Princeton Weekly Bulletin September 21, 1998
"Life in our office is never boring"
Three-person
Community and State Affairs team works to make good neighbors of
town and gownBy Pam Hersh
The three people in the University's Office of Community and State Affairs (CSA) act as liaison between the University community and its neighborswhich include individual citizens, organizations and government officials. Director Pam Hersh, Associate Director Karen Woodbridge and Administrative Assistant Blanche Scioli bring "town and gown" together in dozens of ways.
Working with community groups, state and local government officials, and other University departments, the CSA team helps put on such community oriented events as Communiversity, Curtain Calls, the Memorial Day Parade, June Fete, Fourth of July Fireworks, N.J. Legislative Symposium, Martin Luther King Day Celebration, Campus Volunteers in the Community Day and Community Service Information Fair.
This year, the Community Service Information Fair, at which charitable nonprofits can publicize their missions and recruit volunteers, will take place in the new Princeton Stadium as part of Community Day, October 10another CSA production. The Infor- mation Fair, as well as the Volunteer Day, which takes place in the spring, are part of the CSA effort to support faculty, staff and graduate students who want to volunteer in the community.
Eye on state, local laws
While always looking for opportunities to enhance the quality of life of the local community, CSA also keeps an eye on state and local laws and regulations that affect the University. The office gets involved in issues related to infrastructure; zoning and planning; downtown retailing; waste disposal; building codes; parking, roads and traffic; taxes and fees; open space and the environment; civil and human rights; health; energy; labor; immigration; and science and technology.
"Life in our office is never boring, though it's sometimes frustratingwhen we're unable to solve a parti- cular problem or meet a specific request. And it's always frenetic. But we all seem to thrive on the diversity and the pace and are anxious to respond to the needs of the community as much as we can," says Hersh.
Packet, Rotary, Continuing Ed
Hersh got to know the Princeton communityand the community got to know herthrough her years with the Princeton Packet as writer, columnist and managing editor. In her University position since 1990, she still writes a biweekly Packet column. Although a longtime member of several community boards, Hersh is more famous as the winner of a last-place award for "persistence" in the annual Bastille Day Waiter's Race.
Woodbridge, who joined the University and CSA 10 years ago, has worked on dozens of area boards over the years, including the Princeton Regional School Board. This past year she was the first female president of Princeton Rotary.