By Marie LeBlanc, Community Partnerships Coordinator
Did you think about studying philanthropy in college? Take any classes on nonprofit management? Would you have taken those courses if you had the chance? I didn’t and yet my career has mostly stayed within the bounds of the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors. However, for a small group of graduating undergraduates at Indiana University, philanthropy has been both an in- and out-of-classroom pursuit during their college years.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University has long been an academic leader in philanthropic studies, but only recently started offering degree programs in the field. In 2008, the first Doctorate in Philanthropic Studies was awarded by the university, and this year marks the first class of graduating undergraduates, earning Bachelors’ in Philanthropic Studies. (Note: when I say the “first,” I mean the first degrees ever issued in this area — not just from Indiana University.)