New Center Established by Vice Provost
Photo/Irene Fertik
The center is a faculty-originated initiative developed by the University Research Committee. It is designed to increase the impact and prominence of scholarly research throughout the university. To this end, faculty fellows will be selected to serve as research leaders and mentors to other faculty and students.
Faculty members will compete to become fellows, who will receive an annual award of $2,500 for three years. The first class of fellows will begin work in April. The deadline for applications is Feb. 15, with interviews to be held in March.
USC faculty members from both tenure track and non-tenure track are eligible. Prospective fellows should have a strong desire to assist colleagues at all levels in research techniques, be willing to contribute 50 to 100 hours per year to the new center and have the endorsement of the chair of the faculty member’s department or dean of the school.
The Office of the Vice Provost for Research Advancement currently offers courses that teach faculty members about research, but they are focused almost exclusively on obtaining grants. Randolph Hall, vice provost for research advancement, said he envisions the new center creating a mentoring environment for research.
Fellows, for instance, could help colleagues employ digital resources in research or teach better ways to develop collaborative projects. “It could involve a whole variety of ideas, and it’s only limited by the imagination of our faculty,” Hall said.
Much like the Center for Excellence in Teaching, the Center for Excellence in Research will recognize outstanding faculty and give them the honor and responsibility of elevating research throughout the university. “The idea is to create a set of activities to stimulate faculty-to-faculty mentoring and interaction,” Hall said.
The center was the brainchild of Maja Mataric´, professor of computer science and neuroscience and senior associate dean for research in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Mataric´, who last year was president-elect of the Academic Senate, co-chaired a subcommittee with Malcolm Snead, professor at the USC School of Dentistry, that proposed the idea to the University Research Committee. This year, as Academic Senate president, she said she is thrilled to see the center become a reality.
“If we are to focus on research excellence, we need to provide consistent training, mentoring, promoting and awarding of our faculty at all levels,” she said. “Our own outstanding faculty can serve as the very best mentors.”
An appointment as fellow will be recognized as a contribution to university service. The Office of Vice Provost for Research Advancement will support the cost of advancement activities undertaken by the fellows, who also will be honored at an annual dinner.
A “research salon” is another innovation designed to nurture research that will be starting soon. This biweekly lunch meeting will gather 15 or so faculty members from USC at large at the University Club to discuss a theme determined by a faculty moderator.
Applications for the new research fellows can be found at http://www.usc.edu/research/for_researchers/funding/usc/
Questions may be directed to Justin Pearlman, postdoctoral research associate in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research Advancement at pearlman@usc.edu.
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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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