USC Statement on Financial Aid Investigation
From: Jerome A. Lucido, Vice Provost, Enrollment Policy and Management
You may be aware of the investigation by the Attorney General of the State of New York into student lending practices. On Wednesday afternoon, April 4, 2007, the university received a letter from New York Attorney General Cuomo informing us that our Director of Financial Aid, Catherine Thomas, is being investigated in connection with the ownership of stock in a student lending company.
We want to assure you that we take this matter very seriously and are moving aggressively to resolve this situation. We moved immediately to establish an internal review of the allegations, and we have put Ms. Thomas on paid administrative leave pending the completion of our review. Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Katharine Harrington is now personally overseeing the operations of the Financial Aid Office.
While we have not yet completed our review, the case appears to be isolated to a single individual who may have violated our policies. Additionally, we believe there have been no adverse financial consequences for our students and their families. Please know that it is our policy not to recommend any lender. We routinely publish a list of lenders that have historically provided good rates and good service as a resource for our students and families. We have removed Student Loan Xpress, the lender identified in the investigation by the New York State Attorney General, from our lender list pending a complete review of the facts.
The university remains committed to the highest standards of ethical behavior in all of our activities. The university’s Code of Ethics adopted by the USC Board of Trustees on March 28, 2004 says, in part,
"We promptly and openly identify and disclose conflicts of interest on the part of faculty, staff, students, trustees and the institution as a whole, and we take appropriate steps to either eliminate such conflicts or insure that they do not compromise the integrity of the individuals involved or that of the university."
We are taking all appropriate steps to make sure that this policy is fulfilled.
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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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