Patrick M. Rooney is Executive Director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, a leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice worldwide.

A nationally recognized expert on philanthropy and charitable giving, Dr. Rooney speaks frequently across the country on issues related to philanthropy and management of nonprofit organizations and has been quoted by national news media outlets such as PBS’s Nightly Business Report, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and USA Today. He has served as a member of several national advisory groups, including advisory committees for the U.S. Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Bureau of the Census’ Current Population Survey, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and INDEPENDENT SECTOR.

Dr. Rooney previously served as the Center’s Chief Operating Officer and has been its Director of Research since 1999. He created the Center’s formal in-house research program, building it into one of the premier philanthropy research organizations in the nation. He directs Center-wide research activities, including overseeing the Center's signature research project, the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS). Conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics, COPPS is the largest and most accurate study of charitable giving over time ever conducted. Dr. Rooney also leads the Center’s ongoing research projects, including the research and writing for Giving USA, which is produced by Giving USA Foundation. He coordinates the Center’s extensive contract research program and has guided Center research for clients such as Bank of America, American Express, Target Corporation, United Way of America, the Business Civic Leadership Center and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In 2008 Dr. Rooney and the Center’s research team received the John Grenzebach Research Award for Outstanding Published Scholarship from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Prior to joining the Center on Philanthropy, Dr. Rooney served as both special assistant to the Indiana University Vice President for Long-Range Planning and Chancellor of Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and as Assistant Dean for Academic Programs for Indiana University - Purdue University Columbus (Indiana). He has served as a board or committee member for several nonprofit organizations, including the Techpoint Foundation, the Rollins College Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center, United Way of Central Indiana Strategic Planning Committee and the Children’s Bureau of Indianapolis.

A professor of Economics and Philanthropic Studies at IUPUI and a member of the graduate school faculty at Indiana University, Dr. Rooney is a prolific researcher with an extensive body of published research. He earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Notre Dame and a Certificate of Management Development at Harvard University. He also earned a Certificate in Fund Raising Management from The Fund Raising School at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.