USC Trojan Family Magazine Autumn 2019 by University of Southern California

F OR

A LU M N I

A N D

F R I E N D S

T H E

U N I V ER SI T Y

S OU T H ER N

CA L I F OR N I A

AUTT U AU UM M N 2 0 1 9 $ 4. 9 5

F A M I L Y THE WAY WEST Aquatic ecologist Carol L. Folt returns to California as USC’s president to help write the university’s next chapter.

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 2

9/13/19 9:14 PM

USC18049-00_Cov2.pgs 09.13.2019 21:21

scene Autumn at USC means starting a new semester of classes, tailgating with friends and getting the most out of shrinking daylight hours. It can also be a time of contemplation. For those in a thoughtful mood, we suggest stopping by the Leavey reflecting pool in Martens Plaza.

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 3

9/13/19 9:14 PM

USC18049-00_Cov3.pgs 09.13.2019 21:21

PHOTO BY CHRIS SHINN

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 1

usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_1.pgs 09.13.2019 21:13

0% PAPER 100% TROJAN

The quarterly magazine of the University of Southern California ————————————— E DI TO RˇI NˇCHI EF

Alicia Di Rado CRE AT I VE DI RE CTOR

Jane Frey M ANAGI NG E DI TOR

Elisa Huang PRO DUCT I O N M ANAG ER

Mary Modina I NT E RACT I VE CO NT E NT MANAG ER

Diana Molleda VI SUALS E DI TOR

Susanica Tam STAF F PHOTO GRAPH ER

Gus Ruelas SCREEN LEGENDS

Celebrate Nine Decades of Cinematic Arts History As the school hits 90, it’s about much more than movies. 3 min read # Arts, University, Cinematic Arts, USC History

I NT E RACT I VE M ARKE T I NG MANAG ER

Rod Yabut ————————————— DE SI GN AND PRO DUCTION

Pentagram ————————————— CO NT RI BUTO RS

Leigh Hopper Eric Lindberg Judith Lipsett Russ Ono Brett Padelford —————————————

Get USC stories on your phone or laptop. Sign up at trojanfamily.usc.edu/subscribe for our monthly e-newsletter.

It’s all at trojanfamily.usc.edu

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 2

USC Trojan Family Magazine 3434 S. Grand Ave., CAL 140 Los Angeles, CA 90089-2818 magazines@usc.edu | (213) 740-2684 USC Trojan Family Magazine (ISSN 8750-7927) is published in March, June, October and December by USC University Communications.

MOVING? Submit your updated mailing address at trojanfamily.usc.edu/subscribe

autumn 2019

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_2.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

INSIDE

Editor’s Note Heroes don’t need a hype man. They just need an opportunity to make a difference.

The Trojan Marching Band gets around—even as far as Abbey Road in London.

Seen and Heard Stories of Trojan life from mail, email and social media.

T R O J A N

News Revisit the Trojan Marching Band’s high notes; deconstruct the art of the sales pitch; and a new pact protects the Coliseum and honors veterans.

History, Mystery and Magic Best-selling author Deborah Harkness looks at fantasy through a historian’s lens.

A Class Act By Bekah Wright An acclaimed actress prepares students for stage and screen.

FA M I LY

BAND PHOTO BY BENJAMIN CHUA; PILOT PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGELA MASSON

47 Alumni News Making rivalry a teachable moment; restaurateurs serve up success; and a musician pivots to the business world.

Class Notes Who’s doing what? (Including an alum who made aviation history.)

F E AT U R E S

Exit Strategy Patients with tough-to-control epilepsy get the help they need when doctors across Southern and Central California hospitals join forces. By Candace Pearson

The Givers Some heroes live selflessly, far from the spotlight. Meet a student, a professor and a staff member who inspire us. By Rachel B. Levin, Constance Sommer and Joanna Clay

The Way West Carol L. Folt returns to California to become USC’s president. Her mission: to help the Trojan Family write its next chapter. By Alicia Di Rado

64 From the Archives Take a look back at USC’s first homecoming in 1924. Its football opponent: the Syracuse Orange. trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 3

Our World in 2050 What will life look like in three decades? As the climate changes, experts across disciplines make their predictions. By Katharine Gammon usc trojan family

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_3.pgs 09.23.2019 15:18

EDITOR’S NOTE

Lately I’ve been taken with the idea of what makes someone a hero. In part, I’m curious because—as a student of history—I wonder about the pressures that make us seek out heroes. Or maybe the many ads for our recent onslaught of superhero movies have permeated my brain. Whatever the reason, I’ve been drawn to people who give me a little jolt of inspiration during the day, especially when they’re seemingly ordinary. These aren’t celebrities or influencers, and they’re not famous or connected. They’re just guided by a moral compass and they love to help others. There are probably countless unsung heroes from the Trojan Family with stories of selflessness. In this issue of the magazine, we’re sharing three of them with you in the hope that they’ll motivate you, just as they’ve motivated us. If you know any unsung USC heroes, be sure to drop me a line at magazines@usc.edu to tell me about them. Oh, and they don’t need to have any superpowers, either.

Justin Ichida, second from left, and members of his lab are on a heroic quest to end ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

PHOTO BY DAMON CASAREZ

Hero Complex

Alicia Di Rado Editor-in-Chief USC Trojan Family Magazine

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 4

autumn 2019

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_4.pgs 09.23.2019 15:18

Musings about Trojan life and USC Trojan Family Magazine from mail, email and the online world.

SEEN AND HEARD

Promises Kept The L.A. Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman ’19 made it to the Super Bowl in February thanks to his athletic prowess. But a few months later, fans were cheering him on for his achievements in the classroom, rather than on the football field. Robey-Coleman completed his last undergraduate course in real estate development at the USC Price School of Public Policy. Robey-Coleman left USC early to enter the NFL in 2013, but he never lost sight of his one piece of unfinished business. “When my mom passed, I made a promise to be there for my sister and to get my degree. And I lived up to every single word, I can honestly say that,” he posted on Twitter in May. In celebration of his recent graduation, the Rams posted videos and interviews on social media and their website celebrating his example. “Getting a degree, you can’t take this from me,” he said during commencement. “I thought the day would never come, but it actually came. It feels good.” To read a full interview with Robey-Coleman about his promise to his mother and his passion for real estate development, visit bit.ly/RobeyColemanUSC online.

ROBEY-COLEMAN AND ROWING PHOTOS BY JOHN MCGILLEN/USC ATHLETICS

Earthquakes 101 When a series of temblors rattled Southern California during Independence Day weekend—including a 7.1 earthquake with an epicenter near Ridgecrest—USC experts sprang into action. James Dolan, an earthquake geologist at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, was on the ground in Ridgecrest to study the aftermath of the largest earthquake to hit the state in 20 years. He shared his findings on KPCC-FM’s “AirTalk” and KCRW-FM’s “Press Play,” explaining to listeners the importance of the Garlock fault, an overlooked site with the potential to trigger a massive earthquake. In the days following, shaken-up residents also heard from John Vidale, a seismologist and Dean’s Professor of Earth Sciences, who appeared on news broadcasts including Good Morning America and spoke to The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal about what could have happened if the quake had been centered in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the local and scientific community checked in with the Southern California Earthquake Center, a consortium of leading research institutions in seismology that is headquartered at USC. The center’s research and analysis were frequently referenced in the aftermath of the quakes, with outlets including The Washington Post citing its key findings and promoting its guidelines for earthquake preparedness.

WE RULE THIS TOWN As the women’s rowing team glided to the finish line in its annual face-off with UCLA, the No. 15-ranked squad claimed its 18th consecutive win against the Bruins. The team’s decisive victory also gave USC the win it needed to clinch the 2019 Crosstown Cup. Launched in 2001, USC and UCLA’s Crosstown Cup—formerly known as the Gauntlet Trophy—pits Trojans and Bruins head to head in 19 sports. USC’s victory this year ends a two-year UCLA reign. It also marks the Trojans’ 11th win since the competition started. Go to bit.ly/CrosstownCup2019 to watch a highlight reel of this year’s winning matchups.

Bragging rights are hard-earned in L.A.’s longstanding college athletics rivalry. These teams vanquished UCLA, helping the Trojans capture the Crosstown Cup: Men’s Water Polo Women’s Swimming and Diving Women’s Golf Men’s Volleyball Women’s Track and Field Women’s Rowing

S TAY

Earthquake expert James Dolan

CROSSTOWN SHOWDOWN

I N

Like Us University of Southern California

T O U C H

Tweet Us @TrojanFamilyMag

Email Us magazines@ usc.edu

Write Us 3434 S. Grand Ave. CAL 140 L.A., CA 90089-2818

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 5

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_5.pgs 09.13.2019 21:14

There is strength in tradition − and pride in legacy. Let our Trojan family be there for yours. Fight on! Brian Flynn Pegine Grayson Ashley Fontanetta Brian Bissell Mason Carpenter

1971 BS & 1985 MFA 1987 LAW 2004 2013 MBA 2013 MBA

Bucky Burge Noreen Jenkins Caleb Silsby Riley Mathies

2009 2005 2011 MBA 2015

David Dahl Jim Parks* Rosa Lee Bob Renken

1992 MBA 1972 BS & 1975 MBTAX 2007 1998 MBTAX

[Listed from top left - right] *Board Member

The values we hold dear define us — family, tradition, integrity. From our roots as a single family office in 1935, guided by these tenets, Whittier Trust has grown to become the largest multi-family office headquartered in the West. We take pride in our USC Trojan alumni who play an integral role in helping manage the financial lives and perpetuate the legacy of individuals, families and leaders whose ingenuity and principles shape our world through positive impact and inspire future generations. To learn more about how you and your family might benefit from our exclusive, customized Wealth Management and Family Office services, call Tim McCarthy at 626.463.2545 or visit us at WhittierTrust.com.

Your Legacy is Our Business. $10 M I L L I O N M A R K E T A B L E S E C U R I T I E S A N D/ O R L I Q U I D A S S E T S R E Q U I R E D. Investment and Wealth Management Services are provided by Whittier Trust Company and The Whittier Trust Company of Nevada, Inc. (referred to herein individually and collectively as “Whittier Trust”), state-chartered trust companies wholly owned by Whittier Holdings, Inc. (“WHI”), a closely held holding company. This document is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended, and should not be construed, as investment, tax or legal advice. Past performance autumn 2019 usc trojan family is no guarantee of future results and no investment or financial planning strategy can guarantee profit or protection against losses. All names, characters, and incidents, except for certain incidental references, are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 6

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_6.pgs 09.13.2019 21:14

TROJAN FLYING HIGH

PHOTO BY MICHAEL OWEN BAKER

For incoming students, a first-time trip to downtown L.A. offers public art, music and international cuisine. Trojans like Jasmine Ho also take advantage of other urban assets: settings begging to be shared on Instagram.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 7

usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_7.pgs 09.13.2019 21:14

trojan news

This is Troy

OCT. 27, 1973 Members travel to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. It launches a nearly 50-game attendance streak against the Fighting Irish that’s still going strong.

Take a trip back in time with “Hollywood’s Band,” one of the most recognizable musical forces in college athletics. 2

JUNE 4, 1979

The band makes rock history when it teams up with Fleetwood Mac to record “Tusk” at Dodger Stadium. The song’s album goes platinum and its music video is put into heavy rotation when MTV launches two years later.

1909

A photo of the band appears in the El Rodeo yearbook for the first time.

1915 Eighteen band members and band director J. Paul Elliott join the Navy and serve on the USS Pueblo. They occasionally perform for dignitaries and at functions while on land duty. After World War I ends, they lead a victory parade on New York’s Fifth Avenue, and nearly all return to USC to finish their degrees.

SEPT. 25, 1923

SEPT. 12, 1970

The band gets funding support from the student body and launches expansion plans for its “greatest year in history” (as heralded by the student newspaper). It orders 50 new uniforms and encourages more students to join by offering one unit of academic credit.

After years building up high school bands in Michigan, Arthur C. Bartner takes the reins as director of the USC Trojan Marching Band. Under his leadership, the band welcomes women and develops its distinctive marching style and sound, becoming known as “The Spirit of Troy” for its support of USC Athletics.

SEPT. 19, 1952 The first USC football game kicks off with Tommy “The Toe” Walker ’48 as band director. Famous for pulling double duty as drum major and place kicker for the football team, Walker is credited with moving the band to Trojan warrior-inspired uniforms. He is also said to have composed the “Charge” trumpet fanfare now ubiquitous in sports arenas.

EL RODEO PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES; OSCARS PHOTO BY MICHAEL YADA/A.M.P.A.S; FORREST GUMP AND FERRELL PHOTOS

Long before you see them, you can usually hear them. Their sound might be a trumpeting fanfare or driving drumbeat, the familiar strains of “Conquest” or the steady, rhythmic march of hundreds of spats-clad feet. When they make their appearance, there’s no mistaking their confident stride and flash of brass. The Trojan Marching Band remains one of the lasting icons of collegiate sports. Growing from a small group of music students to a corps hundreds strong, the band has taken its signature sound from college football championships to the Super Bowl. As band director Arthur C. Bartner enjoys his 50th football season, relive a few of The Spirit of Troy’s milestone moments.

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 8

9/24/19 9:34 AM

USC18049-00_p_8.pgs 09.24.2019 09:40

trojan news 

EL RODEO PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES; OSCARS PHOTO BY MICHAEL YADA/A.M.P.A.S; FORREST GUMP AND FERRELL PHOTOS BY BRETT PADELFORD; ANDERSON PHOTO BY BENJAMIN CHUA. ALL OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF TROJAN MARCHING BAND ARCHIVES.



FEB. 22, 2009

Members of the Spirit of Troy don tuxedos to help Hugh Jackman and Beyoncé salute musicals during the 81st Annual Academy Awards. It is the band’s third Oscars appearance; members previously performed in the 1976 and 2000 broadcasts.

1980 The USC Trojan Marching Band 18801980 is released. It is one of 16 albums by the band. The latest, The Gold Standards, features favorite hits introduced during Bartner’s tenure. 

JULY 4, 1982

The band performs at the Hollywood Bowl's Independence Day concert with Big Bird. The band now returns annually for the summer Tchaikovsky Spectacular, joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the “1812 Overture” finale.





JAN. 25, 1987 On football’s biggest stage, the band performs a “Salute to Hollywood’s 100th Anniversary” during Super Bowl XXI. The group would go on to appear in three Super Bowl halftime shows. 5

JULY 6, 1994

The Spirit of Troy lives up to its reputation as “Hollywood’s Band” when it portrays 1960s-era musicians from the University of Alabama in Forrest Gump. Band members have appeared in 14 films, including The Naked Gun and The Croods, and on TV shows including Fame, Glee, The Tonight Show and American Idol.



APRIL 16, 2018 The Dr. Arthur C. Bartner Pavilion opens as the band’s new home. Featuring locker rooms, instrument and uniform storage and student lounges, the 7,000-squarefoot space is a vision realized thanks to the generosity of band alumni and donors.

NOV. 4, 1995

The largest Trojan Marching Band ever assembled—250 students joined by 750 alumni—gives a thunderous performance at the Stanford game. The sound is rivaled only by roaring applause from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum crowd.

8 8

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 9

APRIL 23, 2019

India Anderson makes history as the first female drum major. Band members vote on the position based on a rigorous auditioning process that tests stationary commands and marching routines.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

OCT. 14, 2013



JULY 28, 1984

More than 2.5 billion people tune in to watch the All-American Olympic Marching Band during the 1984 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. The 800-person group— led by Bartner with 130 USC band members forming its core—showcases the band’s signature drill sets and Americana songbook to a global audience.



Will Ferrell ’90 becomes the first non-student to lead the band. Wielding the drum major’s sword, he helps raise awareness for college scholarships for cancer survivors.

Visit uscband.com/ celebrate50 to learn about the 50th anniversary celebration.

9/24/19 9:34 AM

USC18049-00_p_9.pgs 09.24.2019 09:36

trojan news

Building Character Animated stories on screen often start as scribbles in a notebook.

RULES OF THE GAME In this scene, a little girl covets a boy’s basketball because “it’s much bigger and much more orange … than the orange her mom gives her for breakfast,” Spencer says. As the little girl plants a kiss on the unsuspecting boy, she deftly swipes the ball.

