We Are Connectors
We spark progress and create new possibilities by connecting organizations, foundations, disciplines and individuals to address the most crucial issues of our time. By investing in interdisciplinary research and convergent approaches that span our many schools, we attract world-class faculty, postdocs, clinical fellows and residents, volunteers, graduate and professional students, and other Trojans who join forces to solve humankind’s biggest challenges.
Connecting Across Disciplines
USC is leading new thinking and dialogue around global health issues, emerging technologies, the latest social science data and more to solve some of the most pressing issues facing humanity.
Connections with the Wider World
USC knows it takes a village. Partnerships with corporate, local and government groups sparks new ways of addressing needs unique to today’s interconnected world.
Creating Vital Links
Take a peek at how the Trojan community brings together a multitude of disciplines, groups and ideas for the greater good.
USC Marshall’s Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab connects undergrads with business professionals
The mentorship effort provides support and access for pursuit of social impact-oriented careers.
New opera continues to share Professor Elyn Saks’ story and address mental health stigma
New performances share more of Saks’ memoir, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness, which documents the USC Gould professor’s diagnosis with schizophrenia and her resilience as she learned to cope with the disorder.
President Folt touts USC’s role in a more sustainable and equitable L.A. at annual Business Council summit
An event with UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti examined the city’s clean energy future, water resources and drought, revitalizing buildings with carbon-free power and more.
USC-LADWP agreement taps into offsite solar power for the university and its neighbors
The agreement will provide a quarter of USC’s electricity with power from a solar farm in Mojave. It also brings new opportunities for residents in nearby communities to gain access to affordable solar power.
E-waste isn’t wasted at USC, thanks to partnership that helps the community
An enduring program that reclaims old computers helps students and local families bridge the digital divide while also keeping more than 1 million pounds of used electronics out of landfills.
USC steps up to help LAUSD students by providing teacher scholarships
The USC Rossier School of Education takes on a critical teacher shortage at LAUSD by offering full scholarships for master’s students to work in L.A. public schools.
Converging Knowledge
USC is a hub for funneling knowledge into new ways of looking at the world, not to mention helping people.
At USC’s Pancreatic Beta Cell Consortium, experts from across the country are integrating knowledge from many expertises — computation biology, X-ray crystallography, electron topography and more — to build a groundbreaking atomic resolution model of the pancreatic beta cell. The results could improve the lives of the more than 100 million people living with diabetes.
Making the Link
USC movers and shakers have no fear connecting people and places, no matter the chasm. We know it takes a certain tenacity to forge new connections — and to push those links forward into action that betters the lives of others.
Keeping Our Communities Safe
During late 2020 as the pandemic barreled on, the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences partnered with the City of Los Angeles to provide free flu vaccinations at various COVID-19 testing locations across the city.
Inclusion Means Everyone
Living your values means taking meaningful action. Social, economic and racial justice embody USC’s core character and a strategic collaboration with Keck Medicine of USC and The TransLatin@ Coalition — the largest trans-led nonprofit in L.A. that advocates for transgender, gender-nonconforming and intersex (TGI) immigrants across the country — is improving comprehensive health care for members of this diverse community.
Creative Healing
Thinking outside the box when it comes to helping others is just what we do. USC Comic+Care uses laughter and humor to improve the physical and mental well-being of hospital patients and communities in need. By blending the arts of clowning and improv with the sciences of psychology and medicine, the program aids in the recovery and healing process for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Collaborating for Better Patient Care
Every day, USC researchers use collaboration and cross-disciplinary approaches to advance our understanding of the human body to improve the human condition. Peter Kuhn, co-founder of the interdisciplinary USC Bridge Institute and director of the Convergent Science Institute in Cancer, brings together experts across various fields to shed new light on how cancer spreads through the body, ultimately developing unprecedented ways of personalizing care.
New Ways to Go Global
International engagement doesn’t just happen at the federal level anymore — U.S. states, cities and even companies and organizations have become players in foreign relations. The USC Center on Public Diplomacy’s annual Summit on City Diplomacy convenes government officials, global opinion leaders, scholars and more who advance the latest dialogue on what it means to have a seat on the global stage.
Meeting People Where They’re At
For L.A.’s residents experiencing homelessness, USC’s Street Medicine team brings the hospital to the patients. Trojan medical professionals comb the streets, building rapport with patients and providing the in-person medical care they so desperately need.
