Civic Engagement VP discusses vision for community

It’s been a long road for Earl Paysinger. He became an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1970s and served for over four decades. Afterward, he sought to make a difference in the community by empowering youth through the LAPD Cadets Academy Leadership program since 2006. Now, he has made the decision to join the Trojan Family as the new vice president of civic engagement.

“He’s got an intimate knowledge of the city, particularly the areas surrounding our campuses,” said Thomas S. Sayles, senior vice president of university relations, in an interview with USC News. “Part of his role was to engage with the community, and this will be an opportunity to utilize all that experience to further expand our work with residents and community-based organizations.”

Now with some experience after starting work in July, Paysinger talked to the Daily Trojan about his experiences at the University thus far and the changes he plans to make in the future.

Daily Trojan: Could you give a quick summary of what the VP of Civic Engagement does? What would be a typical day for you?

Earl Paysinger: There’s never a typical day. Our primary responsibility, as I mentioned earlier, is community outreach and community development. Not only looking at vast territories of the community and business centers, but even beyond that to create opportunities for our youth to learn and grow. It’s also about making opportunities for businesses to become more sustainable and productive. That not only builds the character of the business, but allows them to  hire local workers, people with families that live in the [place] and worship in the neighborhood. As these businesses grow, and economic opportunities grow for families, it helps families become more solid and meaningful.

With civic engagement, part of what we do is we act as a conduit to nearly 20 other community outreach systems. Many schools and colleges have their own civic engagement or community outreach opportunities for individuals who are responsible for that, and we partner with them and help them understand some of the other programs and resources that are available throughout the University. They can apply them to their school or college, so not only are the students and faculty and community aware of what that school has to offer, but they are aware of other opportunities in the University.

Additionally, we provide opportunities for students to volunteer, for outreach, and for mentoring in the community. I recently had the opportunity to speak with 500 freshmen from the New North Residential College not too long ago at the start of the new year, and I challenged them to imagine what would it be like if every student every week for 52 weeks volunteered one hour a day. That is the kind of crusade that Civic Engagement is trying to make happen, so USC not only becomes the most preeminent learning institute in the world, but also sets the standard for community outreach and service to which all other learning institutes in the world are held by.

DT: What made you want to step up and be a part of the Trojan family in the capacity that you are now? And why community outreach through USC?

EP: The community outreach and youth development really have defined who I am and who I have been for many years. I started out as a member of the LAPD, and I recognized early on the idea of community outreach and youth development. Partnering with the community can help them become safer and more sustainable, but also help them achieve identity and fortitude, which was really the principle way I believed could address crime and quality of life in the community.

I was [contacted] by the USC administration, specifically President Nikias, and I mentioned to him I was nearing retirement. We talked about the importance of outreach, which for decades has been a principal mission. It seemed to me that there was not only a nexus but almost a symbiotic relationship between his vision and the vision of the University and mine, as I had come to believe, not only for the LAPD and law enforcement in general, but for USC. It was a perfect match.

DT: What do you feel is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

EP: Probably seeing the joy of young people realizing their dreams. So often young people and families in the community aren’t provided the opportunities or they don’t know about them. To give an example, in the Neighborhood Academic Institute, kids have an opportunity to participate academically in a  program that guarantees them the ability to be students at USC starting in middle school. What’s better than that? To help a young person realize his or her dream, I can’t imagine that there’s something better or more meaningful besides raising your own kids. This is not only what USC does, it is what USC is defined as.

DT: Let’s say you still have the job five years from now. What is the number one thing you hope you would have accomplished by then?

EP: Part of it to create a symbiotic relationship between the community, not only with USC on this campus, but also the health science campus. It’s creating a symbiotic relationship between the community, with business interests of the community and with students in the community. What I hope to accomplish is that they will look to USC as an institute upon which they can depend and live more productive and prosperous lives.