USC Civic Engagement

Working with our neighbors to build a strong community

“When we look at the need throughout our world, we must feel very compelled to help.

This university’s visionary leadership, stellar faculty, and outstanding students reach beyond the campus walls to not just make a difference, but to effect real and far-reaching change in the community they call home.”

DANA DORNSIFE PHILANTHROPIST AND NAMESAKE OF THE USC DANA AND DAVID DORNSIFE COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS AND SCIENCES

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“ USC and its surrounding neighborhoods stand up together, building bonds and partnerships that benefit everyone for generations.”

FROM THE PRESIDENT While USC consistently draws both the most talented students from around the globe, and faculty members who produce scholarly and creative work that changes our world, we remain fully committed to the communities that surround us in Los Angeles. At the heart of our mission is a longstanding dedication to our local neighborhoods, a solid commitment to nurturing bonds that remain mutually beneficial.

Perhaps no effort reflects this more strongly than our NEIGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INITIATIVE (NAI). This vibrant program supports low-income, at-risk students and their families with educational and social services. Beginning in sixth grade, NAI students come to USC for seven full years of accelerated classes, Saturday schooling, and college counseling. Those who meet USC’s competitive admissions requirements receive full financial support for their undergraduate education. This initiative has become a model for other universities’ programs, and we are now in the process of expanding it to our Health Sciences campus.

In addition to NAI, USC has seen outstanding results with its FAMILY OF SCHOOLS program, and we now look to build on this success with another innovative program: USC FAMILY OF BUSINESSES. This initiative will provide local businesses with community broadband connectivity, as well as technical assistance in communications, website design, marketing, and traditional business consulting services. These businesses will also draw on the scholarly and creative expertise of USC’s diverse schools and units. We believe these lasting relationships will strengthen the economic health, sustainability, and stability of our surrounding neighborhoods, while following the trajectory of so many other exceptional USC initiatives.

These singular programs reflect the spirit of the USC community. Time and again, as the Trojan Family extends its embrace beyond our campuses, USC and its surrounding neighborhoods stand up together, building bonds and partnerships that benefit everyone for generations.

C. L. MAX NIKIAS, PRESIDENT

USC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

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USC in the Neighborhood LOCAL BUSINESSES SCHOOLS

GOV’T AGENCIES

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NEIGHBORS PHILANTHROPISTS

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POWERED BY A COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY

Throughout its storied history, USC has placed a high value on being a good neighbor—and on programs and projects that have a positive impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

Over the decades, we have come together with local residents, community partners, civic leaders, and area businesses in one of the most ambitious social-outreach programs of any university in the nation.

In the early 1870s, when Los Angeles was a rough-andtumble frontier town with a population of 10,000, a group of public-spirited citizens dreamed of establishing a university in the region. It took nearly a decade for that vision to become reality, and when USC first opened its doors, there were 53 students and 10 professors.

Today, the university is home to some 38,000 students and 23,000 faculty and staff, who carry on a tradition of active engagement with the community. USC has remained committed to its original University Park neighborhood as well as to its Boyle Heights/Lincoln Heights neighborhood, home of the Health Sciences campus since its opening in 1952. Both areas are among the most culturally vibrant and historically significant in the city, and both areas are integral to the identity of our university.

Our commitment to community-building can be seen at every level of the university. It encompasses the participation of our research facilities, individual schools, departments, and programs, as well as our hospitals and health centers.

USC Civic Engagement supports and promotes more than 400 community initiatives in our local neighborhoods. As an institution, we are committed to helping young people realize their dream of a college education. We are striving to assist families and small businesses in gaining access to resources that support their health and vitality. We are proud to protect, develop, and cherish our neighborhood communities.

EARLY EDUCATION COLLEGE ACCESS

Early Roads to Success

It’s been said that a community can be measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members. In the vibrant communities surrounding USC, the health, safety, and education of our children come first. Here, an array of university- and governmentfunded programs help set neighborhood kids on the right path, even before they can walk down it.

The UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (SECE) provides education and communal support to the children and families of Los Angeles. Since its inception in 1970, the program has operated numerous Head Start State Preschool childcare and development centers for children ages three to five, as well as home-based Early Head Start programs for infants. Understanding the holistic needs of children, USC offers services that reach beyond education to include parenting classes, social services, health and nutrition support, and mental-health counseling.

The university also welcomes the opportunity to initiate new programs such as “Kinder 2 College,” a pilot project that aims to pair boys in first through third grade with mentors who help to develop their reading skills.

At USC, we realize that an investment in children is an investment in the future of our community. From prenatal care to literacy tutoring, these early childhood programs put children on a solid path toward health, happiness, and success.

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Reading Their Way to Brighter Futures During the late ’70s, James Reese noticed a striking correlation between young defendants’ inability to read and having a criminal record.

As a Los Angeles Municipal Court judge in Compton, Reese had sentenced scores of juveniles convicted of misdemeanor offenses to perform community service in lieu of doing jail time. One day, he received a call from a woman in charge of the community-service program.

“She told me that of the 80 or 90 boys I sent to her, she could only place about 20 in projects because they were basically illiterate,” said Reese, who is now retired from the Los Angeles County Superior Court bench. “They couldn’t fill out the application form. Some couldn’t even sign their names.”

That eye-opener — combined with his earlier observations of client illiteracy when he was a defense attorney and a legal-aid program organizer — led Reese to fund “KINDER 2 COLLEGE.” A USC pilot project, the initiative will pair 100 boys in first through third grade with mentors who devote four or five hours a week to developing their reading skills. Local principals and teachers select the boys based on socio-economic factors such as an absent father, a family member on drugs, living in poverty, and other criteria.

In addition to his legal-system experiences with illiteracy, Reese, who has lived in the Lafayette Square area of mid-town Los Angeles since 1956, unearthed sometimes surprising results when he conducted informal research on education and incarceration.

For example, there is a glaring difference between the cost of educating a teenager who has entered the juvenile justice system and the cost of remedial training in grades one to three.

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“In the early years, it’s about $1,700. Once he’s in the juvenile justice system, it’s more than $10,000,” Reese said.

There was also the shocking discovery of how some states plan their prisons. “I found that the State of California and eight or nine other states were studying the reading scores of fourth-grade males to determine how many prison cells to build eight years out,” he said.

“That means we’re warehousing these boys.”

