Los Angeles was a rough-and-tumble frontier town in the early 1870s, when a group of public-spirited citizens led by Judge Robert Maclay Widney first dreamed of establishing a university in the region. It took nearly a decade for this vision to become a reality, but in 1879 Widney formed a board of trustees and secured a donation of 308 lots of land from three prominent members of the community - Ozro W. Childs, a Protestant horticulturist; former California governor John G. Downey, an Irish-Catholic pharmacist and businessman; and Isaias W. Hellman, a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist. The gift provided land for a campus as well as a source of endowment, the seeds of financial support for the nascent institution.
When USC first opened its doors to 53 students and 10 teachers in 1880, the “city” still lacked paved streets, electric lights, telephones and a reliable fire alarm system. Today, USC is home to more than 33,000 students and nearly 3,200 full-time faculty, and is located in the heart of one of the biggest metropolises in the world.
1870s
Citizens in the frontier town of Los Angeles propose the concept of an institution of higher education.
1879
Judge Robert Maclay Widney forms a board of trustees and secures a 308-lot land donation from three community leaders — Ozro W. Childs, a Protestant horticulturist; former California governor John G. Downey, an Irish-Catholic pharmacist and businessman; and Isaias W. Hellman, a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist.
1880
Marion McKinley Bovard is named the university’s first president. USC formally opens, with 53 students and 10 faculty. A college of liberal arts, a university band and a debate team are established.
1881
USC’s first dormitory, Hodge Hall, is opened.
1884
USC’s school of music is founded. USC holds its first commencement, with a graduating class of three students; a woman, Minnie Miltimore, is named class valedictorian.
1885
USC’s College of Medicine, the first in Southern California, is established. Eight alumni form USC’s first alumni association. USC receives a gift to create its first endowed faculty position, the John R. Tansey Chair in Christian Ethics.
1887
USC’s fine arts school opens off campus in Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco.
1888
USC plays its first football game and trounces the opponent 16–0.
1892
Dr. Joseph P. Widney (brother of Robert Maclay Widney, and first dean of the university’s medical school) becomes USC’s second president. USC’s first student newspaper, a four-page weekly called The University Rostrum, appears.
1895
Rev. George W. White becomes USC’s third president. USC adopts cardinal and gold as its official colors.
1896
USC’s law school begins when a group of apprentices form a voluntary association to study under a prominent attorney.
1897
USC begins offering courses in dentistry.
1902
USC’s second school newspaper, the monthly Cardinal, is published.
1903
George Finley Bovard (brother of Marion McKinley Bovard) becomes USC’s fourth president.
1904
USC’s first Olympic athlete, Emil Breitkreutz (’06), brings home a bronze medal for the 800 meters. He is the first of 357 athletes who attended USC before, during or after their Olympic appearance, making USC the university that has sent more athletes to the Olympic Games than any other university.
1905
The USC School of Pharmacy opens, as the first in Southern California. The Women’s Club of USC (renamed Town and Gown in 1927) is established to generate support for the university and its students.
1906
The USC Department of Physics offers coursework leading to degrees in civil and electrical engineering — the precursor to USC’s College of Engineering (established in 1925). A summer session is initiated at USC.
1909
USC’s Department of Education opens, to attain full school status nine years later.
1910
USC organizes a centrally administered graduate program governed by a Graduate Council composed of senior faculty members.
1911
President William Howard Taft visits the USC campus.
1912
Los Angeles Times sportswriter Owen R. Bird dubs USC’s spirited athletic team the “Trojans.” Freshman Fred Kelly (’06) becomes USC’s first Olympic gold medalist. Greek letter societies are established. The first edition of The Daily Southern Californian (precursor to the Daily Trojan) is published. The USC Faculty Wives’ Club is formed (renamed the Faculty Women’s Club in 1995). The university announces a groundbreaking course in automotive science, the first of its kind in the world.
1914
A group of international students founds the Cosmopolitan Club at USC to “promote friendship” among students from Asia, Latin America and Europe. The famous African-American political leader, educator and author Booker T. Washington visits the USC campus.
