A Secure Retirement for All Americans

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By Ramin Rajaii
UCLA Luskin Student Writer

“What kind of America do you want?”

This was the question posed by A. Barry Rand at the latest UCLA Luskin Lecture Series event. Rand is the CEO of AARP, the world’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals over the age of 50.

“For us at AARP,” Rand said, “we want a society in which everyone lives with dignity and purpose, achieves their dreams, and enjoys lifelong financial security. Every individual should have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream, whether they are young or old.”

Rand believes that discussions regarding the future of aging in America have never been more pertinent; as the nation undergoes changes in health policy, we are pressed to contemplate their impacts on an aging society.

According to Rand, the idea of old age was transformed from a “life in purgatory” to a desired destination beginning in the 1950s. At once, old age became known as “leisure years,” a reward for a lifetime of hard work.

Changing demographics are challenging the reward of retirement, Rand said. “America is experiencing a dramatic change. This is the first time that minorities account for over half of all births in the past twelve months,” he said. “By 2030, racial and ethnic minorities will be 42% of the US population. This new ethnographic makeup becomes new ‘American mainstream’ – where minorities become the majority in the aging population.”

The goal of AARP, outlined by Rand, is primarily to help the growing aging population make a contribution to society while allowing them to be financially prosperous after retirement. In his eyes, three main strategies need to be employed.

First, as social security remains a critical foundation for income security, AARP seeks to promote a full-blown discussion of how it contributes to the wellbeing of older Americans, and how it can be modified to improve effectiveness.

Second, Rand believes it critical to continue lowering growth and healthcare spending system wide – a major tenet of the Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010.

Finally, “in order to thrive and take advantage of life possibilities,” Rand explained, “people need to live in age-friendly communities.” From his perspective, the nation needs to become more welcoming to residents of all ages.

When asked what AARP should do to position themselves as national advocates for the growing U.S. aging population, Rand succinctly summarized their mission: “We strive to help people have access to affordable healthcare and be financially secure. We are focused on how to be creative in getting the costs down, while ensuring that all generations have the ability to enjoy social security benefits.”

Rand has long fought for social change. He has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Avis Group Holdings, CEO of Equitant Ltd., and executive vice president, Worldwide Operations, at Xerox Corporation.

Read Rand’s remarks (PDF)

The Luskin Lecture Series enhances public discourse on topics relevant to the betterment of society. The Series features renowned public intellectuals, bringing together scholars as well as national and local leaders to address society’s most pressing problems. 

Stephen Cheung Making Waves at LA Port

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The port of Los Angeles and Long Beach is the busiest port in the United States and currently receives 44 percent of all cargo shipped to our country. In 2012, this amounted to about eight million cargo units with global trade partners including China, Japan and South Korea.

Stephen Cheung, a 2007 graduate from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs with a Master of Social Work degree, is now the Director of International Development at the Port of Los Angeles and is in charge of overseeing international port trade. Cheung works to maintain Los Angeles as a dominant international trading hub by attracting new partners and strengthening current relationships.

“We have been the ideal and more advantageous destination,” Cheung said, “but by 2015 places like the gulf coast and the new Panama Canal are going to create more competition. So we have to be more strategic and look at new partnerships and commodities to attract and retain business. Before the rest of the world can catch up we still have the opportunity to market ourselves and look at new areas, including Vietnam and Brazil as potential trading partners.”

Cheung said the Port has a significant impact on the local and national economy, generating 3.3 million jobs nationally. The port can also have a negative environmental impact through high levels of pollution. Cheung believes the role the port has in building strong communities through economic vitality and the potential to reduce the environmental impact makes his job unique and interesting.

“Los Angeles is a global leader in trade and in mitigating our environmental footprint,” says Cheung. Before coming to the Port, Cheung worked for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and helped create and run the Clean Air Action Plan.

The Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), started in 2006 as a five-year program to reduce emissions at the LA and Long Beach port by 45 percent. The aggressive plan invested $2 billion and partnered with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and local air quality organizations. Replacing older diesel using trucks and using new technologies to reducing truck emission is another key element to the plan.

Although all goals have not been met yet, the program was considered successful and was renewed in 2010. New standards include reducing residential cancer risk of port-related emissions by 85 percent.

