Elizabeth Bennion
Indiana University South Bend Director of Community Engagement
South Bend, Indiana
Elizabeth Bennion is Chancellor's Professor of Political Science and Director of Community Engagement at Indiana University South Bend. She teaches American politics, with an emphasis on political behavior, and works to develop, improve, support, assess, and celebrated community-engaged teaching, research, and outreach efforts on campus. Professor Bennion is the founding director of IUSB’s American Democracy Project, Director of Voter Services and Education for the League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area, President of the Indiana Debate Commission, and host of the PBS Michiana (WNIT) weekly television program Politically Speaking. In these capacities she moderates political discussions, public issue forums, and candidate debates for local, state, and national candidates. A nationally recognized expert on civic education and political engagement, Professor Bennion has won numerous awards for her teaching and service, and has published widely in academic books, journals and newsletters. With 75+ publications and over 600 media appearances, she is eager to break down barriers between academics, academic institutions, and the broader communities they serve. Bennion is co-editor of three books on teaching civic engagement: Teaching Civic Engagement: From Student to Active Citizen (2013), Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Disciplines (2017), and Teaching Civic Engagement Globally (2021). Her fourth book, Teaching Experimental Political Science, is scheduled for publication in 2023. She lives in South Bend with her husband and four children.