USC Media and Public Relations

L.A. Weekly featured USC in its Best of 2012 issue. The designation Best Video Art Exhibit of 2012 was given to the Tree of Testimony, an exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust based on survivor testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. L.A. Weekly also featured two USC classes in its Best of L.A. Education section. “Human Survival: Learning From the Past,” taught by Lynn Swartz Dodd of the USC Dornsife College, teaches students to make clothes, food and tools the way prehistoric humans would. “The Art of Political Bargaining,” taught by Jeb Barnes of the USC Dornsife College, examines what produces gridlock and new legislation during the political process. “On the first day of class, I arrive with a warm batch of homemade brownies and tell the students to divide them using majority rule,” Barnes said. “Soon students are busy building coalitions, trying to persuade members to join them and buying off ‘swing votes’ with promises of a greater share.”

Los Angeles Times reported that The Village at USC redevelopment was approved by the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee. The project will bring 12,000 jobs, a multi-use retail complex, academic facilities and thousands of student beds to the area. USC will support affordable housing in the area and will institute a local hiring provision, with priority going to residents within five miles of campus. USC will create a legal clinic to help local residents with tenant-landlord disputes. “It’s a win for the community, it’s a win for the city, and it’s a win for the university,” said Thomas Sayles, USC senior vice president for university relations. The news was also covered by KPCC-FM.

The New York Times highlighted research by Eileen Crimmins of the USC Davis School on “compressing” the amount of one’s life spent with disease and disability caused by aging. “We live in an age of chronic disease,” Crimmins said. “We’re spending more years with disease, because we haven’t put off the age of onset but we’ve done a good job of keeping people alive.”

Variety reported that Jeff Small of DreamWorks Studios hosted a benefit that raised $1 million for the USC Institute of Urology. The event was attended by USC President C. L. Max Nikias and by Inderbir Gill of the Keck School of USC, who is founding executive director of the institute.

NBC News Houston affiliate KPRC-TV featured research by USC graduate student Mona Sobhani with Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, Glenn Foxx and Jonas Kaplan of the USC Dornsife College, finding that whether we like someone or not affects how our brain works. The research was also covered by Indo-Asian News Service (India), News12, Fox News Indianapolis affiliate WXIN-TV and ScienceDaily.

Los Angeles Business Journal reported that USC received a $250,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration to develop a technical assistance program that can help small businesses, local government and community groups improve economic development and disaster recovery.

Los Angeles Times cited the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, which found a slim majority of California voters supporting Proposition 39. NBC News San Diego affiliate KNSD-TV cited the poll finding that 55 percent of voters support Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30.

The Age (Australia) quoted USC President C. L. Max Nikias about the decision for USC not to pursue massive open online courses.

Los Angeles Times quoted David Agus of the Keck School of USC about two scientists who are sharing the Nobel Prize for chemistry.

Press TV (Iran) interviewed Ange-Marie Hancock of the USC Dornsife College about partisan politics fueling allegations of voter fraud.

Ottawa Citizen (Canada) quoted Karen Sternheimer of the USC Annenberg School about why people watch reality shows.

Deseret News quoted USC Associate Dean of Religious Life Jim Burklo about atheists and people with no religious identity who still explore spirituality.

San Francisco Chronicle quoted Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about a lack of ideological differences between congressional candidates Howard Berman and Brad Sherman.

The Orange County Register quoted Roberto Suro of the USC Annenberg School about Latino voting power.

The Wrap quoted Marc Cooper of the USC Annenberg School about the rumor mill surrounding Apple products.

The New York Times mentioned an archive related to composer Gustav Mahler that was once housed at USC.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentioned that USC’s $6 billion capital campaign is one of the largest in the history of higher education.

Los Angeles Times ran a photo of then Attorney General Jerry Brown at a 2010 student-organized event with President Obama on the USC campus.

Business Standard (India) mentioned that USC has the largest international student enrollment of any U.S. university.

The Local (Germany) mentioned that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger founded the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy at the USC Price School.

The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted “Changing Higher Education,” a blog by USC Provost Emeritus Lloyd Armstrong.

Truthdig ran a column by Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School about the credulity of the American public. “Factual truth is no longer as relevant as it used to be,” said Henry Jenkins of the USC Annenberg School, who was quoted in the column.

The MetroWest Daily News ran a column by Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School about the first presidential debate between Gov. Mitt Romney and President Obama.

The Verge mentioned that “The Unfinished Swan,” a video game from developer Giant Sparrow, began as a student project in the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ Interactive Media Program. The Verge ran a second story.

U-T San Diego mentioned that the Preuss School was named the top California charter school in a USC Rossier School report.

LAist mentioned a screening at the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ Ray Stark Family Theatre.

O.C. Weekly mentioned a series of news articles written by USC Annenberg School students.