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Career, Wellness and Networking Opportunities at UCLA Luskin

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UCLA Luskin students will have several opportunities to map out their professional journeys, focus on health and wellness, and engage with the School’s alumni over three special weeks during the winter quarter:

  • Career Week, Jan. 22-25, will allow students to explore fellowships and jobs in the fields of government, racial justice and community organizing. A special session for undergraduates will offer tips on how to apply and interview for the yearlong internships that are a signature part of the public affairs major. LEARN MORE ABOUT CAREER WEEK
  • Student Services Week, Feb. 5-8, will help students navigate the array of student support programs offered by UCLA. In addition to a wide-ranging resource fair, individual sessions will focus on legal counseling and financial wellness, and a “paint and sip” event will allow students to de-stress through creative expression and community-building. LEARN MORE ABOUT STUDENT SERVICES WEEK
  • Alumni Engagement Week, Feb. 20-24, includes opportunities for students to network with alumni from all departments. In winter quarter, panels will feature LGBTQ+ and international alumni, as well as those who have completed the prestigious David Bohnett Fellowship at Los Angeles City Hall. Networking events exclusively for Luskin graduates will also take place. LEARN MORE ABOUT ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT WEEK

The events, all offered by the Luskin School’s Office of Student Affairs and Alumni Relations (OSAAR), complement services provided throughout the year to support students’ career development and emotional and mental well-being. These range from one-on-one counseling to major initiatives such as the Senior Fellows Progam, which pairs graduate students with prominent mentors in the public affairs sphere, and City Hall Day, an opportunity to gather in downtown Los Angeles to discuss pressing issues with government and civic leaders.

Career, Student Services and Alumni Engagement weeks will return in spring quarter.

View the UCLA Luskin events calendar

four people in front of blue background

UCLA Luskin’s Office of Student Affairs and Alumni Relations is staffed by, from left, Nael Rogers (student support services), Nandini Inmula (career services), Karina Mascorro (alumni engagement) and Kevin Medina (director). Photo by Les Dunseith

 

Astor Receives 2023 School Mental Health Research Award

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The National Center for School Mental Health has selected UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor as the recipient of the 2023 School Mental Health Research Award. Launched in 2018, the award recognizes scholars who have made a significant contribution to advancing research and practice in school mental health. Astor received the award on Dec. 5 at the 2023 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health, held in New Orleans. At a summit on the eve of the conference, Astor shared his scholarship on campus climate, social-emotional learning and social justice with leading school mental health researchers from across the country. In his decades of research, Astor has studied tens of thousands of schools and millions of students, teachers, parents and administrators, and his work has been published in more than 200 scholarly manuscripts. His latest research examines antisemitism in K-12 settings, and he is spearheading research exchanges focusing on schools that empower students in Arab, Jewish and other diverse communities in the Middle East and Los Angeles. Astor’s far-reaching impact on the field of school mental health was cited in three separate nominations he received for this year’s School Mental Health Research Award. “This interdisciplinary career award coming from such an important organization that does critical work for our schools means the world to me,” said Astor, who has a joint appointment at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. “I appreciate the recognition and hope to use it as a platform to spread peace and mental health support to our world’s children.” 

Astor on Clashing Strategies for Making Schools Safer

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UCLA Luskin school safety expert Ron Avi Astor spoke to USA Today about dueling strategies for addressing gun violence on campus. Many schools have increased the presence of police officers and metal detectors, while others prioritize social-emotional learning, which teaches students self-awareness, empathy and resilience. “You have these two genres – the zero-tolerance policies and making each school look like a little prison on one side. Ironically, you have – at the same time – the opposite vision of making school a more loving and caring and supportive place,” said Astor, a professor of social welfare and education. Tapping into both methods at once may create an atmosphere that is confusing to students, he said, recommending that schools adopt a single, consistent approach. Astor added that rates of bullying, fights and drug use in schools have significantly decreased over the past 20 years, largely due to a stronger connection to community resources, the hiring of more social workers and prioritization of student empowerment.

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‘Have the Courage to Create the World We All Deserve to Live In’ Commencement speaker Michael Tubbs challenges UCLA Luskin's Class of 2023 to use their education for the greater good

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By Mary Braswell

Savor the moment, then get to work.

That was the Commencement Day message from anti-poverty advocate Michael Tubbs, who called on UCLA Luskin’s Class of 2023 to use their education and training to restructure society from the ground up, with justice as a guide.

“We’re here not because of what you’ve done but who you will become and how you will use the precious gift of this UCLA education,” Tubbs said. “We need you all to have the courage to imagine and create the world we all deserve to live in.”

