At the 35th Annual Viterbi Awards on April 24, 2013, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering officially launched the School’s $500 million fundraising initiative as part of the Campaign for the University of Southern California, the $6 billion fundraising effort.
“Viterbi’s bold initiative is a very important part of the larger Campaign for USC, which is the most ambitious effort in the history of the university,” said USC President C. L. Max Nikias. “And I am thrilled that some 185,000 people have already donated to our overall campaign. We are very grateful to all of the generous individuals and organizations that have made such wise investments in the people and the future of USC. These people know that gifts of every size, both large and small, get us closer to our goal.”
Honorees at the gala event included Elon Musk, the recipient of the Daniel J. Epstein Engineering Management Award for his success with both SpaceX and Tesla; Debra Reed, recipient of the Mark A. Stevens Distinguished Alumni Award for her pioneering work as the CEO of Sempra Energy; and Fariborz Maseeh, recipient of the Entrepreneurship in Engineering Award for his ongoing philanthropy and sponsorship of the Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition.