USC has long been an integral part of the Southern California region.
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Trojan Connections
USC College Links Scholars to Community Campus to Southern California Region
It’s not the University “at” Southern California, it’s “of.” And it’s been that way since day one, 125 years ago.
This early recognition by USC’s founders planted the university
squarely in the middle of a community that is still growing and
thriving more than a century later. That community has shaped the
identity of the Trojan Family as surely as generations of the Trojan
Family have shaped the development of the region itself.
Of course, being “of” rather than “at” carries with it
responsibilities. As a responsible member of the Southern California
community, USC College has long embraced the notion of finding the ways
to help shape and ensure the region’s future.
“The actions of USC College to help shape Southern California serve the
interests of the school and university, as well as the local
community,” said USC College Dean Joseph Aoun. “And, since Los Angeles
and the Southern California region are influential members of the world
community, what USC College does locally reverberates across the globe,
particularly within the Pacific Rim.
“The university’s new strategic plan calls for renewed impetus to help
shape the Southern California community,” Aoun continued. “The College
is uniquely qualified to lead the effort. At the heart of the plan is
the goal of making it easier to cross the boundaries of academic
disciplines to bring the true, collective intellectual strengths of the
university to bear on significant social problems.”
The strategic plan recognizes that “... societal problems rarely fall
within the domain of a single discipline or school, [and therefore]
collaboration... may be the best means of addressing such problems.”
The plan further states that “disciplinary and school boundaries...
often impede effective collaboration...” and calls for removing
“structural disincentives” to collaboration.
“As a college within the university, we began putting strong emphasis
on cross-disciplinary collaborations five years ago and we have
continued to do that ever since,” said Aoun. “Our faculty hiring
initiative particularly focused on finding highly qualified scholars
whose work is not constrained by disciplinary boundaries. In this we
have been remarkably successful.
“We have also stressed the importance of forming partnerships, both
within and outside the university, to tap into a wider pool of talent
and expertise and to leverage our resources,” Aoun said.
The desire to serve the community is further amplified by a number of
centers and institutes that have been created to serve specific needs.
Among them, the Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in
American Life, the Korean Studies Institute and the Institute of
Armenian Studies. These three focus on working with related
organizations in the community to add academic rigor to discussions of
local, national and global issues germane to those communities.
At the heart of the College’s community-based programs is the Joint
Educational Project, JEP. Currently some 2,000 USC students are
volunteering through JEP in the Southern California community, in
schools, hospitals and other organizations that target people in need.
In addition, among many other educational outreach programs offered or
now in development, the College is home to the QuikScience Challenge
for K-12 Science Education Outreach, run by the staff of the Wrigley
Institute for Environmental Studies. The program, designed in
partnership with Quiksilver, Inc. to use marine science to inspire and
change the attitudes of youth about science, addresses a specific
societal need: a looming shortage of U.S. scientists.
“For the U.S. to maintain leadership in a knowledge economy, the next
generation of Americans must be well educated. We have a shortage of
scientists and mathematicians and too often students lose interest in
these subjects before they even enter college. QuikScience provides
younger students with a view of science as exciting and relevant to
their lives,” Aoun said.
The College also connects to the K-12 educational community through the
Center for Active Learning in International Studies, which, among other
activities, sends College students into area schools to lead
explorations of international issues.
With support from Edison International, the College will soon launch a new K-12 outreach program called the Edison Challenge.
USC students benefit from USC’s connections to the region. Sempra
Energy, for example, supports the College scholarship programs.
Likewise, Los Angeles businesswoman and USC College Councilor Janice B.
Howroyd has chosen to help shape the Southern California community, in
part, through her support of College students. In January 2005, her
gift of $10 million established a scholarship fund designed to increase
access to higher education for students who might not otherwise be able
to afford to attend university.
“I very much value the diversity of ethnicity, thought, goals and
opportunity that has been fostered in the College,” said Howroyd.
Aoun observed that all of these College programs not only benefit the
Southern California community, but also the students, faculty and
others who participate in this scholarly work.
“The fate of USC has always been intrinsically linked to the Southern
California region,” Aoun said. “It’s central to the continued success
of the College to play a stewardship role in the region. We can do this
by strengthening connections, sharing our vision and finding areas of
overlapping interests with government, business, non-profit and other
academic leaders in Southern California.”
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