SUNY prof speaks about community involvement

The best way to save the American city is by university involvement. And to prove his point, Henry Taylor, director of the Center for Applied Public Affairs Studies at SUNY-Buffalo, spoke to an audience of close to 50 at the Law School yesterday. Taylor, whose speech was entitled "University, Academically Based, Community Service and the Remaking of American Cities," began with strong rhetoric, maintaining a high level of intensity for his hour-long presentation. Taylor -- whose visit was funded by a $350,000 grant from the Ford Foundation -- told the audience that American society is in deep crisis and that race and the problems of the inner city are at the heart of the problem. "The term 'city' has become a metaphor for black, poor and liberal," Taylor said. He stressed that universities have to play a role in looking into the problems of the inner city. "The University is a rich storehouse of human and material resources," Taylor said. "There is no institution in society that has such an ability. "Deciding what role the University should play is one of the central questions of our time," Taylor added."It's against the particular backdrop of an American crisis?that we pose the question what role should the university play in solving urgent community problems." But Taylor cautioned that universities must first have a "paradigmatic shift" in the way they interact with their communities. Since the 1940s, the economy of the U.S. has changed from industrial-based to service-oriented, Taylor said, adding that this has caused a decrease in the work force and a proliferation of low wage jobs. And he also said the "second great black migration" to the cities was an additional effect of the change in economy. The northern jobs that had attracted many blacks soon disappeared after their arrival to the cities. By 1970, joblessness had emerged as the number one problem in the African American community, he explained. Taylor also spoke about racism and segregation and how whites used zoning laws to make the suburbs a "high rent district." He emphasized that urban decay is an assortment of complex problems which are "intertwined" and "interconnected." Director of Community Partnerships Ira Harkavy said the speech was eloquent and profound. "I thought he was inspirational," Harkavy said. "He was a perfect choice for the first academic service fellow. I think he certainly provided a wonderful basis for further discussion." One of the principles that Taylor stressed is that university education is not just a means to a job, but about making the world a better place. He said that although students are not responsible for the world they have inherited, they should strive to make the world a better place for the next generation. "You can be held accountable for the world you left behind," Taylor said. Pamela King, coordinator of the undergraduate social science initiative, said she thought the speech was excellent. "I thought he was fantastic," King said. "He was exciting, dynamic and he brought life to the idea of academically based community service. "He came to do more than just talk," he added. "I think Dr. Taylor's message is being absorbed in every practice at the University." And College senior Eve Greenspan agreed saying that Taylor sent an important message. "I thought he was very shaking in the sense that he really urged you to think about things you don't normally want to think about," Greenspan said. "I liked his style, he was very blunt and to the point." The event was sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, the Penn Program for Public Service, the Center for Community Partnership, the Urban Studies Program, the W.E.B. DuBois College House and Afro-American Studies Program.

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