September 30, 2015
The academic year is off to an outstanding start, and Niki and I were so pleased to personally welcome students back to campus. We always enjoy move-in day, as it’s our opportunity to spend time with first-year students and their parents, and to experience firsthand the enthusiasm and optimism they all feel about the year ahead. Their passion and drive certainly inspire us!
Among this group of new students is the inaugural class of our Kaufman School of Dance. Their arrival represents a landmark moment in our university’s history, and one that drew significant notice in The New York Times. In the article, USC Trustee Glorya Kaufman, the school’s namesake, praised the university’s progress in fulfilling her ambitions. The story also included an interview with the school’s director, Jodie Gates, who said the school nurtures “the next generation of hybrid artists—creators, innovators, entrepreneurs.” The article mentioned that world-renowned choreographer William Forsythe is on the school’s faculty; his storied career—which now spans several decades—has combined visual art, architecture, media, and other disciplines to break entirely new ground in the world of dance.
The Kaufman School of Dance is the university’s sixth arts school. It stands alongside our schools of architecture; art and design; cinematic arts; dramatic arts; and music, all of whose work is complemented by that of our Dornsife College’s art history department and our two outstanding art museums. USC currently has 6,000 students who are pursuing degrees in our arts schools—a distinction that sets the university apart from other major research institutions.
Iovine and Young Academy featured in WIRED
The work being done at our arts schools also complements that of our Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. This month, WIRED magazine presented a lengthy cover story on the academy and its benefactors, Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young, the artist who is popularly known as Dr. Dre. In his letter to readers, the editor-in-chief, Scott Dadich, wrote, “Walking into the brand-new free-form lab space, talking with Iovine and the students who signed up for his and Dre’s vision, I was struck by a sense of possibility and an optimism that reminded me of how I felt that first year at WIRED.” WIRED also has partnered with the USC Roski School for a graduate level program focused on integrated design, business, and technology.
Luis Alfaro profiled in the Los Angeles Times
A wonderful example of the extraordinarily creative work being done at our arts schools is that of Luis Alfaro of our School of Dramatic Arts. Professor Alfaro—a recipient of the highly prestigious MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant—has adapted several Greek tragedies for Los Angeles audiences, bringing these ancient stories to contemporary settings. His most recent, “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles” draws on the story of Medea, presenting a Mexican family that immigrates to Boyle Heights. The Los Angeles Times published an excellent story on Professor Alfaro’s thought-provoking and pioneering plays, and offered fascinating insights into his creative process.
USC Shoah Foundation gala
Earlier this month, Niki and I traveled to Detroit for the USC Shoah Foundation’s Ambassadors for Humanity Gala, an event that brought together nearly 650 supporters. This year, the event honored businessman and philanthropist William Clay Ford Jr., the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, for his philanthropic vision. At the event, USC Trustee Steven Spielberg, who established the foundation in 1994, and Mr. Ford announced they are partnering to expand the Shoah Foundation’s educational reach to Detroit-area students through IWitness. This educational website provides access to more than 1,500 histories and testimonies of survivors and witnesses of genocides, and has already proven to be an invaluable teaching tool for teachers throughout the country. A number of celebrities attended this year’s gala, including singer James Taylor and actors Steve Carell and Halle Berry.
As the semester progresses, I am delighted to report that our students are enthusiastically embracing our safe ride services, which we expanded dramatically this year through our new partnership with Uber. This fall, we provided nearly 16,000 safe rides in the first week of the semester, compared to 2,000 safe rides during the same week last year. I will write more about our increasingly effective program next month, but I wanted to preview this wonderful news with you now.
As always, Niki and I truly appreciate your exceptional dedication to our university, and your continued service as a USC Ambassador.
Yours truly,
C. L. Max Nikias
President