With our fall semester drawing to a close, I’m pleased to share some exciting news from our campuses. In October, USC hosted its 2011 Global Conference in Hong Kong, drawing alumni and influential leaders from throughout the Pacific Rim. Our esteemed trustee, Ronnie C. Chan, served as our conference co-chair, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Thomas L. Friedman, delivered a highly engaging keynote address.
Mr. Friedman’s remarks preceded a series of thought-provoking panels, which taken together, reflected the tremendous breadth of USC’s scholarship and creative work, as well as its exceptional reach in the Pacific Rim. The plenary panel on The Future of Business in a Global World attracted considerable attention among regional media, as it was a rare and special opportunity to hear from Chengyu Fu, a USC trustee and the highly distinguished chairman of Sinopec, China’s largest refiner. Another lively panel examined opportunities for collaboration between Chinese and American cinema industries, while the remaining panels covered an array of topics, ranging from the future of engineering to the power of the arts, from U.S.-China-Taiwan relations to the psychological effects of disasters.
At the conference’s conclusion, Provost Elizabeth Garrett announced the establishment of a new international arts fellowship, offered through the graduate programs of USC’s five arts schools (architecture, cinematic arts, fine arts, music, and theatre). This fellowship will bring the most talented and promising artists from across the Pacific Rim and key emerging nations to our campuses. Together, they will form a vibrant community at USC, while building a global network that will flourish long after they leave our campuses. This initiative will also contribute to Los Angeles’ already-dynamic cultural landscape.
In addition to this fellowship program, Provost Garrett announced the continued expansion of USC’s international offices, as the university established new offices in Shanghai and Beijing, with another office slated for São Paulo, Brazil. I hope you enjoy the enclosed photo collage, which captures the most memorable highlights from our three days in Hong Kong.
While on the subject of our international reach, I also want to share that the new leader of Libya’s transitional government, Dr. Abdurrahim El-Keib, is an alumnus of USC, having earned his M.S. in electrical engineering from our Viterbi School of Engineering in 1976. Dr. El-Keib emerged victorious from a field of ten candidates, following a long period of exile. As his nation’s new acting prime minister, he quickly pledged to respect human rights and international law, and I know we all wish the very best for the people of Libya as they move valiantly toward democracy.
Shifting to another topic, you may have already noticed that the graphics on USC materials look somewhat different than in the past. Earlier this fall, USC updated its graphic identity, formally adopting a system that provides a strong, consistent look for the university across a range of media and materials. This includes a redesigned USC logo and monogram, as well as updated typefaces. These changes reflect many elements of the university’s previous graphic identity, including the use of the university shield, which is taken directly from our historic seal.
The evolution of our graphic identity signals USC’s continued ascent. As USC assumes its place among the world’s leading research universities, and as we launch our historic fundraising campaign and a new strategic vision for the university, we must strengthen and align our graphic identity to reflect the exceptional caliber of our students, faculty, academic units, and programs. With this change, we turned a page in the university’s long and storied narrative, and began a fresh chapter in our celebrated history. In a very literal sense, we will write USC’s story with new tools, ones that reflect our community’s collective ambition, optimism, and creativity.
With this letter, I also want to share a piece that Professor William Tierney and I recently published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, in which we offer our thoughts on the future of higher education. We hope you find it informative.
As always, I want to thank you warmly for serving as a USC Ambassador. We truly appreciate your continued support of the university—and all that you do to advance its mission in our communities. I very much look forward to writing to you throughout the year.
Yours truly,
C. L. Max Nikias
President