Dr. Jerry Daday to serve as the inaugural executive associate dean of the Institute for Engaged Learning

Daday most recently served as the founding executive director of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning and as a professor of sociology at Western Kentucky University (WKU). He comes to IUPUI with a vast array of experience in national and campuswide conversations related to high-impact practices (HIPs), student success, and engaged learning. In 2015, he participated in an AAC&U institute with the goal of enhancing the quality and quantity of high-impact practices at his institution and to better integrate applied learning in the general education curriculum. In 2017, he joined a new national initiative committed and dedicated to empirically investigate HIPs and their influence on student success, retention, deep learning, and the acquisition of skills needed for success in the twenty-first century. He also served on the HIPs in the States Conference planning committee last year and is a current co-chair for the 2019 event.

"I am extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Jerry Daday to the IUPUI School of Liberal Arts,” said interim dean Rob Rebein. “His proven successes in scholarship and interdisciplinary research will enhance the strong foundations of our Department of Sociology and our community connections both nationally and internationally.”

Daday has a strong record of high-quality instruction and scholarship. Since earning his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in 2004, he has developed and taught more than 16 unique courses, co-authored 14 peer-reviewed journal articles, and received more than $600,000 in grants and contracts. In 2012, Daday developed the Theater-in-Diversion program for at-risk youth in collaboration with Professor Carol Jordan. This interdisciplinary model enabled undergraduate sociology/criminology students to conduct structured interviews with participants and execute the annual program evaluation to measure efficacy. Over the past seven years, the program has served a total of 51 local youth and shown positive impact of arts-based diversion programming within the juvenile justice system.

“I’m honored to be selected as the executive associate dean of the Institute for Engaged Learning,” Daday said. “I think my past experiences have allowed me to develop a broad perspective on the role of high-impact practices on student success and learning, and I am proud to be part of such an amazing campus with a reputation of exemplary practice and implementation in this field.”

“The role of the new institute will be a game-changer in higher education and in the lives of IUPUI students.”

Dr. Jerry Daday received his Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Bridgewater State University. He earned a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in sociology from the University of New Mexico in 1999 and 2004 respectively. Daday is married to his wife, Becca, and has two children, Ewan (7) and Emma (4).