New director appointed to Eastside Project
By Melissa M.L. Walker
The Eastside Project is a program that started in 1986 with the intention of combining student learning with community service.
Although already very successful with the university and the students, Eastside will undoubtedly make some changes with a new director.
Her vast experience with mental health and service learning made her a prime candidate for the director position. A search committee consisting of faculty, administration and community partners headed the search for a new director. Vice Provost Sonny Manuel was part of the committee involved in hiring Wolff.
"I was aware of her past work and education in the Jesuit tradition," Manuel said. "I was eager for her to apply."
Although accomplished and fit for the job, Wolff faced strong competition. "There were strong finalist," Manuel said. "She was the first choice in a very competitive field." Wolff is entering the Eastside Project during a period of restruction as Eastside's new home, the student apartments that are now under construction, take shape. Wolff is excited about the new endeavor and the opportunities it will present for the Eastside Project.
"I think they want to house us in a student residence area so that we're rooted in the life of the university, which really was our mission to begin with," Wolff said. "We should be a bridge between the university community and the larger Eastside community."
The university may already have many plans for Eastside, but Wolff is brimming with ideas of her own.
"One thing that is exciting, is that the Jesuit community just gave a million dollar endowment to the Eastside Project, so we'll be able to draw on the interest from that to launch some new projects," Wolff said.
One of the projects she is thinking about would acquaint faculty with the Eastside Project in order to help them better grasp how the program works. Another plan is for the Eastside Project to fund student-community based learning projects in the summer."These are exciting possibilities," Wolff said.
With so many ideas, Wolff hasn't left the students out of her thoughts. Wolff and her staff at the Eastside Project are trying to implement a device to assess student feedback as far as how Eastside is working. Wolff said she felt this kind of information was very important for the Eastside staff to use.
Wolff has only been the director of the Eastside Project for two weeks, but already people are talking about what kind of impact she could make on the community.
"I think she is a very articulate spokesperson, someone who is working on a collaborative approach, and someone who joins a strong, efficient staff," Manuel said.
A San Francisco native, Wolff has a Bachelor's in art history and a Masters in social work. Although she has traveled extensively with her three children and husband, acclaimed writer Tobias Wolff, she is very familiar with Santa Clara and the Jesuit community.