Patrick Dwyer

Patrick Dwyer serves as an Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, where he has been a faculty member since 2017. His research examines how emotions, motivations, personalities, and social relationships influence philanthropic behaviors, bridging psychological science with practical fundraising applications.

Dwyer holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Minnesota, complemented by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Psychology from Vassar College. His methodological expertise spans quantitative analysis and experimental design in philanthropy research.

His scholarly focus encompasses prosocial motivation systems, gratitude dynamics in donor engagement, personality-driven giving patterns, and social network effects on charitable behavior. This work has been published in premier journals including Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Emotion, and Nonprofit Management & Leadership, with coverage in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Psychology Today.

Key recognitions include:

• Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award (2022) from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
• Top 10 Insights from the “Science of a Meaningful Life” (2020) by Greater Good Magazine
• Best of the 2010s: Most Popular Articles in Nonprofit Management and Leadership
• Dissertation Research Award from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center/John Templeton Foundation

Dwyer teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on donor psychology, institutional fundraising, experimental methods, and nonprofit sector dynamics, preparing students for evidence-based practice in philanthropy.