By Tally (French '00) Flint
Ask John S. Park, Ph.D., to describe his classroom and you are likely to be surprised by his answer. He'll tell you about the Metrolink train that runs right through it, the aromas from ethnic restaurants that drift in through the windows, and the sounds of several dialects that blend to form a linguistic accompaniment to it all. From the skyscrapers of downtown, to the eccentricities of Santa Monica, to the luxury of the Hollywood Hills, the greater Los Angeles area provides a veritable feast of people and cultures. Smack dab in the heart of such diversity sits the new location for Azusa Pacific University's Los Angeles Regional Center, with Park serving as executive director. The L.A. Regional Center is one of seven Southern California regional centers serving the educational needs of students not able to attend classes on the Azusa campus. Many of the centers cater to nontraditional students pursuing graduate degrees, and Park is quick to point out that the L.A. Regional Center does not exist merely as an extension of the Azusa campus, but rather as an active representative of the Azusa Pacific community. "We have treasures here that make APU a wonderful place," he said. "Instead of these people coming to us, [the center allows] us to go to them. That service is really important." For the past year, the center has accomodated more than 60 students from a building with only one classroom, a library, and an office. Housing the Asian and Urban programs, the center accomodated morning and evening classes five days a week. |
The grant directly supports the center's Asian Program and will also provide additional library and technology resources. The Asian Program is sponsored by C.P. Haggard Graduate School of Theology and offers bilingual classes specifically directed to Asian church workers. HGST's Urban Program, which serves African-American urban church workers, operates out of the L.A. Regional Center as does the Department of Global Studies and Sociology's Los Angeles Term, an inner-city immersion program. The move also increasd the center's impact on the city of Los Angeles. According to Park, the larger space now allows the center to continue offering high caliber programs, while introducing many people to the mission and purpose of Azusa Pacific University. He intends to see the center maintain, and perhaps exceed, its current 90 percent retention rate. "Having a university presence in Los Angeles allows us to minister to the educational needs of the people who live there while representing APU beyond the Azusa campus," said Park. |
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