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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.