USC’s commencement ceremony last month was exceptionally glorious, as we cheered nearly 16,000 new alumni, and welcomed more than 60,000 visitors to our campuses. It was an exhilarating day—the university’s 131st commencement exercises—and the accompanying photos capture our community’s collective joy, and highlight some of our distinguished speakers.
This year, six extraordinary individuals received honorary degrees from USC, including our commencement speaker, Marc Benioff, a pioneer of cloud computing, as well as the founder and chief executive officer of salesforce.com. In addition to Mr. Benioff, we recognized B. Wayne Hughes, the visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist, and co-founder of Public Storage; Shonda L. Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal; Phillip A. Sharp, the world-renowned biologist and Nobel laureate; James Simons, the venerable mathematician and philanthropist whose work led to Chern-Simons invariants; and Twyla Tharp, the exceptionally innovative dancer and choreographer.
These six individuals stand as stellar role models for our students, each of whom has a special story. The week of commencement, the Los Angeles Times published lengthy pieces on two of our graduating students, each of whom typifies the dedication of all our students, as well as the sacrifice and support of their loved ones. The first story traces the journey of Nana Numapau, who came to the United States from Ghana in 2001, and graduated from our School of Pharmacy as president of his class. In Ghana, Nana only had a single pencil for school, and avoided sharpening it, as he knew it must last him for years. His deeply inspiring story—which culminates in a degree from USC—reminds us of the continued power of the American Dream.
The second story focuses on Ryan Williams, who received his Ph.D. from our Viterbi School of Engineering. Ryan is paralyzed, but was able to complete his engineering graduate studies online at USC. His academic journey reflects his personal resilience and remarkable dedication, and stands in tribute to the excellence of our online education programs, which offer tremendous flexibility to students.
While I’m on the subject of accolades and Trojan pride, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our provost, Elizabeth Garrett, who was recently elected to the governing body of the American Law Institute (ALI), a prominent legal organization that promotes legal reform and advocates for improvements in the law. An elected member of the ALI since 2008, Provost Garrett is the only university provost to currently sit on the council.
USC Pacific Asia Museum
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times published an excellent profile of the new director of the USC Pacific Asia Museum, Dr. Christina Yu Yu, who currently serves as a curator of Chinese and Korean art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In the story, Dr. Yu, who joins USC on August 1, said she looks forward to forging new links between the Pacific Asia Museum and USC’s academic programming. In announcing the appointment, Provost Garrett said Dr. Yu is the right leader to ensure that the museum reaches new heights as part of USC Arts.
USC Athletics advances
As many of you know, USC recently emerged from NCAA sanctions, and a number of media published articles reflecting on this four-year period. One story in the Los Angeles Times focused on our Office of Athletic Compliance, noting that it is now considered one of the finest in the nation, and ranks among the largest in college sports. The story also noted that the university’s administrators have worked to foster a strong relationship with NCAA leadership.
As the university moves forward, and we continue to support our outstanding student-athletes, I would like to share a story that the Associated Press published regarding a proposal by Pac-12 university presidents to advance significant changes to the NCAA model. This article includes the full list of proposals.
Men’s tennis wins national title
Last month, we were thrilled to see our men’s tennis team win the 2014 NCAA championship—USC’s 100th all-time NCAA title! (This also marks the university’s 122nd national title, as 22 have come in non-NCAA competitions). Our men’s tennis program has claimed a record 21 national championships, and head coach Peter Smith now holds five NCAA championships—second only to George Toley, who won 10.
Niki and I truly appreciate your continued dedication to the university, and hope your summer is off to a wonderful start. I look forward to writing you again in August. In the meantime, I will continue to post photos and news about USC on my Instagram account. I encourage you to follow me; my username is uscpres.
Yours truly,
C. L. Max Nikias
President