Conversely, said Reese, “I know what can happen to boys if they’re given the right encouragement. It’s not just about giving them the technical assistance of tutoring. It’s about instilling self-confidence.”

Reese firmly believes “Not everyone can go to college, but they should all learn to read so that they can vote, can read a newspaper. If you can’t pass a fourth-grade reading test, how can you know what’s going on? It’s so basic. It’s being prepared to be a participating citizen.”

His own early preparation began in New Orleans. There, despite being in a segregated school system and having an alcoholic father who made family life difficult, he benefited from “the dedication, reinforcement, and support that teachers gave students, and I was a recipient of that throughout my education.”

Reese later taught elementary school in that city before he entered the Army during World War II, and then moved to Los Angeles.

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In 1946, on the GI bill, he received his juris doctorate degree from the USC Gould School of Law. Even though he was the only African American student in the school at the time, he felt at home.

That positive experience was a strong reason he established “Kinder 2 College” at USC. “I’m getting all the support an institution can give me to put this project into effect,” Reese said. “I envision that USC, with all of its contacts, reputation, and resources will be able to take this project and create a solution that will get national attention. If any institution can do it, it’s USC.”

English-language learners in USC’s Head Start program were proficient in English within one year.

“Not everyone can go to college, but they should all learn to read so that they can vote, can read a newspaper. If you can’t pass a fourth-grade reading test, how can you know what’s going on? It’s so basic. It’s being prepared to be a participating citizen.”

JAMES REESE Former Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge

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Selflessly Nurturing the Young From the way she relates to the young children at Weemes Elementary School just west of USC’s University Park campus, you’d never know that Muriel “Silky” Banks is 88 years old.

Every weekday morning, Banks leaves her home in a senior-citizens’ complex south of the Leimert Park area, and for four hours joins the school’s three- to five-year-olds in a variety of outdoor and indoor activities. She gets on the jungle gym with them, goes down the slide, hula-hoops, and helps staff with reading, naptime, meals, and other tasks.

Banks is a volunteer with the Foster Grandparents Program, a federal-government project that Pepperdine University administers at locations throughout Los Angeles County, including Weemes and five other community sites of the USC SCHOOL FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (SECE). Foster Grandparents connects senior citizens over 55 with children who need their attention, support, and experience. Several seniors are part of the program in SECE schools.

“I love it,” said Banks, who has been with the program for more than 20 years and has volunteered with the Foundation for the Junior Blind, among other organizations. “It makes

me happy that I’m giving them the nurturing or time a lot of them don’t get at home, and I have a whole lot more left to give. I also encourage them to succeed at whatever they’re doing.”

With three children, seven grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren, she has a lifetime of experience to call upon. “I think not having siblings of my own probably caused me to want to interact with all the kids over the years,” said Banks, who grew up in Missouri and came to Los Angeles with her husband in 1950.

Sandra Urena, assistant director for professional development services at SECE, has known Banks since she began volunteering with the program. “She has never-ending energy, a positive attitude, and shows such warmth toward the children,” Urena said. “She also has an inborn knowledge of how to work with them at their level while helping them develop cognitively, physically, and emotionally.”

Banks—who once owned a restaurant with her late husband, managed a friend’s sandwich shop, and worked at a catering company—stays fit by swimming three or four times a week, and line-dancing weekly. “I don’t like sitting down and doing quiet things like knitting,” she said. “I like to be active.”

Programs At A Glance THE USC SCHOOL FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (SECE) Since 1970, the USC School for Early Childhood Education (SECE) has delivered comprehensive, high-quality, early childhood education services to low-income children and families in the neighborhoods surrounding the University Park campus. SECE provides instruction to more than 600 children through eight fully licensed Head Start State Preschool child-care and development centers, as well as an Early Start home-based program for parents and parents-to-be.

KINDER 2 COLLEGE Underscoring the importance of early literacy for children, especially minority boys, to be successful in all aspects of life, Kinder to College enrolls kindergarten boys in an initiative that prepares them to be proficient in reading and writing by the end of third grade. Both USC and local students mentor the children in a curriculum centered around exciting, interesting, game-based learning exercises. The program also conducts a seminar for parents to support and aid their children’s academic journey and build their confidence.

“ It makes me happy that I’m giving them the nurturing or time a lot of them don’t get at home, and I have a whole lot more left to give.”

MURIEL “SILKY” BANKS SECE volunteer

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Paths to A College Education Over the years, USC has opened its doors to the surrounding communities, not only encouraging residents to partner with the university, but also inviting academically promising students to become full-fledged Trojans. The university strives both to decrease the high-school dropout rate and increase the college graduation rate through a set of programs that reinforce our commitment to higher education.

Established in 1989, THE NEIGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INITIATIVE (NAI) is a comprehensive educational and social-services initiative for low-income, at-risk students and their families. Beginning in sixth grade, the program challenges and prepares students with seven full years of accelerated classes, Saturday schooling, and college counseling. The reward? Program graduates who meet USC’s competitive admissions requirements are promised a full, four-and-a-half-year financial package for their undergraduate education.

In addition, the university sponsors several TRiO PROGRAMS, federally funded efforts to increase college access in local communities. The programs provide academic, career, and financial counseling to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education.

Both NAI and TRiO are increasing expectations for local youth, changing the neighborhood culture by helping students to apply to college and make the grade once they’ve been accepted. Our dedication to education inspires and motivates these promising students in Los Angeles to “Fight On!”

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“ I was in fourth grade when Jonathan graduated from USC, and I saw how proud and filled with joy my parents were that day. I wanted to do the same for them.”

JESSE RUIZ NAI alumnus and program mentor

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COLLEGE ACCESS

Academic Advancement That’s All in the Family A fifth-grade class assignment dramatically changed the life of Jonathan Ruiz and his family.

Jonathan’s teacher at 28th Street School assigned his class to apply for admission to the flagship program of USC’s NEIGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INITIATIVE (NAI). Through NAI’s Pre-College Enrichment Academy, disadvantaged middle- and high-school students receive extensive academic training and other support that have led to striking success in college admissions and achievement.

At the time of Jonathan’s application, his family was about to return to his parents’ native Mexico. “Mom pressed Dad to wait on their plans,” he said. “I applied on the last day at the last minute.”

