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At the State Capital Building. Front row: USC Trustee Edward P. Roski, Jr., Shamoiya Washington, USC President C. L. Max Nikias, Jasmine Torres. Marco Valadez. Middle row: USC Trustee David Dornsife, USC Trustee Lisa Barkett, USC Trustee Monica Lózano, Bill Barkett. Back row: USC Chief of Staff Dennis Cornell, USC Vice President of Government Relations Martha Escutia, USC Trustee Christopher Cox, USC Sr. Vice President of University Relations Thomas Sayles.
USC President C. L. Max Nikias, USC Trustees, senior administrators and three USC students who are Cal Grant recipients made a recent visit to Sacramento to speak with California lawmakers. The USC delegates discussed the importance of the Cal Grant program, which has provided funding for more than 2.3 million students in the state since its creation nearly 60 years ago. At USC, 93 percent of Cal Grant recipients complete their degrees in six years — a rate higher than at most public universities in California.
Governor Jerry Brown, Jasmine Torres, Shamoiya Washington, Marco Valadez, President Nikias
The three students who journeyed to Sacramento — Jasmine Torres, Shamoiya Washington, and Marco Valadez — shared their personal stories with lawmakers, putting a real face on the challenges low-income students face when assessing their higher education options. The USC delegation asked legislators to reconsider the planned 11% cut to the Cal Grant program slated to take effect this summer. The proposed cut would bring the maximum grant to $8,056 for students attending private colleges and universities, the lowest it has been in 16 years.
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In an annual USC spring tradition, university leadership paid tribute to the women and men of the U.S. armed forces who are part of The Trojan Family—including the many veterans on the faculty and staff, and the veterans and ROTC cadets who are part of the student body. President C. L. Max Nikias proudly acknowledged the longstanding relationship between USC and the military, which encompasses teaching, service, and research throughout the university.
“Few if any universities can match USC’s commitment to the military and its service members,” President Nikias told the ballroom filled with dress uniforms representing all five branches on April 3. “In the 1970s, USC and Notre Dame were the only two universities to maintain their relationship with ROTC. We are proud of that,” he said.
Read the complete article at USC News.
View additional photos from the event on the USC Flickr site.
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Dean Yannis C. Yortsos, Professor Michael Kassner, USC Trustee Y.H. Cho, USC President C.L. Max Nikias
In an elegant Wednesday, March 26 ceremony, USC Viterbi School of Engineering installed the inaugural Choong Hoon Cho Chair in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. The chair is named after Choong Hoon Cho, the late chairman of Korean Airlines and father of USC Trustee and alumnus Y.H. Cho.
Professor Michael Kassner, the holder of the chair, is an expert in the area of mechanical behavior of metals, materials creep, fracture, fatigue and thermodynamics, and joined USC in 2003 as AME department chair. More recently, he oversaw a nearly $1 billion basic research budget for the U.S. Navy as director of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Washington, D.C. Kassner received the U.S. Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Medal for his service.
“Thanks to the inspired support of Y.H. Cho and the Boeing Company, the Choong Hoon Cho Chair in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering will serve as a vital cornerstone of academic excellence,” USC President C.L. Max Nikias said.