“It’s not just about making money,” Cheung said. “The port helps create economic opportunity but also is committed to the surrounding community. We are a leader on environmental issues. Our connectivity can help shape our outlook and what we can do together.”

It might seem unlikely that an alum with a Master’s of Social Work works for International Development at the Port, but Cheung sees it as a very natural progression.

Cheung praised the internship requirement as a UCLA Luskin student and credited his current career to his internship with Representative Karen Bass’s office while at Luskin. He began working in government at the Mayor’s office soon after graduating in 2007.

“My experience working at Karen Bass’ office prepared me for working in local and state government. It was very a practical and hands-on experience that helped build my career with the Mayor’s office,” Cheung said.

Cheung also credited the vast networking opportunities available to Luskin students and urged current students to not get overwhelmed and take advantage of what is offered, including the Senior Fellows program. Cheung participated in the fellowship program and worked with Jean Ross, then Executive Director of the California Budget Project.

“Take advantage of everything and do some digging to find support,” Cheung advised. “Don’t get too overwhelmed with the academics.”

Cheung said we was encouraged to see more Luskin alums working in all levels of government. As an example, he referred to his fellow Luskin alum, Antonio Sanchez, running for District Representative for the LA Unified School District. According to Cheung, Luskin alums working in government can use their unique social justice perspective to impact the system in responsible ways to address the concerns and needs of communities.

UCLA Luskin alumni and students are cordially invited to a UCLA Luskin Alumni Student Networking Event at the Port of Los Angeles!

Join us for a special afternoon of networking, a behind the scenes look at the Port of Los Angeles, and a brief Boat Tour.  Don’t miss this opportunity to reunite with fellow alumni and meet current students!

Friday, April 19, 2013

11:30 AM – 3:00 PM

The Port of Los Angeles
425 South Palos Verdes Street
Los Angeles, CA 90731

Lunch will be provided! 

All guests will be charged $10 to cover the cost of the experience.

Schedule for the Day:

11:45 am – 12:00 pm      Welcome to the Port of Los Angeles – Security Check-In

Port of Los Angeles Administration Building

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm   Briefing at the Port of Los Angeles

Port of Los Angeles Administration Building Board Room

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm     Boat Tour of the Port of Los Angeles

Harbor Breeze Vessel, Berth 84

Limited space is available; please RSVP only if you can confirm your attendance when doing so.  An RSVP should not be used as a tentative place holder.  Parking and directions for Check-In will be sent approximately one week prior to the event.

Click here to RSVP.

Feel free to email events@publicaffairs.ucla.edu with any questions!

Available exclusively to UCLA Luskin grads and students, Luskin Online is the best resource for current students and alumni to connect in a Luskin-only setting. Click here to be a part of it!

Villaraigosa: “Education is the civil rights issue of our time”

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Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent John Deasy made an impassioned case for improving public education in Los Angeles at the latest UCLA Luskin Lecture Series event on Wednesday night.

The event – coming the day after city elections that narrowed the field of mayoral hopefuls and saw nearly $6 million in outside spending on races for three school board seats – served as a chance for Villaraigosa and Deasy to chart a course for the next administration. Villaraigosa’s final term ends June 30.

“The next mayor of L.A. has to understand that there’s not really an option,” Villaraigosa said. “He or she absolutely needs to be involved in the success of our schools.”

Since he took office eight years ago, Villaraigosa has spent much of his tenure trying to improve performance at the nation’s second-largest school district. He made an early-term attempt to wrest control of the LAUSD board – an effort that ultimately was defeated in court. Through the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, he implemented reforms at 22 of the district’s worst-performing schools, improving student performance and parent engagement. The mayor’s advocacy of parent-trigger laws gave parents greater control over the administration of troubled schools, at the expense of union protections for teachers. 

Although Deasy took the top job at LAUSD less than two years ago, he has helped implement Villaraigosa’s efforts, pushing reforms in charter schools and teacher performance evaluations.

“We’ve got to make it easier to get better teachers,” Deasy said.