Jonathan was accepted in the second year of the Academy. He found it very demanding. “We had to study hard and were kept so busy that there was no time to get involved with gangs in the area,” he said. “We spent the first two hours [each day] at USC, where we studied language arts, English, and college-study skills before being bussed to our own schools. We also had tutoring after school and Saturday school. And, the simple fact of being called ‘a scholar’ changed our expectations of ourselves.”

Equally important was the guidance his parents received from NAI’s Family Development Institute on how to support their three sons’ academic and personal growth. “For the first time, we had a desk, a place on which to do our homework,” Jonathan noted. “They also learned how to be involved in our lives in general, including health and nutrition.”

Jonathan’s hard work paid off when he was accepted to USC where he graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in English

and a minor in philosophy. Today, he is the director of business development at an El Monte publishing company, which provides resources nationwide to help English learners pass state standardized tests.

“I’ve come full circle,” Jonathan said. “I started off as an English learner because my folks only spoke Spanish at home initially. Also, I was the first one in my family to go to college, and it raised expectations for everyone in the family.”

His youngest brother, Jesse, followed in his footsteps. “I was in fourth grade when Jonathan graduated from USC, and I saw how proud and filled with joy my parents were that day,” Jesse said. “I wanted to do the same for them. His going through NAI was an example of how I could do it.

They had bought me a small blackboard to learn to write before I even entered pre-school, which helped develop my passion for learning.”

When he was accepted into the Academy, Jesse said, “I felt at home. I was finally surrounded by people who enjoyed learning and were going somewhere important in life. The Academy was more than just a support group.

It was a family that I knew would push me to the finish line: getting into a good college.”

In the spring of 2012, Jesse graduated from

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USC with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and French, and a minor in public health. The Ruiz family’s middle son, Giovanni, who did not attend the Academy, received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Cal State University Dominguez Hills, and went on to work in the cable television and Internet industry.

Like Jonathan, Jesse has paid forward his Academy training.

Jesse volunteered as a tutor and mentor to younger NAI scholars at his alma mater, Foshay Middle School. “I shared my experiences with them, and told them that if I could pass AP [Advanced Placement] English with an ‘A,’ it was possible for them, too,” he said. He also spent several weeks in Thailand, teaching English to elementary-school students and helping to build a library. That experience prompted his decision to pursue a doctorate in a field related to international relations and nongovernmental organizations.

The academic and career choices of these two NAI alumni reflect the vision of USC and the NAI team. As the Academy aids the next generation of college students and their families, Jonathan noted, it’s “always emphasizing the idea of coming back and helping the community.”

students are served by USC programs preparing neighborhood youth for college.

of USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative students graduate from high school, compared to LAUSD’s graduation rate of 56%.

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Programs At A Glance TRiO

“ The missed education of urban students is a civil-rights issue. I want to provide opportunities to level the playing field.”

The federally funded TRiO programs were created to motivate and support low-income and first-generation minority students in progressing through the academic pipeline from middle school to college. Operating since 1977, USC TRiO assists more than 2,400 students annually through three Upward Bound programs, one Upward Bound MathScience program, and two Educational Talent Search programs.

LIZETTE ZARATE NAI curriculum and instruction specialist

THE NEIGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INITIATIVE

Dedicated to Transforming Urban Education When Lizette Zarate looks at students in USC’s NEIGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INITIATIVE (NAI) program, she sees herself almost 20 years ago — an academically gifted young girl who was getting an education that she otherwise wouldn’t have received in her inner-city Los Angeles community.

“It completely changed my life,” said Zarate, who attended a Catholic school in her neighborhood before enrolling in NAI in 1995. She is now a curriculum and instruction specialist for the program.

“I received a private-school education at a public school [Foshay Learning Center],” said Zarate, a classmate of Jonathan Ruiz. “In the process, I was building my cultural and social capital with exposure to field trips, museums, and different parts of L.A., and engaging in meaningful discussions. NAI pushed me to excel, finish well, and be competitive when I applied to college.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from USC in 2002, her first job was coordinating a literacy program at a Los Angeles high school.

There, Zarate said, “many students were reading at

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an elementary-school level and couldn’t write even a paragraph.” At the same time, through volunteer work at the upscale Harvard-Westlake private school, she saw “kids being groomed to be leaders” — the other end of the educational spectrum.

“That’s when I decided that I wanted to dedicate my work to improving the education of urban students, ultimately offering opportunities for them to learn and go to college,” she said.

“To give them what I was given.”

Zarate went on to hold several administrative positions with after-school programs before landing back at NAI. She also obtained a master’s degree in education from Loyola Marymount University, and soon expects to complete a doctorate in the field, with a concentration in leadership for social justice.

“The missed education of urban students is a civil-rights issue,” she said. “I want to provide opportunities to level the playing field. When the position opened up with NAI, my dream came true because I’m serving the community I’m passionate about in a program that transforms lives. Being a part of that means the world to me.”

Established in 1989, USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) is a rigorous, seven-year, pre-college enrichment program designed to prepare low-income neighborhood students for admission to a college or university. Those who complete the program, meet USC’s competitive admission requirements, and choose to attend USC are rewarded with a full four-and-a-half-year financial package, not including loans. In recent years, NAI scholars have boasted a 100 percent high-school graduation rate, with 99 percent moving on to college.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood A healthy body fuels a healthy and productive mind. Through numerous health and safety programs, USC enhances the well-being of its neighbors and offers abundant opportunities for learning, self-improvement, and personal connections.

The Keck School of Medicine of USC, the School of Pharmacy, the Ostrow School of Dentistry, and programs in the Occupational Sciences and Physical Therapy provide state-of-the-art health care to the communities they serve.

Community programs such as FIT FAMILIES, the ORAL HEALTH CENTER and COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIRS increase health awareness in surrounding areas. The MOBILE DENTAL CLINIC travels the streets of our neighborhoods, providing free dental services to thousands who would otherwise go without.

Partnering with the L.A. Police Department, the L.A. Unified School District, and local residents, USC promotes a safe environment. We foster a sense of communal responsibility through programs such as KID WATCH. We are dedicated to creating an environment where our neighbors can learn, grow, and flourish.

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“ We hear from the adults that they’re much more conscious of moving more, that they find opportunities to walk more, park their cars farther away from where they’re going, and use the stairs.”

Leading the Way to Family Fitness From 9 a.m. to noon almost every Saturday, about two dozen children and their parents gather in Hazard Park across from the USC Health Sciences campus to engage in a variety of exercises and learn tips on how to stay healthy.

