Awards

Titled Professor - 2021

Chancellor's Professor

W. George Pinnell Award for Outstanding Service - 2009

About Elizabeth A. Bennion

Elizabeth A. Bennion holds a B.A. in American studies from Smith College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joined Indiana University South Bend's (IUSB) Department of Political Science in 1999 and rose through the ranks as an instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. Bennion is Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science at Indiana University South Bend.

Bennion teaches American politics, with an emphasis on political behavior. She 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 WNIT's live 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, Bennion has won numerous local, state, and national awards for her teaching and service, and has published widely in academic books, journals, and newsletters.

With over 80 publications, 200 invited presentations, and 600 media appearances, Bennion is committed to sharing her research and teaching beyond the classroom. Her work as a teacher and scholar has been featured in Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Washington Post, and other national publications. In addition to her appearances on local, national, and international media outlets, she is a frequent speaker at community-sponsored events, academic conferences, and college campuses nationwide.

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). She is also the principal investigator for several large-scale, multi-campus field experiments testing the best way to mobilize student voters and co-PI for several national student surveys and survey-based experiments.