Media Contacts:
 Teresa Bennett, director, 317-278-9173, tkbennet@iupui.edu
 Christine Fitzpatrick, associate director, 317-274-0559, cfitzpat@iupui.edu
 Tara Hobson-Prater, assistant director, 317-274-9430, tlhobson@iupui.edu
 Solution Center Office, 317-278-9170, solution@iupui.edu
About the Solution Center:
The IUPUI Solution Center, a division of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, acts as the university’s Office of
Outreach and Community Engagement. The center is actively engaged in building community partnerships through
research, internships and business assistance. As a first point-of-contact for the IUPUI campus, Solution Center staff
members assist business, industry, government and nonprofit organizations in accessing the appropriate resources to
meet their challenges and reach their goals.
Staff Bios:
Teresa A. Bennett, director, IUPUI Solution Center
Teresa Bennett is the Founding Director of the IUPUI Solution Center (Indiana University-Purdue
- University Indianapolis), the campus’s office for 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).
Her most notable contribution to SPEA was the leadership role she played in seeking and securing $8.6 million funding to
establish the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment. Ms. Bennett also taught courses in public policy,
organizational behavior, and human resource management as an Associate Faculty member of SPEA from 1992 to 2002.
Ms. Bennett also teaches the Graduate Capstone course for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at
IUPUI, a service-learning course in which graduate students have conducted over 60 socially relevant research projects
for Indiana nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies to date.
Ms. Bennett earned a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from
Purdue University. She is active in the community and has served on numerous community boards and committees. Ms.
Bennett is presently serving as President of the Boone County United Way of Central Indiana Advisory Board and is a
member of the Public Allies Advisory Board.
Christine Y. Fitzpatrick, associate director, IUPUI Solution Center
Christine Fitzpatrick, Ed.D., is Special Assistant for Strategy and Planning in the Office of the
Executive Vice Chancellor & Chief Academic Officer at IUPUI, and Associate Director, IUPUI
Solution Center. As Special Assistant, Ms. Fitzpatrick serves as a member of the Executive
Committee for the IUPUI Strategic Plan, IUPUI 2025. As Associate Director of the Solution Center,
she is a campus leader for internships, experiential learning, and community engagement.
Ms. Fitzpatrick has more than 30 years of experience in higher education as an administrator,
teacher, and scholar. Her career highlights include study-abroad program administration, pre-college STEM program
design and direction, development and external relations, online course development and delivery, and IT
communication leadership. She has taught courses in technical communication, instructional writing, and writing for
new media to hundreds of students at IUPUI and is presently team-teaching the senior capstone class for Organizational
Leadership and Supervision.
Ms. Fitzpatrick serves on the board for the TechPoint Foundation for Youth, the advisory board member for the
Technical Communication Program at IUPUI, the Steering Committee for IUPUI’s United Way Campaign, and as a
volunteer for the United Way of Central Indiana. She has B.S., and M.A., degrees in English from Ball State University and
a doctorate in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University – Bloomington.
Tara Hobson-Prater, assistant director, IUPUI Solution Center
Tara Hobson-Prater, is Assistant Director of the IUPUI Solution Center. As Assistant Director,
Ms. Hobson-Prater serves as the Program Manager for IUPUI’s JPMorgan Chase Near Eastside
Legacy Initiative, a partnership between IUPUI, JPMorgan Chase, and the Near Eastside
community of Indianapolis established to develop programs and promote partnerships to
improve health, wellness, and quality of life. In her role with the Solution Center, Ms. HobsonPrater also acts as facilitator of translational research opportunities partnering IUPUI faculty
and students with community partners in classroom-based experiential learning activities.
Ms. Hobson-Prater has 6 years of experience in teaching, mentoring, recruiting, and training. As a scholar, her focus on
community social ties and development led to applied research experiences with Broadway United Methodist Church,
Senior 1000 Coalition, and the Indiana State Department of Health. In addition, she has participated in scholarly research
activities as a research assistant in the IUPUI Survey Research Center and the Institute for Research on Social Issues in
the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Ms. Hobson-Prater enjoys contributing to student learning and has
taught courses in research methods to undergraduate students at IUPUI as an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of
Sociology and mentors student participants in IUPUI’s STAR Program.
Ms. Hobson-Prater is a member of the Executive Committee for IUPUI’s Career Services Council, acting as a campus
leader for internships, experiential learning, and community engagement. She also has participated in a number of
service activities in the Indianapolis community including volunteering with Children’s Bureau, Inc. and Marion County
Child Advocates, and served as a board member for Safe Kids Indiana Coalition. She has B.A., and M.A., degrees in
Sociology from Indiana – Indianapolis.