Leading them are students in the university’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program, who are supervised by two licensed physical therapists as part of the FIT FAMILIES PROGRAM. In a community where many speak only Spanish, bilingual students and program staff members translate, while a childcare worker frees the parents of young children so they can participate.

Established in 2006, Fit Families is primarily geared for local underserved children at high risk for diabetes and conditions associated with physical inactivity.

“In general, the parents are working very hard at their jobs, but not doing anything for their own health,” said Cheryl Resnik, an associate professor of clinical physical therapy in the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. “The kids are either really engaged in sports or not engaged at all, and the LAUSD [Los Angeles Unified School District] has pretty minimal requirements for physical education.”

The program is supported by the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, funded by USC staff, faculty, students, and alumni.

Fit Families grew out of a project assignment in Resnik’s course on professionalism.

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Teams of students in the class competed to propose an idea for a pro-bono activity. The winning entry set out to provide wellness and fitness instruction to low-income families.

As part of the program’s commitment to improving health, the physical therapy students take the medical and medication histories of all new participants.

To better engage and inform participating families, the program staff wrote and distributes a Guide to Healthy Living. The bilingual booklet details the physical and financial costs of an unhealthy lifestyle, while explaining the benefits of regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, and not smoking.

Resnik said that 80 percent of those participating are more physically active than when they started the program, and some fami-

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CHERYL RESNIK Program director, Fit Families

lies continue to come for many months. A test to see how far participating parents can walk in six minutes has seen a 75 percent improvement.

“We hear from the adults that they’re much more conscious of moving more, that they find opportunities to walk more, park their cars farther away from where they’re going, and use the stairs,” she said.

In 2010, the program added a bilingual nutritionist. She regularly conducts demonstrations in the park, where the children help her to prepare dishes, often fruits or vegetables, and the parents learn about healthy food choices.

“Our nutritionist offers education about how to make substitutions of foods with higher nutritional value when preparing meals,” said Resnik. This can be very challenging for people in low-income communities, where highly nutritious foods are often expensive and scarce. “The parents usually go home, prepare it, and tell us the next week how it went,” she said.

There are also plans to create a cookbook for the families.

Perhaps the greatest endorsement of Fit Families is that physical therapy faculty at Cal State Long Beach are using the program as a model to launch a similar effort. The Guide to Healthy Living booklet will be a key part of their initiative.

of Fit Families participants are more physically active than when they started the program.

of parents in the program showed improvement in a basic fitness test.

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Someone to Watch Over Them Since 1996, Lou Edwards has watched countless children from his front porch almost every weekday morning and afternoon as they go to and from school. He began doing so after Los Angeles and USC police identified the safest routes to and from school for children in the University Park neighborhood. That route passed

by Edwards’ home. A retiree, he became one of KID WATCH’s first 25 volunteers and still safeguards the neighborhood each day.

“I’m always outside gardening, planting vegetables, or working in the garage,” said Edwards, who lives near West Jefferson Boulevard and South Normandie Avenue, where, he says, conditions have improved in the last decade. “So, I watch out for the kids at the same time.”

Today, there are more than 1,000 Kid Watch volunteers who safeguard some 9,000 children. While many watch from their homes,

others participate at the schools, surrounding the perimeter of campuses while parents are dropping off or picking up their kids.

Twice a year, all volunteers, who have been screened by the L.A. Police Department, are trained by the USC Department of Public Safety.

In two-hour sessions, they learn about their roles and responsibilities, along with topics such as fire safety, child car-seat safety, and safe use of public transportation, including the Metro Rail system.

“Besides being a form of protection for their children, Kid Watch provides parents with a connection to their schools and communities, and opportunities to build their networks,” said Bertrand Perdomo-Ucles, program coordinator.

“The goal is to make our community more prepared for all types of safety issues. I also want to help the volunteers who are helping us, by giving them access to university resources they can use to develop new skills and be empowered in return for their volunteer service.”

Edwards, who said he always has been active in the community, plans to continue being a part of Kid Watch “as long as I’m here. I just want to make the community safe for kids going to school, and let them know that they have someone watching over them.”

Programs At A Glance FIT FAMILIES The goal of Fit Families is to safeguard the health of local, underserved children, who are at high risk for diabetes and conditions, many of which are associated with physical inactivity. With support from the Good Neighbors Campaign, students in the university’s doctor of physical therapy program lead the children, ages 10 to 17, and their parents in a variety of exercises every Saturday morning. They’re joined by a bilingual nutritionist who teaches the families how to eat healthy on a budget.

MOBILE DENTAL VAN Dedicated to improving the oral health of schoolchildren in the communities around USC, this program serves second- and third-graders in the university’s Family of Schools — many of whom have never before seen a dental health professional. Students in the USC Ostrow School of Dentistry provide the children with screenings, oral-health education, fluoride treatments, and dental sealants, as well as counseling in the prevention of tobacco use. A signature program of the university’s outreach effort, the Good Neighbors Campaign, the dental van has provided preventive care to more than 10,000 children at seven local elementary schools.

HEALTH SCIENCES FAIR Through the annual Community Health and Wellness Fair, more than 1,000 residents of Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, and El Sereno have access to flu shots and body-fat analyses, as well as screenings for cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and osteoporosis. Participating students, faculty, and staff from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the USC School of Pharmacy, and the Ostrow School of Dentistry also provide information in both English and Spanish about Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, arthritis, cancer, heartburn, lead-poison prevention, mental health, pain management, and sexual health.

CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT PROGRAM AT LACC In partnership with Los Angeles City College (LACC), the USC Family of Schools Concurrent Enrollment Initiative is a career-path program for disadvantaged high-school students interested in health, science, and related fields. One aspect of the program is designed to provide certification as a Certified Nursing Aid (CNA) or as a Home Health Aid (HHA) to high-school students in grades 11-12,making them job-ready.

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PARTNERSHIPS

Community Relationships Since its inception in 1880, the University of Southern California has held a special place in the literal and figurative heart of Los Angeles. That strong connection continues today, with USC serving as the hub for a multi-layered network of partnerships with the surrounding communities.

Both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses foster a FAMILY OF SCHOOLS, which supports neighborhood students from their first book to their high-school diploma and beyond. Through these academic partnerships, individuals and institutions unite to see that each child receives a quality education.