Animation is back and bigger than ever. Thanks to advances in digital technology, animated movies burst onto today’s big screens one after another, and the art permeates pop culture. Some of the big upand-coming talents in the field are streaming steadily out of the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts. How do these artists find inspiration? Two recent graduates, Margaret Spencer ’19 and Yuri Jang MFA ’19, provide a peek into the early stages of their work. Spencer’s ideas and sketches became reality in the student short Caffè, while Jang’s came to life in Thread. (To see more on Spencer and Jang visit bit.ly/USCanimation online.)

Caffè MARGARET SPENCER ’19 The Italian café in her film brings together unlikely partners.

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 10

ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF MARGARET SPENCER

“I studied abroad in Italy and I really loved the communal atmosphere of the coffee shops there, so I wanted to explore that in my film,” Spencer says. “I wanted to create pairs of people who are essentially opposite but brought together by something as small as a coffee break.” autumn 2019

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_10.pgs 09.23.2019 15:18

trojan news Thread YURI JANG MFA ’19 The story tackles the difficult subject of comfort women— women and girls captured by the Imperial Japanese army and forced into sexual slavery in the 1930s and ’40s.

“Researching the topic was painful. But it motivated me...I’m trying to show emotions. It starts by just doodling with a pencil on paper, very simple.”

PAY IT FORWARD Investment services expert Michael Felix joins the USC Board of Trustees.

ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF YURI JANG

INNOCENCE LOST In this scene, the young protagonist sits outside a Korean country home. “I wanted to show her childhood as warm and peaceful by using orange and yellow sunset colors,” Jang says. Scenes in which she is imprisoned are marked by red, signifying danger. The dark lines in the foreground are the ominous shadows of a soldier approaching.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 11

Talented students from underrepresented and diverse populations often struggle to adapt when they reach college. Michael Felix ’83 is determined to help these students succeed at USC and beyond. “As a first-generation college student, I know firsthand how challenging the journey can be—not even knowing what questions to ask, what resources exist or how to navigate college life,” he says. “I want to help level the playing field and create transformative opportunities for those from underprivileged circumstances. Getting into USC is one thing, but leveraging all it has to offer is another.” As the newest member of the USC Board of Trustees, Felix plans to continue strengthening diversity and inclusion efforts across campus. He has previously served the university as chair of the USC School of Dramatic Arts Board of Councilors and as a member of the USC Caruso Catholic Center Advisory Board and USC Latino Alumni Association Corporate Advisory Council. A seasoned veteran of the financial services industry, Felix joined The Capital Group Companies in 1987, climbing the ranks to his most recent role overseeing global investment operations. He also has served as a director, senior vice president and treasurer of several other subsidiary companies within the firm. ERIC LINDBERG usc trojan family

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_11.pgs 09.23.2019 15:18

trojan news BEST ON THE TEST

Lives, Not Grades Students look for solutions at the forefront of a migration crisis. Twenty-six USC students were presented with a homework assignment: Create solutions for people caught up in the global refugee crisis, which has forced nearly 71 million people from their homes. “I was just coming out of jet lag from visiting family in India and a couple of nights playing Fortnite, and you’re asking me to do what?” Arya Bhatia, a USC Marshall School of Business junior, remembers

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 12

thinking. “I understood right then and there that this course was unlike anything I had ever taken before.” “Innovation in Engineering Design for Global Challenges” asks graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines to design ways to improve life for refugees. Each student team has two semesters and $6,000 to tackle such issues as improved sanitation, shelters, electricity, mental health, education, access to information and security. During the course’s first year, students worked with refugees in Greece and built prototypes ranging from a portable shower

that uses recycled water to an information aggregator that stores life-saving data for disjointed government agencies and NGOs. The instructors hope the course becomes a training model for a new generation of engineers facing global crises. “This is about tangible, real-world impact,” says David Gerber, one of the course’s three instructors and an associate professor of architecture and civil and environmental engineering practice. One benefit: Students focus on innovation and the real effects of their work, not grades. Says Gerber: “Don’t just tell me what you’re going to build— show me.” DANIEL DRUHOR A

PHOTO BY ELIAS MARCOU

If you want to find pharmacists who know their stuff, try USC School of Pharmacy alumni. The 2018 graduating class’s 97.7% passing rate on California’s licensure exam was the highest in the state on the rigorous test. It’s one of two exams that aspiring pharmacists must take to practice in the Golden State.

autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:34 AM

USC18049-00_p_12.pgs 09.24.2019 09:36

trojan news

THE ECONOMIST AND EDUCATOR The dean of the Wharton School is set to move to the USC Marshall School of Business.

The Art of the Ad A marketing expert explains how commercials can inspire viewers to buy a product—even when it’s never shown on screen.

AD PHOTO COURTESY OF BUDWEISER; GARRETT PHOTO BY ARAN ANDERSON

For as long as there has been television, there have been advertisers trying to sell their products on it. Lately, many advertisers have shifted their strategy: Instead of making a direct sales pitch, they’re selling a story that makes viewers feel good. What’s behind this trend toward narrative advertising—and does it work? These are the kinds of questions that Eunjin “Anna” Kim explores at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The assistant professor explains to USC Annenberg writer Ted Kissell why good storytelling can inspire us to spend. When you talk about storytelling in advertising, what do you mean? For most of their existence, TV commercials have been like, “Hey, buy this product! It’s faster, cheaper, more efficient!” Then, around 2012, I started to see an increase in commercials that tell stories. They don’t always talk about the selling point, which was always a big deal in advertising: Why do you have to buy this product? Instead of simply telling you about the benefits of the product, they show how the advertised product can help you achieve your consumption goals. It doesn’t say anything directly about the product, but it’s still very persuasive. It’s more about a feeling and a narrative, right? Yes, it touches a human emotion and makes a connection. …The presence of a main character in a story and their actions in the plot enable a viewer to relate to the story in the ad, which

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 13

in turn generates more positive feelings. Such connection is known to promote vicarious learning through the main character’s feelings, thoughts and beliefs, and is likely to lower the viewer’s resistance to the ad story. … [But] if a brand is not well integrated into the story, your ad may not do much for claims about the benefits of the brand. Then you are kind of wasting money. So, brand integration is still critical? Branding is a process of creating meaning, and attaching that meaning to the brand, and then building a relationship between that brand and the viewer. There are three kinds of relationships: functional, emotional and symbolic. For example, let’s say this ibuprofen really helps you recover quickly from your headache. The ad shows a woman suffering from a headache, and then she feels a lot better—that’s the functional relationship. An emotional relationship is when a brand makes you feel good about using or owning the brand. Think about one of Budweiser’s famous Super Bowl commercials, “Puppy Love,” which tells a touching story about a friendship between a cute golden retriever and a Clydesdale. Finally, the symbolic relationship would be that Audi commercial from a few years back: A dateless high school student was reluctant to go to prom, and his dad gave him the keys to his new Audi, which gave the teen confidence. That’s symbolic—the car is aspirational, a symbol of who you are, or who you wish to be.

When Geoffrey Garrett joins USC in July 2020, it will represent a homecoming. The incoming dean of the USC Marshall School of Business was a USC professor of business administration, communication, international relations and law from 2001 to 2005. More than a decade later, he’s excited to return to Los Angeles. “USC Marshall is innovative, entrepreneurial and global, with great faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends,” he says. “There is tremendous momentum at the school. This is a great foundation on which to build.” Garrett, an expert in global economics, politics, business and management, currently serves as dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He’s also the school’s Reliance Professor of Management and Private Enterprise and a professor of management and political science. Born in Australia, Garrett earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from the Australian National University. He completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in political science at Duke University, where he was a Fulbright scholar. He has taught at Oxford, Yale and Stanford universities and is the founding CEO of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He previously was dean of the business schools at the University of Sydney and University of New South Wales in Australia. ERIC ERIC LINDBERG LINDBERG Geoffrey Garrett will take the helm at USC Marshall.

usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:34 AM

USC18049-00_p_13.pgs 09.24.2019 09:36

trojan news

Fueling Change Is hydrogen the answer to our energy needs? An aerospace and mechanical engineer explains how to bring this fuel down to earth.

Hydrogen-powered cars sound squeaky clean. Why arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we all driving them? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s virtually no pure hydrogen on Earth because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so reactive. Most hydrogen is made from methane [natural gas] in a process that produces carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Hydrogen can also be made from water using electrolysis, but that requires electrical energy. To get that, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re back to burning fossil fuels. Hydrogen is only as clean as the energy used to produce it. Are there other limitations? Hydrogen in vehicles must be compressed in expensive high-pressure tanks, which requiresâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;you guessed itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;energy. Current hydrogen vehicles use fuel cells to convert the chemical energy to power. Fuel cells are very costly because they are complex and require expensive materials such as platinum. Can we get around that? Fuel cells are appealing because, in theory, they overcome efficiency limitations associated with traditional internal combustion engines. Think of the energy wasted as heat and noise in a traditional vehicle. While many scientists are exploring ways to make cheaper fuel cells, my research takes a different approach: improving the

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 14

feasibility of internal combustion engines that use hydrogen.

How to Get Hydrogen Electricity can be used to collect hydrogen from water. Scientists are looking for smarter ways to make this happen.

Electrolysis

Current

An electrical current passed through water can split water into its componentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;hydrogen and oxygen. Researchers worldwide are studying catalysts to make the process more efficient and cheaper.

What are the advantages of burning hydrogen? First and foremost, internal combustion engines are cheap to make and can easily be modified to run on hydrogen. As with fuel cells, the main waste product is water, not carbon dioxide. Also, unlike gasoline, hydrogen burns well in â&#x20AC;&#x153;fuel-lean conditions,â&#x20AC;? where there is a lot more oxygen than fuel. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for fuel efficiency and also vastly reduces nitrogen oxide emissions. How about using hydrogen in stationary applications? The transportation sector has been asked to bear the brunt of the responsibility for reducing greenhouse gases even though it contributes only one-third. If weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re serious about tackling climate change we need to move away from fossil fuels in non-vehicle applications also. The idea of piping hydrogen into homes or businesses seems far-fetched, but it is possible. The current liquid natural gas infrastructure could be modified for hydrogen. The flammability of hydrogen presents safety concerns, but with the right provisions these concerns can be mitigatedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;electricity is dangerous, yet we are all using that.

SAR AH NIGHTING ALE

Water Oxygen

Hydrogen

Photoelectrolysis

Light source

Some scientists are studying how to use sunlight to fuel reactions that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen. "OE PUIFS NFUIPET EPOnU VTF Water FMFDUSJDJUZ BT BO JOUFSNFEJBSZ BU BMM

Solar panel

Current

Oxygen

Hydrogen

Biological Methods Algae naturally produces hydrogen. It could be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for human use. Donnt plan on it anytime soon, though: The research is QSFMJNJOBSZ.

Light source ILLUSTRATION BY 5W INFOGRAPHICS

The hydrogen fuel that launches NASA rockets into space and provides electrical power via fuel cells produces only one waste product: water so pure the astronaut crew can drink it. Here on Earth, the first cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells hit the market in 2015, promising cleaner air and a healthier planet. But if you have yet to see one on the road, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not aloneâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;currently there are fewer than 7,000 in the U.S. So why hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hydrogen gone mainstream? Paul Ronney, a USC Viterbi School of Engineering professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering who studies combustion and propulsion, says hydrogen has some barriers before itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including efficiency and costâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and he is studying what it would take to overcome some of them. Here, he brings us up to speed on the field.

Green microalgae photosynthesis

Water Hydrogen

Oxygen

autumn 2019

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_14.pgs 09.23.2019 15:18

trojan news

Meet the Provost Internationally recognized chemical engineer and proven administrator Charles Zukoski joins USC.

A PLACE TO CALL HOME

ZUKOSKI PHOTO BY DOUGLAS LEVERE

Say goodbye to Priam: The residential college is renamed after the McMorrows. For two years, undergrads pulled all-nighters, met best friends and devoured countless pizzas at USC Village’s Priam Residential College. But when students moved into the building in August, their home had a new name: the William and Leslie McMorrow Residential College. The renaming recognizes USC Trustee William McMorrow ’69, MBA ’70 and his wife, Leslie, longtime USC benefactors. William McMorrow credits USC for fostering relationships and creating a sense of community among its students. “The friendships I built during my time at USC have been such a big part of my success in life,” he says. Dedicated supporters of students, the McMorrows also endowed USC’s signature college access program, now known as the USC Leslie and William McMorrow Neighborhood Academic Initiative. Besides serving on the USC Board of Trustees, William McMorrow sits on the executive board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and the President’s Leadership Council. He also endowed the McMorrow Global Real Estate Initiative, helped launch the Performance Science Institute at the USC Marshall School of Business and created a USC initiative called With Your Shield for veteran families transitioning to civilian life.

USC recently welcomed a new academic leader: Charles Zukoski. A skilled administrator and respected researcher, Zukoski now holds the post of provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. As the second-ranking administrator, the provost oversees all academic programs at the university, the 23 professional schools and units, and USC’s educational policies. “Dr. Zukoski joins USC with decades of extensive experience in higher education,” USC President Carol L. Folt says. “He is committed to excellence and knows how to bring diverse groups together to build interdisciplinary teams.” Zukoski moves west from the University at Buffalo, where he was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. The University at Buffalo is the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York system. Under his leadership, the university improved its graduation rates, transformed its curriculum for undergraduates, diversified its student body, expanded research productivity and launched global learning programs. “USC is a fabulous educational and research institution. I’m excited to work closely with President Folt, the deans, faculty and students to grow the academic excellence that is inherent to USC. This is a pivotal time in USC’s

history,” says Zukoski, holder of the Shelly and Ofer Nemirovsky Provost’s Chair. Prior to joining the University at Buffalo, he had a lengthy career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he rose from assistant professor to department head to vice chancellor for research. Zukoski is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers named him one of its 100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era. He earned his PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University and his bachelor’s degree in physics from Reed College. ERIC LINDBERG

Charles Zukoski became provost on Oct. 1.

ERIC LINDBERG

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 15

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_15.pgs 09.13.2019 21:14

trojan news HE A LT H FILES

A Landmark Partnership

There’s a reason for office battles over the thermostat: Women work better at warmer temperatures. In a USC study, women scored higher on math and verbal tests as the temperature climbed. Men seemed to do better as it dropped. Findings suggest that comfortable temperature is more than just a personal preference.

The Trojans now play at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Angelenos love the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and they love America’s veterans. A new sponsorship agreement helps preserve and honor the legacy of both. Thanks to a 10-year pact between United Airlines and USC, the USC Trojans now play football on the newly renamed United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The agreement keeps the venue’s original name while also providing USC with funds to restore and preserve the aging stadium, which reopened in August. The $315 million renovation upgraded facilities and added amenities for fans, athletes and the community. Work included

protecting the stadium’s famous Roman peristyle, adding legroom to seats and upgrading plumbing and wiring. The Coliseum was constructed and opened in 1923 as a memorial to World War I veterans. As part of the new agreement, USC and United are identifying ways to honor local veterans. Plans are being finalized to build a memorial in honor of veterans and to provide support programs for USC’s student-veterans. Jointly owned by the state, the county and the city of Los Angeles, the Coliseum is managed and operated by USC under a lease that extends through 2111. RON MACKOVICH

A memorial to World War I veterans, the Coliseum opened to the public in June 1923. The Coliseum was named a National and California Historic Landmark in 1984.

Why can some people quit smoking and others can’t? An expansive national study from USC found that disadvantages in life—such as unemployment and poverty—are linked to increased smoking risk and lower success at kicking the habit.

More than 2,600 workers were part of the latest renovation. They devoted more than 800,000 hours to the project.

Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice were reversed when the rodents ate a special diet containing compounds found in green tea and carrots. USC researchers plan to further study whether a plant-based diet or plant-based supplements might offer protection against dementia in humans. As many as half of all Americans with hepatitis B or C don’t know they’re infected, according to a survey of thousands of adults. These patients are at risk for health problems and may unwittingly transmit the virus. USC physicians hope the results encourage greater testing.

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 16

autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_16.pgs 09.24.2019 09:36

trojan news

History, Mystery and Magic Best-selling author Deborah Harkness looks at fantasy through a historian’s lens.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES PHOTO COURTESY OF AMC; HARKNESS PHOTO BY SCARLETT FREUND

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Visit bit.ly/HarknessUSC to watch the full video interview.

