NIH funds “big data” neuroscience; Annenberg Hall opens new era for journalism

USC, Professors Paul Thompson and Arthur Toga received two Centers of Excellence awards from the National Institutes of Health. The centers—with combined funding of $23 million—will form part of a “big data” initiative, which will make massive biomedical data sets more accessible to researchers. We also marked the official opening of Wallis Annenberg Hall. This leading-edge facility bears the name of one of the university’s greatest supporters; as USC’s longest-serving trustee, Wallis Annenberg has provided stellar guidance and counsel to our university for more than four decades….Continue Reading NIH funds “big data” neuroscience; Annenberg Hall opens new era for journalism

USC Trustees

USC President C. L. Max Nikias and Niki C. Nikias with USC Trustees. From left to right: Glorya Kaufman, Dana and David Dornsife, John and Julie Mork, C. L. Max Nikias and Niki C. Nikias, and Pamela and Leonard Schaeffer….Continue Reading USC Trustees

Why elite universities should admit more community college grads

The Washington Post, Opinion, originally published on October 23, 2014.

“The reality is that some students with the right combination of talent, creativity and personality will not begin their academic careers at a selective private university. Many won’t apply, while others simply require more time for polish or introspection. The most academically driven will hone their skills and prove themselves in a two-year program, emerging more motivated, more mature and hungrier than ever.”…Continue Reading Why elite universities should admit more community college grads

USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience breaks ground

USC President C. L. Max Nikias (left) presents philanthropist Gary K. Michelson, M.D. and his wife, Alya, the gift of a framed rendering during the USC Michelson Center Groundbreaking Celebration, Thursday October 23, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (USC Photo/ Gus Ruelas)

USC made a historic first step in the interdisciplinary area of convergent bioscience, as campus leadership broke ground on the new USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. Generously supported by a $50 million gift from Gary K. Michelson, a retired orthopaedic spinal surgeon whose groundbreaking work generated more than 955 issued or pending patents worldwide,…Continue Reading USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience breaks ground

Monument honors CA legislator, USC alumnus Alfred Song

USC President C. L. Max Nikias, USC Trustee Edward P. Roski, Jr., alumni, friends, family and supporters of the late Honorable Alfred Hoyun Song gathered on October 3, 2014 to unveil the Alfred Hoyun Song memorial monument. The monument is located in the plaza outside of the Metro Purple Line Wilshire/Western Station in Koreatown. Hon….Continue Reading Monument honors CA legislator, USC alumnus Alfred Song

Welcome back to campus, fellow Trojans

USC President C. L. Max Nikias and Niki C. Nikias celebrate homecoming weekend on campus before the USC-Colorado football game. Photo by Karen Ballard.

More than 80,000 USC alumni, students, and Trojan Family members gathered during a weekend of festivities and spirit for Homecoming 2014. USC President C. L. Max Nikias and Mrs. Niki C. Nikias welcomed alumni organizations representing many facets of the more than 350,000 living alumni across the globe. Pictured here, Dr. and Mrs. Nikias celebrate…Continue Reading Welcome back to campus, fellow Trojans

The Human Health Renaissance: USC’s Duties, Dreams, and Destiny

Delivered on October 9, 2014 to the USC Health Sciences Faculty

My fellow colleagues, we irreversibly committed the entire, worldwide Trojan Family, in perpetuity, to taking a leadership role in the human health revolution. Of course, in times of change, being reasonable and conventional isn’t how you become a leader. And so all of you responded with characteristic boldness and determination….Continue Reading The Human Health Renaissance: USC’s Duties, Dreams, and Destiny

Annenberg Hall opens new era for communication and journalism

MSNBC news anchor and USC alumna Alex Witt, USC President C. L. Max Nikias, Wallis Annenberg, and Dean Ernest J. Wilson III of the USC Annenberg School.

The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism inaugurated a new era of digital media education, communication and production with the grand opening of the visionary Wallis Annenberg Hall on October 1, 2014. A crowd of more than 500 students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and friends of USC Annenberg cheered the ribbon-cutting that marked the…Continue Reading Annenberg Hall opens new era for communication and journalism

Leavey, Chan, and Dauterive families augment their USC legacies

Dauterive Hall opens

The USC community came together to formally dedicate Dr. Verna and Peter Dauterive Hall, the university’s first interdisciplinary social sciences building. Leavey Honors Hall, made possible by a generous $30 million gift from Trustee Kathleen McCarthy and her family’s foundation, speaks to her longstanding commitment to our undergraduate students. Ronnie Chan and his wife, Barbara, honor Ronnie’s dear mother, and endow the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.
Continue Reading Leavey, Chan, and Dauterive families augment their USC legacies