In addition to focusing on teacher performance, Deasy has worked to improve student achievement through careful analysis of data. When statistics on student suspensions painted a bleak picture of school safety – suspensions are intended only for violence and other serious problems, Deasy said – he met with school leadership to learn more. 

“The tiniest fraction of suspensions were for serious issues,” Deasy said, “but an overwhelming proportion were for ‘defiance.'” Administrators were keeping students away from school for low-level problems, such as failing to bring materials or “answering in a defiant tone,” Deasy said.

Since increasing student performance depends on consistent student attendance, and minority populations have been shown to be suspended at higher rates than their peers, Deasy told administrators to suspend students only as a last resort. As a result, suspensions went down 50 percent.

Deasy said the episode was a lesson that school reform is incredibly complex.

“I learned that we didn’t have a drop-out problem. We had a push-out problem,” he said. “We were forcing these kids out.” Only by focusing on the ultimate goal of providing high-quality education for every LAUSD student could reform be achieved, he said.

“When you pay attention and want to drill down, you can instigate positive change,” Deasy said.

Villaraigosa said the stakes for the city are incredibly high. A quality education system that serves every Angeleno is key to the future success of the city, he said.

“This is the civil rights issue of our time. It’s the democracy issue of our time. It’s the economic issue of our time.

“It matters.”

The Luskin Lecture Series is designed to enhance public discourse on topics relevant to today’s societal needs. Bringing renowned public intellectuals and scholars together with national and local leaders, the Luskin Lecture Series presents issues that are changing the way our country addresses its most pressing problems. For more information on upcoming Luskin Lecture Series events, please click here.

 

Sadik-Khan: Change “Can Be Done”

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If city leaders clearly articulate a vision and pursue it in ways that rely on constant public engagement, transformational change is possible.

That was the message delivered by New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan Feb. 28, as part of the UCLA Luskin Lecture Series. Sadik-Khan spoke to an audience of more than 200 transportation planners and advocates at the 2013 UCLA Complete Streets Conference, an annual gathering produced by the UCLA Lewis Center and the Institute of Transportation Studies.

In a talk that touched on nearly every aspect of a “complete street” — pedestrians, bicycles, buses, plazas and parks, as well as private vehicles — Sadik-Khan reported on her five years as head of transportation in America’s largest city. Throughout her tenure, she said, change has been at the forefront of her job.

“These streets have been unexamined for too long,” she said. “We should be designing streets for 2013, not 1963.”

Sadik-Khan has overseen a major revitalization of the ways New Yorkers get around their city. Beginning with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “PlaNYC” strategic document, Sadik-Khan has put into place a program of expanded amenities for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users while continuing to perform the tasks traditionally associated with a city transportation department — improving bridges, maintaining streets and filling potholes. “We’ve worked hard to bring balance back to the streets of New York,” she said.

In working for what she described as “a very data-driven mayor,” she has relied on a steady stream of surveys, evaluations and data analysis. When the city decided to close Times Square to vehicles and turn it into a pedestrian plaza, the administration was able to point to GPS data from New York’s 13,000 taxicabs to show that traffic had actually improved as a result of the closure. Pedestrian safety also improved, as did economic performance — Times Square is now one of the highest valued retail spaces in the world, Sadik-Khan said.

Other improvements across the city saw similar results. There were 47 percent fewer commercial vacancies after the city installed bike lanes along First Avenue. On streets where bus service has been refigured, retail sales have gone up 71 percent. “These are improvements of safety, livability and strong economic performance,” Sadik-Khan said.

Key to the success of her plans was the ability to implement change quickly and tangibly. “Change used to take years,” she said. “Now with paint, stones and street furniture, we can changes things overnight.” The improvements help the public see the potential of big ideas and accustom themselves to change.

“It’s not a rendering, it’s a real-world model,” Sadik-Khan said. “It lets people touch and point to it and say ‘I want that.'”

 

The Luskin Lecture Series is designed to enhance public discourse on topics relevant to today’s societal needs. Bringing renowned public intellectuals and scholars together with national and local leaders, the Luskin Lecture Series presents issues that are changing the way our country addresses its most pressing problems. For more information on upcoming Luskin Lecture Series events, please click here.

