University
Reunion Weekend Triple Feature
- Former USC Dean of Women Joan Schaefer (seated, center) joined Class of 1959 alumnae for the 50-Year Reunion luncheon at Town & Gown.
- Photo/Devin Begley
By Tim Knight on November 9, 2009 7:52 AM
More than 860 alumni and friends returned to USC to evoke fond memories, create new ones and renew support for their alma mater during Reunion Weekend 2009.
Sponsored by the USC Alumni Association, this year’s two-day celebration of Trojan Family ties welcomed three generations of alumni back to campus: the Class of 1959 for its 50-Year Reunion, the Class of 1984 for the 25-Year Reunion, and the classes of 1999-2009 for the all-new Young Alumni Reunion.
Trojans from as far away as New Zealand and London began arriving on campus on Oct. 23 to check in, reconnect with old friends and enjoy a slate of cultural, educational and social activities.
While the 25-year and Young Alumni attendees enjoyed a buffet at Widney Alumni House, approximately 150 members of the Class of 1959 attended an elegant luncheon in the Town & Gown banquet hall decorated with poster-size reproductions of Daily Trojan front pages circa 1959.
Following a welcome by Scott M. Mory, associate senior vice president for alumni relations, 50-Year Reunion committee co-chairs Scott Fitz-Randolph ’59 and Alli Lockwood Solum ’59 took the podium to kick off the reunion festivities. They also introduced a special guest: former USC Dean of Women Joan M. Schaefer, who had joined the university in 1955 — “the day we stepped on campus,” according to Solum.
Following Schaefer’s appearance, former yell king and current class legacy chair Barney Rosenzweig ’59 informed his classmates that their generous reunion-giving program would fully fund the Norman Topping Commemorative Monument in honor of the university’s seventh president and also enhance the Widney Alumni House Legacy Fund.
The luncheon concluded with “USC Then and Now,” a special presentation by Courtney Surls, vice president for development, who charted the university’s changes over five decades.
After a football pep rally at Heritage Hall, the festivities shifted to the University Club for the 50-year cocktail party and the Cinematic Arts complex for back-to-back events: the 25-year reunion dinner and the Young Alumni cocktail party.
On Oct. 24, more than 600 Reunion Weekend attendees demonstrated their Trojan Spirit at a tailgate party in Argue Plaza, next to the Alumni House, before the 42-36 Trojan victory over Oregon State.
With Reunion Weekend attendance increasing 83 percent over the previous year and class-legacy giving surpassing the $100,000 mark for the second time in as many years, USC’s expanded reunion program fulfilled two key alumni association goals: providing alumni of all ages with meaningful opportunities to reconnect with USC and inspiring philanthropic support for current university initiatives.
“Reunion Weekend 2009, with its expanded class outreach, represented a significant step in our efforts to engage alumni from different generations in meaningful university experiences,” said senior director of alumni relations Patrick Auerbach EdD ’08. “We hope to continually expand such reunion opportunities to enhance engagement, strengthen the Trojan Family and advance the mission of the university.”
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USC in the News
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included 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.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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