Money well spent

From time to time, yours truly likes to point to contributions to the university that DO NOT result in brick-and-mortar construction but which add to research, teaching, or other good services academia can provide. From the Bruin:

A social science research program at UCLA received a $2.85 million grant to research social problems including homelessness, poverty, crime and education inequality.

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation donated a total of $5.5 million to support the California Policy Lab, a research program at UCLA and UC Berkeley which partners with state and local governments to provide scientifically backed solutions to social problems.

The lab was established as a pilot program in 2017 with a $2 million grant from the Arnold Foundation. The foundation has called for the campuses to also donate to the lab, asking UCLA to contribute $1.85 million.

The lab is conducting research in areas such as criminal justice, homelessness, income security and employment, educational access and welfare.

The lab has partnered with organizations including the California Employment Development Department, the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative and the Los Angeles Police Department. 

The grant is part of the Centennial Campaign for UCLA, which seeks to raise $4.2 billion by December 2019.

Source: http://dailybruin.com/2018/05/29/lab-researching-scientific-solutions-to-social-problems-receives-2-85m-grant/