In my office I have a book published in 1939 by the USC Alumni Association. One of the pages features a watercolor painting depicting the construction of the university’s gymnasium. Underneath the painting the caption reads: “Exemplifying the spirit of the Trojan campus – always growing, ever-changing, never finished.”

Isn’t that a great way to describe USC?

Seventy years later, it’s still true. This university is always growing. Our two campuses are ever-changing. Our progress is never finished. USC always has been – and always will be – a work in progress. In other words, we’re not satisfied with where we are today because we know we can be much better.

If you’ve seen our two campuses recently, you witnessed firsthand a transformation – one that has been accelerating. A few years ago, for instance, we articulated a goal of adding a total of 8,000 new beds for undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Be­tween the university’s own construction of  new residential colleges and several residential-with-retail buildings built by private development companies, we’re getting close to meeting that goal. I thought it would take longer to realize this goal, and I’m astonished and delighted that we have made so much progress in this area so quickly.

As this evolution occurs, we’ve done something that is very rare. Unlike other urban universities, we’re adding not only beautiful new buildings, but also more green space – trees, fountains, gardens.

We have a tremendous amount of construction taking place on our University Park campus – projects that were funded and started before the current economic downturn compelled USC and our peers throughout higher education across the nation to slow or suspend capital projects. The main section of our new School of Cinematic Arts complex opened this past spring. It is truly spectacular, and a fitting home for the nation’s top-ranked school of film, television and interactive media. It was made possible by the support of many generous individuals, companies and foundations. They were all inspired by alumnus George Lucas ’66, who, through his personal gifts and through the Lucasfilm Foundation, put up $175 million toward this project.

Progress is also being made on the campus center, named for Trojan alumnus, parent and trustee Ron Tutor ’63, who provided the lead gift of $30 million to get the project started. Last summer, when construction began, a freshly minted USC graduate who had witnessed the razing of the old Commons facility was heard exclaiming to his buddy, “The new freshmen are so lucky. I got USC 1.5. They’ll be getting USC 2.0.”

Likewise he and all of our alumni will get USC 2.0 when the Epstein Family Alumni Center opens in 2010, located at the heart of campus and within the new Tutor Campus Center. This is made possible by a lead gift from trustee Dan Epstein ’62 and his family and by gifts both large and small from USC alumni and alumni groups.

On our Health Sciences campus, construction continues on the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM (California Initiative for Regenerative Medicine) Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC. This facility will enable USC to solidify its leadership in this important, and extremely competitive, field.

I’m excited that these buildings are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also friendly to the environment. USC cares about its ecological footprint. We have made a commitment to what I call taking the “green step.” Our new buildings are models of energy efficiency and are more environmentally sustainable than ever before.

“The spirit of the Trojan campus” – as the 1939 caption called it – is one that steadfastly proclaims, “USC is never satisfied.” With each new building that is erected, each tree that is planted, each classroom that is wired for the digital age and each new lab that is outfitted, we are reminded that USC is indeed a work in progress. A beautiful and noble work in progress at that.