MS University, Tirunelveli, before he moved to the University of Hyderabad as a Professor in 1995.

He was involved in studying the historic SITE experiment, and his professional expertise and interests are in the areas of political economy of information and communication technologies, development communication, and international communication. He has been associated with various national and international bodies that chalk out policies on media education and research.

He was the Director of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. Prof. Sanjay was the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university. He has been recently appointed Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Central University.