USC Media and Public Relations

Featured Stories

Los Angeles Times featured research by Richard Easterlin of the USC Dornsife College and colleagues, finding that economic growth in China hasn't led to greater life satisfaction for the majority of citizens. Easterlin studied self-reported levels of satisfaction between 1990 and 2010, finding that the level of happiness among the poorest Chinese has dropped, despite a booming economy. "The clear lesson from China is how important it is for people's happiness to have jobs and a fair amount of certainty about those jobs, as well as a social safety net," Easterlin said. Wired noted that Easterlin is the namesake of the "Easterlin paradox," the finding that happiness doesn't continually increase along with a country's average income. Easterlin's work was also covered by Financial Times (U.K.), two Agence France-Presse stories (second link here), two Deutsche Presse-Agentur (Germany) stories (second link here), Asian News International, EFE (Spain), Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), Austria Presse Agentur (Austria), Die Presse (Austria), ORF (Austria), Kleine Zeitung (Austria), Kurier (Austria), World Journal, The Korea Times (South Korea), El Dia (Argentina) and The Daily Star (Bangladesh).

Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission approved a lease with USC. "We're now in a position to restore this wonderful venue to its past glory," said USC Senior Vice President for University Relations Thomas Sayles. The news was covered by another Los Angeles Times story (additional links available on request), two Associated Press stories (second link here), United Press International, ESPN, ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV, Fox News Los Angeles affiliate KTLA-TV and L.A. Observed.

NBC News' "NBC Nightly News" reported that USC awarded honorary degrees to Nisei students interned by the U.S. government during World War II. The Rafu Shimpo noted that the Nisei students were among 40,000 students receiving degrees on May 11. After the initial ceremony, USC President C. L. Max Nikias personally gave the Nisei students their honorary degrees. "It's very special, it's a very moving moment for me that we award the honorary degrees to the Nisei students from USC. I'm truly honored that I'm the president to do it," Nikias said. "They are Trojans like the rest of us, and they've been Trojans all their lives."

The Orange County Register ran an obituary for USC Trustee Kenneth Leventhal, the namesake of the USC Leventhal School. Leventhal led a 10-year fundraising drive that raised more than $2.85 billion for the university. "Ken Leventhal was a gifted businessman, a pioneer in the field of accounting, an internationally recognized leader in the real estate industry, and a committed and passionate Trojan," said USC President C. L. Max Nikias.

Curbed L.A. reported on The Village at USC and the USC Specific Plan. The City Planning commission approved the development plan, which would allow a total of five million square feet of development. The Village at USC would include 350,000 square feet of commercial uses, a 150-room hotel, a 25,000-square-foot grocery store, an 800-square-foot community space, a new fire station and more. San Gabriel Valley Tribune also mentioned The Village at USC.

Daily Mail (U.K.) mentioned that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver attended USC's 129th commencement to watch their daughter Katherine Schwarzenegger graduate. The Huffington Post mentioned that journalist Christiane Amanpour gave the commencement speech at the main ceremony. Deadline Hollywood reported that the USC School of Theatre's commencement address was given by Gary Ross, director of "The Hunger Games."

CBC News (Canada) highlighted virtual reality therapy pioneered by Albert "Skip" Rizzo of USC's Institute for Creative Technologies, noting that the Canadian government has decided to test the therapy's effectiveness in treating veterans' post-traumatic stress disorder. "The research shows, pretty consistently over the years, that by having the person gradually imagine or be exposed in VR to events in the traumatic memories, that they're able to process emotional memories," Rizzo said.

Zocalo Public Square ran an op-ed by Dowell Myers of the USC Price School about the narrative that people are "fleeing" California. Myers wrote that California natives tend to stay in the state, which is an important piece of demographic data that many ignore. "This giant state has an economy that is equivalent in production to the eighth-largest nation in the world," Myers wrote. "California still has unique assets to be deployed in the 21st century economy."