In this installment of Executive Insights, we speak with Dr. Felicia Pratt, Director of Building Operations and Community Outreach at the University of Southern California’s Capital Campus — the university’s Washington, DC home for its alumni, faculty, staff and students, 2,600 miles from Los Angeles.
A Study Abroad, Without Leaving the Country
Pratt holds two USC degrees — a Master’s in Communication Management and a Doctorate of Social Work — and now runs operations and community outreach at the university’s DC campus.
The campus exists to shorten the distance between USC’s research and the people who need it.
“The mission of USC’s Capital Campus is to accelerate our impact, provide a place, a home for not only our alumni, but our faculty, staff and students,” Pratt said. “It’s almost like a study abroad, but a study in DC type of program.”
“We have a lot of research, we have experts, and we would like to share that here in DC,” she said — with the aim of being “top of mind to various organizations when they need information.”
The People in the Building
Proximity changes who walks through the door.
“I work with people that I don’t think I would ever have an opportunity to work with,” Pratt said. She names Adam Clayton Powell III and Barbara Starr, the former CNN correspondent. “Just people of that magnitude I get to work with on a regular basis. I don’t know if I would have been able to do that anywhere else.”
It is also, she says, simply a good place to work: “Honestly, it has been the best job that I’ve had. I feel like they really care about the people that work here.”
Why a University Plants a Flag Here
USC brings specific initiatives to DC because DC is where their subject matter lives — among them an election cybersecurity initiative and an organization for inclusive democracy.
“DC has a lot to offer, right? If you want to work on policy, you want to be in politics — whether it’s health care, health policies, arts, whatever it is, DC is the place to be,” Pratt said. “So I think that’s what draws universities.”
The Neighborhood
The campus sits in the Golden Triangle, and Pratt credits the BID directly.
“The location offers a lot of amenities — restaurants, hotels, arts, the Golden Triangle BID, and we are enjoying working with them here in this area,” she said. “They have been very helpful to us in helping connect with locals here. They have different art programs going on throughout the year, and they keep the area very vibrant.”
What the Students Get
The clearest return is on the students who rotate through.
“Being here allows us to give our students real-world experience,” Pratt said. “They get internships on Capitol Hill. They can work at different nonprofit organizations and think tanks and really get that hands-on experience of what it is that they’re studying.”
For USC’s students, she says, the DC term has been memorable — which is, in the end, the argument for a campus 2,600 miles from the main one.
To hear more from Dr. Felicia Pratt and other business leaders choosing Washington, DC, explore the full Executive Insights series.