School of Philanthropy nears reality at IUPUI

A long-discussed School of Philanthropy at IUPUI is one step away from becoming a reality.

The Indiana University Board of Trustees was expected to vote Friday on whether to create the school, which would be the first of its kind.

Gene Tempel, a longtime advocate of such a school, was scheduled to make a presentation during the trustees' meeting at IU-Northwest in Gary. Tempel is credited with building the reputation of IU's Center on Philanthropy, which is a research center under the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, during his 11-year term as executive director.

Tempel left the center in 2008 to become president of the IU Foundation. Earlier in the week, IU announced that he would return to the Center on Philanthropy as a senior fellow focused on establishing the new school.

Daniel C. Smith, dean of the Kelley School of Business, will become head of the IU Foundation.

IU President Michael McRobbie backed the idea of a new School of Philanthropy last fall. First though, administrators floated a proposal for a school of “public service,” which would have been formed by merging the Center on Philanthropy and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI.

Nonprofit management is a growing and highly ranked component of SPEA's offerings, and administrators thought a new school could quickly attract new students and big gifts.

The proposed merger failed to get faculty approval this spring.

The School of Philanthropy would have to be approved by the Commission on Higher Education. It's not clear how the school would be funded, but it could come with a hefty endowment. The Center on Philanthropy has a $66.5 million endowment.

The center produces the widely cited Giving USA study, and it has trained thousands of fundraising professionals. It also created the world’s only philanthropic studies doctoral program, which is awarded by the School of Liberal Arts.