As we welcome students back to our campuses, and celebrate a new academic year at USC, I want to turn your attention to the university’s stellar faculty. As president, I am continuously impressed by the many ways they advance scholarly and creative work in our world. Without question, they stand as leaders in their fields, as collaborators with their colleagues, and as mentors to our students. Understandably, throughout the year, I take tremendous pride in describing their successes to the larger Trojan Family.
To build on the many achievements of these faculty members and the solid foundation they have laid, the university has focused on a number of strategic recruitments in recent years. These scholars and artists—whom we refer to as transformative faculty—will jumpstart specific areas at the university, or bridge disciplines that will prove particularly crucial in the coming decades.
With today’s letter, I want to introduce you to an especially high-profile addition to the faculty of our Thornton School of Music: Glenn Dicterow, who has served as concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic since 1980. At USC, he has been named as the inaugural holder of the Robert Mann Endowed Chair in Strings and Chamber Music.
For Professor Dicterow, this marks a homecoming of sorts. Before arriving at the New York Philharmonic, he was a violinist with the L.A. Philharmonic for nearly 10 years, ultimately rising to the role of concertmaster. He grew up in Los Angeles, and studied with renowned violinist and USC faculty member Jascha Heifetz.
Professor Dicterow’s wife, violist Karen Dreyfus, also will join our faculty. She is an accomplished concert artist and music educator, having taught at Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School, and Mannes College in New York. She and Professor Dicterow bring that special blend of skills: in addition to being distinguished musicians, they are dedicated and inspiring teachers.
At USC, Professor Dicterow will take private students and lead chamber groups and master classes. Our students will have the opportunity to work alongside an artist who has reached the very pinnacle of his profession, while our entire community will benefit from his sublime musical talent.
I want to point out that this recruitment of transformative faculty spans all disciplines at USC, and Professor Dicterow is simply one example taken from a much larger cadre of eminent appointments. Our goal is to firmly establish the university as a place that defines excellence—in the arts and humanities, in the sciences and social sciences, in engineering, medicine and patient care, as well as in athletic spirit and public service.
This group of illustrious faculty also includes the new dean of our Davis School of Gerontology, Pinchas Cohen, who formerly served as vice chair for research at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he oversaw a number of teaching, training, and research activities. He is a preeminent researcher and a physician by training, and his studies in human development led him to focus on diseases of aging, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and metabolic disorders. At USC, Dean Cohen also holds the William and Sylvia Kugel Dean’s Chair in Gerontology and acts as executive director of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center.
In terms of his research, which focuses on the emerging field of mitochondrial biology, Dean Cohen and his team have worked to demonstrate the importance of mitochondrial peptides in aging and longevity. He is co-founder of CohBar, a biotechnology company that develops mitochondrial peptides for the treatment of diabetes. Since his recent arrival at USC, Dean Cohen has introduced several new initiatives, including the creation of a Digital-Aging Center and an effort towards Personalized-Aging. Dean Cohen is exceptionally accomplished, and we all look forward to his inspired leadership of our Davis School of Gerontology.
Continuing on the subject of transformative faculty, I want to emphasize once again the diversity of these appointments. In my letter last May, I introduced you to a major scientific recruitment from Harvard to our Keck School of Medicine, Dr. Andrew P. McMahon. He is a scientist of the absolute highest caliber, and is assuming a key role in USC’s efforts to lead the emerging biotechnology revolution. In that letter, I also announced the appointment of the new dean of our Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Steve A. Kay. He stands among the world’s top experts on genes and circadian rhythms, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
At USC, Drs. McMahon and Kay join Stephen Gruber, who now serves as director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. A medical oncologist, a cancer geneticist, and an epidemiologist, Dr. Gruber understands how the genes inside our bodies interact with the environment around us, but his agenda prioritizes a larger goal: clinical translational medicine. He seeks to seamlessly blend the basic and social sciences with clinical care. In doing so, he produces new drugs, new therapies, and new approaches to prevention that transform the way we fight every type of cancer. He is certainly an exceptional addition to our faculty, and ably represents the quality of recruitments we’re aggressively pursuing.
While I’m discussing the university’s remarkable faculty, I want to share a particularly touching story that involves one of our most high-profile faculty at the Keck School of Medicine: Dr. Vaughn Starnes. Earlier this summer, Dr. Starnes performed open-heart surgery on seven year-old Max Page, who was born with a congenital heart defect. Max is the child actor who appeared as “Little Darth Vader” in a popular Super Bowl commercial. During the two-hour surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Dr. Starnes repaired a hole in Max’s heart and replaced his pulmonary valve. Max’s new valve will last approximately 15 years, and will not require invasive surgery to replace. I share this story because it’s a very moving example of the singular work Dr. Starnes does every single day, and because it also reflects the extraordinary contributions of our faculty day in and day out. The enclosed insert describes Max’s journey in some detail, and I hope you enjoy it.
With this mailing, I also want to share the wonderful news that The Hollywood Reporter recently ranked the USC School of Dramatic Arts among the world’s top 25 drama schools. This ranking lists the very best places for aspiring actors to hone their craft, and draws on input from theater insiders and top casting directors. We warmly applaud this recognition, and I want to take this opportunity to note the school’s new name: USC School of Dramatic Arts (formerly the USC School of Theatre). This change reflects the evolving nature of this art form, as well as the school’s aim to prepare its students for a future that embraces many different forms of dramatic expression and platforms.
Finally, before I close, I want to share a thought-provoking piece by Rob Asghar, a fellow at our USC Center for Public Diplomacy. Mr. Asghar’s op-ed appeared in The Christian Science Monitor on the Fourth of July, and examines the immigrant experience in the United States. I believe its points are particularly relevant for the USC community, as we welcome so many students from all over the world.
Thank you for serving as an Ambassador for USC. I know you join me in eagerly anticipating another outstanding year at the university.
Yours truly,
C. L. Max Nikias
President