Trustee Donates $30 Million for Social Sciences Building
USC Trustee Dr. Verna B. Dauterive will donate $30 million to the university in honor of her late husband Peter W. Duaterive, University President C.L. Max Nikias announced in an e-mail to the USC community Thursday afternoon.
The donation will go towards the construction of a new social sciences building, set to be located where the current University Club stands.
Once constructed, the Verna and Peter Duaterive Hall will house both research and classroom facilities serving the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.
"This structure will forever stand in testament to Dr. Dauterive's visionary philanthropy, as well as the longstanding dedication of her and her late husband to the university and its mission to educate the leaders of the future and produce work that will change the world," said Nikias.
Plans for the six-story hall call for traditional styling modeled after the architecture of campus buildings like Bovard Auditorium and Mudd Hall of Philosophy.
"Dauterive Hall will stand in a prominent, central location on Childs Way at the main entrance to the University Park Campus," added Nikias. "With graceful arches-offset in places by Gothic flourishes-it will evoke the dignified feel of USC's most beloved buildings."
Both Dauterives attended USC, where they first met in Doheny Library.
Before joining the Board of Trustees, Dr. Dauterive worked as a faculty member for the Rossier School of Education. She also worked extensively in the California government on issues surrounding educational access and women's equality and empowerment.
A ground-breaking ceremony to recognize the donation and mark the beginning of construction will be held in Fall 2012, according to the President's e-mail.
