Newsmakers
May 22, 2009 10:17 AM
Geoffrey Cowan, USC University Professor and director of the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, has been named to a Newspaper Working Group organized by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) to provide advice and insight about possible legislative solutions to address the crisis in the newspaper industry.
Cardin has developed The Newspaper Revitalization Act, which was presented before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet on May 6.
The subcommittee hearing on The Future of Journalism will be chaired by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). In January, Cowan and journalism school director Geneva Overholser authored a Los Angeles Times op-ed on the topic.
“With a new administration and a new Congress seeking fresh solutions to other crises,” they wrote, “we need to consider new possibilities to help ensure that journalism remains able to provide the information needed by a great democracy.”
A Boone for Humanities
USC College professor Joseph Boone has received an appointment as a fellow at the National Humanities Center for the upcoming academic year. He will join 32 other distinguished scholars from institutions across the United States and four foreign countries who will work on an array of projects.
Boone is a professor of English, gender studies and comparative literature.
Chosen from 475 applicants, the fellows represent the fields of history, literature, philosophy, art history, anthropology, environmental studies, musicology and religion. Each fellow will work individually on a substantial research project and will have the opportunity to share ideas in seminars, lectures and conferences at the center.
Empowered Women
Susan Kamei, associate dean for advanced and professional programs at USC College, and Naveena Ponnusamy, assistant dean of external relations at the USC Marshall School of Business, will attend the Summer Institute at Bryn Mawr. The institute is held from mid-June to mid-July.
Donna Elliott, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and associate dean for student affairs at the Keck School, will attend the Wellesley Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration at Wellesley College. The Wellesley Institute is a series of five weekends spread from October through April.
Law and Public Order
The USC Gould School of Law honored USC alumna Elizabeth Gonzalez with its Shattuck Award, which recognizes top law students involved in public service.
Gonzalez, who graduated from USC Law this month, received her undergraduate degree in philosophy and humanities from USC in 1999. The Pico Rivera native recently accepted a job offer from Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles.
In addition to serving in a leadership role for various USC Law student organizations, Gonzalez has worked in the USC Immigration Clinic, defending mostly non-English-speaking clients seeking legal aid. She also spent a spring break volunteering in New Orleans, where she offered legal advice to residents who lost their home to Hurricane Katrina.
Gonzalez’s peers praised her for improving classroom discussions, being involved in student government and offering to help fellow students with USC Law projects.
The Shattuck Award is given to students who demonstrate the greatest potential for becoming outstanding members of the bar. Recipients are nominated by their fellow law students.
Center of Attention
Timothy J. Triche, professor of pathology and pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, will develop the new Center for Personalized Medicine, which will coordinate, support and expand the hospital’s basic and translational research in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, molecular genetics and molecular microbiology.
Good Greif
Lloyd Greif, chairman of the advisory council of the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the USC Marshall School of Business and a USC Marshall alumnus, was elected as the new chairman of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
The corporation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to attract, retain and grow businesses and jobs in Los Angeles County.
Greif has served as a member of the corporation’s board of directors since 2000 and chair of its finance committee since 2003. His previous civic involvement includes service on the board of the New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership.
Heavy Lifting
Jim Walze, president of the Beavers Charitable Trust, presented a $125,000 check to USC Viterbi School of Engineering Dean Yannis C. Yortsos to establish the Beavers Heavy Construction Scholarship.
The funds are to be used to annually support at least one upper-class or graduate student majoring in construction management or construction engineering studies who has a professional goal of a career in the heavy construction industry.
The USC Viterbi School will “work to obtain contributions to match the Beavers’ annual gift,” Yortsos said, “to build further this important scholarship endowment.”
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USC in the News
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The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
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