USD Mulvaney Center Report 2018

The Karen and Tom Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness, and Social Action

Celebrating the Fabric of Community

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Director’s Note

Dear Friends, On behalf of the Karen and Tom Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness, and Social Action (CASA) it is my pleasure to share with you this overview of CASA’s activities. As the University of San Diego community imagines and implements the Envisioning 2024 strategic plan as well as celebrates CASA’s 30th year anniversary, we cannot help but think about our roots.

Aligned with USD’s core value of community, CASA invites individuals to expand their horizons outside of USD to join the broader San Diego and global communities. Through compassionate and reciprocal engagement, the lines between teacher and learner are blurred until we are in solidarity with one another.

Awareness involves the capacity to take in one’s surroundings and turn inward in order to gain clarity about how best to make a difference. CASA’s approach creates leaders whose actions continuously reflect a larger sense of responsibility towards others. Leaders who, through the practice of joining community, actively recognize and reduce the spaces that keep individuals and different communities separate.

The ability to be mindful of how one’s actions impact a larger societal context is at the core of social action. It manifests upon one’s transformation by a greater awareness of our interconnectedness in the world. We would like to thank you for your interconnectedness with CASA and for practicing social action as it shapes your decisions and way of living, with an eye and heart towards the ripple effects your actions have upon the world.

Most sincerely,

Christopher Nayve Associate Vice President, Community Engagement and Anchor Initiatives

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Faculty Engagement Impact Linda Vista Initiative

“ We have all heard stories that touch us, but the stories that move us to action are the most powerful. In a seemingly impersonal world, the Mulvaney Center creates a welcoming place that permits stories to be told, to be heard, and to serve as sources of inspiration to others so that meaningful action can be taken.”

— Judith Liu, PhD, Mulvaney Center Faculty Liaison / Professor, Sociology

Currently in its fourth year, Impact Linda Vista Initiative (ILVI) brings USD faculty and students together with community partners in order to co-create and develop innovative and sustainable course-based collaborations in Linda Vista. ILVI is funded primarily through a grant from U.S. Bank and is sponsored by the Changemaker Hub, in partnership with the Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness, and Social Action.

In Fall 2017, Dr. Jena Hales of the Department of Psychological Sciences, became an ILVI faculty participant with ongoing collaboration between her Clinical Neuroscience course and the Linda Vista Teen Center.

Dr. Hales and her students brought their excitement for learning about the brain to the Teen Center in the form of a hands-on experience with sheep brains. Students shared their knowledge about the nervous system and facilitated conversations with the teens about clinical neuroscience questions. Reflecting on these conversations, the class then worked in groups to develop and facilitate interactive, engaging presentations and demonstrations addressing some of the teens’ questions regarding neurological conditions.

Community Engaged Scholarship Dr. Sandra Sgoutas-Emch, Campus Compact Scholar in Residence and faculty director for the Center for Educational Excellence, defines engaged scholarship as a reimagining of the role of higher education and traditional research endeavors. Including community-based research as one of those modes of scholarly activity helps address the role universities can play in building strong community partnerships and improving quality of life. In Dr. Sgoutas-Emch’s words, “I am honored to have been working with such dedicated students and community partners for the past 20 years. Our work demonstrates the collaborative and reciprocal nature of such important and relevant forms of scholarship.”

“We are committed to learning and collaborating in, with, and from community. We seek to engage students in making critical connections between academic studies and social action, between intellectual inquiry and lived experience.”

— Kevin Guerrieri, PhD, Mulvaney Center Faculty Liaison / Associate Professor, Spanish

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I hope the teens see that a “scientist� does not have a defined gender, race, or ethnicity, but that we can all become scientists.

Jena Hales, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychological Sciences

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535 Students Who Completed 20+ Hours of Service

5,534 Undergraduate Participants

135+

130+ Faculty and Staff Engaged in the Community

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Community Partners

Commitment to Our Community

200+ Courses with Community Engagement Components

673 Graduate and Law Student Participants

378,189 These figures include faculty, staff and students who actively participated in multiple community engagement activities throughout the academic year.

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Total Hours of Engagement

Community Partnerships Beyond Borders and Fundación Gaia The Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action (CASA) strives to establish democratic and reciprocal partnerships with community-based organizations locally and abroad. Our community partners are professional activists and practitioners who play a crucial role in co-educating the USD community. As the closest Catholic university to the southern border, we very intentionally engage with community partners in Tijuana to be better aware of the issues affecting our border region.

Beyond Borders is a student-led group that supports CASA’s efforts to raise awareness and provide opportunities to engage with the border community. CASA and Beyond Borders have a long-standing partnership with Fundación Gaia, a Tijuana-based organization whose mission is “to provide sustainable support to vulnerable sectors of the Tijuana community, primarily through the education of the self.”

Beyond Borders and Fundación Gaia applied for the 2017 Social Innovation Challenge (SIC) and received $5,000 in seed funding from the university. The SIC funding provided support for Proyecto Albo, a job placement office for deported immigrants in Tijuana. Proyecto Albo reduces the vulnerability of newly arrived deported immigrants who may or may not have a support network in Tijuana and find themselves surrounded by complex challenges. The job placement office provides deported immigrants an opportunity to become integrated with Tijuana’s economy and community through jobs, training and networking.

“ I am grateful to be a part of a team that values different sources of wisdom and beauty.

We engage, learn and create memories with community partners on and off campus!” ­­ — María Silva, Director, Neighborhood and Community Engagement Partnerships

Grounded in Fundación Gaia’s years of experience working with migrant communities, the Mulvaney Center strives to support Proyecto Albo’s vision to provide services and leverage the skills of people who return to Mexico after years in the United States. Fundación Gaia Founder and Director Darinka Carballo describes Proyecto Albo as a “project with different forms of action that consist of short-term and long-term goals, dedicated to the integral support of the deported immigrant who lives in a state of vulnerability in the Tijuana community.”

