USC School of Fine Arts Gets $23 Million
Photo/Lee Salem
The gift is believed to be the largest single donation to a visual arts school in the United States.
In recognition of this historic gift, Sample announced that the university is renaming the school the USC Gayle Garner Roski School of Fine Arts.
“We’re delighted that our School of Fine Arts will bear the name of an extraordinarily talented artist, alumna and adviser,” Sample said. “Through their visionary and historic gift, Gayle and Ed Roski are affirming the preeminent place that the arts have in the intellectual and cultural life of a comprehensive research university.
“Artistic creation is one of the ways in which USC fulfills its mission of developing both individuals and society at large by cultivating and enriching the human mind and spirit,” he added. “The Roskis embrace that mission with passion, and their investment will provide important opportunities for our faculty and students to explore art as an expression of what it means to be human.”
The gift will be used to expand the school’s tenure track faculty with world-class appointments, significantly increase student fellowships for the school’s two graduate programs and enhance technological support for innovative undergraduate teaching.
Gayle and Edward Roski have been longtime patrons of the arts community in Los Angeles, as well as strong supporters of USC. Gayle Roski is an accomplished painter and alumna of the USC School of Fine Arts and one of Los Angeles’ most ardent and active cultural ambassadors. Edward Roski, chairman and CEO of Majestic Realty, graduated with a B.S. in business administration from USC, and serves as a member of the USC Board of Trustees.
“Los Angeles is widely considered to be the leading center for fine arts education and innovation in the world, and USC’s School of Fine Arts plays a pivotal role in that reputation,” said Gayle Roski. Added Edward Roski: “USC has the longest standing tradition of arts education in Southern California, and we are very excited to make this gift to continue the tradition of excellence.”
Among the school’s alumni are internationally acclaimed artists Ken Price, Robert Therrien and Paul McCarthy, as well as artist/critic Peter Plagens.
Many current faculty members of the USC Gayle Garner Roski School of Fine Arts are also renowned artists whose work is represented in the collections of the world’s leading museums and galleries. They include Robbert Flick, Ron Rizk, David Bunn, Jud Fine, Charlie White, Sharon Lockhart, Andrea Zittel and the school’s dean Ruth Weisberg.
Weisberg said the Roski gift will help the school achieve its ambitious goals in coming decades.
“We are witnessing momentous shifts in university education and global culture, as well as dramatic growth in career opportunities open to our students when they graduate,” Weisberg said. “This gift will enable us to take a leadership role in developing the art school of the future. We need to incorporate new ideas and technology along with the classic skills and tools. This transformative gift will allow us to pursue our vision of the crucial role the arts can play in the 21st century.”
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USC in the News
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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