President Carol Folt established the Presidential Working Group (PWG) on Sustainability in September of 2019 to explore approaches for USC to become a model for sustainability in its education, research, and campus operations. The PWG’s primary body currently has representatives from 11 schools, the Academic Senate, the Provost’s office, the Office of Sustainability, the Office of University Relations, the Office of Inclusion and Diversity, the Office of Research, Auxiliary Services, Facilities Planning and Management, Keck Medicine, the Environmental Student Assembly, and student government. For multiple years, the PWG contained six active committees — Education, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Research, Engagement, Operations and Students — engaging over 100 students, faculty, and senior administrators.
During its first year (2019-20), the PWG explored how to integrate sustainability into the university’s curriculum, research, and operations. During 2020-21, the various committees developed multi-year initiatives and the PWG integrated them into a university-wide strategy. That strategy was formalized into a framework called Assignment: Earth, which was formally launched in April 2022, and contained plans that extend through 2028. Since then, the committees have worked with university leaders to chart pathways for implementing Assignment: Earth initiatives and goals.
Slight changes to the PWG structure were made in 2024. The DEI Committee was integrated into each of the other committees, which is consistent with the original PWG vision that DEI needs to be woven into the fabric of all that we do as a university. The PWG Operations Committee moved to standby mode, as it had achieved what it set out to do – put USC on track to be a leader in sustainable operations. Implementation is now under the purview of USC senior leaders and their departments.
As of 2024, progress on each of the Assignment: Earth goals is posted publicly on the Assignment: Earth Dashboard.
Members
- Mick Dalrymple – Co-Chair
Chief Sustainability Officer - Mahta Moghaddam – Co-Chair
Distinguished Professor; Ming Hsieh Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering; Vice Dean for Research, USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Research Director, USC Center for Sustainability Solutions - Paul Adler
Harold Quinton Chair of Business Policy and Professor of Management and Organization, Sociology, and Environmental Studies, USC Marshall School of Business - Margo Apostolos
President, Academic Senate; Professor of Dance Conditioning, Dance Science, USC Kaufman School of Dance - Burcin Becerik
Dean’s Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering - Christina Bellantoni
Director, USC Annenberg’s Media Center; Professor of Professional Practice, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism - Marlon Boarnet
Professor of Public Policy and Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis, USC Price School of Public Policy; Director, METRANS Transportation Center; Co-Chair, PWG Research Committee - Mary-Kay Demetriou
University Communications, Director of Marketing & Communication - Ellen Dux
Associate Director, USC Office of Sustainability - Sara Eyassu
Co-Chair of the Student Committee of the Presidential Working Group; Undergraduate Student, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - Hannah Findling
Sustainability Program Administrator, USC Office of the President, USC Office of Sustainability - Skylar Funk
Co-Chair of the Student Committee of the Presidential Working Group; Graduate Student, Thorton School of Music - Genevieve Giuliano
Interim Dean, USC Price School of Public Policy - Gloria H. Gonzalez
Sustainability Initiatives & Legal Compliance Manager, USC University Relations; Co-Chair, PWG Engagement Committee - Howard Hu
Chair and Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences and Flora L. Thornton Chair in Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC - Nichelle Huizar
Sustainability Administrator, Auxiliary Services - Anders Johnson
Presidential Working Group Administrative Assistant, Undergraduate Student - Rima Jubran
Academic Senate President, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Designated Institute Official for CHLA - David Kelley
Associate Professor of Practice, Art, USC Roski School of Art and Design - Hope Hsiao
Undergraduate Student; Co-Executive Director, Environmental Student Assembly - Marty Levine
Vice Provost and Senior Advisor to the Provost, USC Office of the Provost - LaVonna Lewis
Associate Dean of DEI and Teaching Professor of Public Policy, USC Price School of Public Policy - Rebecca Lonergan
Professor of Lawyering Skills and Associate Director of Legal Writing and Advocacy Program, USC Gould School of Law - Colin Maclay
Research Professor of Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism; Executive Director, USC Annenberg Innovation Lab - Jon-Marc Burgess
Undergraduate Student; Co-Executive Director, Environmental Student Assembly - Zissis Marmarelis
Graduate Student; Director of Sustainability, Graduate Student Government - Rob McConnell
Professor of Population and Public Health Science, Keck School of Medicine of USC - Troy Nevil
Undergraduate Student; Chair of Sustainability and Campus Infrastructure, Undergraduate Student Government - Daniel Pecchenino
Past President, Academic Senate; Professor of Writing, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Co-Chair, PWG Engagement Committee - Ishwar Puri
Vice President, USC Office of Research - Jon Reuter
Chief of Operations, Keck Hospital of USC - Maria Romero-Morales
Assistant Chief Diversity Officer for Communication, Community, and Student Engagement, USC Office of Inclusion and Diversity; Adjunct Assistant Professor, USC Price School of Public Policy - Bhavna Sharma
Assistant Professor, USC School of Architecture - Gale Sinatra
Professor of Psychology and the Stephen H. Crocker Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education; Co-Chair, PWG Education Committee - Barbara Sladeck
Assistant Vice President of USC Auxiliary Services - Jill Sohm
Associate Professor (Teaching) of Environmental Studies and Director of Environmental Studies Program, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Co-Chair, PWG Education Committee - Andy Stott
Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Dean of the Graduate School, USC Office of the Provost; Professor of English, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - Effie Turnbull Sanders
Vice President of Civic Engagement and Economic Partnerships, USC University Relations - Kate Weber
Executive Director, Public Exchange - Zelinda Welch
Associate Director of Sustainability, Facilities Planning and Management - Detlof von Winterfeldt
J.A. Tiberti Chair of Ethics and Decision Making and Professor of Systems Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Professor of Public Policy, USC Price School of Public Policy; Executive Director, USC Center for Sustainability Solutions