USC Media and Public Relations

Los Angeles Times reported that a transformative gift from philanthropist Glorya Kaufman will establish the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, the first new endowment-funded school to be created at USC in nearly 40 years. USC Thornton School Dean Robert Cutietta, who will be the inaugural dean of the new dance school, said that the gift is one of the largest in the history of dance. Kaufman’s donation will support all aspects of the school, including hiring faculty, designing a curriculum, and constructing a new building, the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center. “We have so much [dance] talent here in L.A., and there’s no place for them to go. We want to get the best students, the best teachers, and the kids, when they graduate, will be able to make a living right away,” Kaufman said. “Dance is just taking off here,” Cutietta said. “A lot of that has to do with Glorya’s gift to the Music Center, and the timing is perfect now. This is the next piece of the puzzle.” The school was also featured by a widely carried Associated Press story.

The Chronicle of Higher Education placed USC at the top of its list of U.S. Institutions With the Most International Students, noting it enrolled 9,269 international students in the 2011-2012 academic year. This is the 11th year in a row that USC has had the most international students of any university in the country, Los Angeles Times reported. USC’s number of international students was up roughly 7 percent from the year before. The news was covered by a second story in The Chronicle of Higher Education, an Associated Press story in The Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Journal & Courier and Lansing State Journal.

KPCC-FM featured a USC School of Social Work program that trains counselors to help students in military families. These students often face stress from having a parent overseas that takes a toll on their schoolwork or emotional life. The story focused on Ron Avi Astor of the School of Social Work, who teaches graduate students how to find resources for military families. The USC students counsel the children of military families in 140 schools in Riverside, Orange and San Diego Counties. “I believe it’s a debt that’s owed by civilian society for the 10 years where they have been a little bit business as usual while this very small group has been carrying the war on their backs,” Astor said.

The Wall Street Journal highlighted an upcoming Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative event featuring Steven Ross of the USC Dornsife College. Ross is the author of “Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics.”

Saudi Gazette (Saudi Arabia) featured an agreement between USC and Effat University to develop a digital media program. The USC School of Cinematic Arts will train students to use film to convey stories and to advance the news and media industry. “By having excellent universities like USC with us, we make sure that we carefully design the curriculum for a program that will be the first of its kind in the Kingdom,” said Princess Lolowah Al-Faisal, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and general supervisor of Effat University.

Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Neal Gabler of the USC Annenberg School about Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm. “What the Lucasfilm acquisition suggests is that deals are a thing unto themselves and that movie studios are no longer in the movie or even the entertainment business at all. They are in the branding business, and Lucasfilm is one of the biggest brands,” Gabler wrote.

Inside Higher Ed noted that the Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success, directed by Adrianna Kezar of the USC Rossier School, has released two guides on improving conditions for non-tenure-track faculty. “This was reviewed by all of our stakeholders, by union groups and by presidents and chancellors and disciplinary groups,” Kezar said.

La Opinion featured Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, noting that the Department of Children and Family Services recently opened a new center there for children removed from their families. Astrid Heger of the Keck School of USC, one of the founders of the new center, helped various agencies work together on the project.

Daily News & Analysis (India) featured “Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox” by Lois Banner of the USC Dornsife College. The story stated that Banner’s book looks at the ways in which Monroe serves as a feminist figure, despite her public image as a sex object. “By the 1990s ... a generation of ‘third wave feminists’ contended that sexualizing women was liberating, not demeaning, for it gave them self-knowledge and power,” Banner said. The book was also covered by Salisbury Post.

Los Angeles Times quoted Oliver Mayer of the USC School of Dramatic Arts about the 20th anniversary of “Angels in America.”

Los Angeles Times quoted Leo Braudy of the USC Dornsife College about film and TV depictions of Abraham Lincoln.

Los Angeles Times quoted Sasha Anawalt of the USC Annenberg School about the 20th anniversary of “Angels in America.”

Los Angeles Times quoted Edward Lawler of the USC Marshall School about the disruptive potential of corporate runoffs.

Los Angeles Times quoted William Tierney of the USC Rossier School on how the University of California, Merced, can be different from other University of California schools.

Los Angeles Times quoted Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College about the passage of Proposition 39.

Associated Press quoted Patrick James of the USC Dornsife College about Mitt Romney’s campaign strategy and why it failed.

NPR News interviewed Edward Kleinbard of the USC Gould School about the potential for Democrats and Republicans to find compromise on tax reform.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted David Cruz of the USC Gould School about same-sex marriage initiatives across the country.

KPCC-FM interviewed Brandon Martinez of the USC Rossier School about the use of iPads in the classroom.

Los Angeles Times mentioned grants by the nonprofit organization Infinite Hero to USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies and other institutions that aid military personnel.

Financial Times (U.K.) mentioned that USC received $1.4 million from the U.S. government to develop a high-capacity iron-air rechargeable battery that can store energy at low cost.

Education Week highlighted research by Pat Levitt of the Keck School of USC into the environment’s impact on child health and development, and quoted him on the subject.

BBC News (U.K.) mentioned research by Richard Easterlin of the USC Dornsife College finding that while China’s wealthiest were more satisfied with their lives in 2007 than in 1990, the rest of the population was not.

The Huffington Post covered research by Mariana Stern of the Keck School of USC finding that consumption of pan-fried meats can increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Business Insider published a presentation made by Richard Green of the USC Lusk Center of Real Estate, highlighting economic recovery in different U.S. states.

NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV ran a column by Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about how California’s political demographics are now reflected more widely across the nation.

GateHouse News Service ran a column by Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School about the winners and losers of the 2012 election.

SCOTUSBlog ran an op-ed by Lee Epstein of the USC Gould School, highlighting their research on the current Supreme Court justices.

The Columbian ran a column by Susan Estrich of the USC Gould School about a need for President Obama to build consensus in a politically fractured country.

Truthdig ran a column by Robert Scheer of the USC Annenberg School about the 2012 election and President Obama’s second term.

The Christian Science Monitor cited a USC Annenberg School report predicting that most printed daily newspapers will be gone in roughly five years.

The Arizona Republic reported that Michael Arbib of the USC Viterbi School gave a lecture on designing buildings using knowledge of brain function.

KPCC-FM highlighted a lecture that was hosted by USC’s Immigrant Health Initiative.

Tablet ran a column by USC School of Cinematic Arts student Adam Rosner about his documentary detailing the stories of gay Palestinians living in Tel Aviv.