Combining magical fantasy with historical intrigue, Deborah Harkness’ best-selling All Souls book trilogy catapulted the historian into literary stardom. Readers can devour her stories in 37 languages, at last count. Last year, her stories found an even wider audience with the television debut of A Discovery of Witches, based on the first book of her series. (The show has already been picked up for two more seasons.) So what is it like to teach history at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences while also writing stories about witches and vampires? They’re more compatible than you might think, she says.

HARKNESS ON BECOMING A HISTORIAN: I became an Early Modernist as an undergrad. I had a fabulous professor, as many [historians] did. We can often point to the moment where it seemed all the lights in the room got brighter and our minds switched on. For me, it was in a class held in the library at Mt. Holyoke College with Harold Garrett Goodyear, and it was a course on magic, knowledge and power in early modern Europe. He asked, “How do you know what you think you know?” That was the moment I became a historian.

ON HOW BEING A HISTORIAN INFORMS HER FICTION WRITING: I discovered a little bit of history goes a long way. I like to describe the exact grain of wood or the exact weave of a textile. ... For me, it’s all about putting in those little accents that make you feel like you’re really, really there, as opposed to telling something that has a complicated historical arc.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 17

ON MIXING SCIENCE, RELIGION AND MAGIC: One of the things that worries me most as a historian of science is the tendency to see science and religion as antithetical. When I think about magic, I think of it as almost a form of faith or worship. But so is science. We place our faith when we hit a light switch that the light will turn on, in much the same way that someone in the [Early Modern period] had faith that God was looking over us all and arranged things to His satisfaction. And neither one is any better or worse. In my classroom and in my historical work, I want people to think about the lines we draw between science and magic and religion.

ON WORKING AS AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR THE TELEVISION SHOW: I’m sort of like the Queen of England in that I have a great deal of symbolic power because I wrote the books. But really my job is to advise, counsel and warn. I’m not there to make legislation or make decisions—that’s up to the directors and producers. I’m there to be available and occasionally get extremely bossy about a historical detail that everybody thinks is not important. … [These books] are my charges and I’m their guardian, and I’m there to make sure they’re OK.

ON BEING CALLED AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS: I started A Discovery of Witches in 2008. So, like most sudden successes, it’s actually been quite a long way in coming. In a way, I’ve been researching the book since 1982, when I was in college. So talk about a slow burn, but I got there in the end.

“I started A Discovery of Witches in 2008. So, like most sudden successes, it’s actually been quite a long way in coming.” —Deborah Harkness

usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_17.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

FA C U LT Y

P R O F I L E

K AT E

B U R TO N

A Class Act

Kate Burton offers students the benefit of her experience, including acting opposite Kevin Kline on Broadway.

An acclaimed actress teaches skills that will serve her students on screen, stage and beyond.

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 18

with her “Auditioning for Camera” class. “I went to the Yale School of Drama and no one ever trained us in this,” says the professor of theatre practice. “We were expected to walk into a film or TV audition and just know what to do.” Acting wasn’t even on Burton’s radar when she was her students’ age. Focusing on European history and Russian studies at Brown University, she planned to be a diplomat. But her advisor was convinced that she was born to act. She changed course and went on to earn an MFA at the Yale School of Drama. The Emmy Award-winning actress spent decades building her stage, film and television experience. Recent memorable roles include Ellis Grey on Grey’s Anatomy, U.S. Vice President Sally Langston on Scandal and Volumnia in Coriolanus for New

York’s Shakespeare in the Park. Her turn as a professor at USC is her latest acting collaboration. “USC is in a class by itself when it comes to training actors for the stage,” Burton says. “The BA, BFA and MFA are all robust programs that prepare young actors for the professional world.” She credits the cross-pollination of faculty and students from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, USC Thornton School of Music and USC Kaufman School of Dance for a dynamic academic experience. “USC is one of the only universities in the United States that offers all of these opportunities,” she says. “And our location in Hollywood is essential to the growth of our actors.” Students also benefit from her extensive background in Russian studies and acting, which form

the basis for what she teaches and directs at USC. In addition to her camera class, Burton offers a mid-century American drama course and has directed Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and three Chekhov plays. In a digital era that’s constantly shifting in trends and content, she teaches the fundamentals of the craft—how to control voice, physical presence, expression and character interpretation, to name a few—to help young actors focus on the timeless aspects of their profession. “Through the ages, actors have provided entertainment, education and inspiration to the world,” she says. “I come from a family of actors [she’s the daughter of Richard and Sybil Burton] and am still amazed to find this to be an essential truth.”

PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

“Rolling!” As the classroom camera focuses in, student Evan Wank transforms into The Dark Knight’s Joker. Channeling a manic energy and off-kilter laugh, he is startling, chilling. But with the word “Cut!” the Joker disappears, and Wank breaks into a mild grin. “It’s very different than theater,” he says about his first time performing for the camera. “In theater, you get a reaction from the audience and know exactly how you’re doing. When filming, there can’t be any background noise, no reactions, so it felt like I was doing something wrong.” His dramatic arts professor, Kate Burton, assures him he did everything right. “I really have to get used to this camera business,” says Wank, who graduated in May. This is precisely Burton’s goal

BEK AH WRIGHT

autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_18.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

THE KECK EFFECT

Comprehensive care for total breast health. Experts at the USC Breast Center deliver exceptional care for any breast concern. Our renowned team of physicians are from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, a top cancer care provider in Southern California. Our breast physicians provide the most advanced therapies available, and we make sure you can see a team of different subspecialists all in a single visit to our unique multidisciplinary clinic. We offer state-of-the-art breast cancer screening as well as the latest medical and surgical treatments â&#x20AC;&#x201D; so you can receive the best possible care, tailored just for you.

USC Breast Center

TKTK CREDIT

KeckMedicine.org/BRTFM | (213) 810-3717

trojanfamily.usc.edu

usc trojan family

ÂŠ 2019 Keck Medicine of USC

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 19

9/13/19 9:22 PM

USC18049-00_p_19.pgs 09.13.2019 21:24

TKTK CREDIT

trojan health

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 20

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_20.pgs 09.13.2019 21:15

trojan health

Specialists across Southern and Central California have joined forces to find answers for patients who dream of freedom from debilitating epilepsy. BY CANDACE PEARSON ILLUSTRATIONS BY HARRY CAMPBELL

Daniel Higaredo’s epileptic seizures came on so unpredictably and uncontrollably that he couldn’t work or drive. Over his four decades of life, epilepsy had drawn an ever-constricting circle around him. His seizures started soon after he was born. When he hit his teens, they subsided enough that he could take a job in a fast food restaurant, but they returned so violently he had to quit. The doctors he consulted near his home in Bakersfield, California, prescribed a series of medications. None of them calmed the electrical storms in his brain for long. Some 50 million people worldwide live with epilepsy, according to the World Health Organization, and Higaredo is one of them. His condition causes convulsive, uncontrollable seizures. Antiseizure drugs can control the neurological condition for about two-thirds of people, but Higaredo isn’t among them. Patients in the remaining third have what’s called refractory epilepsy, which requires teams of specialists. This type of care, however, can be tough to find outside big cities. But Higaredo wasn’t ready to give up. In 2018, he told his daughter, Amanda Shaffer, that he wanted to find a new doctor. It would turn out to be a fortuitous decision. BUILDING A COMMUNITY At about the same time, a group of epilepsy experts were launching trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 21

the USC Epilepsy Care Consortium. This collaboration of six independent, comprehensive centers in Southern California aims to bring excellent care to patients with epilepsy regardless of their age, location or socioeconomic background, says co-founder Charles Liu, a Keck Medicine of USC neurosurgeon and director of the USC Neurorestoration Center. One of the member centers is the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center on the USC Health Sciences Campus in east Los Angeles. The National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) has designated USC’s center a Level 4—its highest rating— because its physicians can provide expert care for the most complex cases. The center also sees more patients than almost any other in the world. USC offered the resources that Higaredo needed, but he didn’t know how to tap into them. Los Angeles is only a two-hour drive away from California’s Central Valley, but from his perspective, it could have been on the moon. That’s the problem that Liu and his colleague Christianne Heck MD ’91, MMM ’05, director of the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, began confronting 15 years ago. “Patients in the community weren’t getting the care they needed,” Heck says. Small hospitals and centers often have few consistent connections to doctors experienced in handling complicated, puzzling cases, and patients often struggle to find specialists on their own. usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_21.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

trojan health

So the USC physicians began reaching out to other centers to partner with them and get the appropriate care to more patients, sooner. Joined by other epilepsy specialists at USC, the group aligned physicians at Keck Hospital of USC and Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. Next, they established an epilepsy center at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center for patients served by the L.A. County Department of Health Services and its vast system of hospitals, health centers and community clinics. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach soon WHAT joined in.

the time that patient arrives at our center for some aspect of their care, we already know them.” The result is a systematic plan of care for each patient. Through its resource-sharing strategy, USC’s consortium has the strength and combined expertise of its six centers. Patients can move from center to center to receive the specific resources they need. “We help our patients navigate every phase of their care,” Veedu says. An electronic data-reporting system tracks each patient’s visits and consultations with consortium health care providers, so the entire team IS can coordinate care.

EPILEPSY? Epilepsy is a

For Higaredo, physicians recommended two Then came the step that would change the life chronic neurologisophisticated tests at the USC Comprehensive of Daniel Higaredo and other epilepsy patients in cal disorder that is characterized by Epilepsy Center that helped them plan treatCentral California. The physicians partnered with recurrent seizures. ment. One, called the Wada test, is important Kern Medical in Bakersfield to establish the first for protecting memory and communication. It epilepsy program of its kind for adults in the vast A seizure happens when chemical determines whether a patient’s language function agricultural valley. changes in nerve is housed on the right or left side of the brain, For neurologist Hari K. Veedu, medical director cells cause a and which side of the brain has better memory. of the Kern Medical Epilepsy Center, it was an idea sudden surge of electrical activity The second was neuropsychological testing, which long overdue. “Most of the medical and surgical adin the brain. pinpoints the areas of the brain that have been vances being discussed in national and international affected by seizure activity. conferences are largely irrelevant to patients in rural Seizures may be related to a brain Other patients may benefit from a new diagregions, which lack basic epilepsy care, much less injury or genetnostic test that measures changes in blood flow to comprehensive epilepsy centers,” Veedu says. “That ics, but in 60% of the brain that can trigger seizures. is, until we opened our epilepsy center.” patients, the cause is unknown. When Higaredo and his daughter arrived at By the time Higaredo arrived at the Kern MedUSC, they experienced a “seamless process,” she ical Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, the program was alThere are 3.4 milsays. “It was all so easy and reassuring. The whole ready on its way to earning Level 3 status from the lion people living team was great.” with epilepsy in NAEC. The USC Epilepsy Care Consortium rethe United States, Back in Bakersfield after his tests, Higarecently welcomed its sixth member, Valley Children’s making it the do underwent surgery at Kern Medical Center Hospital in Madera, giving Central Valley patients fourth most comin March. For Veedu, Higaredo’s journey of care of all ages an entry to comprehensive care. mon neurological disorder. represents the best of what the consortium offers With USC as the academic core, the consorpatients: care close to home, drawing from the tium spans a full range of medical settings: urban collective expertise of top epilepsy physicians. and rural, public and private, adult and pediatric. And each patient’s case is different. Some “Our members are all NAEC-certified and represent nearly one-third of all certified epilepsy centers in California,” patients complete all necessary testing near their homes and then Liu says. “There is no other model of care for epilepsy like this in travel to USC for treatment unavailable nearby. Advanced treatments available at the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center inthe world.” Higaredo didn’t know any of that history. He just wanted his clude what are called responsive neurostimulation devices. These devices act like a sort of pacemaker for the brain, short-circuiting life back. seizures before they happen. Keck Medicine of USC helped pioneer this therapy through clinical trials. THE CHANCE FOR CHANGE The center also offers laser interstitial thermal therapy, a minInside the monitoring unit in Bakersfield, Higaredo underwent video electroencephalographic monitoring. In this test, electrodes imally invasive surgery that uses heat to destroy the region of the attached to the scalp record brain waves. The test showed that Hig- brain where seizures begin. These advances have added up to the one outcome that matters aredo’s seizures concentrated in his left temporal lobe. Veedu took these results to the consortium’s weekly surgical to Higaredo: “I feel really good.” Now 44, he hasn’t had a single seizure since his surgery. He can conference. Every Wednesday, specialists from each of the six participating centers gather to talk about their complex cases. Some finally make plans, with hopes to be more active and social, and physicians meet in person at USC, while others, like Veedu, con- maybe even start a job. “I’m excited for him,” daughter Amanda says. “He’ll be able to sult by teleconference. “We discuss the best strategy for each patient,” Liu says. “By have a much happier life.”

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 22

autumn 2019

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_22.pgs 09.23.2019 15:18

TKTK CREDIT

trojan health

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 23

usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_23.pgs 09.13.2019 21:15

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 24

9/23/19 3:13 PM USC18049-00_p_24.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

THE GIVERS H E R O E S don’t always W E A R C A P E S . Some Trojans U P L I F T A N D I N S P I R E others every day in quiet yet L I F E - C H A N G I N G W AY S .

S T O R I E S BY RACHEL B . LEVIN, C O N S TA N C E S O M M E R A N D J O A N N A C L AY P H OT O G R A P H S BY DAMON CASAREZ

< GHECEMY LOPEZ, LEFT, ENCOURAGED GLORIA ESTRADA TO STAY ACTIVE THROUGH EXERCISE DURING CANCER RECOVERY.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 25

octors told Gloria Estrada she probably had six months to live. As if that weren’t enough, the chemotherapy coursing through her veins to stave off her stage 4 colon cancer was damaging the nerves in her hands and legs, leaving her with debilitating pain and depression. But eight years later, Estrada has defied predictions. Her cancer is in remission, and she can walk again—with the help of a cane—around her Boyle Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles. Estrada credits her recovery to her medical team and her “angel”: Ghecemy Lopez, a cancer navigation specialist at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Lopez helps cancer patients juggle their treatments in an often complicated health care system and bolsters their spirits. “This is not a job,” Lopez explains. “This is my mission.” Every day, Lopez changes lives, and she is in good company. USC has its share of uplifting Trojans. There are scientists tirelessly trying to find cures for devastating diseases, and students who have returned to college after hardship to better their lives. They’re inspiring others in quiet ways, far from the limelight. Read on to meet a few of them. usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_25.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 26

9/13/19 9:11 PM USC18049-00_p_26.pgs 09.13.2019 21:15

GHECEMY LOPEZ

TH E C AN C ER C RU SAD E R

< LOPEZ HAS GUIDED MORE THAN 400 PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS THROUGH THEIR CANCER JOURNEYS.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 27

Ghecemy Lopez had just earned her master’s degree in education and was working two jobs. She and her husband were talking about trying for their first baby. Then, while she was watching TV one night, she felt something in her breast that wasn’t supposed to be there. It couldn’t be happening—not when she had only just turned 30—but it was. Doctors diagnosed Lopez with what’s called triple-negative breast cancer, a form of the disease that defies many common cancer-fighting drugs. She also carried the inherited BRCA1 gene mutation, which raises the risk not only of breast cancer, but also several other tumors. Time flew by in a blur. Because the cancer was growing rapidly, “I had to make the quick decision of starting chemotherapy with the warning that I could potentially become infertile for the rest of my life,” she remembers. Fortunately, chemotherapy and surgeries beat back Lopez’s cancer. Then she battled through thyroid “I FELT AN cancer two years later. UR G E NCY TO B E As she climbed out of the experience, a A B L E TO PAY new life’s purpose BAC K FO R MY came into focus: adO P P O RTUN I T Y TO vocacy for cancer patients facing similar L I VE AGAI N .” challenges. “I felt an urgency to be able to pay back for my opportunity to live again,” she says. Lopez began volunteering on patient boards at hospitals and in cancer education outreach programs in low-income areas of Los Angeles. In 2014, the National Breast Cancer Coalition recognized her work with its Grassroots Advocacy Award. When the Ronnie Lippin Cancer Support and Navigation Program began in 2015 at USC Norris cancer center with help from the Tower Cancer Research Foun-

dation, “I felt like all the stars aligned and made this program happen,” Lopez says. Today, Lopez manages the program and compassionately walks patients through the cancer journey to make it a little less frightening. More than 400 patients and their family members have participated, she says. For patients, she says, “the most difficult thing is not having enough time to gather information, to process information, to make the appropriate decisions. If we don’t have guidance, we feel overwhelmed.” Many patients in the program live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to speak English—much less understand the complexities of cancer. On any given day, Lopez may give rides to patients who don’t have transportation, accompany them to important doctor’s appointments, or connect them with community agencies to help them find day care for their kids. For Rodrigo Torres, one barrier was money: A medication for his lymphoma would cost the El Sereno retiree about $1,067 per day. Lopez swiftly stepped in, helping him apply for Medi-Cal assistance and private funding that offset the cost. Lopez established a bond with Torres and his wife, Yolanda—and when Torres died in 2017 at age 79 of a stroke, Lopez supported his wife through the loss. Even today, Lopez keeps a photo of Torres above her desk. “She has a big heart,” Yolanda Torres says. Lopez understands how cancer can transform and upend priorities. She has lived through it herself and aims to help patients focus on what’s important. A dedicated patient advocate, she is also on track to graduate and receive her doctoral degree in social work from the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work in 2020. “I don’t sweat the little things that I used to sweat prior to cancer,” Lopez says. “Just being alive and doing this, it’s a blessing already.” usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_27.pgs 09.13.2019 21:15

