Each year, USC programs and faculty research are highlighted in print, broadcast and online stories throughout the world. Highlights of recent news coverage are compiled by USC Media Relations.
USC in the News 11/13/2012
Xinhua News Agency (China) reported that USC has the most international students of any U.S. university, for the 11th year in a row. USC enrolled 9,269 international students in the 2011-2012 academic year. “USC is so proud of its exceptional international students, as well as its ability to continually draw such talented students from all over the world,” said USC President C. L. Max Nikias. The news was also covered by Times News Network (India), The Denver Post, Fox News Latino, La Opinion, GlobalPost, Boise Weekly and Lansing State Journal.
The Washington Post quoted USC President C. L. Max Nikias about USC not offering free massive open online courses. Upholding standards for rigor and integrity is a paramount concern, Nikias said. “We should never be afraid to experiment. But on the other hand, we are an academic institution,” he said.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Adrianna Kezar of the USC Rossier School helped organize responses from a survey of university deans regarding non-tenure-track faculty. Kezar said that “there are few conversations about what the makeup of the faculty should be” when it comes to hiring non-tenure-track faculty. Data from this survey is part of a national survey whose results will be written about in several research papers. The story noted that Kezar leads the Delphi Project, a national effort examining how faculty is changing and how that affects student learning.
The Washington Post reviewed “The Music of James Bond” by Jon Burlingame of the USC Thornton School. The book gives each Bond film its own chapter, detailing who wrote what and what the creative process was like. “Burlingame makes the key point that [John] Barry himself saw his Bond work as Mickey Mouse-esque in nature, with an inherent cartoonishness. But one man’s cartoon, of course, is another’s shaken martini,” the review stated.
Los Angeles Times featured Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center’s new center for children who have been removed from their families. The center, spearheaded by Astrid Heger of the Keck School of USC, has already provided meals and beds to roughly 700 children. Heger said that on a recent night, “There were these kids gathered around the table in the kitchen eating a hot spaghetti meal, and we wept — not just us but the guys from facilities management had tears in their eyes.”
The Dallas Morning News featured research by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, finding that in Texas, 48 percent of U.S. citizens under 18 are Latino. Only two states have higher percentages: California (51 percent) and New Mexico (58 percent). “The growth of the Latino electorate is not subject to any future decisions on immigration policy,” said Roberto Suro of the USC Annenberg School. “Rather, steady increases in the number of Latino eligible voters will occur as Latinos already born in the United States as citizens with full voting rights reach voting age.”
KPCC-FM featured Ron Avi Astor of the USC School of Social Work and his Building Capacity in Military Connected Schools program, which trains social work interns to help the children of military families. In the past three years, Astor has helped place interns at 140 schools in eight Southern California school districts. “It’s the communities and the schools that create welcoming, caring environments that are supportive, that really make the biggest difference for these families,” Astor said. The story highlighted USC student Christina Fossel, who has been working with kids in an Oceanside elementary school for the past three years.
U.S. News & World Report quoted James Salz of the Keck School of USC about micro-stents used to drain fluid from the eye in glaucoma patients.
Financial Times (U.K.) quoted Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College about the passage of Proposition 30.
The Hindu (India) cited “The Internet Galaxy” by Manuel Castells of the USC Annenberg School on how digital technology has upset political and economic orders.
The Huffington Post quoted Diane Winston of the USC Annenberg School about evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson’s role in popularizing megachurches.
Minnesota Public Radio interviewed David Treuer of the USC Dornsife College about the impact of the book “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”
Latinos Post quoted Manuel Pastor of the USC Dornsife College about ID cards that Los Angeles may soon make available to undocumented immigrants.
The Korea Times (South Korea) covered Daniel Oh of the Keck School of USC, who sees lung cancer surgery patients at a clinic in Koreatown.
Yahoo! News covered research by Richard Easterlin of the USC Dornsife College finding that despite China’s economic rise, the majority of its people say they aren’t happier.
Hispanic Business cited the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll finding that a majority of Californians supported Proposition 37.
The Sacramento Bee mentioned USC research finding that people 75 and older without children are far more likely to end up in costly nursing care.
Chicago Tribune mentioned agreements between credit card companies and universities including USC.
U-T San Diego mentioned that a USC Rossier School report named The Preuss School the top charter school in California earlier this year.
The Modesto Bee mentioned that Michael Bowdish of the Keck School of USC wrote a message to read at the memorial service of a former patient.