The GOOD NEIGHBORS CAMPAIGN, created in 1993, solicits donations from USC faculty and staff to raise millions of dollars in financial support. The entire sum of this generosity is injected directly into the surrounding communities through USC NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH GRANTS, which fund local partnerships in health, education, safety, and business.

All of these community relationships provide a safe and creative environment for our employees, students, and neighbors to live, learn, play, and grow.

The partnerships represent a common commitment to the pursuit of knowledge, from literacy to creative writing, from LEGOs to architectural engineering, from preschool to graduate school.

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“ Mentoring relationships also provide networking opportunities that may last throughout one’s career. These relationships are especially important for underrepresented and first-generation students, who often lack role models….”

J OSEPH COCOZZA Lead instructor, Engineering for Health Academy

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PARTNERSHIPS

Students Prepare for a High-Tech Future in Health Care USC is simultaneously helping to shape the future of today’s technology-driven health care and preparing youth in our surrounding communities for careers in the field, with impressive early results.

Through the ENGINEERING FOR HEALTH ACADEMY (EHA), high-school students, including English-language learners and underrepresented ethnic groups, are introduced to an array of career opportunities in biomedical engineering. A part of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Bravo Medical Magnet High School, the EHA is the brainchild of Joseph Cocozza, a research assistant professor of ophthalmology in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “There’s a dearth of U.S. students interested in engineering and not many programs for it in high schools,” said Cocozza, who also co-directs education and outreach for the National Science Foundation’s Biomimetic Electronic Systems Engineering Research Center at USC. “Most adults don’t know what engineers do. Once students find out, there are always some who are interested in pursuing it.”

Participating 10th- through 12th-grade EHA students take a series of four integrated core courses in chemistry, physiology, computer science, and physics. In collaboration with Bravo educators, faculty and students from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the Keck School have helped to develop the curricula. USC Rossier School of Education faculty members have contributed to the development of teaching and learning strategies as well as assessment of the EHA program.

The courses meet the demands of

California’s standardized proficiency tests, are rich in hands-on activities and projects, and fulfill entrance requirements for the University of California and Cal State University systems.

One example of the program’s effectiveness is that in 2010 nearly 65 percent of EHA students ranked as either proficient or advanced on the state’s high-school chemistry tests, compared to 16 percent of all LAUSD students and 29 percent of all California students. Similarly, 17 of the 25 students who entered EHA in 2006 were members of the first graduating class in 2010; all 17 went on to college, and 15 of them are majoring in science technology, engineering, or math.

Cocozza believes that a big reason for the program’s success is an emphasis on mentoring.

USC graduate students meet weekly with EHA students to assist with their course work, laboratory investigations, and science-fair projects.

In a recent research paper that appeared in the Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Education, Cocozza wrote: “A mentoring relationship can offer significant rewards for the student through contextualization of [his/her] learning and also through personal development. . . . Mentoring relationships also provide networking opportunities that may last throughout one’s career. These relationships are especially important for under-

65%

represented and first-generation students, who often lack role models. . .”

Throughout their EHA experience, students engage in progressively complex research.

The culmination is a capstone class—where they develop and conduct a year long research project—and present their findings at a USC-hosted seminar series each spring. Recently, one of the most significant projects presented was a fetal pacemaker developed by two students in collaboration with a USC researcher; it won fourth place in the statewide science-fair competition.

Such successful research, Cocozza said, requires students to “understand what they’re doing and be able to explain it, showing mastery of scientific theory and process.”

EHA students also become mentors themselves as part of the Science for Life outreach program, which introduces elementary-school students to the excitement and relevance of science and engineering in their everyday lives.

The diverse, engaging experiences of EHA, Cocozza said, make the program “almost like an apprenticeship, where we give students the opportunity to practice what they’re learning.

Often students don’t have a sense of what they will do as a professional until they graduate from school. We’re giving them an early experience of that.”

of Engineering for Health Academy students ranked as either proficient or advanced on the state’s high-school chemistry tests, compared to 16% of all LAUSD students and 29% of all California students.

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PARTNERSHIPS

Programs At A Glance FAMILY OF SCHOOLS The USC Family of Schools consists of 15 schools surrounding the University Park and Health Sciences campuses. The program focuses on providing a quality education to the 17,000 children in the local neighborhoods. More than 4,500 USC students, faculty, and staff work with thousands of parents, teachers, school administrators, neighbors, police officers, and other community representatives. They strive to make the community’s rich resources — including its institutions of higher learning, museums, libraries, and recreational facilities — accessible to neighborhood children.

MEMBER SCHOOLS University Park Campus

Schoolchildren Reap Benefits of an Extended Family Twice a week, USC students visit Murchison Street Elementary School in East Los Angeles to lead hands-on science projects with third- through fifth-graders. In one project, medical students from the Department of Ophthalmology in the Keck School of Medicine of USC explain the terms and functions of the eye’s parts. In another, students from the medical school’s physical therapy program measure the youngsters’ strength and flexibility.

“They get excited, even giddy, when they participate in the hands-on projects,” said Principal Margarita Gutierrez. “We’ve also seen steady growth in the fifth-graders’ scores on the state science tests. Science proficiency has risen from seven percent in 2005 to 37 percent in 2011.”

Murchison participates in USC’s SCIENCE FOR LIFE outreach program for elementaryschool students. It is also one of 15 schools in the USC FAMILY OF SCHOOLS. All receive help

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with the educational, cultural, and developmental needs of more than 17,000 children in the communities surrounding the University Park and Health Sciences campuses.

Included in the cultural component at Murchison is a guitar class led by students from the USC Thornton School of Music. “The freeway, a factory, and railroad tracks are what our students see everyday, and they’re often very limited in their experiences of the city,” Gutierrez said. “So the USC students bring them exposure to the world outside, and what they can strive for and achieve.”

Murchison students also participate in an annual science fair with two other nearby elementary schools.

“The collaboration with USC has been very positive,” Gutierrez said. “It shows children and parents opportunities that are available to them for services, education, and more.”

