By Noah Grand
Daily Bruin Contributor
Staff and faculty from around the country met Monday at the
Faculty Center to discuss how to further integrate universities
with their surrounding communities.
UCLA officials hope that by discovering which service programs
are successful at other colleges, the university will be able to
improve their own service programs.
“This conference is mostly about getting faculty
involved,” said Neal Halfon, director of the UCLA School of
Public Health.
UCLA’s mission is in three parts consisting of teaching,
research and community service.
“These three areas are usually seen as being in
competition. It is rare for a faculty member to integrate
them,” said Neal Richman, associate director of the Public
Policy Institute.
But such integration is possible. Students and faculty at UCLA
are already involved in various service programs, including a
project where UCLA students work with Los Angeles high school
students to find and then fight toxins in their workplaces.
“It’s not easy to combine the three aspects of
teaching. You need to be able to relate to the community, and
it’s a lot more work than sitting and teaching in a
classroom,” Richman said.
A recurring point during the conference was that research is
highly rewarded throughout academic circles, while community
service wasn’t.
“It’s hard to get recognition for what you do if you
are not in an article or a book,” said Raymund Paredes,
associate vice chancellor of academic development.
Paredes said an increase in the recognition of faculty members
who perform community service would lead to a faculty more involved
in the community.
A major problem at UCLA is getting departments to work together,
and in turn be more effective on these issues, according to
Richman.
“I think a considerable number of community service
programs are done, but they are done individually,” he said.
“We need to create a structure so faculty members do not work
alone.”
One way UCLA serves Los Angeles is through five community
service centers. Both legislators and outside financial
contributors have pressured UCLA to expand, according to Paredes,
who said he is worried that these pressures may strain the
center’s resources beyond their limit.
Once faculty is involved, a more holistic approach needs to be
taken by utilizing community members who are the most knowledgeable
about the issues facing their areas.
“We need to recognize the community and their skills and
work together,” Paredes said. “Individuals in the
community may have talents that the faculty and students
don’t have. They won’t just do what the university
says.”
Graduate students also participate in community service through
their classes, more so than undergraduates. Students in graduate
schools such as law, public policy and medicine have certain
clinical skills that make it easier for them to help, according to
Richman.
He added it is easier to get a graduate student permanently
involved in a life of service than an undergraduate student.
“This is specifically about graduate students getting more
experience working with the community in Los Angeles. We want to
show them that they can develop a profession and a career about
this,” Richman said.
The long-term goal of the conference as a whole is to discuss
the issues involving promoting service at research universities and
how to keep the dialogue going in the future.
The conference has an additional purpose for UCLA. Increased
service is part of a larger initiative to be proposed by Chancellor
Albert Carnesale to reshape UCLA’s focus called “UCLA
in L.A.” This initiative is being created throughout the
school year, according to Richman.
“Within a year we will have a better chance of seeing what
this initiative is about,” he said.