1915
Ten-year-old Teresa Van Grove enrolls at USC, making her the youngest Trojan.
1918
Mrs. Amy Winship, a girlhood friend of Abraham Lincoln, attends USC at age 87 and is fondly nicknamed “the oldest co-ed in the world.”
1919
USC’s Department of Architecture, the first program of its kind in Southern California, opens.
1920
The USC School of Social Work is established. USC opens the College of Commerce and Business Administration, the first business school in Southern California.
1921
Rufus B. von KleinSmid, affectionately known as “Dr. Von,” becomes USC’s fifth president.
1922
USC dental student Milo Sweet composes the music for USC’s official fight song, “Fight On,” as an entry in a Trojan Spirit contest. The first attempt at a sequential card stunt for a football crowd is made under the direction of Lindley Bothwell in the stands on USC’s Bovard Field. USC creates an extension division, offering afternoon and evening courses to the community in locations ranging from Glendale to San Diego.
1923
The first Rose Bowl game is played in the present Pasadena location, with USC winning against Penn State 14–3. The USC Trojans play in the first varsity football game ever held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, beating Pomona College 23–7.
1924
USC establishes the country’s first school of international relations. The university holds its first formal observance of homecoming.
1925
The USC College of Engineering is formed.
1927
USC confers its first Ph.D. to David Welty Lefever in the School of Education.
1929
The USC School of Public Administration opens. USC’s Department of Cinema — the country’s first filmmaking program — is established.
1930
The Trojan Shrine is unveiled in celebration of USC’s 50th anniversary. With more than 700 foreign students (10 percent of the student body), USC ranks third in the United States in international enrollment.
1932
USC’s Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library is dedicated.
1934
USC debuts its “University of the Air,” an educational outreach program broadcast on radio.
1935
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visits the USC campus and receives an honorary doctor of laws degree.
1937
Gil Kuhn becomes the first Trojan football player to be drafted into the pros.
1939
USC’s Elizabeth Holmes Fisher Gallery (now called the USC Fisher Museum of Art) is dedicated, the first museum established in Los Angeles devoted exclusively to the exhibition and collection of fine art.
1941
The tradition of passing the bell between rival schools is established when six pranksters from USC’s Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity abscond with UCLA’s liberty bell after the opening game of the football season.
1942
USC’s Department of Occupational Therapy opens as one of the first programs of its kind in the country.
1943
In the midst of World War II, some 2,000 military trainees add to crowded conditions on campus.
1945
USC’s departments of biokinesiology and physical therapy are established. The USC Department of Drama is founded.
1946
KUSC goes on the air.
1947
Fred D. Fagg Jr. becomes USC’s sixth president. A feisty stray dog, nicknamed George Tirebiter, is officially named as USC’s student body mascot. The University Senate (reorganized as the Faculty Senate in 1973 and renamed the Academic Senate in 1992) is formed at USC.
1948
Troy Camp is founded.
1950
USC English professor and distance-learning pioneer Frank Baxter is named by Life magazine as one of America’s eight finest college professors.
1952
USC’s Health Sciences Campus opens. USC launches the first doctoral program in social work in the western United States. USC’s Institute for Safety and Systems Management is the first academic unit in the country to offer degree programs in safety, human factors and systems management.
1953
University Avenue (today’s Trousdale Parkway) is closed to vehicular traffic, marking a major step in creating a self-contained, pedestrian-friendly campus.
1954
Tommy Trojan debuts, with rider Art Gontier. USC’s first Songfest is held at the Greek Theater.
1957
USC’s on-campus pre-game picnics begin.
1958
Dr. Norman Topping becomes USC’s seventh president.
1959
The USC Associates, the university’s premier academic support group, is founded.
1960
Then U.S. senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Vice President Richard Milhous Nixon speak at USC.
