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Jamie McCourt Joins USC Board of Trustees

June 26, 2009 7:41 AM

  • Jamie McCourt Joins USC Board of Trustees
  • Jamie McCourt

Jamie McCourt, chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been elected to the USC Board of Trustees.

The highest-ranking female executive in Major League Baseball, Jamie McCourt and her husband, Frank, have owned the Dodgers since 2004. After serving initially as vice chairman, she was named president of the club in 2005 and CEO in March. Under her leadership, the team has achieved its top three season-attendance totals, twice advanced to the postseason playoffs and, in 2008, made it to the National League Championship Series for the first time in two decades.

Before joining the Dodgers, Jamie McCourt spent 10 years as vice president and general counsel of the McCourt Co., the family real estate development firm. For 15 years prior to that, she was a practicing attorney specializing in international and securities law as well as in corporate, real estate and family law.

“We are delighted that Jamie McCourt has joined our Board of Trustees,” said USC President Steven B. Sample. “She brings not only a wealth of knowledge about business development, finance and marketing, but also a strong commitment to public service and to education in particular. Perhaps even more important, she shares with other members of the Trojan Family an enthusiastic ‘we-can-do-better’ spirit and a drive to make a positive difference in the world. I look forward to her leadership as a trustee.”

Underscoring her conviction that baseball is tied to family values, Jamie McCourt has focused the Dodgers’ community efforts on recreation, education, health and the environment. The Dodgers Dream Foundation, for example, sponsors programs ranging from the Dodgers Dreamfields (which builds baseball fields throughout Los Angeles) to scholarships and essay contests. The “Think Blue, Act Green” initiative encompasses recycling, conservation and energy-efficiency measures.

In 2007, the McCourts, in partnership with City of Hope and the USC-affiliated Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, created the nonprofit ThinkCure!, which promotes collaborative research aimed at curing cancer.

In 2008, Jamie McCourt led a season-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles. Events included the team’s participation in the first Major League Baseball games ever played in China and an exhibition game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, benefiting ThinkCure!, that drew a record-setting crowd.

Another of McCourt’s innovations is DodgersWIN (Women’s Initiatives Network), a program that offers clinics, seminars and other events designed to bring women closer to baseball.

McCourt serves on the boards of directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Business Council, the Los Angeles Sports Council and L.A. INC (Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau). She joined the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in April.

In the realm of higher education, McCourt is a member of the visiting committee and the North American Executive Board at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. She also serves on the executive committee at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where she teaches a class called “The Pursuit of Leadership: A Female Perspective.”

In recognition of their leadership and philanthropy, the McCourts received the National Scopus Award from the American Friends of Hebrew University in 2006. Los Angeles Business Journal named them the city’s “Power Couple of the Year” for 2008, citing their success in re-energizing the Dodgers and their extensive community involvement.

The Wall Street Journal named McCourt one of “The 50 Women to Watch 2007.” In May, Women in Sports and Events (WISE) honored her with one of its three Women of the Year awards.

A native of Baltimore, Md., and a lifelong baseball fan, McCourt earned a bachelor’s degree in French from Georgetown University in addition to a diploma from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. She received her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1979 and also spent a semester studying law at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1994, she earned an MBA at the Sloan School of Management, with concentrations in both organizational learning and corporate finance.

The McCourts have resided in Los Angeles since 2004. They have sons Drew, Travis, Casey and Gavin.