32nd Street/USC Visual and Performing Arts Magnet Dr. Theodore T. Alexander Jr. Science Center School James A. Foshay Learning Center John W. Mack Elementary School Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary School Manual Arts High School Norwood Street Elementary School St. Agnes Parish School St. Vincent School Vermont Avenue Elementary School

Health Sciences Campus Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School Griffin Avenue Elementary School Murchison Street Elementary School El Sereno Middle School Sheridan Street Elementary School

GOOD NEIGHBORS CAMPAIGN Since 1994, USC faculty and staff have been helping the communities around the university to thrive through the Good Neighbors Campaign.

In all, they have donated more than $14-million to the fundraising effort, which takes place each October at both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses. Contributions are distributed to USC Neighborhood Outreach (UNO) grants and United Way. Nearly 500 grants totaling $14-million have been given to community organizations to enhance educational opportunities, promote good health and fitness, support economic development and USC hiring, and improve safety.

UNO GRANTS Established in 1994, USC Neighborhood Outreach (UNO) stems from the innovative fundraising program called the USC Good Neighbors Campaign. Grant recipients partner with USC to put children on the pathway to college, make streets safer for families, and offer programs aimed at improving the health and well-being of residents.

ECONOMIC ENGINE

Revving the Economic Engine The communities surrounding the USC campuses have a variety of needs, and some of them can be addressed through charitable funding such as grants and scholarships. However, long-term solutions hinge upon the stability of a healthy local economy. So USC is leveraging its assets to jump-start a sustainable economic engine in our communities by supporting local businesses.

A pillar of this effort is the federally-funded Los Angeles MBDA (MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY) Business Center. Operated by USC’s Business Expansion Network in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, the MBDA Business Center offers high-value services to local businesses through four major units: procurement, business training, financing, and consulting.

Participating businesses — which are all minority-, female-, or veteran-owned — receive aid in procuring certifications or licensing, as well as training in business strategies and language skills. Various levels of financing are available and can be managed by USC students studying to be business or financial consultants.

One initiative of the MBDA is the BRIDGES TO BUSINESS SUCCESS program, which offers a business-training course at USC that provides consultation, strategy, and procurement-plan assistance for local minority contractors bidding on foreclosed properties.

To help local entrepreneurs achieve their full potential, the university also developed the USC FAMILY OF BUSINESSES. The program provides local businesses with broad-based connections to the community, as well as technical assistance with communications, marketing, and traditional business-consulting services.

Participants have easy access to the multi-disciplinary intellectual resources of USC’s professional schools.

By supporting the development of local businesses in multiple ways, the university promotes the overall economic health, sustainability, and stability of our neighborhoods. At the same time, USC students gain opportunities for applied learning, and the university’s faculty and staff can contribute their expertise to enhance the economic development and well-being of the area.

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Innovative Entrepreneur Gets a Boost Both the substance and the scale of Carmen Rad’s business have changed dramatically over the last two decades, and USC has played a key role in that growth.

What began in 1993 as a two-person, custom-embroidery clothing business in downtown Los Angeles, has been transformed into a large-format, digital printing company with more than 30 employees. Today, Rad’s firm, CR&A Custom Inc. Banners, specializes in madeto-order advertising products. They include billboards, event booths, and displays that wrap around buildings. Her clients range from local small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

Rad’s business venture grew out of her training in fashion marketing and design.

“We’re not just a printing company, but a design company that prints. I approach projects differently because I’m used to working with patterns, seeing things from almost a 3-D perspective,” said Rad, whose husband, Masoud, is her business partner and has a manufacturing background.

Along the way, Rad has received timely and significant assistance from the federally funded MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY LOS ANGELES (MBDALA) Business Center, operated by USC in partnership with the city of Los Angeles. She also has been helped by the USC Department of Supplier Diversity Services, which seeks to obtain goods and services from small businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans in the communities surrounding USC’s two campuses.

“I receive a tremendous amount of mentoring and help from both the MBDLA and the Supplier Diversity department,” said Rad, who is of Puerto Rican descent and first learned about opportunities for minority businesses in

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“ I receive a tremendous amount of mentoring and help from both MBDLA and the Supplier Diversity department. With MBDLA, I can reach out and say, ‘I have a new idea. What do you think?’ or ‘I want to purchase equipment. What do I need to do to put it in place in six months?’”

CARMEN RAD, President, CR&A Custom Inc. Banners Los Angeles from a flier that the department mailed her in 2004. “With MBDLA, I can reach out and say, ‘I have a new idea. What do you think?’ or ‘I want to purchase equipment. What do I need to do to put it in place in six months?’”

Since its inception in 1996, MBDLA has assisted more than 1,200 local minority businesses in securing more than $140-million in financing and procurements. In CR&A’s case, it has helped the company to obtain contracts with the city of Los Angeles and corporations like sports and entertainment giant AEG. MBDLA was especially helpful when Rad purchased her current, 25,000-square-foot building several years ago. “[Managing Director] Linda Smith oversaw some of the documentation for my getting an SBA [Small Business Administration] loan,” Rad said. “And, if it wasn’t for Linda and [Associate Director] Dorothy Randle, I might not be in

business today. When I couldn’t get my electricity for 11 months, those women fought for me by making calls and writing letters.”

The building proved to be a boon not only for Rad, but for the local economy in general; a total of 80 new jobs were created because of CR&A’s expansion and the other businesses to which she rented space in the building.

CR&A also has made its mark as a green company. Rad uses biodegradable and recyclable materials, and makes sure that the company’s equipment, lights, air, and ventilation system are environmentally friendly. In 2009, CR&A was selected by the SBA and MBDLA to receive the “Green Firm of the Year” award.

Other kudos has included being named the “2009 USC Supplier of the Year,” the “2009 Rising Star” by the National Association of Women Business Owners, and the “2007 Latina Business of the Year” by the California Hispanic Chamber.

$30,000,000

60 small businesses received professional services that facilitated access to $30 million in loans and capital and another $31 million in procurement contracts.

USC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

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ECONOMIC ENGINE

USC Builds Bridges between Business Owners and the Community An innovative program that helps local minority contractors take advantage of new business opportunities in the real estate market demonstrates the power of collaborations to economically uplift members of the communities surrounding USC. University, city, and business leaders have come together in the BRIDGES TO BUSINESS program, an eight-week course that provides minority small-business owners, including women, with procurement and biddingcertification training and contract opportunities on foreclosed properties. Those opportunities, in turn, create and retain jobs.

