BY STAN PAUL
UCLA Today
The School of Public Policy and Social Research
formally launched the Center for Civil Society on Jan. 9 with
a wide-ranging discussion on the role of nonprofits and community
organizations in Los Angeles and the release of two reports,
including the first-ever overview of the nonprofit sector in
Greater Los Angeles and the economic challenges it faces.
The new center is directed by Professor Helmut
Anheier, who was recruited to UCLA’s Department of Social
Welfare from the London School of Economics. The center serves
as a focal point for programs and activities in nonprofit leadership
and management, community organizations and advocacy, international
non-governmental organizations and philanthropy.
“The launch of the center is a very important
milestone for the School of Public Policy and Social Research,”
said Dean Barbara Nelson. “It is part of our commitment
to Los Angeles and Southern California, as well as our commitment
to higher education,” she said, adding, “The one
thing we have learned in the study of public policy over the
last years is that without a strong civil society sector you
don’t have a strong democracy.”
In his welcoming address, Chancellor Albert
Carnesale said that he hoped the center would become a strong
interdisciplinary base for research and teaching. He also indicated
that the center would play an integral role in the UCLA in LA
initiative, which currently involves staff, faculty and students
in hundreds of community partnerships.
Joining in on the discussion were Barry Munitz,
president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust; Steve Soboroff,
president of Playa Vista and chairman emeritus of Big Brothers;
Jan Breidenbach, executive director of the Southern California
Association of Nonprofit Housing; Joseph Haggerty, president
of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles; and Bill Watanabe,
executive director, Little Tokyo Service Center.
Munitz said the reports issued by the new UCLA
center were a “giant step forward in providing insight”
on the nonprofit sector. The second report is a summary profiling
L.A. nonprofit human service providers.