Luskin Students Take Part in City Hall Day

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The recent failure of L.A.’s recent Measure J, which would have extended the half-cent sales tax approved in 2008 as Measure R for an additional 30 years, leaves open the question: What is the future of transportation funding in Los Angeles?

Students from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs gathered at L.A. City Hall on Feb. 8 to discuss this vital issue for the region. “Full Speed Ahead: Creative Solutions to L.A.’s Transportation Needs,” was the ninth annual UCLA Luskin Day at Los Angeles City Hall, hosted once again by Los Angeles Controller, and UCLA alumna, Wendy Greuel. The daylong event connected students from the School’s Public Policy, Social Welfare and Urban Planning departments, with city and county leaders as well as representatives from the private and nonprofit sectors, to discuss this multi-faceted problem.

“It’s not all about transportation but L.A. getting back to work,” said Greuel, adding, “This is an opportune time to think about the future of L.A., not what could we have done.”

A panel of experts started the conversation by putting L.A.’s transportation challenges in context. Panelists were: UCLA emeritus professor of Urban Planning, Martin Wachs; Denny Zane, Exective Director of Move LA; Borja Leon, Deputy Mayor for Transportation for the City of Los Angeles; and, Pam O’Connor, Mayor of Santa Monica. Following the panel discussion, the students had the opportunity to interview the government, private sector and nonprofit representatives, and hear both pro- and anti-Measure J arguments.

Malocca Hawkins, a first-year Public Policy student at the Luskin School, said, “Everyone I interviewed seems to have a different perspective on why [Measure] J failed. But, there is a general consensus that under no circumstances should transportation measures slated to move forward stop. They don’t see that voters turning down the measure is indicative that they shouldn’t move forward.”

“This was a great experience overall,” said Craig Pulsipher, a Master of Public Policy and Social Welfare student. “Being able to study this completely opened my eyes and changed my perspective on transportation, generally, and transportation in L.A., specifically.” Pulsipher said that the benefits of the UCLA Luskin Day at Los Angeles City Hall were meeting with people of very different perspectives and backgrounds and seeing the interconnection between academics and policy.

Allison Yoh, Associate Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA served as faculty advisor, and moderated an open noontime discussion on solutions to L.A.’s transportation challenges. The participating students will be drafting a memo with Dr. Yoh on the information gathered and the solutions proposed during the day.

About the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Founded in 1994 and dedicated in 2011, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs is a leading institution for research and scholarship in the areas of public policy, social welfare and urban planning. Based in the global metropolis of Los Angeles, UCLA Luskin develops creative solutions and innovative leaders that confront challenges in immigration, drug policy, prison reform, transportation, the environment, and other areas vital to the continued health and well-being of our global society.

Luskin Lecture Series: Howard Dean

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By Ruby Bolaria
UCLA Luskin Student Writer 

On Wednesday evening former Vermont Governor Howard Dean spoke to a large and diverse crowd at UCLA as part of the Luskin Lecture Series.

The event, hosted by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, brought together donors and invited guests – several of whom are currently UCLA undergraduates – at the Covel Commons on campus.

Governor Dean spoke about why “Campaigns Matter.” It boiled down to how 20-35 year olds, with the help of the internet, are already transforming not just our nation, but our planet.

The theme for the night was about how a growing sense of shared fate among young people is helping to transform the world, beginning in the United States. Governor Dean recalled his first year in college, in 1968, and how at that time it would have been absurd and crazy to consider the possibility of a black president.

“We did do a lot of things and we did transform this country,” he said, “but this new generation is going to transform the world, thanks to tools like the internet.”

He credited the younger generation for dismissing the usual concept of “us and them” and embracing all people as “us.”

“For the first time they understand that there is no other – the other is them,” Dean said.

Governor Dean, who was Vermont’s governor for five consecutive terms, explained how the Republican Party does not get this message and has ostracized many young voters by framing campaigns around social issues, criticizing the gay community, racial minorities, immigrants, etc.

“The problem is those people are all our kids’ friends,” he said. “If you can have an economic platform that is much more attractive – focusing on spending cuts and entitlement programs, that makes sense. But if you hate their friends they aren’t going to vote for you.”

He said voters under age 35 are more conservative than democrats, somewhat libertarian but are socially much more liberal than republicans.

