USC President C. L. Max Nikias and Niki C. Nikias arrive at the USC Village gala. (USC Photo/Steve Cohn)

Nearly 1,000 of L.A.’s most prominent business leaders, philanthropists and elected officials joined USC President C. L. Max Nikias and colleagues Tuesday for a festive gala celebrating the opening of USC Village.

“Tonight we can see the full span of USC’s extraordinary evolution from cornerstone to capstone,” Nikias told the crowd gathered in USC Village’s Central Piazza.

“And we recognize that the USC Village stands as the crowning achievement of all of our capital construction efforts, efforts that have been fueled and fulfilled by the philanthropic foresight of our entire Trojan Family.”

Among the attendees were most of USC’s trustees, including several whose generous gifts funded the residential colleges that are key to USC Village’s mission: David Bohnett; Charles Cale and his wife, Jessie Cale; Ray Irani; Kathleen Leavey McCarthy; and Shelly Nemirovsky and her husband, Ofer Nemirovsky.

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