Félix José Alonso pictued on a gray background with a black and yellow thread

Dissertation Watch: Education for Citizenship

Dr. Félix José Alonso, PhD in Leadership and Change alum, published his dissertation titled, Education for Citizenship: A Study of the Effects of Cocurricular Student Philanthropy Education on Prosocial Behavior.

The purpose of this concurrent mixed-methods study is to explore the use of student engagement and cocurricular student philanthropy education as an approach to awareness raising and as a mechanism for creating a culture of philanthropy among college students. This dissertation is a synthesis of the review with a consensus that student engagement and cocurricular student philanthropy education create greater awareness, learning, and intentions around philanthropy and prosocial behavior, as well as increased instances of making charitable contributions and civic engagement. The study concludes that student engagement and cocurricular philanthropy education are effective mechanisms for creating a culture of giving. Therefore, emerging from this study is a call for colleges and universities to consider the use of cocurricular student philanthropy education as an approach to life-long engagement and giving.

Dr. Alonso oversees and directs all student philanthropy initiatives for The Ohio State University. He also advises BuckeyeThon, Ohio’s largest student-run philanthropy, which coordinates Ohio State’s Dance Marathon and has raised over $13M for hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplant department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Alonso began his career at Ohio State in 2000 as Director of Student Programs for the Alumni Association and later served as Associate Director for the Student Life Multicultural Center. He holds a BA in Spanish from Ohio State and an MEd in higher education and student affairs administration from the University of Vermont.

As an experienced and successful higher education thought leader with more than 25 years of experience in workforce development, higher education, diversity, equity and inclusion, organizational development and change management, alumni and community relations, development, student philanthropy, organizational behavior, inclusive leadership and employee engagement, and strategic planning, Alonso provides a unique perspective of experiences as well as a diverse background. His expertise lies in relationship building as well as amplifying voices of those who feel they are not heard, successfully coaching and developing students and employees, and creating and implementing strategic operational processes.

Read more about Dr. Alonso and his dissertation Education for Citizenship: A Study of the Effects of Cocurricular Student Philanthropy Education on Prosocial Behavior here.