Installed by President C. L. Max Nikias as the 21st dean of USC Dornsife, Steve Kay reminded faculty and friends that “at our core, we are a community of humanist and scientific scholars, here to serve society.” During the ceremony, Nikias presented Kay with a miniature armchair set inside a glass case. It is symbolic of the Anna H. Bing Dean’s Chair that Kay now holds.
To a standing ovation, Kay stood and expressed his gratitude to the two people he said were instrumental in his decision to become a Trojan: Nikias and USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett.
“Together they are building on USC’s great traditions and entrusting faculty and students with the freedom to generate and execute fresh ideas,” Kay said.
Kay, who is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), was installed as the dean of the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences on November 8, 2012. Dean Kay overseee a large academic division that includes a graduate program ranked first among its peers in 2011 by the National Research Council.
“I often say, ‘The College is the beating heart of our university,’ ” USC President C. L. Max Nikias said. “And this could not be more true. So few individuals have the breadth of experience, the depth of intellectual training, and the leadership skills to assume such a challenging and important role, but I’m confident when I tell you this afternoon: We have found the very best.”
One of the world’s top experts on genes and circadian rhythms, Steve Kay has published more than 200 papers and has been cited in Science magazine’s “Breakthroughs of the Year” three times since 1997.