Governor Dean went on to talk about his role within the Democratic National Committee in coordinating the widespread grassroots campaign to elect Barack Obama in 2008.

“More people under 35 years old voted than over 65. That has never happened in my lifetime. Barack Obama was elected by young people and that was a big surprise. He is a multicultural president and kids could identify with him.”

Governor Dean said republicans were better at running campaigns than democrats – they are more organized, disciplined and better funded. That started to change that in 2004 with his presidential candidacy which eventually transformed into the advocacy nonprofit Democracy for America (formerly known as Dean for America).

However, it was the Obama campaign in 2008 that made historic changes to the way democrats campaigned. It was a well-organized widespread grassroots strategy using new technologies.

A key tool used during the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, started within the DNC by young 20-somethings as Neighbor to Neighbor, software used to connect organizers and volunteers with voters. Governor Dean stressed that internet, although helpful, is not the end.

“The internet is not a substitute for person-to-person contact,” he said. “We used the internet as an organization tool so it was easier to touch people.”

He also stressed the importance of a solid ground game that is always prepared for the unexpected, saying “change favors the prepared mind.”

Dean went on to clarify how the Obama campaign strategy included all 50 states – a strategy first implemented by Dean in his 2004 campaign – even historically republican voting states like Utah and Texas. If time isn’t spent in a place like Utah now, there will be no chance to win that state in the future.

As an example, the Governor recalled how he initially told Obama not to bother spending money in Florida because it was a lost cause. He was glad to be wrong when Florida voted democrat.

Beyond political campaigns, Governor Dean praised young people who took action using tools including Change.org to petition Bank of America to reverse their decision to charge for checking accounts.

He also credited young people for incorporating more social responsibility and ethics into business models. Dean cited how some young business owners are making it part of their mission to “do good” and preventing shareholders from suing the company if they do not maximize profits.

“We are on the verge of a revolution; in fact it’s already started,” he said. “I don’t know where it’s going yet but it’s happening through the extraordinary power of the internet and it’s all about grassroots.”

He ended with a challenge of sorts – saying what young people are struggling with now is how to institutionalize the movement without denigrating the message or diluting the innovation.

The Luskin Lecture Series is designed to enhance public discourse on topics relevant to today’s societal needs. Bringing renowned public intellectuals and scholars together with national and local leaders, the Luskin Lecture Series presents issues that are changing the way our country addresses its most pressing problems. For more information on upcoming Luskin Lecture Series events, please click here.

 

 

Dean Gilliam and New Board of Advisors Discuss UCLA Luskin Strategy

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Members of the new 2012-13 UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs board of advisors met in a newly refurbished conference room at the school on Tuesday morning to discuss the School’s strategic plan and initiatives for the upcoming school year.

During the gathering, Dean Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. announced the appointments of Chair Susan F. Rice and Vice Chairs Cynthia McClain-Hill and Michael F. Fleming. Members provided feedback on the school’s mission statement and putting the strategic plan into action, and heard presentations by social welfare assistant professor Ian Holloway and social welfare Ph.D. candidate Sara Pilgreen.

The Luskin board of advisors is made up of civic leaders, business executives and social entrepreneurs. The full board meets twice annually in an effort to shape the School’s vision and strategic plan.

More pictures from the meeting

Harvard Law Professor and Obama Mentor Charles Ogletree Opens UCLA Luskin Lecture Series with Call to Social Justice

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Harvard Law School Professor Charles J. Ogletree launched the new UCLA Luskin Lecture Series with a stirring address that wove personal, political, and historical themes of the African American civil rights movement before an audience of more than 250 people at the California African American Museum on February 16.

Ogletree’s wide-ranging talk touched on the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that nullified separate but equal, the lives of Martin Luther King and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the law school academic performances of his former students Barack and Michelle Obama, and the arrest of fellow Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates in 2009. The Gates incident is the topic of Ogletree’s most recent book, Presumption of Guilt, which uses the case to analyze race, class, and crime in the U.S.

Ogletree set the tone for his remarks with a recognition in the audience of Luskin School Visiting Professor Michael Dukakis, whose 1988 presidential campaign was torpedoed by the infamous Willie Horton commercial that created a genre of political advertizing exploiting “race as the dividing line,” Ogletree said.

