Tradition & Innovation
USC College launches $400 million initiative
In September, Dean Joseph Aoun announced a major initiative for USC College that aims to meet “intensified competition for the best students and faculty.” He said the initiative “will build on the rich base of the proud traditions of the university coupled with innovations that take us into the future.”
The Tradition & Innovation initiative aims to generate $400 million in new funding by the time it is concluded in 2010.
Funds raised by the initiative are crucial to the realization of the College’s ambitious plan to become one of the nation’s best colleges within a private research university within a decade, Aoun said.
Heading up the College’s steering committee for the initiative is Pat Haden — alumnus (’75, English, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), football quarterback for three Rose Bowl appearances and two national championships, USC trustee and member of the College Board of Councilors.
In many ways, USC College is stronger than ever, Haden noted. “Our goal,” he said, “is to continue the ascent that USC has made in the last decade.”
While recognizing the untold success of USC during its 125-year history, Aoun said the College must keep pace with ever-quickening developments in society and academe. “We cannot rest on our laurels,” he said, “and we must actively seek to get ahead of the curve — we must lead the search for excellence. We must rethink the way we attend to our core missions of teaching and research.”
The explosive growth of knowledge and rapid changes in industries and the workforce that have accompanied it call for a more dynamic approach to education. “We must prepare students for a lifetime of multiple careers — including some that do not exist today,” Aoun said.
In addition, “many new discoveries and new fields are being made outside the boundaries of traditional fields and disciplines, often at their intersections,” he said. “We also see that the complexity of modern life and the issues at the forefront of public concern demand insights available only through the varied tools and methodologies of multiple disciplines,” Aoun continued. “A case in point: genomics. There are numerous scientific, social, policy — and ethical — dimensions that must be taken into account for a rounded approach to some of its fundamental issues.”
When he assumed the deanship in 2000, Aoun mapped out a plan for the College’s growth and advancement. It was a bold plan that would separate USC College from its competitors. “We seek not to emulate our competitors, but to chart a bold, new course,” Aoun said. “Doing what others have already done leaves you behind.”
USC College has already made substantial progress on the priority areas identified in the plan. These include:
Faculty — Important changes were made to the research and teaching environment to facilitate multidisciplinary research that examines issues of practical societal importance. This effort was embedded in a faculty hiring initiative to bring 100 outstanding senior scholars and younger “rising stars” to the relatively small USC College faculty. To date, nearly 80 new senior professors and 90 promising junior faculty have been hired, dramatically upgrading an already outstanding faculty, while increasing its size and scope.
Undergraduate Education — Determined to strengthen the core mission of the College, general education courses were redesigned and a host of innovative new majors and minors were added. Opportunities for service learning, undergraduate research and overseas study were enhanced. The increased focus, many believe, has led to the notable rise in the entering freshman class’ average SAT score, which rivals that of peer institutions.
Graduate Education — To improve on already noteworthy graduate programs, College faculty orchestrated an effort to build and reorganize programs, working with College leadership to strengthen financial support so that the new programs would appeal to the very best candidates, those being widely sought by other major research universities. New university-wide Ph.D. programs in economics and history were instituted, modeled on the successful program in neuroscience. To ensure that students have an opportunity to participate in meaningful work that crosses traditional academic boundaries, graduate certificates will soon be offered in fields such as visual studies, religion and urban studies. These changes have enabled the College to better compete for top students and enhance students’ professional prospects.
Research — Sponsored research in the College doubled by 2005, reaching $56 million annually, making the College the top grant-getting school on the University Park campus. Leaders began to build prominence in emerging fields of study that promise to pay huge dividends to society, such as computational biology, geobiology and American studies and ethnicity. Existing fields such as religion, classics and art history were recast with creative approaches. At the same time, leaders assured that the core disciplines that undergird dynamic, interdisciplinary scholarship were nurtured and strengthened.
Partnerships — Leaders stimulated the launching of innovative partnerships both inside and outside the university. These partnerships, such as ones with the Getty Research Institute and the Huntington Library, leverage resources, enhance recruitment, create new graduate programs and promote interdisciplinary teaching and research. Formal partnerships and collaborations that cut across all boundaries — from department and school to university and nation — were created.
The Region — The College recognized that it has a social contract with Southern California and a duty to ensure it remains economically competitive and culturally vibrant. New opportunities for service learning were created and research institutes began to focus on understanding issues that impact the region, such as coastal pollution, fisheries management and immigration. Innovative outreach programs, such as the one created in partnership with Quiksilver, Inc. that promotes science education, targets school children from kindergarten through high school.
Infrastructure — Among more than 200 renovation and modernization projects, the College has completed construction on two state-of-the-art buildings: the cutting-edge Molecular & Computational Biology Building and the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center. Both are designed to facilitate scholarship and training at the frontiers of knowledge.
“The success of the Tradition & Innovation initiative will fulfill many aspirations,” Aoun said. “Many universities can’t keep up with the current pace of change. We can’t let that happen here. We are counting on our friends to support us in our quest for an even better USC College. We believe that, with their help, our strategy of maintaining traditions that work while embracing change will make USC College one of the top American research colleges.” |