JUSTIN ICHIDA

HIS R AC E AGAI NST A L S Justin Ichida regularly gets emails from strangers asking the same urgent question: “Will your research on ALS be done in time to save my life?” The emails are a constant reminder that he’s in a race against time. “I don’t really know them, but they tell me their whole story,” says Ichida, a scientist with the USC Stem Cell program. He hopes one day to have the answers they want to hear. Ichida studies the genetic components of ALS, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, to seek a cure for the progressive neurodegenerative condition. In 2018, his lab had a breakthrough, pinpointing a drug that seems to halt the progression of the disease in a certain type of ALS. About 10% of ALS patients have this type. The advance offered a sign of hope. ALS attacks nerve cells in a steady march that weakens muscles, leaving the sufferer physically paralyzed but mentally intact. Those with ALS generally live only two to five years after diagnosis. “It’s our responsibility to put in 110% to make sure that we’re doing the best possible job in finding a cure for these people,” Ichida says. Sometimes he wishes he could just lock the door of his lab and keep working until he finds an answer. He thinks about the women and men who are struggling—patients like Nanci Ryder. Ichida first met the Hollywood publicist when Ryder visited his lab in 2015. A prolific ALS fundraiser with a ready sense of humor, she could still move and talk then. Her quick-fire jokes and sarcastic comments made Ichida laugh. But when Ichida went to see Ryder at her home the next year, he found ALS had completely paralyzed her. Health aides had put signs up on the wall reading “yes” and “no.” She responded to questions with her

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 28

eyes, looking to one sign or the other. Yet her mind is likely as engaged as ever, Ichida says. Relationships with people like Ryder motivate his nonstop search for a cure. Ichida’s love of science started as a child when he read Jurassic Park, the novel about the chaos that ensues after scientists create genetically engineered dinosaurs. “The idea that all you needed was DNA to recreate life—I thought that was fascinating,” Ichida says. “I wanted to do that in real life.” In a way, that’s exactly what his lab does. For years, scientists have been stymied by their inability to study living nerve cells. They’re inaccessible in patients who are “I T ’S O UR alive. But researchers in Ichida’s USC R ES P O N S I B I LI T Y lab managed to take TO P UT I N 1 1 0 % skin cells from peo... I N FI N DI N G A ple who have ALS CUR E FO R T HES E and, using DNA, converted those cells P EO P LE.” into motor neuron cells. Then they could watch those nerve cells act out ALS in a petri dish. Ichida joined with other scientists and investors to launch a start-up business, AcuraStem, to focus on ALS drug therapy development. Otherwise, he fears, his discovery for the relatively small ALS market could get nowhere at a big pharmaceutical company with more lucrative targets. Since forming in 2016, AcuraStem researchers have discovered many drug candidates that they’ve geared for human clinical trials. One day, they hope these drugs can be used by ALS patients to preserve or rescue their neurons before they lose the ability to walk, talk, swallow or breathe. With his inbox full of pleas from patients and their desperate loved ones, Ichida knows there’s no time to waste.

ICHIDA IS DETERMINED TO UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS, OR LOU GEHRIG’S DISEASE. >

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:11 PM

USC18049-00_p_28.pgs 09.13.2019 21:15

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 29

usc trojan family

9/25/19 5:46 PM

USC18049-00_p_29.pgs 09.25.2019 17:49

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 30

9/23/19 3:13 PM USC18049-00_p_30.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

M A R G A R I TA LO P E Z

IT ’ S H E R T I M E

< AT AGE 59, LOPEZ HAS SEEN SEVERAL OF HER CHILDREN GRADUATE COLLEGE. SHE’S READY FOR HER TURN NOW.

Every morning, Margarita Lopez is in her son Emilio’s room, getting him ready for the day. She turns on KTLA 5 news, his favorite, and gets him dressed before using a lift to hoist him from the bed into his wheelchair. The young man—now 25 years old—has cerebral palsy. “It’s like one of those pit stops at a race,” Lopez says. “You just do it fast.” Lopez moves quickly because she might be late for class. At age 59, she’s a senior studying psychology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “I can’t believe I’ve done what I’ve done,” says Lopez, a Hawthorne, California, resident. “It’s surreal.” Education was always a priority in the Lopez household. Even though she never finished high school, she home-schooled her eight children for the bulk of their childhoods, later doing whatever she could to get them into elite private and public high “I C A N ’ T BEL I EVE schools—including I ’ VE D O NE WHAT volunteering at their I ’ VE D O N E. I T ’S schools—between a job at the craft SU R R EAL .” store Michael’s and gigs cleaning homes. Many went on to four-year universities, including the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Berkeley. But now, she’s the college student, thanks to the encouragement of her daughters—and a life-changing tragedy. Her daughter Milanca had a son at age 16 yet went on to graduate from UC Berkeley. She was about to start graduate school at UCLA when she and her 6-year-old boy were killed in a car accident. Milanca had

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 31

encouraged her mom to chase her dream of higher education. “I found a message on Facebook. She said, ‘It’s your turn,’” Lopez says. “I never responded to her. It made me so sad. Here she was, encouraging me.” Then when her daughter Emma told her she was enrolling in community college, Lopez realized it was time to see her own education through. “I felt it was my daughter [Milanca] urging me on,” she says. “That it was my turn. That I could do this.” Lopez enrolled at Santa Monica College, where she experimented with everything from poetry readings to creative writing. The experience served as a springboard: She not only was accepted as a transfer to USC, which gave her a partial scholarship, but also to Columbia University, UCLA and UC Berkeley. She wants to be a counselor for young people from marginalized communities and is considering a master’s degree. “This is a dream,” she says of going to USC. Her first year was tough, but her grades put her on the dean’s list and she joined the honors psychology program. When her first kids graduated from college, she made T-shirts and flower leis for them. Then when she graduated in 2018 from Santa Monica College, she looked out into the crowd for her family— and they had made their own T-shirts to recognize her. She laughed. And they stacked her neck with leis— made from candy, money and flowers—so high that she could barely see. She knows that this spring, her family will be there to root for her again. It’s her time. Do you know any Trojans who inspire you? Share their stories with us on Twitter at @trojanfamilymag or by email at magazines@usc.edu.

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_31.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 32

9/13/19 9:12 PM USC18049-00_p_32.pgs 09.13.2019 21:15

T H E

W A Y

Carol L. Folt returns to California to become USCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 12th president. Her mission: to ensure that students and faculty have the opportunity to express their creativity and innovative spirit to take on the future. BY ALICIA DI RADO PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTINA GANDOLFO

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 33

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_33.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

President Carol Folt has gotten off to a busy start at USC. (Clockwise from top left) School deans and professors are talking with Folt about whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next for USCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future. Staff and students are highlighting sustainability efforts such as a teaching garden on the University Park Campus. And visits with students in residence halls and research labs always include a selfie or two.

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 34

autumn 2019

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_34.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

he exited Pacific Coast Highway onto State Street and began the slow drive up Highway 154 into the Los Padres National Forest. Her orange Datsun pickup, packed with scientific equipment, trundled higher and higher along San Marcos Pass Road. She left the beaches, red tile roofs and palm trees of Santa Barbara behind for the mountains. California in the 1970s and ’80s turned out to be a good place for Carol Folt to find herself. Akron, Ohio, would always be her hometown, but the creative energy in California had called the college student west. In her early 20s, she saw California as “the coolest place in the world.” Every sunrise offered possibility. What would she learn from her research in the lakes and streams on the other side of those mountains? What discoveries would she make? Today, years after she started her academic journey in California, Folt is back in her adopted home state—now as the experienced, yet still insatiably curious, new president of the University of Southern California. COLLEGE DAYS Walk into the president’s office in the Bovard Administration Building, and Folt will greet you with a welcoming smile. Light streams in through gauzy Roman blinds. Folt types at a standing desk if she can steal a moment between meetings, or more likely after the business day is over. She loves to get out of the office to talk with students, faculty, staff— finding out what excites them, what matters to them and what they want to change. “My first year is going to be all about meeting and listening to people,” she says, “and moving things forward at the same time.” That comes as no surprise. Talk about Folt with colleagues, and they mention common elements: She is energetic, listens, gathers facts carefully, brings people together to solve problems and builds community. These traits stretch far back, even before her beginnings as a scientist and faculty leader. One of five children, Folt grew up in a big family including her mother’s parents, hard-working immigrants from Albania. Her mom and dad, chemists who met at the B.F. Goodrich Co. in Ohio, emphasized education. “I was raised in a family where I was told I could do anything if I tried hard enough. They didn’t place limits on our dreams, and I think that was enormously important,” she says. “My parents nurtured science, experimentation and creativity. We’d march off to the art museum every month; we’d go to the library every week.” After high school, she followed one of her brothers to Ohio State University. But she felt adrift and left after a year. Ready for adventure, she packed up and drove across the country with a friend to Santa Barbara City College, her gateway to the University of California. Those were busy days. She paid for her tuition and rent by waitressing 20 to 30 hours a week, serving seafood at Moby Dick Restaurant on the wharf. “The time I spent in a classroom brought me great moments trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 35

of joy, in part because I had to really work to get there,” Folt says. “School felt like a privilege.” After initial forays in studio art, Folt transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara, and explored different disciplines. When she took courses in biology, something clicked. Even though she was one student in a sea of hundreds, the instructors’ passion for science was contagious. “The idea that I could design an experiment that would maybe answer a question that no one— in the history of the world—had ever answered? It was just so stimulating,” she says. She found her future in biology, and with the nation embracing environmentalism (Earth Day was born in 1970), Folt was drawn into the burgeoning field of ecology and environmental science. Nothing made her happier than carrying buckets and nets through muddy streams to conduct experiments with classmates. She would go on to study plankton and other aquatic life, and later made her name through research on climate change, salmon conservation and mercury and arsenic in water. Folt left Santa Barbara to earn a doctorate in ecology at the University of California, Davis. A postdoctoral fellowship at Michigan State propelled her to her first job in academia as an instructor and eventually as a full professor holding an endowed professorship at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Her path to university leadership had begun—though she didn’t know it yet. SCIENCE MAKING A DIFFERENCE Folt built a highly successful research lab at Dartmouth. “I loved mentoring students, and I loved the scientific research we were doing,” she remembers, smiling at the memories. “Our discoveries were even more exciting because they were made as a team.” To answer the large-scale, complex problems that interested her, “like rehabilitating habitats and conserving species, and changing policies that regulate chemicals in water, takes a team of people with interdisciplinary skills and perspectives,” she says. “So teamwork and collaboration, finding ways to magnify individual creativity, discovery and impact by working together, grew as a priority in my research and my teaching.” Then her Dartmouth provost made her an offer. Would she consider becoming the dean for Dartmouth’s graduate students? She agreed. It was natural for someone who relished helping fledgling researchers. “Every job in administration that I took on was because I saw the chance of having an impact by developing the talents of other people,” she says. She eventually became provost at Dartmouth, then interim president in 2012. THE TAR HEEL STATE The next year, the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill approached her. The university was looking for a new chancellor who could lead it forward, and Folt embraced its mission of accessibility and affordability, as well as its reputation for research. When Folt became chancellor in 2013, she found professors eager to reach higher. By 2017, UNC-Chapel Hill surpassed $1 billion in sponsored research expenditures for the first time. usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_35.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

Federally funded research climbed every year during her tenure, and the university ranks fifth in the U.S. in federal research and development spending. She also developed the university’s first strategic plan, oversaw UNC-Chapel Hill’s medical school—one of the nation’s best— and served on the board of UNC’s integrated health care system. In addition, she cultivated entrepreneurship, led a $4.25 billion fundraising campaign and launched an expansive effort to bring the arts to the public. But like most large universities today, UNC-Chapel Hill also faced challenges. When Folt arrived, the university was dealing with highly publicized athletic and academic irregularities. Ultimately, she oversaw the implementation of more than 70 reforms—designed together with faculty—to ensure accountability and integrity across the university. As the oldest public university in the U.S., UNC-Chapel Hill also was trying to strike a balance familiar to many universities: It had to reconcile the aspirations of its liberal-leaning students and faculty with a conservative legislature. In partnership with the university’s board of trustees, faculty, staff and students, Folt engaged in difficult conversations about race and appointed a special assistant to the chancellor to focus on diversity and inclusion. Amid the dialogue, the university grappled with what to do about a historic symbol on its campus that had become increasingly divisive: Silent Sam, a Confederate statue. Some saw the statue as a reminder of oppression and wanted it removed; others swore to protect it as a memorial to the state’s Civil War dead. As Folt listened to constituents, deliberated solutions and navigated legal issues, protestors toppled the statue. Ultimately, she completed the statue’s removal—and resigned as chancellor. “She knew that [removing the statue’s pedestal] would cost her, but she did it anyway,” says Leslie Parise, former UNC-Chapel Hill faculty chair. “And that’s a really brave, courageous person.” One door closed, and the door to USC soon opened.

As Folt helps USC strive for academic excellence, she acknowledges that the university must deal with problems, too. A former USC student health gynecologist stands accused of sexual misconduct, and USC aims to settle a class-action lawsuit involving hundreds of patients. The university also is coming to terms with high-profile national admissions fraud issues that surfaced this year. To protect students, restore trust and improve campus culture, USC began holding listening sessions with faculty, staff, students and alumni. It started scrutinizing human resources, compliance and other areas to make changes. The university must confront its failures honestly and fix them while building on its strengths, Folt says. “We know that we need to reflect on what has happened, understand how that could happen, and make changes so it doesn’t happen again. And every time we change, we’ll change for the better,” she says. That candor—and her results at Dartmouth and North Carolina—won over the search committee. As colleges nationwide have grappled with sexual violence, for example, Folt strengthened UNC-Chapel Hill’s policies on sexual assault and spoke out on the topic on panels at other universities and at the White House. Her ecology background also spurred her to lead a major sustainability initiative at UNC-Chapel Hill. The efforts significantly cut the university’s water usage, greenhouse gas emissions and trash bound for landfills. When she arrived at USC, she quickly met with sustainability staff to begin supporting and expanding the university’s green initiatives. And she is already talking with students and faculty who want to see USC’s sustainability efforts soar. Only a few months into her tenure, she has jumped into USC’s academic life with a passion, packing her days full of discussions with professors, staff and students, on diverse topics from education to policy, from STEM to the arts. “Our 19 professional schools are so impressive,” Folt says. “My goal is to enable them to build on their trajectory of excellence.” Those who have seen her at work often mention her energy and inquisitiveness. “She’s going to ask tough questions and expect high performance,” says Lowry Caudill, a former member of the UNC Board of Trustees. “That is what you want in a leader of a university.”

“SHE’S GOING TO ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS AND EXPECT HIGH PERFORMANCE. THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT IN A LEADER OF A UNIVERSITY.”

THE RETURN TO CALIFORNIA USC offers Folt an appealing destination. Leading minds in fields ranging from philosophy to neuroscience have joined the faculty over the last few decades, and many members of the National Academies and Guggenheim and MacArthur fellows now call USC their academic home. Test scores and grade point averages of entering freshmen continue to climb, while USC’s deep financial aid pool means that more talented low-income students can attend the university. With her strong background in private and public higher education, Folt was the unanimous choice of USC’s 23-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee. She became USC’s first permanent female president July 1, taking the reins from interim president and USC Trustee Wanda M. Austin.