1961
President Topping announces the “Master Plan for Enterprise and Excellence in Education” — an academic blueprint that by the end of the decade will double USC’s endowment, add 30 new buildings to the Health Sciences and University Park campuses and help the school gain election to the Association of American Universities.
1965
The USC School of Dentistry founds its mobile dental clinic, now the oldest and most extensive self-contained facility of its kind. Tailback Mike Garrett wins USC’s first Heisman Trophy.
1966
The Gamble House is deeded to the City of Pasadena in a joint agreement with the USC School of Architecture.
1968
USC launches “The Urban Semester,” a program that sends students out of the classroom and laboratory and into the city streets and halls of power.
1970
Historian John R. Hubbard is elected as USC’s eighth president. President Emeritus Norman Topping is elected as USC’s second chancellor. The USC student body votes to assess itself a fee for a student-sponsored scholarship fund, which becomes known as the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund.
1971
The USC Annenberg School for Communication is established. USC creates the country’s first department of emergency medicine.
1972
The USC Joint Educational Project (JEP) — one of the oldest service-learning programs in the United States — is launched. The USC Information Sciences Institute is founded, providing key support for the development of the Internet into a national and international system.
1973
The USC Credit Union opens its doors.
1974
The USC School of Urban and Regional Planning is founded. Dedeaux Field opens its gates, and USC’s baseball team wins its fifth straight NCAA title — to date still an unmatched record. The USC Mexican American Alumni Association is established. USC receives a National Endowment for the Humanities grant that leads to the development of Thematic Option, the university’s innovative undergraduate honors program.
1975
The USC Davis School of Gerontology is founded, the first of its kind in the country.
1976
USC launches its “Toward Century II” fundraising campaign, which will bring in over $309 million in five years. USC’s Black Alumni Association is founded. Gerald R. Ford, 38th president of the United States, makes a campaign visit to USC.
1977
U.S. President Ford sends USC President Hubbard an autographed $10 bill to satisfy their wager regarding the outcome of the Rose Bowl game, in which USC defeated Michigan. USC establishes an institute dedicated to hydrocarbon research, later named the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute.
1979
Fleetwood Mac invites the Trojan Marching Band to perform on the title song for the album “Tusk,” which becomes the band’s first platinum album.
1980
USC celebrates its centennial, and James H. Zumberge becomes the university’s ninth president.
1981
Doheny Memorial Library celebrates acquisition of its 2 millionth volume.
1982
USC’s pathbreaking Neurological, Informational and Behavioral Sciences program (known as NIBS, later reorganized as the Neuroscience Research Institute) begins training graduate students. USC inaugurates the annual Academic Honors Convocation to “honor the excellence that is in our midst.”
1983
USC’s Homecoming takes the form of “A Salute to USC Olympians,” bringing 120 of the university’s living Olympic medalists to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. McDonald’s Olympic Swim Stadium opens on the University Park campus.
1984
The XXIIIrd Olympiad comes to Los Angeles, and University Park campus is the site of the largest Olympic Village. U.S. President Ronald Reagan visits USC before officially opening the Olympic Games.
1986
USC launches the Freshman Seminars, addressing broad topics in contemporary research and scholarship to introduce freshmen to the larger academic world. The university assumes stewardship of the historic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Freeman House in the Hollywood Hills.
1987
With the opening of the Carl’s Jr. restaurant on campus, USC becomes the first American institution of higher education to own and operate a fast-food franchise.
1988
USC launches the Center for Scholarly Technology (now part of the university’s Technology Enhanced Learning initiative) to enhance teaching and learning through the use of digital and communications technologies. With the establishment of the Institute for Molecular Medicine (later renamed the Institute for Genetic Medicine), USC positions itself as a leader in biotechnology.
1989
USC becomes the first university in the world to offer a doctorate in occupational science. The Trojans’ new bookstore debuts, with one of the largest collections of trade journals and texts in Los Angeles.
1990
President Zumberge announces that “The Campaign for USC” has raised $641.6 million and added more than a dozen new buildings.
1991
Steven B. Sample becomes USC’s tenth and present president.
