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WITH THEIR RECENT $1 million gift to the university – split evenly between the School of Theatre and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics – Roger and Michele Engemann are fueling two major capital projects that will enhance academic, cultural and athletic opportunities for USC students: the construction of a theater com-plex and the renovation of Dedeaux Field, named for Michele’s father, legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux.
The gift, say the Engemanns, is a thank-you to the university for the myriad ways it has affected their lives. “We felt we owed the university,” said Roger Engemann, a graduate and trustee of the University of Oregon who, despite his master’s degree from UCLA, is also a dedicated Trojan fan.
“We have the opportunity to give back. We wanted to do it for the way Michele has benefited from her involvement with USC, and for how I’ve benefited from having a happy, cheerful, creative wife.”
Michele Engemann’s relationship with the university began with her parents. Her mother, Helen Jones Dedeaux, earned a B.F.A. at USC in 1939; her father joined the baseball team’s coaching staff just after he graduated with a business degree in 1935. As the team’s head coach from 1942 to 1986, Rod Dedeaux won an unprecedented 11 national titles, 28 conference championships and countless coaching awards, including being named Coach of the Century by the NCAA.
His namesake field, built at USC in 1974, will soon undergo a $4 million renovation that includes 500 additional seats, new locker rooms, expanded coaches’ offices, remodeled public areas and a Hall of Fame addition – to accommodate the team’s impressive trophy collection.
“Dedeaux Field was state-of-the-art 20 years ago,” said Roger, president and chair of Roger Engemann & Associates, a Pasadena-based investment firm. “Now it’s average – and it needs to be first-class, especially with the quality of the baseball team and the coaching USC has had over the years.”
AFTER HER GRADUATION as a drama major at USC in 1968, Michele joined the Nine O’Clock Players, a nonprofit auxiliary of the Assistance League of Southern California that produces children’s theater for Los Angeles-area youth using all-female casts and producers.
A founding member of the USC School of Theatre’s Board of Councilors, she is also president of Trojan League of Los Angeles, through which she led a fund-raiser for the school in 1998. She serves on the boards of the Pasadena Playhouse, the Assistance League of Southern California, the Chan-dler School and the Nine O’Clock Players.
Making USC’s theater programs accessible to the community is a primary goal of the school’s building campaign. With the Engemanns’ leadership gift – and their vocal support – the school has embarked on an ambitious campaign to build a world-class theater complex that will include two theaters built to the standards of top professional facilities.
“Michele has been a great influence, cheerleader and supporter of the School of Theatre,” said dean Robert Scales. “She believes in what we’re doing. We don’t have a better ally than Michele.”
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