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 36

STUDENTS AND DISCOVERY FIRST Ask Folt about her primary focus, and she always returns to two words: students and discovery. Professors thrive on the thrill of discovering and building upon new knowledge, and seeing their work benefit the world. She aims to enhance the capacity of USC’s faculty—and their students— to do just that, whether they’re established or just getting started. “What I need to do is to eliminate as many impediments as possiautumn 2019

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_36.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

ble to their capacity to create,” she says. “My goal is to remove walls and get people to come together. We’ve got very creative people here, and they want to make an impact on the world.” Her face lights up when she talks with students, and she gravitates to them and their energy. “They’re the reason we’re here,” she says. Elizabeth Adkins, 2017-18 student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill, remembers working closely with Folt. “I always felt like she genuinely listened to what I had to say, and she wasn’t just sitting down with me because she thought it needed to happen,” Adkins says. As a former transfer student who balanced college and work, Folt can personally relate to “nontraditional” students. During her time at UNC-Chapel Hill, 20% of UNC students were in the first generation of their family to attend college. Folt started a tradition of personally signing the diploma of every first-generation student graduating each year, and she plans to continue the ritual at USC. USC provides similar territory, as first-gen students comprise about 17% of its undergrads. Improving college access and affordability are major emphases. And as a scientist who believes in mentoring, Folt strongly advocates for diversity and inclusion. “She was deeply motivated by and wanted to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds have opportunities to thrive at the university,” says Lloyd Kramer, UNC-Chapel Hill professor of trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 37

history and the university’s current faculty chair. Folt believes that “higher education is the most effective vehicle to help people move ahead in their lives.” Folt has been meeting students across USC, keeping track of their feedback and ideas. She’ll do the same with the many alumni she’ll meet as she criss-crosses the country in the coming months and years. They all have information to share, and she’s curious and eager to take it in. “As a leader, she’s very inclusive,” says Adkins, the former UNC student body president. “She always makes sure everyone around the table has been heard.” Yet, Adkins says, “she will also challenge you. Don’t get me wrong: Chancellor Folt and I didn’t always agree, but I don’t think either of us would have been doing our jobs if we were agreeing all the time.” And that’s an important point. Folt says she leads through collaboration, not consensus. There have been times when scientific experts agreed on something, she says, “but it turned out not to be right.” She’ll listen to everyone, but she’ll make her own decisions. Through all the challenges, the Trojan Family will always see her smile. “What was most impressive about Carol Folt in challenging situations was her ability to keep a very positive attitude and optimistic view at all times,” Kramer says. Oh, and one more thing, he says: “She will be a relentless advocate for the positive and important, constructive aspects of the university.” USC writer Eric Lindberg contributed to this story.

usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_37.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 38

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_38.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

OUR WORLD IN 2050

With the planet warming, doomsday scenarios about the future could easily paralyze the average American. USC researchers say confronting reality and taking local action may spur the changes we need.

BY K AT HARI NE GA M M ON â&#x20AC;¢ ILLUSTRATIONS BY B RIA N STAUF F ER

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 39

usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_39.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

TKTK CREDIT

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 40

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_40.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

IT’S 2050, AND another balmy day in Los Angeles. A young woman steps outside and puts on her air filtration mask. The air is thick with smog, which aggravates her asthma. As she hurries to get into an air-conditioned, self-driving car, she wonders if the temperature will finally dip below 90 degrees today—for the first time this November. One hundred miles northwest, a third-generation vineyard owner finishes packing up his family and saying goodbye to the land. It has become too hot to produce his Pinot Noir grapes anymore—all the nearby vineyards now grow wheat to fit the hotter weather. He is heading to Oregon’s cooler climes to start again. Meanwhile, on the coast, a boy and his grandfather walk along the beach, careful not to touch the water. A telltale bright red stain in the waves warns them of a toxic algal bloom. The water level has risen a little bit over the years, and the grandfather wonders how much land will still be above water when his grandson reaches his age. By 2050, the reality of climate change will no longer be up for debate. The subtle signs we’re starting to see around us will be more pronounced, and their impact will be easy to spot in everyday life. The warming trend can feel overwhelming to understand, much less confront—especially with so many factors believed to affect how the planet is changing. But there’s good news: Humanity has tools to shape our future, USC researchers say, and some are already working in places across the globe. trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 41

WEATHER

Hot, Hotter, Hottest “The global climate is like an aircraft carrier; turning it around is slow,” says Julien Emile-Geay, an associate professor of Earth sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “If we don’t start now, we’ll be stuck in a very tough place in 2050.” As an expert in climate dynamics, Emile-Geay has devoted his career to understanding what’s coming for the planet. The 20th century was Earth’s warmest period in nearly 2,000 years, he says. Data he examined from a wide variety of sources, including ice cores, tree rings and coral reefs, show that the warming trend began after the industrial revolution—the 1850s. For the vast majority of the globe, the warmest temperatures have come within the past 100 years. He agrees with the broad scientific consensus that if the trend continues—and physics says it will—sea level rise and droughts could render areas of the planet unsafe or even uninhabitable. Refugees leaving their homes for livable climates (the World Bank predicts as many as 140 million people could be displaced by 2050) could lead to geopolitical instability.

In the Southern California of 2050, Angelenos could spend a quarter of the year sweating it out in temperatures of 90 degrees or more. That’s 95 days of dangerously hot weather a year, significantly higher than the 67 days we see in 2019. Air conditioning will raise energy bills, but researchers anticipate costs to health as well. When temperatures spike, deaths rise too, says USC Dornsife environmental economist Paulina Oliva. Research suggests that uncomfortable heat stresses the body, increasing risk of heart problems and stroke, especially in the elderly. High temperatures have also been linked to an increase in pre-term births and infant mortality. Studies on students and stockbrokers and other workers have shown that temperatures above 80 degrees slow down thinking processes, making it harder to focus and make decisions. These problems disproportionately harm people with the fewest resources to deal with discomfort and health risks. Several researchers raise the alarm that any climate plan must address society’s systemic inequalities. “The pregnant mother who doesn’t have a car is going to have to walk to public transportation and expose her baby to these high temperatures in utero,” Oliva says. “Even though we do have means to adapt, wealthier people are going to be better able to adapt than poor people.” The climate is likely to become extreme in several ways, including more fires and floods, rainy days and droughts, cold snaps and temperature spikes. In California, unpredictable fluctuations could devastate the agricultural sector, which accounts for an eighth of the country’s agricultural production. It’s likely that some crops, like grapes and apples, could only be grown farther north. Farmers who opt to stay in California might switch products to better match the new climate reality. usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_41.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

ENVIRONMENT

Something in the Air OCEANS AND WATER

We don’t need to travel to 2050 to imagine the impact of climate change on the air. In spring 2018, Los Angeles’ air quality exceeded federal safety levels for 87 days, says Antonio Bento, director of the USC Center for Sustainability Solutions and professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy and the Department of Economics. When temperatures rise, so does “bad” ozone. Don’t confuse this ozone with the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, which shields Earth from the sun’s radiation. Bad ozone forms at ground level when pollutants from cars and other industrial sources react to sunlight. “Ozone is dependent on temperature, sunlight and heat waves,” Bento says. “That means that higher heat brings on worse air quality.” In Los Angeles, it’s one of the biggest reasons climate change endangers human health: More days above 90 degrees means more ozone, more asthma, more lung damage and more deaths. By 2050, if climate mitigation strategies and air pollution regulation don’t halt rising temperatures, the skies of Los Angeles could revert to the soupy smog of the 1970s, Bento says. That was a time before the Clean Air Act, when more than half the days in the city had unsafe levels of pollution. Angelenos couldn’t see the mountains through the thick smog. “In part due to climate change, many of the benefits that we have achieved are quickly being undone,” says Bento, who recently published research showing how a rollback of vehicle emissions standards would be dangerous. “We have arrived at a point where for us to prevent major damage, we would have to rely on adaptation.” For a long time, Bento was sure that leaders would take up the urgent issue of climate change based on a global consensus, so he focused his policy recommendations on broad, far-reaching solutions. But recently, he shifted his thinking. He’s increasingly examining how local policy changes could benefit countries and states. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions would not only reduce health problems related to air pollution impacts, but it also

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 42

Beneath the Surface

could bring along other benefits, like spurring technological innovation, improving the reliability of the power supply by diversifying energy sources, reducing fuel costs and boosting employment. “If we account for these co-benefits of climate action, it’s in the best interest of countries to act independently of what others are doing,” he says. “And it’s in the best interest of California to implement climate policies, because even if others don’t act, we will get these additional benefits.” Bento has worked with the city of Los Angeles and other local governments in the U.S. and abroad to craft climate-mitigation strategies. By 2050, 68% of the world population will live in cities, up from 55% today, so the actions of municipal and regional governments are critical. “If cities become the unit at which we do climate policy, we end up with comprehensive climate legislation even without national leadership,” he explains. “That’s the future of our cities and the environment. It really depends on how we communicate the climate crisis to the public.” Bento is also researching ways to create optimal carbon pricing, which shifts responsibility back to the producers of greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon pricing works by estimating the external cost of a company’s greenhouse gas emissions and issuing a tax. This puts the financial burden on businesses instead of local and vulnerable communities, while also financially incentivizing companies to opt for cleaner technology. “It’s frustrating, because we have known how to do these things for decades, but we’re not yet doing them,” he says. “As we move toward 2050, we have to adapt in ways that don’t put more burdens on communities that are vulnerable already.”

More than 90% of the warming created by humans since the 1970s has been absorbed by the oceans. And just as on land, there is a shift underway in the sea that will affect the global oceans of 2050, says David Hutchins, a USC Dornsife professor of marine and environmental biology. “The ocean is warming, acidifying, losing oxygen and being overfished and choked with pollutants ranging from nutrients to plastic,” he says. “Nearly the entire marine environment is in flux right now.” Numbers of large predator fish have plunged, and about half of the world’s coral reefs have been lost to bleaching caused by warming temperatures, Hutchins says. By 2050, most reefs may have vanished, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report. Some governments, like Australia’s, are taking action, trying to protect reefs by reducing other threats to coral such as dredging and runoff from land. And scientists are identifying and growing types of coral that may be better able to cope with warm water. In Southern California, people will have to deal with rising sea levels as polar ice continues to melt. Some of California’s most valuable coastal real estate may go underwater later this century, Hutchins says. Another aquatic impact: unwelcome bursts of harmful algal blooms that thrive in warmer waters and poison human and marine life. “The climate emergency is happening now, today, not sometime in the far-off future,” Hutchins says. “I’d like people to think about the kind of world we want to leave for our children and grandchildren, and to make our choices—from the way we live to the leaders we vote for—with that in mind. There is literally no time to lose.” Water distribution across the planet is a challenge, too: By 2050, more parts of the world will go through droughts, while others will be deluged with floods. It’s hard to believe that a place like Phuket, Thailand, could suffer from a water shortage when about 100 inches of rain autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_42.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 43

usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_43.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 44

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_44.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

LIFESTYLE

Changes at Home

falls there per year, says Amy Childress, the Gabilan Distinguished Professor in Science and Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. But right before the monsoon season begins, the reservoirs can get low as reserves from the last monsoon season dwindle. Areas like Phuket can’t wait until 2050 to figure out a sustainable plan for their water supply; they need to plan now. That goes for California, too. “In Southern California, we are simultaneously preparing for the drought scenario—alternative water supplies, expansion of the water supply portfolio—and the flood scenario, which includes dam maintenance and flood risk management,” Childress says. Then there’s the water we need to drink. In the future, more people will depend on drinking water that’s been recycled. The idea of drinking water that’s “secondhand” from wastewater or other human uses is off-putting to many, maybe because the public prefers to think it should come from a pristine mountain stream, Childress says. That’s not realistic, even today. “Typically, our drinking water comes from a source that was used upstream by others and is being reused by us,” she says. “We have regulations in place to ensure that this practice is safe.” In addition to recycled water, Californians of 2050 will rely more on desalinated seawater, she predicts. Desalinating seawater is usually the last choice for a region’s water supply because the process is so energy intensive, but it is a reliable supply that will become more useful in the years to come. Right now, 12 desalination plants operate in California, but ocean filtration systems operate in more than 120 countries and are especially critical in countries in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 45

For a long time, Bento says, academics were so concerned with getting their climate change models right—and assessing broad existential threats—they failed to communicate how changes are already affecting daily life. That’s no longer the case. Commuting, travel, shopping, eating, housing—they all may be transformed by 2050 as people come to understand their effect on the planet. Bento, for one, already drives an electric car, but he questions whether he needs one at all. “It was just such an unquestioned expectation for me, that I would get a car as a teenager,” he explains. “And when electric vehicles arrived, I thought I was doing something for the environment. But now we are moving into new models. “If we could move to a system that is more efficient, and that integrates density of development with public transit and car-sharing, perhaps we could have much better outcomes.” Earth scientist Emile-Geay has cut travel to most academic conferences. Instead of flying several times a year to meet other scientists—trips that leave a big carbon footprint—he chooses just one conference to attend. “I started to ask myself: What am I getting out of these conferences and what do others get from my presence?” he says. “And so I prioritize small, more intimate gatherings where there’s a real exchange of ideas.” Similarly, when people travel for pleasure in the future, more could opt to use low-carbon transportation to explore their own regions instead of taking trips to faraway countries. Besides changing his travel habits, Emile-Geay also has stopped eating meat, and tries to choose foods grown as locally as possible. “Some like to pit a healthy planet against a healthy economy,” he says. “That’s a false dichotomy. It’s in our power to build an economy centered on ecological and humanistic values

instead. The laws of physics won’t change, but our laws can.” A possible low-carbon future, he says, could include less driving and more local focus, leaving more time with family and friends, which creates safer communities with stronger social bonds. Oliva sees promise for slowing climate change, as more governments around the world seek action. “And also, we’re not sitting and waiting around here,” she says of California. “There’s quite a bit of progress being made at the state and local level.” She believes the state is a model for how sustainability and business can work together. “We’re showing that these climate policies really are not going to be as costly as they’re being portrayed,” Oliva says. “California was an early adopter of stricter greenhouse gas policies, and businesses didn’t all flee the state. So that gives me hope.” Emile-Geay sees an opportunity for a more civic-oriented and equitable future. Supply chains could be more efficient. Instead of shoppers ordering a product from across the Pacific, a neighborhood 3D printer could fabricate the items people need and a bicycle courier could ferry it to their homes. He even imagines climate change spurring people to rethink the way they live. “It’s like somebody being given a diagnosis of a terminal illness. It’s a wake-up call. Suddenly it makes you ask: ‘What am I doing with the rest of my time on Earth?’” he says. “That could be the kick we need to re-engineer our social networks and get more local, more focused on community, which is what many psychologists and social scientists say is good for us anyway.” usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_45.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

Share with USC. Follow the USC Alumni Association on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter today. And always tag your posts #USCAlumni to share your USC-inspired moments with fellow alumniâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;more than 420,000 strong, lifelong and worldwide. @USCalumni

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 46

TKTK CREDIT

ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_46.pgs 09.13.2019 21:16

FA M I LY A SINGULAR VISION

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUGH M. HEFNER MOVING IMAGE ARCHIVE

The movie Boyz n the Hood made John Singleton â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90 a hero to those who had never seen their stories on screen. A South L.A. native, he stayed connected to USC throughout his life. He is remembered on page 53.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 47

usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_47.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

family news

Best in Class

Teacher Don Young (above, seated at center) challenges students to think critically. Ivan Harris (left) mentors and encourages teens.

These Trojan teachers found their calling in K-12 education, and they’re getting their students ready for the future.

It’s College Day at Washington STEAM Magnet Academy in Pasadena, California, and Ivan Harris ’88 has walked into the classroom of one of his fellow teachers. “Boooo!” howl the middle-schoolers from their desks, laughing. Harris laughs, too. “You guys are all brainwashed.” Why the heckling? Harris is wearing a USC T-shirt, shorts and tall cardinal-and-gold argyle socks—in the classroom of a diehard Bruin alum. But the banter is all in good fun. In this case, L.A.’s university rivalry serves a higher purpose than smack talk. By getting kids excited about college life, USC alumni who work in K-12 education are helping children see themselves as future college students. From elementary to high schools, Trojan teachers are using their own university experiences to shape tomorrow’s leaders.

