October 30, 2015
Niki and I were delighted to spend this past weekend with so many parents and students, as our entire community came together for Trojan Family Weekend. The curiosity and creativity of our students continue to inspire us, and made me even more excited about my decision to return to the classroom this spring to co-teach an undergraduate course with Professor Thomas Habinek of our classics department. Our class, The Culture of the Athenian Democracy, will explore the timeless wisdom of the ancient Greeks, whose ideals still inform so many aspects of modern society. Together with our students, we will delve into the tensions between law and ethics; democracy and oligarchy; and the individual and society. I very much look forward to sharing this experience with USC students; if you’d like to learn more about our course, please visit our webpage.
World Bachelor in Business
Our World Bachelor in Business program—now in its third year—continues to gain international attention, and admission is more competitive than ever. The program, which received a remarkable 400 applications for just 40 places this year, allows undergraduate business students to learn in separate, but intertwined cultures, as they spend a full year at three different universities: USC, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Bocconi University in Italy. This program offers a new model for international education, a point that the presidents of our partner universities and I expressed in a Huffington Post piece.
Acclaim for USC Viterbi School faculty
Three of our engineering faculty received particularly noteworthy attention in recent weeks. The Financial Times reported on a prosthetic brain device designed by USC Viterbi Professor Ted Berger and colleagues that could help people create new long-term memories. Their research might have a tremendous impact on treating Alzheimer’s disease, as the device makes it possible for the brain to bypass a damaged part of its structure that might impair memory. “It’s like being able to translate from Spanish to French without being able to understand either language,” Professor Berger said, in describing the device’s function.
Bhaskar Krishnamachari and Maryam Shanechi, meanwhile, were included among Popular Science’s Brilliant 10, a prestigious list of major scientific innovators. Professor Krishnamachari’s research on wireless communications could optimize traffic systems and reduce car accidents, and Professor Shanechi’s research on brain-machine interfaces could help paralyzed patients move their own limbs. Earlier in their careers, these two Viterbi faculty members were included among another impressive list: “the world’s top 35 innovators under 35,” published by M.I.T.’s Technology Review. Indeed, it is because of exceptionally pioneering scholars such as these that Reuters recently tapped USC for its list of 100 most innovative universities.
Construction on USC Village advances
During Trojan Family Weekend, many of our guests were amazed by the rapid transformation of our campuses. Some parents even commented on the growth they noticed in the weeks since they dropped their students off for school in August! Next fall, we will open a cutting-edge building for our Kaufman School of Dance, as well as Fertitta Hall, a new home for our undergraduate business students. But we’re seeing the most dramatic changes on the 15 acres across Jefferson Boulevard on our University Park Campus. There, along with a Trader Joe’s and a variety of retailers, the USC Village will add nine residential colleges and 2,700 beds for our undergraduate students, while also freeing housing for our graduate students. I had an opportunity to discuss this project, along with other topics, with the L.A. Business Journal.
Uber use expands at USC
As the university moves to become fully residential, I am delighted to report that our students are enthusiastically embracing our safe ride services, which we expanded dramatically through our new partnership with Uber. Along with our Campus Cruiser service, we offer students a ride back to off-campus housing after dark. The rides are free to our students, and average wait times for Uber are down to only two and a half minutes. The number of rides has tripled to 20,000 per week from last year, and we project there will be nearly 540,000 Uber rides alone this year. All of these changes speak to a longstanding shift in the culture of safety at USC.
Before closing, I would like to share that I was so humbled to learn that I was honored with an Academic Leadership Award from Carnegie Corporation of New York. I accepted this distinction along with the entire Trojan Family, as it was only made possible with the tremendous support I have received from so many friends and colleagues over the years. The distinction comes with a $500,000 grant, which I have directed to student scholarships at USC, including our renowned Neighborhood Academic Initiative. I am so grateful that we are able to further support these talented and deserving students, and in this same spirit of appreciation, Niki joins me in thanking you for your wonderful service as a USC Ambassador.
Yours truly,
C. L. Max Nikias
President