Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, University of New Mexico, 2004
  • MA, Sociology, University of New Mexico, 1999
  • BA, Sociology, Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts, 1997

Biography

Jerry Daday, Ph.D., is the Executive Associate Dean of the Institute for Engaged Learning and a Professor of Sociology at IU Indianapolis. He works closely with faculty and staff in the Institute and from across campus to promote equitable student engagement in high-impact applied and experiential learning, including the First-Year Experience, Undergraduate Research, Service Learning, Capstone courses, and the use of ePortfolio. He has engaged his students in various experiential learning opportunities, including interdisciplinary undergraduate research abroad (studying human wildlife conflict in Kenya), formal study abroad programs (including in England, Belgium, and Bosnia-Herzegovina), and service learning (WKU Theatre in Diversion Program). He has served as a member of the HIPs in the States national working group and conference planning committee for the past six years. He is the co-editor (with Jillian Kinzie, Ken O’Donnell, John Zilvinskis, and Carleen Vande Zande) of the new book, Delivering on the Promise of High Impact Practices: Research and Models for Achieving Equity, Fidelity, Impact and Scale, published by Routledge (2022). He is currently a member of the editorial board and reviewer for the journal Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. He received his BA in Sociology from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts and his MA and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of New Mexico. Before joining IU Indianapolis in 2018, he was a Professor of Sociology and the Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Western Kentucky University.

Information on the Institute for Engaged Learning

The Institute for Engaged Learning (IEL) was intentionally created by IU Indianapolis in 2018 to promote the effective use, delivery, scaling, and tracking of and equitable access to High-Impact Practices (HIPs) to support student learning, engagement, and success.  Research has shown that HIPs such as internships, undergraduate research, service learning, and capstone experiences benefit student learning and engagement while increasing student retention and graduation rates.  At the core of the IEL’s mission is to promote undergraduate learning through equitable access to pathways of connected curricular and co-curricular, experiential, applied, and integrative learning opportunities that prepare students for lives of meaning and success with skills to communicate, innovate, engage with communities, and solve problems of the 21st century.  Our goal is to ensure that all 22,000 undergraduate students at IU Indianapolis participate in 4 engaged learning experiences (averaging one per academic year) along an engaged learning pathway. 

Residing within the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), the Institute comprises several units and centers that work together to support faculty, staff, and students in these efforts, including: First-Year Experience, Center for Service and Learning, Center for Research and Learning, Gateway to Graduation, ePortfolio, and the RISE to the Challenge initiative.  The Institute currently has 16 full time professionals working within these units and centers. Additionally, nine faculty fellows and lecturers support engaged learning programming and/or provide instructional support for first-year experience courses. 

Institute Vision

All IU Indianapolis undergraduate students will participate in educational pathways that include at least four engaged learning experiences and be transformed by making meaningful connections among their degree, life experiences, and post-graduation goals.

Institute Mission

The Institute for Engaged Learning promotes undergraduate learning through equitable access to pathways of connected curricular and co-curricular, experiential, applied, and integrative learning opportunities that prepare students for lives of meaning and success with skills to communicate, innovate, engage with communities, and solve the problems of the 21st century.