The University College has undergone many changes since its inception in 1999 - it has shortened its name from the cumbersome University College of Citizenship and Public Service, expanded its programming, and spent increasing amounts of funds on community projects. Its success, however, remains untested.
Under former Tufts President John DiBiaggio's original conception, the advancement of University College alumni would measure the program's achievement.
But because the program is only five years old, alumni have not yet completely settled into adult life - they are applying for graduate school, searching for jobs, and completing projects started under the program, according to Nancy Wilson, director and associate dean of the University College.
The funds being expended are significant, however, since members of the Omidyar Citizenship and Public Service Scholars program are each offered $6,000 in grants to cover individual and group projects.
Scholars can also apply for extra funds for their civic engagement projects. "Scholar project awards have ranged from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the nature of the project," Wilson said.
The Omidyar program originally included only 40-50 students. It has now expanded to accept 18 new students this year. Originally meant to be the main focus of the College, the program is now just one branch of it.
According to program alumnus Brad Crotty, now a student at Harvard Medical School, one problem with the Omidyar program is the yearly student turnover in community projects. "There are weaknesses with new students coming in every year. It was hard to continue every year."
Crotty said that the University College is attempting to overcome such weaknesses. "The UCCPS has a level of 'successorship,'" he said. "When we graduate, we have a built-in successor. I have been back to the Sherwood clinic, but there's a new team of students."
Crotty focused on improving social services at Sherwood, a free medical clinic, as an Omidyar scholar.
The University College does cut failed projects. "It's important for us that you have to invite some people to leave to better the health of the program," Wilson said.
However, "for the most part, we help students recover [failing projects]," Wilson said. "The danger is that you raise community expectations and you don't show up."
Before funds are disbursed, the College's board of overseers speaks to everyone involved with its funded programs to regulate efficient allocation. "We are constantly revising and updating our use of resources to best meet their needs," Wilson said.
Increased funds have also led to an expansion of the staff to 12.
"The founding funders specified that the Scholars Program should include an equal scholarship award to each participant, regardless of financial need," Wilson said. "To date we have done exactly that. In return, [these participants] have to meet certain requirements of the Scholars program."
While many alumni, such as Christina Zahara, who is now in South Korea teaching English at a middle school as a Fulbright Fellow, do go on to achieve aims supported by the College, not all projects are continued after graduation, though this is one of the program's main objectives.
"Our policy is that every student should have some understanding of their role in civil society," Wilson said.
The grants were formerly funded solely by the Omidyar Foundation, a financial relationship that came under scrutiny two years ago. Now, Wilson explained, "We partner a lot. With [The Omidyar Foundation] as our base, we've gotten a lot of other alumni who contribute on a regular basis."
Crotty saw the University College as "a framework to do your own project," he said. "I think the program's role is to facilitate sophomores and juniors who [haven't been involved in] their community to get connected."
Wilson agrees. "We encourage [Scholars] to think and plan carefully," she said.
As a result of Crotty's University College project, Crotty is pursuing a graduate degree specializing in social services.
Zahara partially credited the College for her continuation in the field of social service. "I am [in South Korea] right now in part because of the opportunities I had through the University College," she said.
"I received an Active Citizenship Summer Grant to volunteer intern at Holt Ilsan Welfare Town, a facility centering around the care of physically and mentally disabled Korean orphans," Zahara said. "It was a powerful experience."
The University College has also expanded beyond its Scholars program in the past few years. It now encompasses funding for faculty projects, people from outside of Tufts who come to teach courses, Tufts alumni, as well as for on-campus leaders in other programs such as LCS, Jumpstart Tufts, and Hillel.
