USC to Embark on Record Fundraising Campaign

USC is undertaking the largest fundraising initiative in the history of higher education.

The school is looking to raise $6 billion over the next several years, an ambitious goal USC President C.L Max Nikias discussed before a crowd at Bovard Auditorium Friday morning.

"This will allow the USC community to do in the coming years what it was born to do- to bring disruption and innovation where there is stagnation, and to bring order and meaning where this is change and uncertainty," said Nikias.

Elizabeth Garrett, USC Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, discussed the importance of raising the USC endowment, explaining how it will allow the university to hire more transformative faculty, increase the amount of financial aid and number of scholarships the school can award to students, and construct new buildings while also improving existing infrastructure. 

Garrett also spoke about how the endowment will be used to create a interdisciplinary social science building, new residential spaces for graduate and international students, and clinical and research buildings on the Health Sciences Campus. 

Current USC faculty members Angie-Marie Hancock, Dr. Mark Humayun, and Paul Debevec talked about research to help demonstrate how additional fundraising will boost USC's already impressive existing programs. Their topics ranged from the cultural generation gap and political theorism to retinal implants and digital movie effects.

"The campaign is about our students, our faculty, our endowment, and our academic priorities," said Al Checcio, Senior Vice President for University Advancement.

The presentation ended in true USC fashion, with the Trojan Marching Band and USC Song Girls gathering on stage to perform the fight song.

The school certainly has some momentum as it embarks on this new fundraising campaign. Nikias announced USC raised $1.2 billion this past year, the most money any school has raised over 12 months in U.S. history.