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Peter C. Weber, PhD
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (PNPS) Program, Consumer and Design Sciences, Auburn University
Biography
Peter Weber is an associate professor of philanthropy and nonprofit studies and program coordinator of the Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (PNPS) Program at Auburn University. In 2024-25, he serves as the Mike and Leann Rowe Endowed Professor in the College of Human Sciences at Auburn university. He holds a doctorate in Philanthropic Studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, as well as a Master in History and a Master in International Studies in Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship, both from the University of Bologna in Italy. His research focuses on the way individuals participate in public affairs through voluntary organizations and philanthropic practices. His latest research project investigates the emergence of philanthropic innovations through the lenses of program-related investments (PRIs) by private as well as community foundations.

He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, including Voluntas, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Journal of Civil Society, Nonprofit Policy Forum, Global Society, Journal of Public Affairs Education, and Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Murray State University, and Auburn University. Among others, his teaching interests focus on grant-making practices, nonprofit management and governance, nonprofit advocacy and public policy, and community engagement. In recognition of his service to the field of nonprofit studies, he was recognized by the 2013 ARNOVA Emerging Scholar Award and selected as a Future Philanthropic Educator Fellow by the Learning by Giving Foundation (2015). He serves as President-Elect of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC), which is the international membership organization of nonprofit and philanthropic research centers and education programs.
Expertise
Philanthropic Innovations, Program-Related Investments, Civil Society Theory and Practice, Nonprofit Management Education, Institutionalization of Nonprofit Education
Recent Publications
01
Weber, P. C., Krawczyk, K., Ezeonu, B. & Tuggle, F. (2024). Developing Context-Specific Capacity Building Training for Civil Society Organizations: Insights from Action Research. Nonprofit Policy Forum, 15(1), 49-69.
02
Weber, P. C. (2024). Philanthropic Innovations: A Historical Analysis of Foundations' Adoption, Implementation, and Diffusion of Program-Related Investment (PRI) Strategies. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 35(1), 61-83.
03
Weber, P. C. (2024). In Search of Systemic Impact: The Cooperative Assistance Fund and Program-Related Investments. Nonprofit Policy Forum. OnlineFirst.
04
Weber, P. C., Casolaro, E., Simpson, C. & Johnson, P. (2024). Voices from the Community: The Perspective of Community Partners in Student Philanthropy Courses. Journal of Public Affairs Education, OnlineFirst.
05
Weber, P. & Ji, C. (2022). Social innovation in the heartland. In G. Witkowski (Ed.), Hoosier Philanthropy (pp. 312-338). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
06
Weber, P. C. & Brunt, C. (2022). Building Nonprofit Studies in the US: The Role of Centers and Institutes in New Academic Disciplines. Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs, 8(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.20899/jpna.8.1.1–26
07
Weber, P. C. (2022). Institutionalization interrupted: The evolution of the field of Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies. In W. Brown & M. Hale (Eds.), Preparing Leaders of Nonprofit Organizations (pp. 3-24). New York: Routledge.
08
Weber, P. C. & Witkowski, G. (Forthcoming). From Means to Meaning: Historicizing Nonprofit Studies. Public Administration Quarterly.
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