When the racially charged California prison riots broke out earlier this year, Cal Poly Pomona’s associate professor of political science Renford Reese began receiving phone calls from local newspapers, radio and television stations. Media outlets throughout the state sought Reese’s insight on race relations and the criminal justice system.

Political science associate professor Renford Reese says the connections he makes outside the classroom enhance his teaching.

Hundreds of faculty members, including Reese, contribute their expertise to the surrounding communities, whether serving as a fellow to assist private companies with innovative business methods, speaking with media about current topics or addressing business and community leaders at a symposium.

Reese, author of Prison Race, an examination of the U.S. criminal justice system, views his role as a vital service to the public.

“On average, people go to work for eight to 10 hours per day and are totally consumed with their jobs,” says Reese, who lectures regularly in California correctional facilities to inmates on the brink of re-entering society.“Often, they don’t have time to explore, read and investigate issues. But that is my job as an academic, and I can use that to stimulate healthy and civilized dialogue.”

In March, Reese discussed the prison riots on KCET’s “Life & Times” television show and in a KJLH radio interview. Later that month he gave a lecture at Suqian University in the Jiangsu province of China. During an academic year, Reese participates in at least 25 speaking engagements.

“As academics, we are charged with helping the public connect the dots and seeing the big picture from a theoretical and practical perspective,” he says. “Often, we are able to provide a comprehensive perspective on a particular phenomenon, and if we don’t share our research, in many ways, we’re cheating the public out of valuable knowledge.”

Police Chief Michael Guerin often responds to media requests for information on campus safety.

Not only that, but staying connected to the public community is also essential to his teaching in the classroom.

“It makes my teaching more authentic,” he says.“Students need to hear insightful stories. They want to know their professors breathed, lived and experienced different things, and you do that by getting out into the real world and sharing ideas and knowledge.”

Just this past May, Cal Poly Pomona faculty teamed up to offer Empire 2006, a daylong symposium forecasting social, political and economic trends for the Inland Empire.

“Our faculty needs to be linked to the communities to help them address the issues that the communities have identified as important,” says Barbara Way, dean of the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences, who helped to organize Empire. “It’s our job to reach out and provide whatever resources exist on a university campus to bear on those issues.”

“We need to get our voices heard in the community because we have real data that can be used in making the community a better place,” says assistant professor of sociology Faye Wachs.

Faye Wachs, assistant professor of sociology, was one of six Cal Poly Pomona faculty presenters at Empire 2006. She served as an expert on alternative work schedules and employee satisfaction.

“One of the most frustrating things for sociologists is that we collect so much good data on the social world, but it is really difficult to translate the information into a forum for the public,” says Wachs. “Empire 2006 was an outlet for that.”

Wachs also discusses her research on gender and sports issues with media outlets. She has been interviewed for a documentary on body image issues in American culture, and recently she was asked to speak on gender inequity in sports at the University of Texas at Arlington.

“We need to get our voices heard in the community because we have real data that can be useful in making the community a better place,” says Wachs. “We need to use our knowledge to inform policy and debate.”

Education professor Aubrey Fine, considered a pioneer in animal-assisted therapy, is an expert on issues confronting parents and children today.

Every day, the university receives requests for experts on relevant issues — from immigration laws to firescaping and obesity to real estate trends.

“The university’s experts routinely go above and beyond,” says Uyen Mai, senior media communications specialist in the university’s Office of Public Affairs. “They branch out to the community every day, speaking with reporters, appearing on television, writing books, consulting and speaking to organizations. It’s often time-consuming and challenging, especially when they’re squeezing in interviews and speaking engagements while balancing a full class load, but they see the benefits to the community and to the university.”

To help facilitate requests for experts and speakers, Public Affairs created Experts Online, an electronic directory showcasing the specialties of more than 300 on-campus scholars, professionals and administrators. Experts Online is a resource for journalists seeking specialists to comment on issues, individuals and organizations looking for speakers, and academics identifying opportunities for research collaboration.

Urban & regional planning professor Gwen Urey (in scarf) is actively involved in improving the Pomona community.

Gwen Urey, an urban & regional planning professor who is listed in Experts Online, says sharing her expertise on regional urban development is a responsibility as a faculty member.

“It’s a privilege to have this knowledge and education, and it’s my obligation to use it for the general good,” says Urey, a Pomona resident who speaks to media on current development trends and serves on the Pomona Planning Commission. “Most of my outreach is in the city of Pomona, so I also see it as an investment in my own community.”

For more information about Experts Online, call the Office of Public Affairs at (909) 869-5331 or visit http://experts.csupomona.edu.