IUPUI is Indiana's premier urban research university. The campus enrolls more than 30,000 students in 21 schools and academic units.
IUPUI Solution Center
Staff members:
 Teresa A. Bennett, Director |
Teresa Bennett is the Founding Director of the IUPUI Solution Center (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis), the campus’s office of Outreach and Community Engagement since 2004. Since the creation of the Solution Center, Ms. Bennett has attracted and administered more than $6 million dollars in grants and other support for IUPUI’s work in the community, resulting in over 3,300 specific student and faculty engagements with business, nonprofit, and government leaders, and thousands of additional community connections. Ms. Bennett joined the Solution Center after serving as the Director of Strategic Relations for the Purdue University Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Technology (CERIAS) in West Lafayette, where she was responsible for the planning and management of international industry relationships with a combined program portfolio of over $1 million invested annually in the Center. Prior to her appointment to CERIAS, Ms. Bennett called the IUPUI campus home for nearly 12 years, serving in two schools: the Purdue University School of Engineering and Technology and the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). Ms. Bennett also teaches the Graduate Capstone course for SPEA at IUPUI in which graduate students have conducted over 60 socially relevant research projects for Indiana nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies to date. |
 Christine Y. Fitzpatrick, Associate Director |
Christine Fitzpatrick, Ed.D., is associate director of the IUPUI Solution Center. As associate director, Dr. Fitzpatrick is a campus leader for community-based engagement and experiential learning. She facilitates partnerships with Indiana nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies and serves as a campus-wide liaison, working in collaboration with IUPUI schools and units, to develop and coordinate experiential learning opportunities, including internships, class projects, business assistance projects, and community-based research efforts. In her three years with the Solution Center, she has facilitated impactful partnerships with such partners as Achieve, Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church, Martin Center Sickle Cell Initiative, Midwest Technology Ventures, National Hot Rod Association, People for Urban Progress, Riverside Watershed Environmental Living Lab for Sustainability (RWELLS), TechPoint Foundation for Youth, Use What You’ve Got Prison Ministry, and WorkOne/EmployIndy. Dr. Fitzpatrick also serves IUPUI as special assistant for strategy and planning in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor & Chief Academic Officer, and is an associate faculty member in the Department of Technology Leadership and Communication, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI. |
| Connie Anoskey, Assistant Business Manager | Connie Anoskey is Assistant Business Manager at the IUPUI Solution Center. She came to the Solution Center after a 12-year career with Kiwanis International Foundation, where she served as grants administrator, planned giving associate, scholarship administrator, and event planner. At the Solution Center, Ms. Anoskey is in charge of grant administration and fiscal operations and is your first-point-of-contact for the office. |
| Andrea Zeek, Communication Assistant | Andrea Zeek is Communication Assistant at the IUPUI Solution Center, where she coordinates the center’s internal and external communication and reporting efforts. Ms. Zeek has a background in journalism and was an education reporter in Columbus, Ind., before coming to IUPUI. |
 Silvia Garcia, Research & Evaluation Specialist |
Silvia Garcia, Ph.D., is Research & Evaluation Specialist at the IUPUI Solution Center. Dr. Garcia is currently conducting two assessments on the overall impact of the Solution Center and the impact of the center’s JPMorgan Chase Near Eastside Legacy Initiative. She is a Master of Nonprofit Management student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Dr. Garcia was a professor in the School of Education at the Universidad Simon Rodriguez in Venezuela, and has received international grants for development and evaluation of educational programs in Latin America. She was Director of Planning and Institutional Research, and Director of Development at the Universidad Simon Rodriguez. Before coming to IUPUI, Dr. Garcia was a Visiting Scholar at Indiana University-Bloomington in the Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Department. |
| Jane Palombi, Student Administrative Assistant |
Jane Palombi is the IUPUI Solution Center’s Student Administrative Assistant. She administers IUPUITalent.net, IUPUI’s campus-wide job posting system. Ms. Palombi is a student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and has earned a certificate of Excellence in Professionalism from the IUPUI Office of Student Employment. |
