About CSA

The Pam Rector Center for Service and Action (CSA) is a hub for students, staff, and faculty who seek to form a more just society through partnerships with local and global community partners. CSA supports all forms of community engagement including direct service, immersion, philanthropy, advocacy, political engagement, and community-based learning.

History of the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action

1982: Educational Participation in Communities Program

In 1982, Mr. Richard Riordan and Fr. Donald Merrifield, SJ, President of LMU, signed an agreement establishing the Educational Participation in Communities Program (EPIC) Program for Community Service. Mr. Riordan endowed the EPIC Program in 1983 for the purpose of promoting, coordinating and supervising volunteer service with charitable agencies among Loyola Marymount University undergraduates.

1999: Center for Community Service and Internships

In the fall of 1999, EPIC was renamed the Center for Community Service and Internships (CCSI). The new name more succinctly and aptly described the function of the office in linking students with community service or assisting students in internships.

2000: Pam Rector Center for Service and Action

In the summer of 2000, CCSI was renamed the Center for Service and Action (CSA). The office was moved from Career Development Services (CDS) and became a department under the Dean of Students. It is hoped that this change would allow a better integration of community service with the many clubs, Greek Societies, Service Organizations, and residence halls.

2022: Pam Rector Center for Service and Action

In May of 2022, the Center for Service and Action was formally named after its founding director and became the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action. Over the course of her 22 years at LMU, including 20 as founding director of CSA, Pam Rector helped revolutionize how LMU shares our mission with the world and ensures that our students become people for and with others. During her impactful tenure, the number of LMU service organizations grew to 10, including more than 450 students. Ms. Rector was a driving force behind the creation of the LMU Children’s Center, and she was a mentor to innumerable students and staff.

Pam began her professional career at Lennox Middle School, first as a counselor, then as vice principal, from 1980-1997, gaining experiences that she treasured and that informed her work. Her transformative work helped forge the renowned El Espejo mentoring program, an enduring connection between LMU and the Lennox district.

Pam’s legacy inspires and lives on in the collaborative efforts of students, staff, and faculty actively engaged in building the type of communities they want to inhabit.

Values

Community: We intentionally welcome and celebrate students from diverse backgrounds. We provide students opportunities to expand their relationships and involvement outside of LMU through engagement with local and global community partners. We honor the wisdom held in these communities and strive to learn with one another as co-creators, co-teachers, and co-learners.

Social Action: We commit to being people for and with others. Our sense of solidarity and interconnectedness moves us beyond compassion to social action. We aspire to form leaders who disrupt systems of injustice and oppression and use what they have learned to actively create the type of world they want to inhabit.

Cura Personalis: We believe in caring for and supporting the wholistic development of all our students, staff, and community partners. We prioritize their mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being because we care about them as human beings.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: We value diverse stakeholders, identities, perspectives, histories, and ways of knowing. We build inclusive communities that value the inherent dignity of every person.

Learning Outcomes

Students involved with the Center for Service and Action within Student Affairs will:

• Develop a well-defined sense of self and confidence in their abilities and gifts.
• Integrate knowledge and experience in the process of discernment to make life-giving decisions.
• Take initiative to make meaningful contributions as citizens within and beyond their communities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of the human experience and embody the ideals of interculturalism.

First-year students involved with the Center for Service and Action within the Student Affairs will:

• Value the opportunities for exploration and growth created by participation in this diverse university community.
• Know the availability of University resources and access them when necessary to enhance their success as University students.
• Become engaged members in the University community.
• Develop personal accountability, good judgment and independent thinking toward a balanced life.

Partners and Volunteers

CSA serves as a liaison between the university and the community. CSA seeks to connect LMU students with non-profit agencies through community service opportunities while fostering long standing commitments and relationships with agencies through the Community Partners program. Our goal is to connect you with our students in ways that will build your capacity and help you fulfill your mission and programs.