“We know the vital role minority businesses play in job creation, and [we will] continue to empower and enhance the local entrepreneurial spirit,” said Theda S. Douglas, associate vice president of government partnership and programs at USC. Included in the program’s public-private collaboration are: the MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY LOS ANGELES (MBDALA) Business Center, operated by USC’s Business Expansion Network in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Economic and Business Policy; the Los Angeles Housing Department; the Southern California Minority Business Development

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Institute; the Small Business Administration’s Service Corps of Retired Executives; the Latino Business Chamber of Greater Los Angeles; the Black Business Association; and the Asian Business Association.

Program participants learn to expedite the many details of the procurement process by navigating legal and regulatory issues. They also receive business presentation analysis and project management training.

All are California-licensed contractors who receive technical training, overseen by the MBDALA, which prepares their businesses to be contract-ready. The individuals subsequently bid on foreclosed properties and then flip them, increasing neighborhood property values while creating jobs.

“It has truly bridged a relationship between minority small-business owners and our communities, and should be replicated throughout the nation,” said Sergio Gascon, executive director of the MBDALA’s Business Center at USC.

Programs At A Glance FAMILY OF BUSINESSES The USC Family of Businesses program provides local businesses with broad-based connections to the community, as well as technical assistance and traditional businessconsulting services. The program aims to promote the formation of lasting and mutually beneficial relationships among businesses around both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses. Ultimately, it seeks to advance the overall economic health, sustainability, and stability of our surrounding neighborhoods, while providing USC students with opportunities for applied learning, and faculty and staff with a means to share their expertise and community spirit.

MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles MBDA (Minority Business Development Agency) Business Center, operated by USC in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, supports local minorityowned businesses by connecting them to community and institutional resources.

Since its inception in 1996, the goal of the Business Center has been to assist businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans by providing consulting services, access to market opportunities, financing, and advanced business training.

SCHOLARSHIP

Engaged Scholarship At the University of Southern California, one of our core beliefs is that civic engagement is a cornerstone of true intellectual advancement—the pedagogical intersection of theory, experience, and service. As USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett explains, “It is where we teach our students to combat challenges, and where the pursuit of wisdom and judgment lies.”

Many USC faculty members, such as GEORGE SANCHEZ and HORTENCIA AMARO, combine scholarly work with service to achieve social transformation.

They also serve as role models and mentors to undergraduate and graduate students as they develop their own paths to social entrepreneurialism, interdisciplinary work, and applied knowledge.

Together with partner organizations in our community, the USC research enterprise provides an evidence-based framework for best practices that can be utilized across sectors and disciplines, creating innovation in and out of the classroom, in fields that range from education to the arts, to the social sciences, to health care, and to public service, and beyond.

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“ We need to make sure that students from the neighborhoods around USC are prepared to get into the university, are able to take full advantage of what it has to offer, and are encouraged to flourish in any academic community.”

GEORGE SANCHEZ P rofessor of American studies and ethnicity and history and vice dean for diversity and strategic incentives

00 • USC 24 USC CIVIC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ENGAGEMENT

SCHOLARSHIP

Scholarship and community involvement go hand-in-hand George J. Sanchez knows that a neighborhood is much more than a collection of homes and businesses. For this USC professor of American studies and ethnicity and history, the rich cultural history of Los Angeles lives and breathes in neighborhoods like Boyle Heights, where he was born and spent the first five years of his life.

“Boyle Heights has been a main arena for multiracial interaction in Southern California since at least the early part of the 20th century,” said Sanchez, who is also vice dean for diversity and strategic initiatives in USC’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Mexican Americans, Jewish Americans, Japanese Americans, African Americans, Russian Americans and other groups have all called Boyle Heights home, as Sanchez painstakingly documents in his forthcoming book, Bridging Borders, Remaking Community.

Sanchez’s research on Boyle Heights — like his study of how students from USC’s low-income University Park neighborhood fare when they are given opportunities to attend the university — is a prime example of “engaged scholarship.”

He defined such research as “oriented toward new insights and discoveries about communities.” More than just traditional

published work, it encompasses “knowledgemaking that appears online, in documentary film, in grants constructed with community organizations, and in the lesson plans of high-school teachers.”

A prime example of engaged scholarship: Sanchez recently joined the board of the Breed Street Shul, a synagogue that served the once-bustling Jewish community of Boyle Heights. No longer in use for worship, the shul is being transformed into both a museum chronicling the neighborhood’s multicultural legacy and a community center dedicated to creating opportunities for the advancement of today’s largely Latino, working-class population in the neighborhood.

Sanchez sees the Breed Street Shul project also as an opportunity to engage USC

students in research and outreach education. “We plan to have undergraduate and graduate students who have an interest in the area’s history help develop lesson plans on that history for local schools to incorporate into their visits to the site,” he explained. “I expect it will open up issues of immigration, racial diversity, and economic empowerment.”

In addition to his Boyle Heights book, Sanchez is writing a book about the impact of contemporary Mexican migration on the culture and politics of Los Angeles at the turn of the century.

In both his role as an academic and an administrator for diversity efforts, Sanchez is committed to extending to the next generation of students from disadvantaged communities the kind of opportunities and support that enabled him to succeed in academia.

“We need to make sure that students from the neighborhoods around USC are prepared to get into the university, are able to take full advantage of what it has to offer, and are encouraged to flourish in any academic community,” he said. “I’m one of a handful of faculty who grew up in the neighborhood. They need to be able to feel that succeeding in academia is a possibility for them, too.”

650,000

Students contribute more than 650,000 hours in service to schools, nonprofits and businesses.

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SCHOLARSHIP

“ [Engaged scholarship] means that you’re in a dialogue where you’re listening and learning, sharing and developing solutions in partnership with the community.”

HORTENSIA AMARO Associate Vice Provost for Community Research Initiatives

Leading Community Based Research After nearly 30 years of making major contributions to public health research and practice in Boston, Hortensia Amaro is entering a new phase in her career. She recently returned to Los Angeles, her former home, as USC’s first associate vice provost for community research initiatives.

In that role, she hopes to develop USC’s capacity to conduct interdisciplinary, community-based scholarship. This includes research “that can improve the underlying conditions leading to health disparities and limiting life conditions in poor neighborhoods, such as lack of economic opportunity, education quality, and access to medical care, as well as the effects of violence,” she said. Her goal is to enhance evidence-based assessment of community needs and track effectiveness of program investments.