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 48

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_48.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

family news

MORNING CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA Carol Kemler Buddin’s students may only be first graders, but they’re sold on USC. As Buddin ’79 explains, Morning Creek Elementary is part of the “No Excuses University” network—schools spurred by the belief that all of their students can go to college. Each Morning Creek teacher chooses a university theme for his or her class. Buddin graduated from the USC Rossier School of Education, so her choice was easy. “Everyone knows that if you go into Mrs. Buddin’s classroom, that’s the USC Trojans classroom,” says the longtime teacher. Every other Friday, her students wear USC T-shirts. They shake pom-poms as they sing a version of Rachel Platten’s tune: “This is my fight song. We Trojans stay strong. USC Fight On!” She even has a laser pointer in the shape of two fingers making the victory sign, one of many USC-related gifts from her students. Having a USC-themed room can lead to funny moments, Buddin says. One Notre Dame alumnus had to get over the idea of his children identifying with USC, she remembers. Another family had the opposite problem: They were USC fans, and Dad had to accept that his kids would move on to a UCLA-themed classroom the next school year. To avoid conflict over rivalries, Buddin says, “I give the kids a blessing and tell them, ‘It’s OK: Next year, you’ll have been part of both of the best colleges in Los Angeles.’” FOOTHILLS MIDDLE SCHOOL | ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA Ben Acker ’98, EdD ’19 is principal at Foothills Middle School—a surprising destination for a USC Marshall School of Business alum. Yet his business degree enables him to see his students and families as clients. “We’re in the people business,” he says, “but we’re not building widgets— we’re building citizens and leaders.” How did USC push him toward teaching? He relished being a resident assistant, for one. Troy Camp played a part, too. Counseling kids at camp “was probably the turning point for me,” says Acker, who returned to earn his doctorate at USC Rossier this year. His fellow USC alumni at Foothills also came to teaching from other majors. Don Young ’96 studied exercise science and trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 49

today teaches physical education, video and AVID—a college and career readiness program. He has university pennants on his classroom walls, and he draws on alumni from USC and other universities as guest speakers. Favorite USC professors from Young’s past also provide inspiration. He loved attending classes taught by passionate instructors, he says, “so I try to duplicate that effect in my classes—I try to make it a little bit more fun.” Then there’s Sarah LaReau ’02, a USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism grad. The humanities teacher uses her communication background every day. Middle school, beyond learning subject matter, is about “how to have conversations, how to be organized, and how to function in a work-type setting: turning things in on time and keeping yourself accountable,” she says. And, of course, she represents USC. As students walk into her room, Classical KUSC plays on her speakers, and snapshots and spirit signs from football games adorn her bulletin board. Says LaReau: “I’ve always been a proud Trojan, and we’re big on college here.” WASHINGTON STEAM MAGNET ACADEMY | PASADENA, CALIFORNIA A highly recruited athlete out of Pasadena High School, Ivan Harris listened to many coaches sell their basketball programs to him, but he chose USC. His mom made sure of it. “She was very proud,” Harris remembers. “The school spoke volumes of prestige.” When his dreams of pro basketball tempered after graduation, the USC Price School of Public Policy grad turned to his other love: coaching and mentoring kids. In a bio in a 1987 USC basketball game program, he talked about wanting to teach. Decades later, he remains just as enthusiastic. As Washington’s Response to Intervention coach, he guides students with learning and behavior needs. To inspire teens to plan for college, Harris and his colleagues take middle schoolers on tours of colleges like USC and UCLA. They also visit college fairs, where he often lingers at the USC table, telling parents about his experiences. “What I love is giving kids options for their life,” he says. “It’s all about giving them exposure to what could be their future.” ALICIA DI R ADO

“Teaching is about doing 50 things at once, every day, all day. It’s always different.” SARAH LAREAU

“You have to have a lot of tricks and tools in your bag to be a successful teacher today.” CAROL KEMLER BUDDIN

usc trojan family

9/25/19 5:43 PM

USC18049-00_p_49.pgs 09.25.2019 17:45

Key Change Musician turned business consultant Daniel Smythe shares his advice on handling life’s unexpected twists. People who knew Daniel Smythe ’95, MM ’97 as a USC student might be surprised to learn that today he is a senior executive at a top business consulting firm. With a master’s in guitar performance from the USC Thornton School of Music, he seemed destined for a career in the arts. “I like to tell young people that you can always change paths,” he says. “My story is a great example. I was squarely going down one path and then everything shifted, and it all worked out.” That valuable lesson helps him guide major clients through challenges in his role as managing director at Accenture Strategy in Boston. Smythe oversees the consulting firm’s travel industry practice in North America, and he also has worked with major

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 50

retailers like Target, CVS, Neiman Marcus, Walmart, Best Buy and Staples. But growing up in Carlisle, Massachusetts, he was all about the guitar. He was into heavy metal before switching to classical guitar after watching a video of USC Thornton professor William Kanengiser. Later, as a music major at UCLA, Smythe saw the renowned guitarist play live for the first time. He was blown away. “I met him backstage and said, ‘I want to study with you,’” Smythe recalls. Kanengiser replied: “Come to USC.” Smythe graduated summa cum laude from USC Thornton and then earned his master’s. He envisioned a career in performance and teaching, until a fellow Trojan persuaded him to take an arts management role at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “I discovered a whole world of other things I could do,” he says. Eager to rise in the ranks, he enrolled in the University of Chicago’s MBA program. He initially planned to put his newly honed business skills to use in the arts world. Then an internship in management consulting captured his imagination, and he joined Accenture in 2002. Smythe found that consulting work has many parallels with music, including performance preparation, conveying confidence and making an audience feel comfortable. Those skills come in handy when helping a client negotiate a multimillion-dollar deal. Music is still a big part of Smythe’s life. He has long-term plans to get back into the arts in a leadership role, using his business expertise to help arts organizations thrive amid today’s many entertainment choices. In the meantime, he plays guitar for friends and family, attends Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts and cultivates a large vinyl collection, which he admits is lacking “anything that came out after 1988.” He has also been building stronger ties with the Trojan Family through alumni events. It helps that his wife, Shana (Nadel) Smythe ’97, holds a degree in vocal arts. He is encouraged to see their older daughter, 15-year-old Betty, has taken to wearing her parents’ old Trojan sweatshirts. He has high hopes that Betty and her siblings, Sonny, 12, and Lilly, 9, will consider USC among their college options. And if they ever worry about life taking a surprising turn, he’ll be ready with a little advice. “As a wise friend once said, you need to find the intersection between your skills and the world’s needs,” Smythe says. “It just took me a little longer to find that intersection.” ERIC LINDBERG

ILLUSTRATION BY TOM DESLONGCHAMP

family news

autumn 2019

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_50.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

COMMON SPACE PHOTO BY DENISE RAMIREZ; THUNDERBIRD PHOTOS COURTESY OF THUNDERBIRD BAR; LIDO AND PLAYA HERMOSA PHOTOS BY MONIKA

family news

Clockwise, from top: Brent Knapp’s Common Space Brewery; Pete Figliulo’s Thunderbird Bar in West L.A.; the California vibe at Lisa Hemmat’s Lido di Manhattan; seafood on the pier at Playa Hermosa Fish & Oyster Co.; Thunderbird Bar’s Tex-Mex flavor; Lido di Manhattan’s Italian selections and more

Taste of Success For three Trojan restaurateurs, it’s the sense of community that makes their work worthwhile. In Los Angeles’ restaurant scene, hours are long, diners fickle and competition fierce. So what makes it all worth it? We checked in with Trojans behind three popular L.A. hotspots to learn how the business looks from the inside—and why they love it. ELISA HUANG LISA HEMMAT ’03 Owner, Lido di Manhattan and Playa Hermosa Fish & Oyster Co.

BRENT KNAPP MBA ’13 Co-owner, Common Space Brewery

Getting people together to soak up some sun and good beer is what motivated Knapp to switch careers from asset management to the brewery business. It is even built into his company’s name: Common Space Brewery. The Hawthorne-based bar’s 9,000-square-foot space includes a taproom and indoor and outdoor communal seating. Knapp, a longtime craft beer enthusiast, aims to keep the brewery welcoming with kid- and pet-friendly areas and a rotating schedule of food trucks. It took nearly three years to get Common Space going, and Knapp has enjoyed the community and support. “From day one, it’s been about bringing people together and improving lives,” he says. “It’s that simple.”

PETE FIGLIULO ’14 Co-owner, Thunderbird Bar

Hemmat was a 23-year-old USC graduate in entrepreneurship when she took over Lido di Manhattan, a traditional Italian restaurant in Manhattan Beach. It was her first time running a restaurant, but she learned fast. “It looks glamorous, but it’s a tough business with a lot that goes on behind the scenes,” she says. Now a seasoned restaurateur, she opened Playa Hermosa Fish & Oyster Co. on the Hermosa Beach Pier in 2017 with her husband, Levi Lupercio. The people around her have made all the difference in her career, she says, and some of her staff and customers have been with her from the beginning. Her favorite part of the job? “I really enjoy planning catering and banquet events,” she says. “We get to celebrate people on their special occasions, like weddings and birthdays. That’s my driver, it’s what makes me happy.”

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 51

Figliulo likes to call Thunderbird Bar in Brentwood a neighborhood bar. A lot comes down to practicalities: “We’re in the Wilshire corridor west of the 405. … No one wants to do that west-to-east drive at 5 p.m.” A well-rounded menu of happy hour drinks and Tex-Mex plates draws office workers and locals before the commute home. Having weekday regulars is a refreshing change for Figliulo, who spent years working at bars catering to weekend party crowds. After putting in 14-hour days in the first months, he is proud not only of the bar’s success, but also the community he has built from the ground up. “In the beginning, it was like running for mayor,” he says with a laugh. “I try to meet everyone. When I walk into the bar, at any time I’ll see at least 12 people I know.”

usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_51.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

It’s time for your...

If you earned your undergraduate degree in 1969, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004 or 2009, it’s your year to come back to campus for Reunion Weekend 2019 on October 18-19―to see old friends, experience Homecoming, and relive your USC memories.

TKTK CREDIT

For details, registration and reunion class giving information, visit reunions.usc.edu or call (213) 740-6262.

ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 52

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_52.pgs 09.13.2019 21:17

family class notes ˜ ° ˛ ˝ ˙ Iris Cumming Critchell ’41 (LAS) was named one of 19 “Phi Mu History Makers” in honor of the organization’s historic alliance with the National Women’s History Museum.

1 9 5 0 s

S. Martin Shelton MA ’56 (SCA) released his novella Amelia, which explores the mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance.

˜ ° ’ ˝ ˙ Dennis Beresford ’61 (ACC) was elected to the National Association of Corporate Directors Hall of Fame. Paul Cummins MS ’63, PhD ’67 (LAS) published The Collected Poems and Voice and Verse, a book about teaching and writing poetry.

Joanne Casinelli Geiler ’64 (EDU) received the Lifetime Achievement Award for service to the Self Storage Association. She was the first female president of the organization and founded the Self Storage Foundation, which provides college grants to employees in the self-storage industry and their children. Morten J. Lauridsen ’66, MA ’68, DMA ’74 (MUS) presented his composition Lux Aeterna at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on April 14 to celebrate teaching for more than half a century at USC. The concert was a showcase of USC Thornton School of Music talent, with three student ensembles, four faculty ensemble leaders and two faculty composers. H. Ronald Domnitz JD ’67 (LAW) retired from the Assigned Judges Program (Superior Court) after 11 years of service in addition to his 24 years on the bench in San Diego. He serves as a family law mediator and judge with the National Conflict Resolution Center. trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 53

Ronald J. Black ’68 (LAS) was named the Grand Army of the Republic Highway Officer for Los Angeles County by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, successor heirs to the Grand Army of the Republic, Gen. W.S. Rosecrans Camp No. 2. Les Fettig MS ’69 (ENG) leads Mandate Democracy’s 2020 i-Voting Referenda, which seek to change how citizens interact with elected officials.

nalism from the San Diego Press Club for his book Call to Glory: How the Convair B-58 Hustler Helped Win the Cold War. Richard Kendall JD ’79 (LAW), Michele Mulrooney Jackaway JD ’85 (LAW), Abel Lezcano JD ’92 (LAW), Jason Karlov JD ’95, MA ’95 (LAW/LAS) and Chris Perez JD ’09 (LAW) were featured in Variety’s 2019 Legal Impact Report, which highlights the world’s top entertainment law-

Bob Martin JD ’69 (LAW) became the 56th president of the American Rose Society.

˜ ° Š ˝ ˙ Patrick Nolan ’72 (LAS), JD ’75 (LAW) received the Conservative Political Action Conference’s “Award for Conservative Excellence” for his leadership building the movement of conservatives reforming the criminal justice system. D.D. (Don) Warrick DBA ’73 (BUS) received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Organization Development Network for his impact on the field of organizational development and the Distinguished Educator Award from the Academy of Management for exceptional contributions to organizational development and practice. Ilmars (Herb) Dambergs MS ’75 (ENG) was inducted into the United States Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame. Gregory P. Orland ’77, MPA ’79 (SPP) skied to the South Pole in December 2018 as part of a six-person expedition that included members from the U.S., Norway, China and New Zealand. He has also partially ascended Mt. Everest and snowshoed to the North Pole. Paula Butterﬁeld MPW ’78 (LAS) published her historical novel, La Luministe: Berthe Morisot, Painter of Light, about the leading female figure of the Impressionist art movement. George A. Haloulakos ’79, MBA ’81 (BUS) earned recognition for excellence in jour-

T R O J A N

T R I B U T E

John Singleton As a teenager growing up in South Los Angeles, John Singleton ’90 started “attending” USC before he was officially a student. USC School of Cinematic Arts faculty members fondly remember the precocious high schooler wandering the campus asking questions about film history and talking about his favorite films, such as Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. At USC, his senior thesis script turned into the screenplay for Boyz n the Hood, his powerful coming-of-age debut film. The critically acclaimed movie earned the 24-year-old Singleton an Oscar nomination for best director, making him the youngest person—and the first black filmmaker— to be recognized in the category. Singleton would go on to direct films including Poetic Justice, Higher Learning and 2 Fast 2 Furious and television shows including The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (for which he earned an Emmy nomination), Empire and Billions. As a producer, his credits also ranged across film (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) and television (Snowfall, Rebel). A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in Hollywood, Singleton also was a constant presence at USC as a mentor and supporter. He frequently returned to watch films with students, headline workshops and lectures and hire Trojans for his film and television projects. Only three weeks before his death, Singleton spoke as part of a panel celebrating the School of Cinematic Arts’ 90th anniversary. Singleton died on April 29. He is survived by his parents and five children.

usc trojan family

9/25/19 5:49 PM

USC18049-00_p_53.pgs 09.25.2019 17:49

Travel with USC. No matter what Trojan Travel trip you choose, local experts and professional tour directors ensure that each luxury-filled excursion is full of awe-inspiring experiences and exciting discoveries. Find your next adventure with us at TrojanTravel.usc.edu

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 54

TKTK CREDIT

ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300

autumn 2019

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_54.pgs 09.13.2019 21:17

A LU M N A

P R O F I L E

A N G E L A

M A S S O N

’ 7 1,

M A

’ 7 5 ,

M PA

’ 7 5 ,

P H D

’ 7 6

Pilot Angela Masson (on the left in this 1976 image) made her name as an aviation pioneer.

New Heights

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGELA MASSON

An airplane pilot reflects on a distinguished flying career that helped pave the way for women in the cockpit. During her first flying lesson, Angela Masson ’71, MA ’75, MPA ’75, PhD ’76 could barely contain her excitement as the plane took off. What the 15-year-old didn’t expect was the door suddenly flying open when the Cessna 150 was in mid-air because the instructor hadn’t shut it properly. Anyone might assume she would stay permanently grounded after the experience. Yet Masson couldn’t wait to get back into the cockpit. Flying had been her father’s suggestion. “I wasn’t doing well in school and my family wanted me to find something positive to keep me interested,” she says. After that memorable first lesson, Masson would go on to set the record as the youngest person to fly coast to coast in a high-performance aircraft when she was 21.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 55

She was the first woman licensed to fly a Boeing 747 and the first woman to become chief pilot at American Airlines, where she flew for 31 years. Today, she teaches at the St. Augustine High School Aerospace Academy and at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. “Every day, I try to share with my students the love of flying,” she says. “Aviation is a lifestyle. There’s something sparkly in it for everybody. It gives you a reason to wake up in the morning and play with the reality of being alive.” Over her career, she has also cleared the flight path for other women. In her first job as a flight instructor at a military academy, her students were all men. She soon learned that women couldn’t become military pilots. The issue became her doctoral

thesis topic at the USC Price School of Public Policy. “The place where I was teaching had two bathrooms, and both were for men. So I wrote ‘WO’ in lipstick in front of the word on one of the doors,” Masson remembers with a laugh. “There was a law on the books that said, essentially, ‘Women shall not fly for the military.’ I thought, Wait a minute, why can’t we be pilots? The military’s excuse was they didn’t have helmets that would fit us.” A female Navy pilot who flew helicopters (which was allowed, since the military didn’t consider them aircraft) entered Masson’s dissertation, “Elements of Organizational Discrimination,” into the Congressional record. The prohibition on female pilots was lifted soon afterward.

