I am so pleased to focus this month’s letter on the extraordinarily generous gift that USC recently received from philanthropist Glorya Kaufman. Her gift will create and endow the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and construct the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center at USC. This new school will offer instruction in contemporary and classical dance, while establishing a new, world-class home for dance education on the west coast and in the Pacific Rim.
The enclosed brochure describes Ms. Kaufman’s philanthropic vision — as well as USC’s ambitions for the school — in greater detail. To announce this gift, we placed ads in a number of leading newspapers and dance publications throughout the United States, and I’d like to share one of those ads with you here. As you can imagine, Ms. Kaufman’s gift marks a magnificent milestone in the life of our university.
The USC Kaufman School of Dance is the first school to be established at the university through an endowment in nearly 40 years, and is scheduled to enroll students in the fall of 2015. Ms. Kaufman’s gift will also create an endowment to support the school’s programs and faculty, as well as student recruitment and scholarships. Robert Cutietta will serve as the inaugural dean of the Kaufman School of Dance, while continuing to serve as dean of the Thornton School of Music.
Students at the USC Kaufman School will earn a bachelor of fine arts in dance, and have the opportunity to double major or minor in other disciplines across the university, thereby enjoying the benefits of attending a large, dynamic research university. USC currently has nearly 6,000 students who pursue degrees in the arts—an unprecedented number among American research universities.
Ms. Kaufman’s historic gift — one of the largest in the history of American dance — will create USC’s sixth arts school. The Kaufman School of Dance completes USC’s vibrant portfolio of visual and performing arts programs, as it assumes its place alongside our School of Architecture, School of Cinematic Arts, School of Dramatic Arts, Roski School of Fine Arts, and Thornton School of Music. Along with these schools, the university offers impressively diverse academic arts programs, including an outstanding department of art history, housed in our Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Around the world, Ms. Kaufman’s name is synonymous with the performing arts. Through her visionary philanthropy — and her sheer passion for dance — she has become a beloved patron of the art form. Her esteemed name will certainly enhance the school’s reputation, while ensuring that the university is able to transform the lives of generations of students, as well as the future of dance in Los Angeles and around the world.
This gift significantly elevates Ms. Kaufman’s profile as an arts philanthropist, placing her among the world’s leading supporters of dance. This is only appropriate: in person, her dedication to dance is immediately palpable. She draws on a lifelong love of the art form, as well as an enduring desire to see others benefit from its transformative powers, its ability to raise spirits and dissolve problems.
For several decades, Ms. Kaufman has squarely focused her energy on philanthropic ventures, forming a foundation to support dance, fine arts, theater, education, research, medicine, and other interests. In Los Angeles, she established Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, and she has contributed significantly to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and The Juilliard School, as well as other venerable organizations.
In directing her philanthropy to USC, Ms. Kaufman has chosen to focus strategically on dance education. She has expressed her twofold wish to prepare dancers to be both exceptional performers and skilled businesspeople, to equip them to ably navigate the professional aspects of an artist’s life. As part of USC’s neighborhood outreach programs, the university will also establish dance programs for high school students in the USC Family of Schools. Indeed, with this gift, Ms. Kaufman will help nurture the success of generations of dancers — a goal that ultimately benefits all of society.
As USC looks to build on its already-stellar foundation in the arts, the creation of the Kaufman School of Dance represents a significant step forward. Our ambition is to make the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance the most elite on the west coast and in the Pacific Rim. We are so pleased to partner with Glorya Kaufman in this journey, and to join her in dramatically elevating dance education and dance performance for future generations.
Yours truly,
C. L. Max Nikias
President