With our spring semester in full swing, I am pleased to share a copy of my annual address to USC’s faculty. This year I focused a great deal on the timely subject of online education, as well as USC’s tremendous success in this increasingly important area. I believe online education will completely redefine higher education in the coming years, and that USC stands among our nation’s most innovative leaders in creating a viable, high quality model for remote learning. We have always maintained our rigorous standards of academic excellence in this area, and we are certainly not chasing or copying any other institution. Rather, we have been quietly exploring and evolving online education for decades, and today we offer a stellar model for others to study.
USC delegation visits Jakarta and Singapore
In late February, I led a delegation to Singapore and Indonesia, strengthening the university’s ties with top educational institutions in both countries, while reconnecting with our solid base of alumni, parents, and high schools in the region. In Singapore, we met with Professor John Wong, chief executive of the National University Health System, and President Tan Chorh Chuan of National University of Singapore, with whom we discussed ways to advance our mutually beneficial collaborations. During our time there, The Edge – Enterprise, a Singaporean publication, interviewed me regarding the future of online education, and I’d like to share the resulting article with you here.
In Jakarta, the USC delegation visited Universitas Indonesia, where we met with faculty and administration. In both countries, Niki and I hosted receptions for our alumni and parents, and I can assure you: the Trojan spirit is exceptionally strong in this region. USC continues to attract the most talented students from this part of the world, and we were pleased to meet so many potential applicants, parents, and high school administrators, as well as to connect them with our dedicated and passionate alumni.
USC officials join mayor in Mexico
Within the same week as our trip to Singapore and Indonesia, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti met with USC alumni in Mexico City, as part of his administration’s first international trade mission. Mr. Thomas Sayles, USC’s senior vice president for university relations, was part of the mayor’s delegation. The delegation discussed ways to promote business partnerships between Mexico and Los Angeles, and the mayor announced a new collaboration between USC and the Bank of Mexico Fund for Development of Human Resources, which creates joint scholarships for master’s students at four of USC’s schools.
LAEDC announces new university entrepreneur program
At an event attended by Provost Elizabeth Garrett, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) announced that it will coordinate a new entrepreneur program, one that will partner USC with other leading universities in our region, and draw on a multi-million dollar investment from Blackstone. The program—Blackstone LaunchPad—provides students with the tools to translate their ideas into innovations, as well as to become successful entrepreneurs in California. “Blackstone LaunchPad is bringing together three anchor institutions in Southern California: USC, UCLA, and U.C. Irvine,” said Bill Allen, the president and CEO of LAEDC. “(These universities) will not only offer programs on their campuses for their collective 110,000 students, but will connect to each other and share resources so that students can meet each other across universities, and across regions, and connect with a broader venture coaching community.”
School of Cinematic Arts showcases its research
Last month, our School of Cinematic Arts hosted an open house to showcase its exceptionally dynamic research, which covers areas as broad as entertainment, cinema, video game design, health, and education. Reporting on the event, Los Angeles Business highlighted Digital USC, our university-wide initiative to direct $1 billion in the coming decade to support digital scholarship, and focused on our School of Cinematic Arts’ outstanding Interactive Media Division. Professor Tracy Fullerton told the reporter, “We are defining the future of the film school.” Her words underscore the vitality and optimism of the division, the school, and indeed USC.
The following week, The Princeton Review ranked USC as the top university for game design in North America. The graduate program’s first-place ranking, shared by our School of Cinematic Arts and our Viterbi School of Engineering, marks the fifth straight year USC stands at the top.
USC Trojans at the Olympics
I am pleased to bring to your attention the new book University of Southern California: An Olympic Heritage, 1904-2012. Since the 1904 Olympics, the university has produced more Olympians, more medalists, and more gold medalists than any other school in the United States. Indeed, USC’s athletes have won a gold medal at every Summer Olympics since 1912, and this beautiful book gloriously captures that proud Olympic history. It is available through the USC bookstore.
Finally, I would like to remind you that the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books returns to USC’s University Park Campus on April 12-13. The atmosphere of this special weekend is always festive, and it’s a true celebration of community, creativity, and intellectual curiosity. Niki and I hope you will visit campus during this wonderful event.
Yours truly,
C. L. Max Nikias
President