Tubbs spoke to public policy, social welfare and urban planning scholars earning advanced degrees at a morning ceremony on June 16 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. In the afternoon, he addressed students awarded the bachelor of public affairs at a festive gathering on the patio of Kerckhoff Hall.

Tubbs made history in 2016 when he was elected the first Black mayor of Stockton, California, at age 26. He recalled his own educational journey as a first-generation graduate of Stanford University, and offered this reminder to UCLA Luskin’s newly minted BAs, MPPs, MSWs, MURPs and PhDs:

“The alphabets behind your names don’t mean you’re better than people … and dare I say they don’t even mean you’re smarter than the people who raised you,” he said. “But what it does mean is that you’re better equipped to serve. It does mean you’re better able to self-actualize. It does mean you’re better positioned to use your privilege and your access to do some good.”

Students who earned the bachelor of public affairs receive their degrees on the patio of Kerckhoff Hall. Photo by Todd Cheney

This year, more than 420 students earned bachelors, master’s and doctoral degrees from UCLA Luskin. Interim Dean Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris offered congratulations while also underscoring the stakes at play as the national election cycle is now picking up steam.

“You are taking your places in the workforce during a critical time not just for America but for the entire world. Who are we as a people? What are our values? Will we make the right decisions to better all of society? …

“As I look at you, I take comfort. I know you have been well prepared,” Loukaitou-Sideris said. “I trust that you will remain dedicated to a future in which geography, income, gender or race have little bearing on an individual’s ability to access opportunity and have a fulfilling life. I can’t wait to see all that you will accomplish.”

At each commencement ceremony, students delivered greetings in different languages, 16 in all, a reflection of the School’s cultural diversity. Four students were selected by their peers to offer words of inspiration: Chinyere Nwonye of Public Policy, Jhorna Islam of Social Welfare, Antonia Izuoga of Urban Planning and Mina Anochie of the Undergraduate Program.

In his remarks, Tubbs urged the graduates to make the most of both the triumphs and the inevitable disappointments in life. As Stockton’s mayor, he led a program of reforms to reduce poverty, provide scholarships to students, bring down the homicide rate and improve the city’s fiscal health — yet his bid for reelection in 2020 failed.

The defeat ultimately led to an important realization: “Your job, your title, your accolades — that’s a means to an end … but your purpose remains the same.”

Tubbs went on to join the administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom as special advisor for economic mobility and opportunity, and is widely viewed as a rising star in progressive politics. He is a leading advocate for a guaranteed basic income to provide stability to American households, and last year he founded End Poverty in California, a nonprofit devoted to breaking the cycle of income inequality.

“Today is such a wonderful day because it’s a mountaintop day. It’s one of those days where everything comes together,” Tubbs told the graduates. “But I submit to you, over the course of the next several decades of your life, every day won’t feel like this day. …

“As you figure out what it is you want to do, maybe your purpose, maybe part of what you’re supposed to do, will be found in the pain you’ve experienced, in the things that make you angry, in the things that feel unfair, in the things your parents had to experience.”

Tubbs advised the students to take the long view as they work toward change. As a younger man, he had the privilege of meeting Bob Singleton, a UCLA alumnus and one of the original Freedom Riders, civil rights activists who boarded buses to Southern states to challenge segregation. Singleton was arrested for his actions on June 4, 1961. The same day, Barack Obama was born.

“He said he had no idea that the choice he made as a 21-year-old UCLA graduate to do something to change the world would pave the way so that 50 years later a child born with no opportunity would have the chance to be president,” Tubbs said.

“Class of 2023, the question before you all today as you get your degrees is what are you prepared to do today, tomorrow and next week so that 50 years from now, we’re not having the same conversation? So that 50 years from now we don’t have hundreds of thousands of people in our state sleeping in tents right next to luxury apartments and mansions? … So that 50 years from now, we live in a country that’s deserving of your talent, of your time and of your treasure?”

View photos and video from the UCLA Luskin undergraduate commencement ceremony:

Commencement 2023: Undergraduate

View photos and video from the UCLA Luskin master’s and doctoral commencement ceremony:

Commencement 2023: Graduate

 

Seen & Heard

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In June 2022, graduating students from the UCLA Luskin Ph.D., master’s and undergraduate degree programs were asked to complete this sentence: “My UCLA Luskin degree means to me …”

young man in cap and gown… a pathway to achieve social justice.” —Jason A. Plummer, PhD in Social Welfare

 

young woman in cap and gown… investing back into myself so that I can help support my community.” —Samantha Guerrero, Urban Planning

 

young woman in cap and gown… I can really go out in the community and make the change that I came to this degree to make.” —Maureen Alam, Public Policy

