Indiana University to Helm the Country's First Philanthropy School
ByChanging trends among students' job expectations has made the Indiana University to contemplate about establishing a school especially for the study of philanthropy.
Pending formal approval from the state this year, the University plans to start the nation's first School of Philanthropy on the Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI) Campus, reports Indianapolis Star.
A report on the Star claims that non-profits account for 9 per cent of US wages and salaries and the percentage is expected to grow "sharply" as nonprofits continue to take larger share of philanthropic work away from the government and private entities.
In a survey conducted by the UCLA Higher Education Institute, 47 per cent of the total respondents were of the opinion that "working for social change" is necessary and very important while choosing their future careers. Around 27000 graduating college seniors were included in this study.
In addition, the Net Impact survey of 2012 on "What workers want" found that 58 per cent of undergraduate student respondents were ready to take a 15 per cent pay cut for an "impact job" and "work for an organization whose values are like [their] own".
Despite the large numbers of students who want to pursue this line of study, there are very few programmes available for the students to opt, let alone an exclusive School for Philanthropy. To bridge this gap between aspirations of the state's youth and the academic programmes, the Indiana University is enthusiastic about establishing the school, once it gets the nod from the state.
University officials are positive that the School of Philanthropy will be a world-class option for undergraduate students who want specialized training and for other adults who would like to pursue advanced degrees and research opportunities to increase their ability to make an impact.