Osili Named Director of Research at Center on Philanthropy

Dr. Una Okonkwo Osili (pictured) has been named director of research for the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

Osili has served as interim director of research at the Center since October 2008. She will develop new research initiatives, convene scholars and nonprofit professionals nationally and internationally, direct the Center’s research department, and serve as lead researcher on several research projects.

An associate professor of economics and Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Osili has served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program, the United Economics Commission for Africa and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Osili also served on the International Scientific Panel for the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa/MacArthur Foundation Real Economies of Africa program and as a member of the Expert Advisory Panel for the Economic Report on Africa published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Dr. Osili's recent studies have centered on how cultural diversity affects philanthropy in the United States, using data from the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study to look at charitable behavior of immigrants.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with honors from Harvard University and a master of arts and a Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University. The daughter of an American mother and a Nigerian father, she lived in Nigeria until she was 15 years old. She is the wife of architect Vop Osili, who recently announced his candidacy for Indiana Secretary of State.

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