was born out of a real necessity,” said Dr. Martins.“ A traditional faculty member is an academician. The person ' s knowledge is quantifiable and specific. A community faculty member has skills that are equally valuable but not as quantifiable or as specific as we have defined it in academia. The community faculty contribution is qualitative; sometimes even beyond qualitative.”
The spirit of Loretta Jones has been evident throughout the development of community / academic relationship building.“ Dr. Jones called
Dr. Loretta Jones, 1941-2018 herself a PhD of the sidewalk,” Dr. Martins said. Successive community faculty echo that approach.“ I usually refer to them as resident experts. They ' ve been there all of the time and they have a unique experience. Academics have gained their expertise through PhD programs. But community faculty have gained their knowledge and expertise through life.”
What distinguishes community faculty is that their work allows these partnerships to look at critical issues bi-directionally, according to Ms. Lucas-Wright.“ Academics need information from the community to best serve clients and validate the mission of providing high-quality service. In bringing their specific knowledge and understanding of context, community faculty heighten the degree of value of the services provided, and add an all-important element of trust to the provider-client dynamic. They also add a degree of realism to these relationships, and add a level of authenticity that helps the physician and therapist gain community and family entrée.”
During her years as a Family Preservation program coordinator, Ms. Lucas-Wright needed to conduct a training session with a client family. But a time conflict prevented the mother from participating. So Ms. Lucas-Wright conducted the session in the car as the mother went to pick up her daughter at school, to avoid being accused of child neglect.
“ There are all kinds of social determinants that affect how clients participate in our programs,” she noted.“ They have to learn how to triage; how to figure out ways to participate without upending their lives. And they may not tell their doctor because all of that stuff is embarrassing and they didn ' t think that someone in authority might put their hands on them because they broke the law and their children are going to be taken away. There are many complications and layers of problems. But that is an example of how community faculty serve as a bridge.”
In Dr. Martins ' view, community faculty have an indispensable role at the University.“ CDU was founded to address specific community needs. Community faculty are an integral part of the University ' s research and education programs. If we don ' t have community faculty, our graduates will not be any different than graduates of other universities.
“ Our graduates need to have a sense of belonging to this community,” he noted.“ They need a sense that they are tailor-made for this community and communities like this all over the country and the world. This theme needs to be embedded in the curricular experience of the students on this campus.”
Given its proven value, how can the Community Faculty track be expanded at the University, as well as implemented in other academic settings?“ With additional professors who embed community faculty in their work,” is Ms. Lucas-Wright ' s initial thread. Citing the work of Dr. Mohsen Bazargan, Board of Trustee member and Director of Research in the Department of Family Medicine, she noted that“ Dr. Bazargan has a currently funded study project with community faculty occupying important roles as mentors.”
Dr. Bazargan ' s study is the only federally funded project of its kind in the nation that utilizes community faculty. That component stood out to the reviewers, according to Ms. Lucas-Wright.“ People in DC now see the community faculty element as an important, legitimate pathway to securing research funding.”
“ Folks need to take the idea of utilizing community faculty seriously and kick the tires like anything else,” she adds wryly. She also encourages researchers and agencies to begin the working relationship as early as possible to maximize the validity and quality of data.
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
1.“ Integrating Community Expertise into the Academy: South Los Angeles ' Community-Academic Model for Partnered Research,” Homero del Pino, PhD et. al., HHS Public Access Author Manuscript, 2016.
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