Two years ago, Chancellor Albert Carnesale announced a new
initiative called “UCLA in L.A.” to integrate the
university with the surrounding community of Los Angeles.

The program is now in full swing, coordinating a wide range of
projects from tutoring inner-city school children to research on
life in Los Angeles, with the goal of forming supportive
partnerships with community groups, foundations, elected officials
and corporations.

“We want this to be profitable to faculty, the campus and
the community,” said Franklin Gilliam, associate vice
chancellor of community partnerships.

One part of the university’s mission is to provide
community service, a goal met in many ways through UCLA in L.A.
activities.

In order to share the knowledge of professors with the public, a
number of public forums are sponsored through the initiative.

At a forum scheduled for next month, doctors from the UCLA
Medical School will discuss prostate cancer, then screen and treat
uninsured and underinsured men who otherwise would not have access
to such care.

Along with maintaining an academic commitment to the community,
the university provides financial assistance to non-profit
organizations by awarding grants.

A variety of student-led outreach and service activities also
fall under the program’s wide scope.

In arranging partnerships, Gilliam said UCLA undergraduates are
highly sought after for their unique experiences as students, which
are useful for mentoring and other service programs.

“Students are our greatest asset,” Gilliam said.

One of his goals through the initiative is to find more ways for
undergraduates to get involved in service activities.

Starting next year, Gilliam hopes he can help students get
year-long paid internships with community groups through his
office.

The UCLA Center for Experiential Education and Student Learning,
which creates opportunities for undergraduates and professors, has
grown “enormously” since Carnesale conceived UCLA in
L.A., said director Kathy O’Byrne.

Students have been getting involved in service activities on
their own, participating in community-based internships for
academic credit.

More professors are including service learning components in
their courses as well, including two general-education clusters:
Work, Labor and Social Justice in the U.S. and Frontiers in Human
Aging.

O’Byrne said this type of service learning is good not
only for the community but for the student as well.

“It should be a part of every undergraduate’s
education,” O’Byrne said.

These types of activities help the university fulfill a second
part of its mission ““ teaching ““ through UCLA in
L.A.

The third component of the university’s mission is
research, and part of the initiative involves funding various
research projects in and about Los Angeles.

Gilliam’s office currently provides research grants to
professors and graduate students.

He said the objective of UCLA in L.A. is to support all three
parts of the university’s mission ““ teaching, research
and public service ““ not just one of them.

While Gilliam is pleased with his performance so far, he said
there is much more he can do in his new position.

His office was created in April solely to oversee UCLA in
L.A.

“Obviously, we’re still getting started,”
Gilliam said.

He sees his office as a sign of Carnesale’s commitment to
getting the university involved in the surrounding community.

This involvement is a part of the UCLA’s responsibility as
a university that receives public funding, according to
Gilliam.

“This is what we probably ought to be doing as a public
university,” Gilliam said.

The initiative has helped UCLA forge better relationships with
elected officials, who set the public portion of the
university’s budget.

In October, the university held a UCLA in L.A. day at City Hall
to let city council members know what the university was doing in
their district.

This helped show officials that the university is committed to
service across the city and not only in the Westwood area.

“It’s very important for elected officials,
especially officials with districts beyond the West Side,”
said Keith Parker, assistant vice chancellor of government and
community relationships. “They may think UCLA is only
interested in the immediate area.”

Elected officials and private organizations who see UCLA’s
community involvement are more likely to donate and fulfill
requests other services.

“It is an opportunity for donors and funders to give money
for things they want the university to do,” Gilliam said.