Nearly 400 people have signed a petition calling for UC Berkeley to increase funding for the campus Cal Corps Public Service Center.
The petition, started last Tuesday by student leaders within Cal Corps, requests the campus administration to approve proposals that would increase campus funding for the public service center. The request for additional funds seeks to rectify Cal Corps’ comparatively low financial support from campus.
According to Megan Voorhees, director of Cal Corps, UC Berkeley’s allocations for Cal Corps from 2013 to 2014 will fund 29 percent of Cal Corps’ budget, as compared to the 91 percent that public service centers receive on average at other public institutions.
“If this university wants to continue its reputation as an institution that provides for the public good, it must start by providing greater funding to its public service center,” the petition states.
Despite the small amount of funding it receives from the university, Cal Corps has been able to sustain itself in recent years through outside financial sources. However, Voorhees said that funding from other sources lacks the long-term stability required to finance Cal Corps services and that constant fundraising prevented members from taking on other roles.
“If we received more funding from campus, we could focus more on providing services and support to faculty and students instead of needing to focus on fundraising,” Voorhees said. “It also affects local nonprofits and schools, as we need to charge them placement fees when we place interns or literacy tutors with them.”
Cal Corps submitted a proposal for additional funding on Jan. 31 to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees, a body composed of 17 voting members that serves as an advisory group to the chancellor.
According to Olivier Bouan, student co-chair of the committee, the advisory committee will vote on submitted funding proposals or otherwise make funding recommendations to the chancellor, who has final decision-making authority.
Sarah Ducker, communications director of Alternative Breaks, a Cal Corps service-learning program, said that the widespread support for the petition is indicative of the center’s positive impact.
“It is an important place on this campus for students and engaging students in public service work, but it is also having a very positive and widespread impact on communities outside of campus,” Ducker said.
To Rebecca Fisher-McGinty, communications and education director of the Magnolia Project, an organization that serves post-Katrina New Orleans, Cal Corps resources have proved vital to the program.
“Cal Corps has helped provide the tools, the resources and the support for this program to flourish and thus provide opportunities for leadership on campus and for unique and meaningful experiences for thousands of students on campus in one way or another,” said Fisher-McGinty.
Andrea Guzman covers academics and administration. Contact her at [email protected] and on Twitter @guzmanandrea5.
Correction(s):
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees is a body within the graduate assembly. In fact, the committee is a separate campus body that serves as an advisory group to the chancellor.