“Martin Luther King had a dream,” Ogletree said. “Now we must have a plan.”  He pointed out that the achievement of the nine students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas was not their enrollment in the school, but their graduation and matriculation to college. (One of the nine, Terrence James Roberts, in 1970 earned his Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from UCLA, a program now housed in the Luskin School, and went on to earn a PhD.)

Citing a wide range of issues and incidents, Ogletree, who also directs Harvard’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, emphasized that “social justice is not a regional problem, it is a national problem.”

“The divide between wealthier African Americans and poorer African Americans is greater than ever before,” he said, calling on the audience to see the link between link the 1964 Civil Rights march on Washington and the Occupy Wall Street movement that sprang up last year.

“If we can do the social justice thing, we can have a great United States,” he added.

Among the lighter moments in the talk, Ogletree confided insights on the Obamas from their law school days offering a dead-on imitation of Barack Obama taking over the facilitation of class discussions. He spoke of his admiration of Michelle Obama for her commitment to volunteer work in a legal aid office when she was a student.

He also offered a fresh telling of the Gates incident, amusing the audience with the insight that in the heat of the moment, Gates, an esteemed university professor in his own kitchen, “forgot he was a Black man” as he challenged the white officer by shouting, “Do you know who I am?”

“Race trumps class” is the lesson of the incident, Olgetree said.

Toward the end of his remarks, Ogletree paid a moving dual homage to his late father and to Thurgood Marshall with a story linking the importance of his father’s last-minute needing a hat to wear at his son’s swearing in at the Supreme Court. Not so coincidentally, Ogletree later realized he always felt a need to wear a hat at protests and rallies. 

He called on the audience to take on social justice concerns “as our moral mission.”

“We must dissent from the poverty of vision and the absence of moral leadership,” he said.

Recalling his observation of Thurgood Marshall’s wistfulness at the end of his career, he stressed the importance of carrying on from previous generations. “The next time you go through the door, leave it open for somebody else to follow,” he said.

The Luskin lecture Series was established as part of the recent $50 million gift from Los Angeles entrepreneur Meyer Luskin and his wife Renee to establish the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA, housing the Departments of Public Policy, Social Welfare, and Urban Planning. The mission of the lecture is “to feature renowned thought leaders who are involved with issues changing the way our country addresses its most pressing problems.”

Dean Franklin Gilliam Jr. introduced the lecture noting the Luskins’ challenge to the School to pursue social justice as part of the school’s mission and the appropriateness of Professor Ogletree as the inaugural choice, citing his career as an “insightful, careful, and critical
thinker about life and the law.”

Pollster and policy analyst Shakari Byerly (MPP ’05) said what resonated for her in the talk were the “the enduring themes of the struggle for social justice.”

“Professor Ogletree’s stories reminded me of my own family’s journey,” she said.

The event was co-sponsored by the UCLA School of Law’s David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy.

Luskin Center sets out to make L.A. a greener place to live, work The Luskin Center for Innovation has set a goal to produce research that will help Los Angeles become more environmentally sustainable

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By Cynthia Lee

Green power. Solar energy incentives. Renewable energy. Smart water systems. Planning for climate change. Clean tech in L.A. For the next three years, the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation has set an ambitious goal to produce research that will help Los Angeles and state and federal agencies reach the Holy Grail of environmental sustainability.

Five Luskin scholars are working on initiatives that could change how residents, businesses, industries and government meet the challenge of living more sustainably. The Luskin center is carrying out a mission that was broadly outlined by Chancellor Gene Block in his inaugural address on May 13, 2008: to marshal the university’s intellectual resources campuswide and work toward intense civic engagement to solve vexing local and regional problems. “I believe that UCLA can have its greatest impact by focusing its expertise from across the campus to comprehensively address problems that plague Los Angeles,” the chancellor told an audience in Royce Hall.

