USC Media and Public Relations

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The New York Times featured the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, presented by the USC Thornton School and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in partnership with The Colburn School and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The festival is named after Gregor Piatigorsky, a respected cellist who taught at USC from 1949 until his death in 1976. The event was organized by Ralph Kirshbaum of the Thornton School, who founded a series of cello festivals in Manchester, England. The review stated that Kirshbaum received a clamorous ovation for his own performance, which took an intimate approach to celebrating the cello. "It has been an amazing series of beautiful concerts with artists of such diversity," Kirshbaum told NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV. The Huffington Post also featured the festival.

Los Angeles Sentinel featured the $30 million gift by USC Trustee and alumna Verna Dauterive to name the new Drs. Verna and Peter Dauterive Social Science Building, which is due to break ground in the fall. "This structure will forever stand in testament to Verna's visionary philanthropy, as well as her long-standing dedication, along with that of her late husband, [Peter], to the university and its mission to educate the leaders of the future and produce scholarly work that will change the world," said USC President C. L. Max Nikias.

Los Angeles Times reported that USC will award honorary degrees to a group of Japanese American USC students whose education was interrupted when the U.S. government interned them during World War II. "For no fault of their own, and to some extent out of the worst prejudice, these students were not allowed to complete the degrees. We're going to correct that," said Scott Mory, associate senior vice president and CEO of the USC Alumni Association. "We are proud of our Nisei former students, as they will forever serve as an inspiration to the Trojan Family," USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association President Rod Nakamoto told Fox News Los Angeles affiliate KTLA-TV. The news was also reported by Associated Press, KPCC-FM and CBS News Los Angeles affiliate KCAL-TV.

Los Angeles Times featured Thomas Lyon of the USC Gould School, highlighting his unique dual professorship in law and psychology and his research on interviewing children for abuse and criminal cases. Lyon receives federal funds for his research, including grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Most of the federally funded research focuses on helping children honestly recount traumatic events, which can be exceedingly difficult. "Anyone who works with abused kids knows the kids are afraid and threatened and reluctant and ashamed," Lyon said. He trains students at the USC Gould School to interview children, drawing on his research findings.

Los Angeles Times reviewed "Sight Specific: LACPS and the Politics of Community," an exhibition at the USC Fisher Museum of Art. The show features works popularized by the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, which operated from 1974 to 1985.

Los Angeles Times reported on a program operated by the UCLA-USC Center for Population Health and Health Disparities which identifies low-income markets that lack healthy food options. The program helps retail store owners refurbish their stores and purchase healthy foods.

The Boston Globe highlighted research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that fasting before chemotherapy may make the treatment easier for patients, and even make it more effective. Longo is now running two trials with a total of 60 cancer patients to test the effects of fasting. The story noted that Longo himself eats only once a day, following the theory that human ancestors evolved to function at their peak on a near-starvation diet.

Hypervocal ran an op-ed by Morley Winograd of the USC Annenberg School and a colleague about a recent study on the millennial generation. Winograd wrote that research showing millennials are self-centered doesn't jibe with the high numbers of people in this age group who perform community service. "Millennial participation in the most basic of American rights and civic actions — voting — is also greater than for previous generations of young people," Winograd and colleague wrote.