Omidyar scholars change name, process

With name changes and attempts to reach out more to the Tufts community, the University College of Citizenship and Public Service is in the midst of great change and expansion, according to Dean Rob Hollister.

Formerly known among students as UCCPS, the college is reinventing itself with new programs and a new name. Now known as the 'University College' (UC), is trying to emphasize its image as "a university-wide initiative to prepare students for lifetimes of active citizenship," Hollister said.

Although the school's mission has not changed, there are signs the program is accelerating. "The changes in the UC have to do with greatly increased scale and impact of our projects," Hollister said.

In a second name change, the program formerly known as Omidyar Scholars, will now go by the name of Citizenship and Public Service (CPS) Scholars. The program was originally named after the Omidyar Foundation which funded the program. "It was a way of encouraging other people to fund the scholars and fund the program," said Mary Smith, a CPS Scholar who worked at the University College over the summer. According to Smith, the change was also about having a more descriptive, more pronounceable name.

The college is now accepting applications for eighteen new CPS Scholars. Previously, incoming freshmen applied to the program through a mail in essay

"Recognizing that students are not in the best position to make important decisions about applying for such a demanding group before they have even arrived on campus, this year the format has been changed so that applications are distributed to freshmen in the beginning of October, after they have gotten a feel for the community," CPS scholar Chelsea Bardot said

The change comes as the college tries to reduce concern about its on-campus image.

"There has been some negative feeling around the Scholars, by students and faculty alike, that we are some elusive, exclusive group getting funds to create bogus community projects," Bardot said. "We are now trying to dispel that image."

For a program training people whose actions could potentially be felt by many, the UC's on-campus image has not been seen by many who are not active within it.

"You could say that we're too invisible, but that may not be such a bad thing," Hollister said. Because the majority of the UC's work is done by individual faculty and students working on projects, Hollister believes that the decentralized nature of the UC is in no way indicative of its success. "The UC's role is one of support for students and faculty who are already dedicated to helping the community."

According to Hollister, the school should not measure its success solely by the number of people aware of the program. The best measure of success "will be the active citizenship of Tufts alumni in government, business, and in the non-profit realms," Hollister said.

Students involved in the programs expressed similar sentiments. "The UC has been criticized in the past as only focusing on the Citizenship and Public Service Scholars Program, and not offering much to the actual campus, but if one looks at the changes that have occurred over the years and the changes in the works, this criticism seems to have lost its weight," said CPS scholar Zach Baker.

"One of our major programs, the Faculty Fellows, has doubled in size since the inception of the UC," Hollister said. This group of devoted faculty lead the projects that the CPS scholars will undertake during their time at Tufts.

A greater number of distinguished civic leaders are coming to Tufts to speak with the UC about their role in the community. "We have former New Hampshire governor Jean Shaheen coming in to teach a course at the UC, and she meets individually with students, too," Hollister said.

A major boon for the sheer size of the UC has been the recent relocation of the Leonard Carmichael Society's offices to the Lincoln-Filene center, right next to the UC. The new set up of the two organizations should greatly increase the visibility and resources of the UC on campus, according to Hollister. "The fact that our two offices are now co-located has already created an ongoing consortium of initiatives," he said.

Further proof-positive of the UC's expanded programs and successes is the national recognition it has been enjoying, Hollister said.

"I've just recently been invited to come speak at Princeton University about civic programs at their school," he said. He believes that Tufts is increasingly seen as a role model for many of the nation's top schools.

The budget of the UC still comes mostly from the Omidyar Foundation, a $10 million gift from Pierre and Pamela Omidyar, Tufts alums and founders of the internet auction site eBay. The UC draws support from six other local and national foundations, individual donors, and a small portion of the endowment. With the name change, the UC hopes to attract other donors.

"The increasingly large amounts of money the UC is gaining from groups and individuals demonstrates that Tufts' pioneering work is attracting new interest from the community," Hollister said.

Hollister believes that opportunities are expanding dramatically for all Tufts students. "The number of internship opportunities, training workshops and conferences has been increasing exponentially each year," Hollister said.

On Friday, the UC sponsored a half-day conference entitled "Balancing Society & Economy." It focused primarily on social enterprise and corporate citizenship, outlining how the corporate world can balance profit-oriented goals with responsible actions.

The UC has been constantly evolving and refining it activities. Empowered by its success, UC administrators hope to continue to improve into the future.

"In my two and a half years with the UC, I have never known a time when we weren't developing and changing and trying to better reach the wider Tufts community and beyond," CPS scholar Lilly Schofield wrote from Tanzania.