 

young woman in cap and gown… that I will have the opportunity to help others in our community and be able to work in different settings and help various populations.” —Louisa Cascione, Social Welfare

 

young woman in cap and gown… an opportunity to change the world.” —Anette Ramirez Valenzuela, Public Policy

 

young woman in cap and gown… make a real impact on the world.” —Sarah Perez, Public Affairs

 

young woman in cap and gown

… that I have the tools to go out into communities in Los Angeles and learn from community members themselves in order to create change.” —Delaney Ivey, Public Affairs

 

young woman in cap and gown

… empowerment, for me and my family. I am a first-generation student, so it’s really valuable.” —Margarita Palafox, Social Welfare

 

young woman in cap and gown

… liberation, hope and freedom for my people.” —Taylor Reed, PhD in Social Welfare

 

young woman in cap and gown

… working together to tackle issues and, hopefully, solve them.” —Camille Schaefer, Public Affairs

 

young man in cap and gown

… a pathway to more opportunities.” —Noe Garcia, Public Affairs

 

young man in cap and gown

… being of service to others.” —Carlos Hollopeter, Social Welfare

 

young man in cap and gown… the ability to just help people. That’s the reason I got into public service in the first place.” —Rasik Hussain, Public Policy

 

All images derived from video recorded by Michael Troxell

Research Finds Homeless Students Understudied and Overlooked

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Despite increasing recognition as a national problem, homeless students remain an understudied and overlooked population that endures multiple challenges, as do the schools and districts that serve them, according to a new report co-authored by UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor. The comparative case study, published online in the Journal of Community Psychology, explored the identification, service provision and school experience of homeless students in high- and low-socioeconomic districts. Astor and his colleagues compared two California school districts and their four elementary and middle schools. They found that despite differences in the socioeconomic context, both districts were under-identifying homeless students. “Both districts were underserving and lacking awareness of homeless students that were not identified,” they wrote. However, they found that the low-socioeconomic district had far greater poverty awareness than the high-socioeconomic district and, subsequently, an existing organizational structure to support identified homeless students. “Poverty awareness and districts’ organizational structure are important contextual factors to consider in designing local and tailored interventions and services for homeless students,” they noted. Schools play a major role for homeless students and may be the last social institution with which they interact before disengaging from all social institutions. “Meeting the substantial challenges involved in building schools and districts that support homeless students will require district policies and practices that explicitly address issues of poverty, homelessness and injustice,” they conclude. “Poverty awareness and districts’ organizational structure are important contextual factors to consider in designing local and tailored interventions and services for homeless students.”

Read the report

Weekend Event Harnesses the Power of Service Public Policy hosts aspiring public servants from across America for workshops focusing on policy issues and solutions

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Twenty-nine undergraduates from across the nation came to UCLA in mid-August for three days of study and discussion as UCLA Luskin Public Policy returned to in-person programming for its third Public Service Weekend.

“Harness the Power of Action-Oriented Public Service” provided aspiring public servants an in-depth look at a diverse array of career opportunities, policy developments, and social issues such as environmental justice, inequality, homelessness and immigration reform.

The program, which was produced in cooperation with the not-for-profit Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) organization, included a tour of a Los Angeles clean technology site and workshops conducted by UCLA faculty, alumni and staff.

“Additionally, we aimed to inspire students by sharing the life stories and successes of UCLA graduate students, alumni, policymakers and faculty doing the work on the front lines of advocating for policy reform and social change,” said Kenya Covington, a senior lecturer at UCLA Luskin who coordinated the program.

Speakers included Dean Gary Segura, as well as alumni William “Rusty” Bailey, the former mayor of Riverside, and Dan Coffee, a project manager for the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. Second-year MPP student Elliot Woods, chair of the School’s Black Student Caucus, shared educational and personal insights. He said experiences with the foster care system early in life have sharpened his determination to improve society through a career in public service.

man in industrial workplacePilot projects at the La Kretz Innovation Campus focus on green tech efforts to mitigate climate change.
man in industrial workplace
man in industrial workplace
man gestures in front of screen showing photos
man gestures in front of screen showing photos
man speaks at front of classroom with presentation slide behind him
man speaks at front of classroom with presentation slide behind him
man at podium speaks to group
man at podium speaks to group
four people sit at a table in the front of a classroom at UCLA
four people sit at a table in the front of a classroom at UCLA

A site tour of the La Kretz Innovation Campus exposed participants to creative clean technology ideas seeking to decrease the emissions that cause climate change. Participants learned about pilot projects involving lithium battery recycling, for example, and they witnessed how welding workspaces, 3D printing technology and chemistry labs can all play a role in developing green technology solutions.

