Beth (Kiki) Jamieson
Photo: Denise Applewhite
From the Sept. 11, 2005, Princeton Weekly Bulletin
Princeton University's Pace Center has a new director and a
clarified mission for getting students, faculty, staff and alumni
involved in public service.
Beth Kiyoko (Kiki) Jamieson, a lecturer in politics since 1999, has
been selected to lead the center after serving for a year as interim
director. Her appointment was effective July 1.
"She is dynamic and resourceful; she knows Princeton and the
surrounding communities well; and she is passionate about teaching and
engaging students in meaningful public service activities that will
enrich their learning experiences," said Janet Dickerson, vice
president for campus life.
During the past year, Jamieson has led an effort to update the mission
of the center with a focus on civic engagement. She also has
collaborated with colleagues across campus to plan a variety of
activities for the coming year centered on this theme, which involves
developing civic skills and leadership abilities, inspiring an engaged
citizenship, applying knowledge to real-life challenges and promoting a
civil society. Working with Jamieson is Elsie Sheidler, a two-year
member of the staff who was named assistant director of the center in
March.
"Under Kiki's direction, the Pace Center has been bringing all the
individuals and opportunities related to civic engagement to the same
table," said David Brown, program coordinator for the Student
Volunteers Council and a longtime collaborator with the Pace Center.
"They are creating the possibilities for a variety of approaches to
permeate into all areas of the campus community."
According to its new mission statement, the center is "the campus
advocate for civic engagement." The center plans to concentrate on
several areas, including: active involvement in the democratic process;
informed understanding of communities' needs and assets; sustained
focus on solving public problems, using academic, intellectual and
technical skills, and associated resources; and effective leadership to
promote the public good. Its work is intended to support the
University's commitment -- and informal motto -- to be "in the nation's
service and in the service of all nations."
The center works with all University constituents -- undergraduate and
graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni -- as well as with
community partners to serve as a central resource for civic engagement
and educational outreach opportunities.
"Our goal is to connect public service with the academic mission of the
University, and we do so by facilitating learning, teaching and action
in the public interest," Jamieson said. "We encourage students to
actively participate in public service, and to reflect on the ways
their experiences inform their scholarship."
Leslie-Bernard Joseph, a Princeton senior who is president of the
Undergraduate Student Government, reinforces Jamieson's platform:
"Professor Jamieson has always inspired activism in her students by
asking the tough questions that require us to dig deeper and determine
our level of commitment to bettering our world. It is an exciting time
for activism and civic involvement on campus, and the 'new' Pace Center
is leading the way."
During the next academic year, the center will be taking on several
projects with its new focus in mind. It will be supporting an effort
initiated by the Undergraduate Student Government to reinvigorate
public service and civic engagement at Princeton. The Princeton in the
Nation's Service Project is a month-long series of activities that will
take place throughout October. It will include large-scale activities
such as a walkathon, canal and park cleanups, and a closing event
highlighting the dimensions of service at Princeton as well as a
general effort to encourage Princetonians to incorporate public service
more consistently in their lives.
"The idea is to get people to use their talents and skills for the
public good in order to make the point that you can be 'in the nation's
service' by doing the things you already do and adding a twist,"
Jamieson said. "For example, a cappella groups could partner with a
Student Volunteers Council project to provide an opportunity for
students to sing and perform with after-school programs or at senior
citizen centers."
The Pace Center also is spearheading a thematic programming initiative
focused on class, providing a year-long opportunity to wrestle with one
of the most challenging political and social issues. Groups across
campus -- from the Graduate School to the School of Engineering and
Applied Science -- are joining together to sponsor events on this
theme. The idea was generated by a recent New York Times series titled
"Class Matters," and was endorsed by students.
"The series pointed out that class is more than just wealth, and that
the class divides are ever more significant in the United States and
abroad," Jamieson said. "What we recognize is that class is one of
those things that matters enormously at Princeton, but it is rarely
discussed, in part, because it can be so uncomfortable."
Another project the center is coordinating is a civic engagement
network -- a comprehensive searchable database of public service
opportunities for students, faculty, staff and alumni that will be
available on its new Web site by the end of September. The database
will include everything from classes and volunteer opportunities to
internships and postgraduate fellowships to alumni class projects and
academic events.
In addition, the center is hoping to encourage educational break trips.
"We plan to work with groups to help them to provide an opportunity to
learn about important issues by talking and working with
practitioners," Jamieson said. "A trip to the Midwest to work on a
Habitat for Humanity house would be combined, for instance, with visits
to local housing authorities to learn more about the issue of housing
and homelessness in that particular region. A week-long civil rights
awareness trip would involve visiting the places and people who shaped
the movement and learning about the recent developments."
The Pace Center intends to co-sponsor a number of initiatives, some of
which include a Scholars in the Schools program with the Graduate
School and a pilot externship program and social change career panel
with the Office of Career Services.
The Pace Center also has worked with the Office of Communications to
produce a brochure, "Engaging at Princeton," that describes learning,
service and leadership opportunities in civic engagement. "'Engaging'
provides a roadmap for undergraduates who want to access the many
resources available to make civic engagement a regular part of their
Princeton education," Jamieson said. The brochure is available online.
Jamieson taught at Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania
before joining the Princeton faculty. Her teaching and research
interests focus on the intersections of political theory, law and
gender. In the politics department, she has created larger courses such
as "Discrimination and the Law" and "Law, Politics and Violence," as
well as smaller undergraduate seminars on topics of gender, sexuality
and law. She is the author of the book, "Real Choices: Feminism,
Freedom and the Limits of Law," as well as articles and reviews on
subjects such as miscegenation, privacy, identity and hate speech. A
graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers
University.
Jamieson is active in several campus and community groups. She is a
faculty fellow of Wilson College, a mentor to the Princeton Justice
Project and an advisory board member for the Civic Values Task Force
and the Community-Based Learning Initiative. She serves on the
lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender advisory board of the Princeton Area
Community Foundation and on the advisory board for the Princeton Area
NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
The Pace Center was founded in 2001 as the Center for Community
Service. It is named for John Pace Jr., a member of Princeton's class
of 1939, and his wife Augusta Pace.
The Pace Center staff welcomes new ideas for civic engagement
opportunities and new relationships with campus and community
constituents. Contact Jamieson or Sheidler at (609) 258-7260 or stop by their office in 246 Frist Campus Center.