“USC has a long history of engagement with the community and a perspective that its well-being and the community’s are intertwined,” said Amaro, who is also a dean’s professor of social work and preventive medicine. “It’s an environment where I can

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help find new solutions and inform policies to improve conditions in the largely Latino and African American communities surrounding the university.”

Amaro’s personal history has fueled her interest in public health. The child of Cuban immigrants, she lived for a while in Los Angeles public housing. Those early experiences prompted her, as a psychologist and researcher, to explore how individuals and families adapt to and function under difficult conditions.

Her groundbreaking studies on clinical strategies for treating women with co-occurring drug addiction, mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder have provided strong evidence supporting integrated treatment for these conditions.

Her remarkable record of translating research into practice, will continue at USC, “To me, engaged scholarship is really responsive to the needs of a local community,” she said. “It means that you’re in a dialogue where you’re listening and learning, sharing and developing solutions in partnership with the community.”

Civic Engagement is the pedagogical intersection of theory, experience and service.

“It is where we teach our students to combat challenges, and where the pursuit of wisdom and judgment lies.”

ELIZABETH GARRETT PROVOST AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

USC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TIMELINE

Important Events in Recent History 1970

The USC SCHOOL FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (SECE) is founded to provide comprehensive, highquality early childhood education services to low-income children and families in the neighborhoods surrounding the University Park campus. The operation is funded by a combination of federal and state grants.

1977

The federally funded TRiO PROGRAM UPWARD BOUND was created to motivate and support low-income and firstgeneration minority students in progressing through the academic pipeline from middle school through college. Currently, USC TRiO includes three Upward Bound programs, one Upward Bound Math-Science program and two Educational Talent Search programs.

1984

Recognizing changes in the neighborhood, President James H. Zumberge appointed a task force to evaluate community relations. This group became the new office of CIVIC AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS, the early model of the current USC Civic Engagement.

1989

The USC NEIGHBORHOOD ACADEMIC INITIATIVE (NAI) accepts its first cadre of students. The program now boasts a 100-percent high school graduation rate among participants. Among the nearly 500 students who have graduated from NAI since 1997, 99 percent have been accepted at institutions of higher education.

1992

In response to the L.A. riots, President Steven Sample embraces FIVE UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY INITIATIVES aimed at focusing the university’s outreach and public-service programs on making a visible difference in the neighborhoods surrounding its two campuses. These five initiatives still power the efforts of Civic Engagement today.

1994

The USC GOOD NEIGHBORS CAMPAIGN is launched. The program asks university faculty and staff to contribute a portion of their paychecks to support efforts that help strengthen local communities. Over the years, students, alumni, and friends have joined in.

1994

The USC FAMILY OF SCHOOLS began as a partnership with five public schools near the University Park campus.

Today, it provides educational, cultural, and developmental opportunities to more than 17,000 children in 15 schools surrounding the University Park and Health Sciences campuses.

1995

USC NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH (UNO) issues its first request for proposals in January. Since then, UNO grants have funded more than 459 programs with annual budgets ranging from $3,000 to $55,000.

1999

The staff of USC Civic Engagement takes up residence in COMMUNITY HOUSE, widely believed to be the sixth-oldest home in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission designated it HistoricCultural Monument No. 103 in 1972.

2000

Time magazine names USC COLLEGE OF THE YEAR, primarily based on the level of community responsibility and involvement.

2007

The USC GOOD NEIGHBORS CAMPAIGN passes the $1 million mark. To date, the drive has raised over $15 million to support community organizations that are partnering with USC to put children on the pathway to college, make streets safer for families, and offer activities and programs aimed at improving the health and well-being of residents in the neighborhoods surrounding USC’s campuses.

2012

USC’s FIRST ASSOCIATE VICE PROVOST OF COMMUNITY RESEARCH INITIATIVES is appointed.

2013

USC begins to invest $1 billion to improve the university park campus, including the USC VILLAGE. This is the largest development of its kind in the history of South Los Angeles expected to bring new businesses and 12,000 jobs to the neighborhood.

USC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

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COMMUNITIES.USC.EDU

Thomas S. Sayles Senior Vice President, University Relations Craig S. Keys Associate Senior Vice President, Civic Engagement Kim Alexander Senior Executive Director of Development Theda Douglas Associate Vice President, Government Partnerships and Programs Melissa Gaeke Executive Director, Academic Partnerships Kim Thomas-Barrios Executive Director of Educational Partnerships Lisa Gallegos Executive Director, Administration and Finance Cesar Armendariz Executive Director, Health Sciences Campus Community Partnerships David Galaviz Executive Director, Local Government Relations

Get Involved For more information on how to get involved or to support USC Civic Engagement, please contact the Development Office at (213) 740-7400 or Kimberly Alexander at kimberla@usc.edu.

Support Civic Engagement USC Civic Engagement relies on the generosity of alumni, friends, corporations, and foundations in support of its community engagement efforts. Your support will assist us in providing critical resources that further the vitality, health, and well-being of our neighborhoods, schools, local businesses, and community organizations in partnership with university faculty, staff, and students. Please join us in support of this important university priority.

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“Having grown up in South Los Angeles, it gives me a sense of pride to lead the USC civic engagement efforts and strong commitment to service. At USC we believe civic engagement is a lifelong commitment, embedded into our daily lives.”

THOMAS S. SAYLES SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

USC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT • 00

COMMUNITIES.USC.EDU

USC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT harnesses the resources of the university and its partners to promote community, economic, and social well-being.

Its priorities are to: n E stablish mutually beneficial partnerships with community leaders, community-based organizations, stakeholders and USC faculty, staff, and students. n E xpand the richness of the community experience of our students, faculty, and staff. n Enhance strategic relationships between external stakeholders and USC. n Promote a university-wide culture of philanthropy and civic engagement. n Document, communicate, and evaluate USC’s community involvement. n D evelop and implement community outreach strategies in our neighborhoods in partnership with local schools, community-based organizations, and USC faculty, staff, and students. n P rovide direct services to the community through USC’s educational, economic, informational, and capacity-building initiatives. n S upport healthy living by providing health-related education and programs in the community.

USC CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 3551 Trousdale Parkway, ADM 252 Los Angeles, CA 90089 (213) 740-7400 communities.usc.edu

Health Sciences Campus Office: 1975 Zonal Avenue, KAM 400 Los Angeles, CA 90033 (323) 442-3572