“We are realizing that we are all migrants and that we all deserve a life full of dignity and self-sufficiency.”

— Antonio Irastorza ’17, Former Beyond Borders team member

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Course-Based Community Engagement From Cradle to Cradle Project

“Intentionally stepping into spaces with curiosity, vulnerability and empathy isn’t always easy, but always generates opportunities for learning, growth and change.”

— John Loggins ’95, ’12, Director of Community Engaged Learning

Professor James Ong’s Philosophy 111 course participated in a project titled “From Cradle to Cradle,” a project funded by the Mulvaney Center and the Center for Inclusion and Diversity. The project required students to conduct oral history conversations with members of the Iraqi and Syrian communities in El Cajon who have been displaced from their homelands since the Gulf War and the Syrian Civil War. Students were invited to explore the connection between human nature and the value we imbue to our home or the places that nurture us. Students partnered with the New Americans Museum, a San Diego nonprofit organization that serves as a catalyst for celebration of America’s past and promise through inspiring educational and cultural programs that honor diverse immigrant experiences.

MICAH Summer Fellowship Co-created with St. Mary’s College of California, the MICAH Summer Fellowship is a unique immersive experience. This eight-week service and leadership fellowship takes place in Oakland, California.

Through the generosity of Karen and Tom Mulvaney, 12 fellows fully immerse themselves in an intentional community focusing on and continually practicing five core principals: (1) Spirituality/Reflection, (2) Leadership, (3) Humility, (4) Community, and (5) Social Justice.

Over the course of the eight weeks, MICAH fellows are asked to work full time at a local organization working for equity and positive social change, live in community together at Alameda Point Collaborative (permanent housing community for chronically homeless families) and engage in an adaptive leadership curriculum.

As we enter the fourth year of the MICAH Fellowship, we will be expanding internationally to Tijuana while continually supporting and challenging our students to take up the practice of Changemaking.

“By conducting interviews with immigrants and advocates, engaging in group discussions and having a journal for reflective writing, we were able to engage in and outside of the classroom.”

— Hannah Rouret-Valencia ’20

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One of the biggest takeaways from MICAH for me was learning practices and tactics to reflect and care for myself so that in the future I can better serve others.

Amy Maltz, MICAH Fellow 2017

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Co-Curricular Engagement MacDonald Scholars

“There are at least two things I know to be certain. One is the obligation we have to connect with those around us, and the other is the capacity to love — do one and the other seems to follow.

Interaction of any sort, whether in your community or with the person right next to you is the impetus for just that. It’s the spark that allows us to see someone for who they truly are.”

— Austin Galy ’17, Assistant Director, Student Leadership & Learning

Fall 2017 marked the inception of the Scott MacDonald Community Scholar Program. Each year, thanks to the generosity and dedication of Scott MacDonald, four incoming first-year students will receive an annual scholarship in exchange for participating in the Mulvaney Center’s leadership program and providing 280 hours of community engagement with a local or global community-based organization.

The MacDonald Scholars will spend those hours immersed and engaged with community members throughout San Diego. Through a relationship- and trust-building approach, the students work alongside anchor partners, helping to champion community-led efforts while further enhancing the university’s solidarity with the community.

As part of the initiative, students utilize their immersive learning experiences to begin identifying specific passions for community engagement. Each scholar then enhances and develops a final capstone project to illustrate and measure their collective efforts throughout their four years as MacDonald Scholars.

Guatemala Immersion Joining communities in authentic ways is at the core of the Mulvaney Center’s immersion practice. Each immersion experience highlights different themes relevant to geographic location, history and culture, amongst other elements. CASA sustains meaningful partnerships with Guatemalans currently in the United States. One of these community partners and former resident of Linda Vista is Irma Lopez, who opened the doors of her family’s home in Guatemala to welcome USD students. Engaging with Irma’s family in Guatemala helped us to better understand the factors influencing migration and the impact of this complex reality for family members in the United States and elsewhere. The Guatemala Immersion invites students to further their understanding of border issues through a human lens.

“As I traveled, in my heart I wanted to help change the lives of the people I met as best I could; however, what was surprising was that as I returned home, I was the one changed by them.”

— Karen Ovadia ’18

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Thank You to Our Campus Partners USD has a long tradition of community engaged scholarship and practice. The following are some of the areas and centers making a difference locally and globally: Admissions Alumni Relations Associated Students Athletics Career Development Center Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research Center for Educational Excellence Center for Inclusion and Diversity Center for Peace and Commerce Changemaker Hub College of Arts and Sciences Community and Government Relations Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science Humanities Center International Center Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies Office of Sustainability Office of the President Office of Undergraduate Research Parent and Family Relations Residential Life School of Business School of Law School of Leadership and Education Studies Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering Student Affairs Student Leadership, Involvement and Changemaking Student Support Services The Non-Profit Institute Torero Program Board TransBorder Institute United Front Multicultural Center University Communications University Ministry University Relations University Scheduling Women’s Center

We recognize that being a great global university starts with being a great local university.

As we celebrate the 30th year of the Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action, we are reminded that global citizenship begins at home. The Mulvaney Center, coupled with the University of San Diego’s designation as an Ashoka Changemaker Campus, provides us with a meaningful framework for helping students explore, discover and step into their roles as responsible citizens on and off our campus.

Through democratic and reciprocal partnerships, faculty, students and administrators foster genuine collaboration between higher education and our larger community as we expand our work as a major anchor institution in San Diego.

James T. Harris III, DEd President, University of San Diego

University of San Diego The Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action 5998 AlcalĂĄ Park, Maher Hall 218 San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 260-4798