An Arizona State University alumnus is returning as the first executive director of the newly created Congressman Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service in the College of Public Service and Community Solutions.
Alberto Olivas, previously the director of the Center for Civic Participation for the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), graduated from ASU in 1996 with a degree in anthropology. He went on to get his master’s in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University in 2007.
Jonathan Koppell, dean of the College of Public Service and Community Solutions, said having Olivas as the center’s first director is one of the center’s biggest achievements.
“He has been running programs at Maricopa Community College that are philosophically aligned with our objectives for the Pastor Center for years,” he said.
Koppell said the center will get “new blood,” particularly ASU students, engaged in the political system.
At MCCCD, Olivas developed civic engagement and education programs for 12 years. Koppell said Olivas’ track record and experience made him the strongest candidate out of several applicants.
“We were delighted to get Alberto as an applicant,” Koppell said. “I think that we couldn’t have had a stronger first director who will deliver on the idea of greater participation in the political system and as an educator who helps draw the links between policy outcomes and the political process. Sometimes that gets lost.”
Olivas is planning a student advisory council meeting within the next two weeks where he will talk one-on-one with students about their assumptions, expectations and goals from the center.
Olivas said he will work with students of all focuses and majors to help form their own form of political and civic engagement.
“Students will be able to have really beneficial experience and skills as a result of their involvement with the Pastor Center that (will help) them be effective as public policy advocates and … more competitive for scholarships, for graduate programs, for internships and for jobs in public service,” he said.
Olivas said he plans to work with students to focus on all of the dynamics of civic engagement: awareness, involvement, and interest. This interest, what he refers to as the “heart” of civic engagement, is where Olivas believes the faculty can play a major role.
Olivas said he wants to work with ASU faculty to build the connection between what students are learning in the classroom and how that applies to events going on in the real world. From this, Olivas believes the center can help students tap into what interests them and apply it to their community.
Though Congressman Ed Pastor donated his remaining campaign funds to the center after he retired, Olivas said he still plans on creating a development plan for fundraising that will include workshops and research projects as “earned income.” He said he intends to provide projects of value to the community where the center can provide services or experiences that people are willing to pay for. Another strategy he plans to employ is searching for support in the corporate and philanthropic community to fund experiences for students such as scholarships or internship programs.
Olivas said the congressman’s money enabled him to focus more on students.
Contact the reporter at Cecilya.Moreno@asu.edu.
