People

Professor Robert Bringle

Professor Bringle is Executive Director of the Center for Service and Learning at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in the USA, and is currently visiting Ireland as the inaugural Visiting Scholar with Campus Engage. As you will see from his biography below, Professor Bringle is a highly distinguished scholar in the fields of service learning and civic engagement within higher education and it is a great privilege to have him share his expertise and knowledge with us through this visiting scholarship. During his stay in Ireland Professor Bringle is visiting a range of higher education institutions (HEIs), both universities and institutes of technology. He is offering workshops and seminars on service learning and civic engagement activities and also meeting with senior management in the HEI sector. For further information please contact info@campusengage.ie

Professor Bringle's work as Executive Director of the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning since 1994 has resulted in an expansion of the number of service learning courses, a curriculum for faculty development, a Community Service Scholars program, an America Reads tutoring program, and a HUD Community Outreach Partnership Center. The IUPUI service learning program was ranked 8th best in the nation among all colleges and universities in 2002 and has been listed among the best programs each subsequent year. IUPUI received a Presidential Award in 2006 as part of the first President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

His scholarly interests for service learning, community service, and civic engagement include student and faculty attitudes and motives, educational outcomes, institutionalization, and assessment and measurement issues. He has published With Service in Mind: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Psychology (edited with D. Duffy), Colleges and Universities as Citizens (edited with R. Games & E. Malloy), and The Measure of Service Learning: Research Scales to Assess Student Experiences (with M. Phillips and M. Hudson).

Dr. Bringle was awarded the School of Science Teaching Award in 1994, the SOS Service Award in 1995, the Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service Learning in 1998, the Brian Hiltunen Faculty Award from Indiana Campus Compact in 2000, and the W. George Pinnell Award for Service from Indiana University in 2003. In 2004, he was recognized at the 4th Annual International Service-Learning Research Conference for his outstanding contributions to the service-learning research field. He consults with other campuses, on national initiatives, and internationally (South Africa, Macedonia, Mexico, Egypt) on issues related to community service and civic engagement. He was Volunteer of the Year in 2001 for Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis. The University of the Free State, South Africa, awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2004 for his scholarly work on civic engagement and service learning.

Dr. Bringle has also been involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs directed at talented undergraduate psychology majors, high school psychology teachers, first-year students, and the introductory psychology course. As a social psychologist, he is widely known for his research on jealousy in close relationships. In 2008, Dr. Bringle was recognized as one of the most prominent alumni scientists by his alma mater, Hanover College.