USC College : College Magazine : Fall 2005 : Faculty

USC College > College Magazine > Fall 2005 > Faculty

Chemist Amy Barrios is one of three junior faculty awarded a Gabilan Assistant Professorship.

USC Alumnus Ray Irani established an endowed chair in chemistry, now held by Jim Haw, to support faculty excellence.

The Rev. "Chip" Murray joined the faculty after 27 years as a practicing pastor at L.A.'s First A.M.E. Church. He holds the Tansey Chair in Christian Ethics.

Heavy Weights, Emerging Leaders and Rising Stars

USC College's Bold Search for the Best and Brightest Expands Faculty and Diversity

In large part, it is faculty members who shape and drive academia.

“Our faculty not only teach and conduct research, they envision where future discoveries could be made,” said Joseph Aoun, dean of USC College.

The College has had a strong faculty, albeit a small one, for decades. In 2000, Dean Aoun and his faculty colleagues set out to enlarge the faculty — and make it extraordinarily richer, in quality, diversity and relevance — in an unusual way.

Building on a reputation for giving professors the freedom and resources to introduce innovations into their teaching and research, the College launched the Senior Faculty Hiring Initiative, a bold plan to bring 100 new faculty to campus, both senior professors of global renown and younger “rising stars” who had demonstrably outpaced their peers.

In keeping with a forward-looking strategy to prepare students for a rapidly changing world, the initiative focused on scholars expert in more than one discipline, leaders in emerging fields and those intent on changing established fields.

To date, the initiative has brought nearly 80 leading faculty to campus, joining senior professors who, in many cases, were already at the top of their fields. The College also has continued to recruit promising junior faculty, with 90 hired over the last five years.

“In terms of our overall growth, the College faculty size is now at a historical high point with approximately 480 tenure-track members,” Aoun said. “Thanks in large part to the tremendous efforts of Beth Meyerowitz during her tenure as dean of faculty, we have made amazing progress toward our goal. We do not plan to rest on our laurels, however. We will capitalize on this momentum and continue to search in all disciplines for the most outstanding and innovative scholars.”

In the same time period, the College reported that underrepresented minorities in tenured or tenure-track positions have increased by 53 percent and the number of women has increased by 40 percent. “We are proud of this track record, but we want to do even better,” said Aoun.

Wayne Raskind, professor of mathematics, concurred. Since assuming the post of dean of faculty in USC College over the summer, much of the responsibility for overseeing the hiring of new faculty, as well as the career development and progress of all faculty members, has become his.

Raskind said that even with the recent growth, the College faculty remains small compared to peer institutions. “But,” he said, “the time is ripe to get even more aggressive in recruiting prize scholars and providing them with the resources required to keep them at the leading edge of their disciplines.”

Faculty endowments have often played key roles in attracting senior scholars to the College, according to Raskind. Endowed chairs fund a portion of a professor’s salary and help provide equipment, laboratory space and support personnel. The support also enables faculty to launch new projects and embark on new, risky avenues of research without the restrictions of typical grants.

An endowment gift from avid conservationist Paxson W. Offield enticed marine geneticist Dennis Hedgecock to come to the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies from a 25-year career at UC Davis. He pursues genomics research on endangered wild fisheries and the aquaculture industry, as well as more esoteric studies of evolution.

“I thought it would be a real shame if we put together an entire marine sciences research center only to find there are no more fish in the ocean. And that’s the direction we’re headed,” said Offield. “I was happy to endow the professorship. The Wrigley needed someone who could train the future leaders of fisheries biology and policy.”

A gift from USC alumnus Ray R. Irani, who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at USC College, endowed the Ray R. Irani, Chairman of Occidental Petro-leum, Chair in Chemistry and played a critical role in recruiting award-winning hydrocarbon chemist Jim Haw from Texas A & M University to USC. Haw’s work has led to the creation of new catalysts widely used in the oil and pharmaceutical industries.

“The chair was essential in drawing me to USC,” Haw said. “It’s a distinct honor and a privilege to hold the Irani Chair, and to be working at USC College in my field.”
“Endowed chairs are one measure of the prominence of a university. Great universities have great chairs,” Haw said.

Endowed chairs have helped the College recruit a number of sterling faculty from prestigious universities. James Higginbotham, the Linda MacDonald Hilf Chair in Philosophy, came from Oxford University. Thomas Jordan, the W.M. Keck Foundation Chair in Geological Sciences, left a post at MIT.

Younger faculty can get a much-needed boost from endowed chairs as well. Amy Barrios, who joined the College in 2003 as the Gabilan Assistant Professor of Chemistry, received one of three endowed Gabilan five-year, rotating professorships designed to assist junior faculty in setting up their labs and launching their scientific careers. Barrios, whose expertise is in medicinal chemistry, studies the chemical activities of metals and metal-containing therapies within the body.

This year, an endowed chair helped to lure septuagenarian the Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray out of retirement. Murray, who joined the College faculty this fall as the Tansey Chair in Christian Ethics, served as senior pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) for 27 years and remains a prominent leader in the Los Angeles community. Murray, who is also a senior fellow at the College’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, lectures on spiritual and societal issues and serves as a liaison between USC and its surrounding community.

“Reverend Murray is a distinguished civic leader who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the USC campus and our surrounding community,” Aoun said.

To continue to recruit and retain preeminent researchers and teachers, the Tradition & Innovation initiative includes increasing endowed chairs and professorships among its top aims.

“The drive to continue building our faculty will benefit the entire university,” Raskind said.