Asked to pick her proudest moment, Masson rattles off a dozen answers. Her first solo flight. Getting her passengers to their destinations safely on every flight. Patenting the Electronic Kit Bag in 1999, a digital device now used on nearly all planes to store flight information. Being inducted into the California Aviation Hall of Fame in 2018—“It was an honor to get that recognition from my peers, and all the people I always looked up to.” But Masson doesn’t think of herself as a trailblazer. “I consider myself an inquiring person,” she says. “If an opportunity looks interesting, I’ll pursue it. Why isn’t everyone out there pursuing myriad opportunities? Life offers an abundance of joyous adventure!”

BEN JAMIN GLEIS SER

usc trojan family

9/25/19 5:44 PM

USC18049-00_p_55.pgs 09.25.2019 17:46

family class notes

Craig Moreland MBA ’79 (BUS), owner of Coast Label Company, completed a two-year term as the 47th chairman of the board of TLMI, the North American trade association for the label and packaging industry. David Watson ’79 (LAS) is CEO of Akiri Inc.

1 9 8 0 s

Roberto Covarrubias Medrano ’80 (ENG) was named one of the top 100 influential and notable Hispanic professionals in the information technology industry by the Hispanic IT Executive Council. He was awarded the Maestros Award for Professional Achievement from Latino Leaders magazine and the Innovator of the Year Award from the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce. Donald Miller DMA ’80 (MUS) composed “Here Rests in Honored Glory,” the official New York state hymn of remembrance honoring veterans. The song was played on the anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy and will be played at ceremonies remembering the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. Larry D. Reiner MPA ’80 (SPP) retired after a 38-year career as a court administrator in California, Maryland and Idaho. Cecilia Menjívar ’81 (LAS) is a professor of sociology at UCLA and holds the Dorothy L. Meier Endowed Chair. Abdulhaﬁe (Ed) Elhaderi PhD ’82 (ENG) published Nomadic Soul, a memoir about his journey from a village in the Libyan Sahara to America. Gregory Gandrud ’82 (BUS) was elected treasurer of the California Republican Party. Donna Lucas ’82 (SCJ), founder and CEO of Lucas Public Affairs, was inducted into the American Association of Political

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 56

Consultants’ 2019 Hall of Fame. She was also named Sacramento Business Woman of the Year. Bella Mahaya Carter MFA ’83 (SCA) published Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy, which won the silver Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association in the Mind, Body and Spirit category.

Catalina Camia ’86 (LAS/SCJ) is editor-in-chief and vice president of CQ Roll Call, a news, analysis and legislative tracking service based in Washington, D.C. She is also a board member of the National Press Foundation. Sharon Mass PhD ’86 (SSW) received the inaugural Legacy Award from the American Case Management Association, which honors individuals who have dedicated

David R. Gillham MPW ’83 (LAS) published Annelies, a novel about what might have happened if Anne Frank had survived the Holocaust. Pamela Waddell ’83 (ART) is a licensed customs broker and co-founder of Import Insights, an import trade compliance consulting firm. Robert Bartlett ’84, MBA ’87 (BUS) is CFO of Luna Grill, a San Diego-based Mediterranean restaurant chain with 50 locations in California and Texas. Joseph Richard Gutheinz Jr. MS ’84 (ENG) is one of nine 2019 distinguished alumni from the criminal justice program at California State University, Sacramento. A former Army aviator and NASA Office of Investigator General senior special agent, he is currently general partner for Gutheinz Law Firm LLP. David Jones ’84, PhD ’91 (LAS) was re-elected president of the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. Charles Smith ’84 (BUS), MPL ’90 (SPP) is principal associate in the Orange County office of Environmental Science Associates, an environmental services consulting firm. He was elected to the USC Price School Alumni Board of Directors in 2018. John R. Yuen ’84 (LAS), PharmD ’88 (PHM) was awarded the distinction of Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association by the organization’s Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management. A USC adjunct associate professor of pharmacy practice, he oversees the Radiopharmacy Service at the Los Angeles County+ USC Medical Center.

T R O J A N

T R I B U T E

Alice Schoenfeld An internationally celebrated violinist and noted philanthropist, Alice Schoenfeld was a member of the USC Thornton School of Music faculty for 60 years and served as the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld Chair in String Instruction. A beloved teacher, mentor and professor emerita of violin, Alice Schoenfeld earned the USC Ramo Music Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching and won the 2008 American String Teachers Association’s Artist Teacher Award. Her reputation attracted exceptional students to USC, many of whom have made their mark as soloists, as well as establishing careers in the world’s top universities and orchestras. Born in 1921 in the former Yugoslavia, Alice Schoenfeld made her violin debut with the Berlin Philharmonic at age 10. She immigrated to the United States with her cellist sister Eleonore in 1952, and the siblings joined the USC Thornton faculty in 1959. In addition to being colleagues, the Schoenfeld sisters toured the world together, performing for decades as the Schoenfeld Duo. In 2013, Alice Schoenfeld generously gave the school $10 million, which at the time was the largest gift made to USC by a longtime faculty member. The donation underwrote the renovation of Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld Symphonic Hall into a state-of-the-art orchestral rehearsal hall and created the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld Endowed Scholarship Fund, which supports USC Thornton strings students. Alice Schoenfeld died May 25 at age 98.

PHOTO BY STEVE COHN

yers who have made a major impact on the entertainment industry.

autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_56.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

A LU M N U S

P R O F I L E

D AV I D

J .

B A R K E R

’8 4

Explosive Personality

ILLUSTRATION BY TIM MCDONAGH

A seasoned pyrotechnics foreman helps Hollywood go boom.

Audiences know that they can count on a Hollywood action movie to deliver spectacular explosions and visual effects. And when some of the most anticipated action movies need new ways to thrill, producers call on David J. Barker ’84. He’s the man who helps Hollywood blow things up. Chances are that if something exploded in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Barker—the pyrotechnics foreman on Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel and Black Panther, to name a few—was behind the firestorm. While actors rehearse dialogue on set, the licensed pyrotechnic technician is typically plotting ways to incite on-screen mayhem to maximum effect. He remembers the set of Avengers: Endgame as an especially challenging shoot. The record-breaking movie demanded complex pyrotechnics, and there were no storyboards for Barker and his crew to work from to shape the scene. All directions were given verbally to ensure plot secrecy. “Sometimes we’d come back for lunch and [the film directors] would say, ‘We want to

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 57

see this on fire,’” Barker says. The visual havoc Barker creates on screen may look chaotic, but each effect requires careful orchestration of camera angles, technical logistics and safety measures. “I’m in the process of creating art,” he says. “It’s taking the time to get it right, instead of doing it as quickly as possible. You can’t just throw a bunch of explosives around.” While the job has its hazards (“On Captain Marvel, I dropped a propane tank on my toe,” he says with a sigh), safety is Barker’s first priority, no matter how big an explosive effect looks on screen. In fact, after his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Johnny Depp autographed a photo of himself for Barker, inscribing, “Thanks for keeping me safe for the whole movie.” Growing up in Las Vegas, Barker says as a teenager he and his friends would blow up homemade explosives in the desert for fun. He enrolled at USC to study film, concentrating more on the technical side of filmmaking. “I didn’t want to be a director,” he says. “I didn’t understand people as much as I knew

David Barker: “On shooting days for Avengers: Endgame, when the actors would be on set doing dialogue, I’d be off making bombs.”

how to build things. I studied visual effects. I built the Star Wars scene of the walking fighter machines on the snow planet in my back yard.” Barker began working in film in 1986 as a welder and prop builder, and by the mid1990s, he was creating pyrotechnic special effects in films and for magic shows on television. He built up his resume with projects like Transformers, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Fast Five, eventually landing in the Marvel Universe. So what’s left for him to blow up? “I just worked on Endgame, the biggest movie ever,” he says with a laugh. “What can I do to top that? I just enjoy creating special effects.” BEN JAMIN GLEIS SER

usc trojan family

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_57.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

family class notes

Wayne Kamemoto ’87 (ACC) was named by Billboard Magazine as one of the top music business managers for 2019. Christine Blake ’89 (BUS) was nominated for her fourth Daytime Emmy Award as supervising producer of the television show The Wildlife Docs. She has previously won three Los Angeles Area Emmys. Michael E. Flowers ’89 (SPP) joined Diplomat, the nation’s largest independent provider of specialty pharmacy services, as senior vice president of sales. He retired in 2013 from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Suresh Ramaswamy MS ’89 (ENG) is the author of Just Be: Transform Your Life and Live as Infinity, which won the Nautilus Book Award and the International Soul-Bridge Book Award in the Body-Mind-Spirit category.

A Message to

ALUMNI from USC’s Office of Athletic Compliance

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 58

Ronald Ramirez MBA ’92 (BUS) is associate dean of programs at the business school of the University of Colorado, Denver.

1 9 9 0 s

Jean-Claude Chamaa ’90 (ARC) is the architectural technical lead for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest in San Diego, where he oversees architecture, interior design and landscape architecture at Navy and Marine Corps bases in six Western states. Damon Korb ’90 (LAS) published Raising an Organized Child: 5 Steps to Boost Independence, Ease Frustration and Promote Conf idence. Abby Sheeline ’91 (SCA) is senior director of marketing for Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty in Long Island, New York. Victor Agadjanian MS ’92, PhD ’95 (LAS) is a professor of sociology at UCLA. Thomas A. Donohue ’92 (ARC) joined Suffolk Construction Company as president and general manager of the Southern California office.

Per National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules, alumni may not provide student athletes or their friends or family with “extra benefits” that are not available to other students at USC. Extra benefits include: • Gifts or transportation. • A ticket to any entertainment or sporting event. • Free admission to a show, banquet, dinner or other function. • A meal for a student-athlete (except in one’s home, on a pre-approved, occasional basis). As a general rule, the NCAA prohibits any involvement by alumni (or other “boosters”) in the recruitment of Prospective Student Athletes (PSAs).

• •

• • •

David M. Majchrzak ’93 (BUS) was promoted to shareholder of Klinedinst, a business law firm in San Diego. Lynne Marie Whately ’93 (SPP), an associate and assistant vice president at TranSystems in Berkeley, California, provides professional planning expertise for transportation, land-use and environmental management projects. Robert Francis CliŽord MPA ’94 (SPP) retired as the senior FBI representative to the European Union and NATO after a career of more than 25 years. He has received the FBI Director’s Award for Counter-Terrorism, the Director of National Intelligence Commendation Award and the Bolivian National Police Medal of Honor and Merit. In 2004, he received the Service to America Medal and was named Federal Employee of the Year. He is currently a senior vice president at Bank of America.

outlets (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Making arrangements for PSAs or their relatives or friends to receive money or financial aid of any kind. Providing transportation for a PSA or his/her relatives or friends to visit campus or reimbursing another party (including a PSA’s coach) for providing that transportation. Providing free or reduced-cost tickets for PSAs or their relatives or friends to attend an athletic event. Entertaining a high school, prep school or community college coach. Attending a PSA’s competition for the purpose of later providing an evaluation to the USC coaching staff.

NCAA rules PERMIT Alumni and Boosters to: NCAA rules specifically PROHIBIT any • Attend high school or two-year Alumni or Boosters from: college athletics contests or other • Contacting a PSA or his/her family events where PSAs may compete. in person, on or off campus. This However, alumni and boosters may not includes calling, writing, emailing, have contact with the PSAs or their text messaging or using social media relatives for the purpose of providing

information about USC. • Continue involvement with local youth sports teams/clubs that may include PSAs, provided the alumnus or booster does not recruit or solicit any PSA’s participation in USC Athletics. Improper contact or activity by alumni can render a student-athlete (current or perspective), and in some cases an entire team, ineligible for intercollegiate competition. Please remember: “ASK BEFORE ACTING.” If you have any questions, please see our website: usctrojans.com/ sports/2017/6/2/compliance.aspx or contact the Office of Athletic Compliance at (213) 740-6127 or Michael.Blanton@usc.edu TKTK CREDIT

their careers to serving patients and their families. She is a former director of case management and palliative care for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_58.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

A LU M N A

P R O F I L E

E R I C A

C A P E L L I N O

’ 1 5 ,

M S

’ 1 7

Food for Thought A nutrition expert keeps the Los Angeles Chargers fueled up.

ILLUSTRATION BY TIMBA SMITS

y e alumnus olicit

It’s easy to mistake Erica Capellino ’15, MS ’17 for a restaurant reviewer: Wherever she goes, it’s her job to find the finest things to eat. In Boston, she spent hours tracking down the best clam chowder. In Kansas City, she zeroed in on the highest-quality barbeque. But all these good eats are not for herself—they’re for the Los Angeles Chargers football team. Capellino is the team’s first full-time dietician, and one of fewer than two dozen in the NFL. Thanks to her, meals, snacks and drinks for the players are not simply whatever is convenient to stave off hunger— they’re thoughtfully prepared fuel for bodies that need optimum performance. Take, for instance, that KC barbeque. She directed that the chicken wings be baked, not deepfried, and found local sauces that weren’t saturated with high-fructose corn syrup. “I had to make sure the nutritional density was there,” says Capellino, who earned a bachelor’s degree in human biology and a master’s in nutrition, healthspan and longevity from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 59

As team dietician, her workout schedule may not rival the players’ routine, though it outdoes them in sheer hours. During football season, Capellino rises at 3:30 a.m. seven days a week to get in her own meal and workout before heading over to the players’ breakfast at 6 a.m. Her day can run as late as midnight as she oversees the players’ meals and snacks and monitors their hydration. “Food and nutrition are so personal,” she says, which is why she always offers plenty of choices, like different smoothies at breakfast or half a dozen kinds of protein bars during workouts. “What tastes good to you doesn’t necessarily taste good to someone else.” One reason Capellino has been able to gain the players’ trust, she says, is because she knows what it’s like to be an athlete: She ran cross-country and track for the Trojans. It was during her student-athlete days that she ran into Becci Twombley, who launched USC’s sports nutrition department. Capellino was drawn to Twombley’s work. “Being an athlete, I was always trying to find ways to better myself,” she says.

“Anything I could do to gain a competitive advantage was interesting to me.” She volunteered to help the dietician, and ended up working with her for five years while pursuing her degrees. One of her favorite classes was about the interplay between genetics and health, and it informs her work today. “I made that one of my core values: to optimize the athlete’s genetics and potential as much as I can, and make things as individualized and personalized as I can,” she says. She does have a few rules, though, for anyone who wants to improve their diet, professional athlete or not: Half of your plate, she suggests, should be fruits and vegetables. The rest should be one-quarter carbohydrates and one-quarter protein. Nutritious food doesn’t have to be fancy, either. After a workout, she recommends chocolate milk. “Its carb-to-protein ratio is 3-to-1,” she says. “Chocolate milk after a workout is one of the best foods you can use.” CONS TANCE SOMMER

usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:12 PM

USC18049-00_p_59.pgs 09.13.2019 21:17

family class notes Leigh Dundas JD ’94 (LAW) is CEO of Justice Be Done, a nonprofit that merged with Liberty Asia, an internationally recognized organization to fight human slavery.

Gary Baum ’05 (SCJ) received multiple nominations from the L.A. Press Club, including journalist of the year and best magazine investigation for his piece in The Hollywood Reporter on abuse of the late Stan Lee.

Laila Lalami MA ’94, PhD ’97 (LAS), a Pulitzer Prize finalist, published her fourth novel, The Other Americans.