With an agenda packed with six hefty research initiatives, the center is diving into that task under the leadership of its new director, J.R. DeShazo, an environmental economist and associate professor of public policy who also heads the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. DeShazo took the reins in October when the center moved from the Chancellor’s Office to the School of Public Affairs, a move that took advantage of the school’s outward orientation. “It’s focused on policy solutions, so this is a natural place for us to grow,” DeShazo said. “But even though the center is located here, we’re very cross-disciplinary. We have researchers from chemistry, public health, engineering, the Anderson management school, the Institute of the Environment (IoE) and public policy.”

The five scholars working on the six initiatives are DeShazo; Yoram Cohen, an engineering professor and director of the Water Technology Research Center; Magali Delmas, professor of management and the IoE; Hilary Godwin, professor of environmental health sciences; and Matt Kahn, professor of economics in the departments of Economics and Public Policy and IoE. “We started off by identifying problems that our community is facing and that it can’t solve,” DeShazo said. Then, they asked two questions: “Does UCLA have the research capacity to address this deficit? And can we find a civic partner who can make use of this new knowledge?” Proposals were prioritized by a 16-member advisory board with a broad representation of business and nonprofit executives, elected officials and a media expert. Among the high-profile board members are State Senators Carol Liu and Fran Pavley; Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board; Los Angeles Council President Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel; Assemblymember Mike Feuer; John Mack, chairman of the Police Commission; and William Ouchi, professor of the Anderson School and chairman of the Riordan Programs.

“We take our research ideas and develop real-world solutions that can be passed on to a civic partner with whom we can engage and support,” DeShazo said. “We let them carry through with the politics of policy reform as well as the implementation. We don’t get involved in advocacy.” An array of local green research DeShazo recently completed Luskin’s first initiative with his research on designing a solar energy program for L.A. that would minimize costs to ratepayers. His research – the basis of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s new energy policy – proposes a solar feed-in tariff that would help everyone from homeowners and nonprofits to commercial property owners buy solar panels and be able to sell their solar energy to utility companies for a small profit.

Other Luskin research initiatives involve creating smart water systems for Southern California with water reclamation, treatment and reuse (UCLA researcher Cohen will work in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District); helping local governments plan for climate change (DeShazo with the California Air Resources Board and the Southern California Association of Governments); and reducing toxic exposures to nanomaterials in California (Godwin with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.) In another initiative in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the California Air Resources Board, researchers are compiling a database of jobs created by clean tech activities in L.A. County and will document best practices that other cities have used to attract and support clean tech development. Luskin’s Kahn is working with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to pinpoint what determines how much electricity is used by residential and commercial consumers and how the district can market its major green energy programs to increase participation.

Finally, Delmas is looking into whether the Green Business Certification Program approved recently by the City Council will reduce the overall carbon footprint of small businesses. The program offers incentives and assistance to small business owners in L.A. to become more efficient and less wasteful in their everyday practices. Those businesses that meet certain “green” criteria will be certified as being environmentally friendly. Her partner in this venture is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Fernando Torres-Gil Confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a Member of the National Council on Disability

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Associate Dean Fernando Torres-Gil has been named to an Obama administration post as a member and vice chair of the National Council on Disability.  This marks the third term of national service in a
presidential administration for Professor Torres-Gil, who previously served under President Bill Clinton and President Jimmy Carter.
Prior to his roles at UCLA, he served as a professor of gerontology and public administration at the
University of Southern California, where he is still an adjunct professor of gerontology. Before serving in academia, Prof. Torres-Gil was the first assistant secretary for aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as the staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Aging.  Prof. Torres-Gil also served as President of the American Society on Aging from 1989 to 1992.

Prof. Torres-Gil holds appointments as professor of social welfare and public policy in the UCLA School of Public Affairs and is the director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging.  Professor Torres-Gil is an expert in the fields of health and long-term care, the politics of aging, social policy, ethnicity and disability.

He is the author of six books and more than 80 articles and book chapters, including The New Aging: Politics and Change in America (1992), and Lessons From Three Nations, Volumes I and II (2007).  In recognition of his many academic accomplishments, he was elected a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America in 1985 and the National Academy of Public Administration in 1995.  He also served as President of the American Society on Aging from 1989 to 1992 and is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.  He is currently a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Polio Survivors, the National Academy of Social Insurance and of the board of directors of Elderhostel, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the AARP Foundation, the Los Angeles Airport Commission, and The California Endowment.