Dr. Matthew J. Hanka

Dr. Matthew J. Hanka is Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern Indiana (USI) in Evansville, Indiana. Hanka earned a B.A. in History and Politics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC in 2002, and an M.A. in Political Science in 2004 and a Ph.D. in Urban and Public Affairs in 2009, both from the University of Louisville. Dr. Hanka was hired in 2010 at USI as the Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, a position he held for eight years.

Dr. Hanka has taught over 20 different courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level at USI. His research interests include housing policy, community development, urban policy and governance, strategic planning, and social capital. Hanka has co-authored 12 peer-reviewed journal articles and nine technical reports.  He has also given over 40 academic presentations, five symposia presentations, five colloquia presentations, six panel presentations, 18 public presentations and guest lectures, including a presentation at TEDx Evansville in 2018 on permanent supportive housing and the Housing First model to house the chronically homeless.

He is the author of the book What is Happening in Your Community? Why Community Development Matters published by Lexington Books (2021) and writing a book on the Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky merger titled Merger Dreams, which will be published in late 2024 by University Press of Kentucky.

He also served as co-convener of USI’s second strategic plan for 2016–2020 and has also consulted other nonprofit organizations on their strategic planning processes.

Dr. Hanka served as Director of the Commission on Homelessness for Evansville and Vanderburgh County in 2018 and 2019, co-chair of Housing Organizations United Serving Evansville (HOUSE) from 2019-2022, and currently is a member of the Evansville Affordable Housing Trust Fund Advisory Committee. He has served as President of the Indiana Political Science Association (IPSA) and the Indiana Chapter for the American Society for Public Administration (INASPA) and has served in leadership roles and on the boards of Westside Improvement Association, United Neighborhood of Evansville (UNOE), Rotary Club of Evansville, and the Evansville Morning Rotary Club.

He also provides commentary on Indiana and Kentucky politics during the election seasons on local media around Evansville and Indiana. He also serves as a Research Associate with the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University-Fort Wayne. 

Dr. Hanka lives in Evansville, Indiana with his wife Ann and their two sons, MJ (9) and David (7).