Christopher Roe EdD ’05 (EDU) is the director of teacher induction for the Sacramento County Office of Education.

Joe Douglass ’97 (SDA), a reporter and anchor for KATU in Portland, Oregon, received an Emmy nomination for a twopart investigation into teacher misconduct in Portland’s public schools. This is his third nomination.

Robert Hernandez MSW ’07, DSW ’18 (SSW) is chair of the newly formed Juvenile Justice Advisory Council for California’s Congressional District 29, which includes the cities of San Fernando and Van Nuys.

Elba M. Villacorta ’97 (SSW), a graduate of USC’s Department of Nursing, was promoted to colonel and serves as the deputy commander for inpatient services at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Stephanie Hunt ’98 (SCJ), lead designer of Stephanie Hunt Interiors/Flairhunter LLC, provides custom interior design for ALOFT AeroArchitects’ clientele worldwide. Sam DeBord ’99 (BUS) is CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization, which develops open technology standards to promote innovation for professionals and consumers in the real estate industry. Armen Keuilian ’99 (SCJ) is executive producer at KCBS/KCAL Sports. J. Leonard Martinez Jr. MFA ’99 (SCA) published his second book, Newt’s Third. ƒ ⁄ ⁄ ⁄ ‹ James Forsher PhD ’00 (SPP) developed and narrated the documentary Elvis and the Girl From Vienna, which aired throughout Europe. He finished a Fulbright scholar stay at the University of Vienna in the summer and published Stock Footage, a filmmakers’ guide to using archival material. Reginald Roberts Jr. JD ’00 (LAW), who co-founded Sanders Roberts LLP with Justin H. Sanders JD ’00 (LAW), secured

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 60

Roger Rice EdD ’07 (EDU) is superintendent of the Ventura Unified School District in California. a unanimous 12-0 defense verdict for the city of Los Angeles on a whistleblower employment trial involving the Los Angeles Police Department.

ƒ ⁄ Ž ⁄ ‹

Mike Voight PhD ’00 (LAS) was promoted to full professor in the Physical Education & Human Performance Department at Central Connecticut State University.

Steÿ Gascon Hafen JD ’10 (LAW) is a partner at the Los Angeles and Orange County offices of Snell and Wilmer. She is a certified specialist in estate planning and trust and probate law.

Monique Jewett-Brewster JD ’01 (LAW) is chair of the Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.

Justin Vance EdD ’10 (EDU) is dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at the College of Western Idaho.

Amber Finch JD ’02 (LAW) was named to the 2019 Most Influential Minority Attorneys in Los Angeles list in the Los Angeles Business Journal. She is a partner and diversity chair at Reed Smith, where she specializes in insurance cases and claims.

Peter Arceo MBA ’11 (BUS) is general manager of the San Manuel Casino in Highland, California.

Rebecca Guptill ’02 (SCJ) is a judge for Oregon’s Washington County Circuit Court. Bradford G. Hughes ’03 (LAS) joined the Los Angeles office of Clark Hill LLP, where his practice focuses on representing clients in commercial litigation and trucking and transportation matters. Juan Carlos Araque PhD ’05 (SPP) published Leadership with Impact, which features interviews with health and human service leaders.

Mario Didonna ’11, MS ’11 (ENG), a systems engineer, was employee of the month for the Advanced Platforms Operating Unit at Northrop Grumman. Andrew Pulver EdD ’11 (EDU) is superintendent of the Los Alamitos Unified School District in California. Dale Trumbore MM ’11 (MUS) composed How to Go On, which was performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale on March 17 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Larkin Bell ’12 (SDA) and Jennifer Zahlit ’13 (SDA) created the podcast A Female autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_60.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

Do you have news to share? Send it along with your name, school and class year to classnotes@ usc.edu and it may appear in a future issue.

Lens, which highlights female excellence in the film industry. Maxim Dobrushin ’12 (LAS) completed his PhD in literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is founder and president of Quantum Lógos, a marketing agency. Cristina Ann Grossu ’12 (LAS) was included on the National Association of Realtors’ “30 Under 30” list for 2019. Josh Rosenbaum ’12 (BUS) is vice president of development and production at Waypoint Entertainment. Diana Marie Vaden ’12 (SDA) made her Broadway acting debut in the ensemble of the Tony Awardwinning musical Tootsie at the Marquis Theatre. Samantha Jane Haraszti MS ’13 (MED) received a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in May. Michelle Tseng ’13, GCRT ’17 (MUS) was selected from among 400 candidates to fill one of three violin vacancies for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Kimberly Fricker EdD ’14 (EDU) is superintendent of the Temple City Unified School District in California.

GELL-MANN PHOTO COURTESY OF CALTECH

Marion Sanders MSW ’14 (SSW) is associate director of homeless systems integration for the Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System, which is part of the Los Angeles branch of Special Service for Groups, a nonprofit health and human services organization. Monisha Dadlani ’16 (SDA) was accepted into Imagine Entertainment’s Impact 2 program, which helps new creators develop television shows and movies under the guidance of established industry writers and showrunners. Jinwoo Jung MFA ’16 (SDA) plays Thuy on the national tour of Miss Saigon. He also appeared in the 2019 film Glass. trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 61

Enika Fluellen-Brown MSW ’17 (SSW) launched BalanceNrenew LLC, a professional coaching service for individuals and families.

Zach Laney ’02 (BUS) and Jenny Schwartzkopf Laney ’03 (LAS) adopted a daughter, Carmon.

Sam Madani ’17 (BUS) is co-founder of BOMANI Cold Buzz, an alcohol infused cold brew coffee that launched this spring.

Josh Divelbiss ’04 (ARC) and Liz (Burdick) Divelbiss ’05, MCG ’10 (SCJ), a daughter, Holiday Louise. She joins brothers Jack-Henry and Everett.

Steven Martinez EdD ’17 (EDU) is superintendent of Kernville Union School District in Lake Isabella, California. Gussie Johns ’18 (BUS) is executive director of Capital Lacrosse Club’s board of directors. A two-year team captain at USC, she is a member of the U.S. Lacrosse Women’s Senior Team (Team USA) and founded her company, G3J, after working with USC’s Blackstone Launchpad.

M A R R I A G E S Leonor Vazquez ’91 (LAS), EdD ’08 (EDU) and Frank Mora EdD ’07 (EDU). Ceres Botros ’04 (LAS) and Michael Migdal ’08 (LAS). Eva Hinojoza ME ’11, EdD ’17 (EDU) and Manual Valencia. Zebulon Bidwell MBT ’13 (ACC) and Amy Misawa MBT ’13 (ACC). Blair Moylan ’13 (SCJ), MBA ’19 (BUS) and Carder Nastri ’13 (SDA). Sarah Aguilar ’14 (LAS) and Sean Vreeburg DDS ’14 (DEN). Cait Hilbert MBA ’16 (BUS) and Isaac Stern MBA ’16 (BUS). B I R T H S Katherine Desilets Weston ’99 (LAS) and Gary Weston Jr. ’99 (LAS), a son, Aaron Patrick. He joins brothers Benjamin Kirby and Henry Thomas.

T R O J A N

T R I B U T E

Murray Gell-Mann Pioneering scientist Murray Gell-Mann won the Nobel Prize in 1969 for helping physicists gain deeper insight into the universe’s most basic structures. Among his groundbreaking contributions was a way to classify subatomic particles—like neutrons and protons—much like chemistry’s periodic table of the elements. The physicist developed the method, which he dubbed the “Eightfold Way,” in the early 1960s. The Eightfold Way led physicists to predict the existence of elementary particles that GellMann dubbed “quarks,” a word borrowed from James Joyce’s novel Finnegans Wake. Quarks are the building blocks of neutrons and protons. Gell-Mann continued to refine quark theory over the years, providing a better understanding of the particles that comprise the universe. Gell-Mann taught at institutions including the University of Chicago, Columbia University and Caltech. In 2010, he was appointed a USC Presidential Professor, a rare honor bestowed upon those who combine the highest academic recognition with landmark contributions to society. He was affiliated with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Born in Manhattan in 1929, Gell-Mann entered Yale University at age 15. He graduated with a degree in physics and earned his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951. Gell-Mann died on May 24. He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Sarah Gell-Mann; son, Nicholas Webster Gell-Mann; and stepson, Nicholas Southwick Levis.

usc trojan family

9/23/19 3:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_61.pgs 09.23.2019 15:19

Scholarships change lives. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am a first-generation American and a first-generation college student. It is no exaggeration to say that this scholarship has impacted the trajectory of my life and the lives of all of my family.â&#x20AC;? Edgar Bustos Dr. Homira Firoozeh Kioumher and Dr. Fariba Firozeh Bagheri Endowed Scholar USC Marshall School of Business USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Class of 2020

Every gift counts. giveto.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 62

9/13/19 9:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_62.pgs 09.13.2019 21:17

family class notes Arvin Bautista ’05 (SCA) and Lynn Hamilton ’06 (SCA), a daughter, Logan Rose.

Obituaries of Trojan Family members appear online at news.usc.edu/tributes. Please submit obituaries to classnotes@usc.edu.

Garland, Texas; Jan. 6, 2019, at the age of 93.

FACU LT Y A ND F RIE ND S

Gayle L. Hall ’72 (DEN) of Redlands, California; Aug. 3, 2018, at the age of 68.

Michael Appleman of Los Angeles; April 10, 2019, at the age of 85.

Patrick Charles Roark ’72 (LAS) of Boise, Idaho; Sept. 9, 2018, at the age of 69.

Marjorie Pings of Pasadena, California; March 26, 2019, at the age of 86.

Patricia Louise Wells ’74, MA ’77 (MUS) of Anaheim, California; Nov. 4, 2018, at the age of 66.

Robert Scales of Los Angeles; May 24, 2019, at the age of 83.

David Newman JD ’06 (LAW) and Becky (Raizman) Newman JD ’10 (LAW), a son, Jacob Orion.

Nancy Ruth Hołman JD ’77 (LAW) of Los Angeles; April 15, 2019, at the age of 77.

L E G E N D

Diana Wade ’09 (LAS) and Nico Szewczyk, a daughter, Lucile.

Linda Talbert ’79 (LAS) of Boulder, Colorado; Feb. 13, 2019, at the age of 68.

LAS

John Lambert ’13 (LAS) and Kristen Lambert, a daughter, Madeline Virginia.

Dennis McCarthy ’80 (BUS) of Trabuco Canyon, California; August 2018, at the age of 61.

ACC ARC BUS SCA SCJ

I N

Kimberly Woeber MS ’80, PhD ’82 (LAS) of Aiken, South Carolina; March 10, 2019, at the age of 63.

Michael Thompson ’05 (SCJ), JD ’09 (LAW) and Muriel Aubry ’06 (LAS), JD ’09 (LAW), a son, Mason Michael. Greg Wagner ’06 (LAS/SCJ) and Stacy (Deslyn Zeller) Wagner ’06 (SCJ), a son, Walker Samuel.

M E M O R I A M

Joy Woodard ’47 (LAS) of Eugene, Oregon; April 3, 2019, at the age of 95. Norman C. Brinkmeyer ’48 (ENG) of Sonora, California; May 1, 2019, at the age of 93. Altus L. Simpson ’51, MS ’58 (LAS) of Seattle; March 30, 2019, at the age of 95. George A. Sopp ’53, MS ’55 (ENG) of Sequim, Washington; April 28, 2019, at the age of 91. Vassilios Elias Haloulakos ’59, MS ’62 (ENG) of Burbank, California; Jan. 13, 2019, at the age of 88. Nancy Humphreys MSW ’63 (SSW) of Hartford, Connecticut; Feb. 9, 2019, at the age of 80. Joseph Peter D’Arelli ’64 (LAS) of Lompoc, California; Jan. 30, 2019, at the age of 78. Frank Barbaro LLB ’68 (LAW) of Santa Ana, California; April 15, 2019, at the age of 75. Robert Lee Osmunson PhD ’68 (EDU) of trojanfamily.usc.edu

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 63

Joan Fedell Van Nostrand MPA ’85, DPA ’94 (SPP) of Gaithersburg, Maryland; Jan. 26, 2019, at the age of 74. Deborah Joy DeMirjian ’86 (BUS) of Sherman Oaks, California; June 29, 2018, at the age of 61. Rubina Hartel ’88 (LAS), ’89 (BUS) of Clarksville, Oregon; Dec. 4, 2018, at the age of 52. Thomas Michael Reese ’88, MS ’90 (ENG) of Pleasanton, California; Aug. 18, 2018, at the age of 51. Risa B. Field ’91 (SCJ) of La Jolla, California; April 23, 2019, at the age of 50. Colin R. Austin ’10 (ENG) of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois; Feb. 19, 2019, at the age of 34. Dominic Catipay Gregorio DMA ’12 (MUS) of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; March 4, 2019, at the age of 41.

DNC DEN DRA EDU ENG ART GRN GRD LAW MED MUS OST PHM BPT SPP SSW

USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences USC Leventhal School of Accounting USC School of Architecture USC Marshall School of Business USC School of Cinematic Arts USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism USC Kaufman School of Dance Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC USC School of Dramatic Arts USC Rossier School of Education USC Viterbi School of Engineering USC Roski School of Art and Design USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology USC Graduate School USC Gould School of Law Keck School of Medicine of USC USC Thornton School of Music USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy USC School of Pharmacy Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy USC Price School of Public Policy USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

Jill Barone, Evan Calbi, Matt DeGrushe, Michelle Dumas, Harmony Frederick, Darrin Joy, Julie Labich, Leticia Lozoya, Maya Meinert, Jane Ong, Will Proctor, Alex Rast, Stacey Wang Rizzo, Julie Tilsner and Deann Webb contributed to this section.

Joey M. Apodaca MSW ’17 (SSW) of Los Angeles; Jan. 6, 2019. usc trojan family

9/13/19 9:13 PM

USC18049-00_p_63.pgs 09.13.2019 21:18

from the archives

Have a photo to share? Send it to 3434 S. Grand Ave., CAL 140, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2818 or magazine@usc.edu.

It took a while for USC to host its first Homecoming, but when 1924 rolled around—more than 40 years after the first class graduated—the campus was ready to welcome alumni with fanfare. The newly formed General Alumni Association (now known as the USC Alumni Association) led the festivities. Photos from USC’s first Homecoming show Trojans of all ages on parade, vying for the most clever and original theme in decorated horse-drawn floats and surreys (pictured above). Over the years, USC’s Homecoming gained a queen and court, and celebrations across campus toasted alumni

usc trojan family

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY_with corrections.indd 64

PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Trojans on Parade with food and drink. Horse-drawn floats gave way to 1930s grand touring cars and the zippy convertibles of the 40s and 50s. The parade would wind through the Coliseum and down Wilshire Boulevard. By the end of the 70s, Homecoming events shifted away from student life to focus more on alumni. Returning Trojans still gather each year in Alumni Memorial Park before the football game to see old friends and make new ones. During this year’s Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, USC hosted Arizona on Oct. 19. It was the university’s first “Green Game,” highlighting zero-waste efforts. ELISA HUANG

autumn 2019

9/24/19 9:35 AM

USC18049-00_p_64.pgs 09.24.2019 09:37

Thanks to our patients, physicians, nurses & staff for making us

IN THE NATION Together, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital are proud to be ranked #16 in the country. Based on clinical expertise, patient experiences, and patient outcomes, this prestigious award is a testament to our ongoing commitment to provide the highest level of care. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Keck Effect at its best.

(800) USC-CARE KeckMedicine.org

ÂŠ 2019 Keck Medicine of USC

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 4

9/13/19 9:15 PM

USC18049-00_Cov4.pgs 09.13.2019 21:21

USC Trojan Family Magazine University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089-2818

N ON -PROFIT ORGAN IZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID UN IVERSIT Y OF

Change Service Requested

SOUTHERN CALIFORN IA

F O L LO W I N G

THE BOX SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; JANUARY 26, 2020 Inspired by a collection of found photographs taken in India by a WWII U.S. serviceman. Unravel the mystery and explore the power of art.

46 N. LOS ROBLES AVENUE, PASADENA, CA 91101 PACIFICASIAMUSEUM.USC.EDU Image credit: Alakananda Nag, 3 May, 1945, 2015, Multimedia installation

TFM_Autumn19-Premedia_HY.indd 1

9/16/19 8:42 AM

USC18049-00_Cov1.pgs 09.16.2019 08:43