1993
Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg gives $120 million to create the USC Annenberg Center for Communication. USC launches its eight-year B.A./M.D. program, an innovative partnership between the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the medical school.
1994
USC Professor George Olah wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The USC Good Neighbors Campaign is inaugurated.
1995
USC launches Friends and Neighbors Service Day, an annual one-day “volunteer blitz” that teams students and community residents to clean up local neighborhoods.
1996
The USC President’s Distinguished Lecture Series is inaugurated.
1997
For the 1997-98 academic year, USC for the first time in its history accepts fewer than half of the students who applied as new freshmen — thereby acquiring the status of a “highly selective institution.”
1998
Alfred Mann gives $112.5 million to establish the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at USC. The schools of public administration and urban planning merge to form the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The General Alumni Association becomes the USC Alumni Association and adopts a new catchphrase: “lifelong and worldwide.”
1999
USC’s medical school receives a $110 million gift and is renamed the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Time magazine and The Princeton Review name USC as “College of the Year 2000” in recognition of its outstanding community service. USC announces its distinctive Renaissance Scholars program, which honors graduating seniors who have distinguished themselves in two or more broadly divergent fields of study.
2000
USC launches the Institute for Creative Technologies, a partnership among academia, the U.S. Army and the entertainment industry charged with developing synthetic experiences so compelling that participants react as if they were real.
2001
USC’s Robert Zemeckis Center opens as the country’s first and only fully digital filmmaking training facility. USC sponsors its first international conference, convened in Hong Kong. The Newsweek/Kaplan How To Get Into College guide names USC one of America’s nine “hottest schools.” The Association of American Colleges and Universities singles USC out as one of 16 “leadership institutions.”
2002
With the close of the “Building on Excellence” campaign, USC sets a new record in higher education by conducting the most successful fundraising effort ever, raising $2.85 billion in nine years.
2003
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security selects USC as its first Homeland Security Center of Excellence.
2004
The Los Angeles City Council dubs January 21 “USC Trojans’ Day in L.A.” to honor the university’s 2003 football, women’s volleyball, and men’s water polo teams. USC sends 35 athletes to the 2004 Athens Olympics and wins 17 medals: eight golds, five silvers and four bronzes. The USC Board of Trustees approves the university’s new strategic plan: “USC’s Plan for Increasing Academic Excellence: Building Strategic Capabilities for the University of the 21st Century.”
2005
The Princeton Review selects USC as one of 81 “Colleges with a Conscience” based on its outstanding record of community involvement. USC establishes a Federal Relations Office in Washington, D.C., to provide policymakers with access to topical research and expert faculty for testimony and briefings. The university begins celebrating its 125th anniversary.
2006
The university announces the launch of the USC U.S.-China Institute, an interdisciplinary center dedicated to producing rigorous, policy-relevant social science research focusing on the relationship between China and the United States. An economic impact analysis by the international consulting firm Economics Research Associates reports that USC is responsible for $4 billion annually in economic activity in Los Angeles County alone. In its December “Top 20 Wired Colleges” issue, PC Magazine ranks USC as the eighth-most connected, plugged-in and high-tech campus in the country. USC kicks off Visions and Voices: The USC Arts and Humanities Initiative. USC University Professor Kevin Starr is awarded the 2006 National Humanities Medal.
2007
The USC Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics is created to engage students with a broad range of expressions of the humanities and a particular focus on ethics and values. The USC Edward R. Roybal Institute for Applied Gerontology is established. USC launches the Discovery Scholars and Global Scholars programs, recognizing undergraduates who demonstrate original scholarship and creativity, and who excel in their studies both at home and abroad. USC professor of composition Morten Lauridsen receives the National Medal of Arts.
2008
USC breaks ground for the Ronald Tutor Campus Center, scheduled to open in fall 2010. The U.S. Department of State honors USC with one of four inaugural Benjamin Franklin Awards for Public Diplomacy in recognition of the university's Center on Public Diplomacy "having evolved into the world's premier research facility in this field."