The student participants were challenged by Covington to identify pressing societal problems, and faculty and staff facilitated learning exercises that helped them to define values that have been violated and the scale of problems to be addressed. The students wrapped up the Public Service Weekend with mock professional presentations that focused on potential solutions.

“The presentations were impressive,” Covington said. “Future social change depends largely on the development of leaders capable of taking on the most pressing social problems that we face in the world. With partners like PPIA, the Luskin School is doing just that.”

View photos on Flickr:

Public Service Weekend 2022

Social Welfare Alumni Come Together to Support Students

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A group of MSW alumni who have sustained a close bond developed during their time at UCLA Luskin turned their camaraderie into a commitment to support current students. Nine members of the class of 2011 launched the Together Crecemos Scholarship Fund to provide financial assistance to a first-year Social Welfare student who is committed to promoting equity, championing social justice and contributing to the community. The inspiration for the fund, whose name means “Together We Grow,” came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the group met virtually each week for support and encouragement. They inaugurated the scholarship program in 2021, and the first award was in the amount of $2,011, a nod to their graduation year. The award winner is Julia Cocilion, who impressed the alumni with her moving personal story and vision to engage in equitable social work practices, said Bridgette Amador, one of the alumni organizers. “It was a joy to learn more about the first-year students from their applications and to see the high caliber of students in the UCLA MSW program,” Amador said. “We hope to continue to grow the scholarship fund for years to come.” Pictured are members of the Together Crecemos alumni group: top, from left, Refugio Valle, Christy Perez, Malena Traverso French, Bridgette Amador and Carlos Amador; bottom, from left, Susana Ochoa-Valle, Jacqueline Perez Robledo, Jessica Tovar and Natalie Bibriesca-Mercado.

 

(Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Our Research Centers An introduction to the stories in this edition

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Our goal was to create a definitive roundup of UCLA Luskin research centers. Over several months, more than two dozen professors, staff, students and alumni were interviewed, producing 160 pages of transcripts totaling 69,774 words. Did we capture every connection, permutation or interaction? No way. For one, we simply ran out of space. What follows are excerpts from the interviews. Also note that our research centers web page now has a mention of every — we think — research entity with a UCLA Luskin connection. Here are a few facts and notes about the project:

  • Funds that flow into the Luskin School are increasingly tied to a research center, and those numbers have risen as the School has grown in recent years. Research centers received 80% of all contract and grant funding at UCLA Luskin in the last fiscal year, totaling $18.5 million. With four months of 2021-22 to go, the research center tally stood at 82.9% of all awards and $17.9 million.
  • Most full-time faculty, and many part-timers, are associated with at least one research center. The financial benefit is a factor, but interviewees mostly spoke about collaboration and impact.
  • Research units play an integral role in advancing UCLA Luskin’s mission, particularly its community service goals. (Some of the many research-oriented advocacy success stories are told in this edition.)
  • There are a lot of them. In 2009, the Luskin Center for Innovation became the fourth research center at UCLA Luskin. Today, we show 12 research centers on the homepage and list more than a dozen more on the web page mentioned earlier. A couple of non-Luskin-School-based examples are in this issue, but faculty also hold leadership positions or fill scholarly roles in many other research centers housed within another UCLA school, hosted by an off-campus partner or existing as part of a national research consortium or an ad hoc project involving scholars from other universities.
  • Some research centers are — potential funder alert — still in the startup phase; others are firmly established but ready to grow. And two research centers have been bastions of the UCLA Luskin educational experience for decades. These highly respected and influential centers are profiled in chapter 1. 
  • The word center is often used in this project as an umbrella term even though individual entities are actually an institute, initiative, hub or lab. No disrespect is intended. Is there any official difference? We asked UCLA’s vice chancellor for research, Roger Wakamoto: “We do not discriminate a center from an institute or any other term. The names are
    used interchangeably.”
  • The main story in this issue unfolds in oral history form. Some minor rephrasing was needed for clarity’s sake, and trims were made. But the people associated with UCLA Luskin research centers tell their stories primarily in their own words

Astor on Dangers of False Alarm Violent Threats

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Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor was featured in a New York Times article about the disturbing increase in school shooting threats across the country. Social media has made it increasingly easy to craft violent threats that clog up one of the few avenues law enforcement has to police them. These hoax threats have increased in prevalence following deadly mass shootings, including the killing of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. New York City has fielded an average of two school shooting threats per day this year, and an average of six per day in the week following the May 24 Uvalde shooting. Law enforcement officials are concerned that the increase in hoax threats will make it more difficult to identify real threats. “If the system becomes overwhelmed by false alarms, some could slip through,” Astor said. “It takes away a big tool.”

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