USC News

Professor's Analysis Followed in Prop. 8 Court Ruling

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:52:46 -0800

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Proposition 8, California’s ban on gay marriage this week in an opinion that closely follows a line of analysis put forward by USC Gould School of Law professor Rebecca Brown in June 2010. An issue brief written by Brown for the American

Two USC Schools Go Mobile

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:42:21 -0800

Web-based graduate programs at the USC Rossier School of Education and the USC School of Social Work have released a new mobile application that allows students to access multimedia course content and intra-school social networks from their Android smartphone. The recent launch follows the introduction of a similar iPhone/iPad app

MSW Student Takes Leadership Role

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:36:09 -0800

For a profession whose central focus is on interacting and working with people, the idea that some social workers need a little push to join an association just for them is ironic, to say the least. But that’s exactly what USC School of Social Work master’s student Rachel Gardner is

It’s the Smart Thing to Do

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:02:20 -0800

In architect Doris Kim Sung’s ideal future, buildings automatically will respond to changes in the environment. “For a long time, my work has examined why architecture is static and nonresponsive, and why it can’t be more flexible like clothing,” said Sung, assistant professor of architecture at the USC School of

What Lies Beneath the Asbestos Crisis

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:45:19 -0800

When thousands of workers filed lawsuits against employers in search of asbestos injury compensation, Congress planned to create a national social insurance program for asbestos claims but failed. A new book written by USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences professor Jeb Barnes unscrambles the complexities of the congressional

Federal Agency Features Professor’s Research on Depression

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:42:35 -0800

A federal agency that highlights groundbreaking health care research has featured USC School of Social Work professor Kathleen Ell’s innovative efforts to improve depression treatment among low-income Hispanics with diabetes. In 2005, Ell spearheaded a study that examined the effectiveness of a socioculturally tailored program designed to improve treatment adherence

Fasting Weakens Cancer in Mice

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:40:00 -0800

Man may not live by bread alone, but cancer in animals appears less resilient, judging by a study that found chemotherapy drugs work better when combined with cycles of short, severe fasting. Even fasting on its own effectively treated a majority of cancers tested in animals, including cancers from human

Journalism Major Finds His Corner of USC

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:01:16 -0800

After spending his first year at USC calling basketball and baseball games on the radio for KXSC 1560-AM, Conrad Wilton noticed the station was missing a very important element: news. "I thought I could fill a niche," said Wilton, who transferred from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2009.

In Memoriam: Mitzi M. Tsujimoto, 84

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:40:03 -0800

Mitzi M. Tsujimoto, associate director for administration at the USC Emeriti Center and former director of admission, financial aid and student affairs at the USC School of Pharmacy, died on Jan. 23 in Pasadena. She was 84. Tsujimoto started her second career as a financial aid counselor in the USC

Study Produces New Findings on Autism and GI Dysfunction

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:11:39 -0800

A researcher at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has published a study highlighting the importance of physicians listening to parental reports of gastrointestinal (GI) problems in their autistic children and screening these children for gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID). Pat Levitt, director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck

In Memoriam: Nancy E. Wood

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:41:36 -0800

Professor Emerita Nancy E. Wood died on Nov. 22. Wood came to USC in 1964 as director of research at the John Tracy Clinic. She later held appointments as professor of ontology and professor of communicative disorders, as well as director of language pathologies. When those units were reorganized in

Professor Strives to Expand Diversity in Teacher Education

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:34:55 -0800

Marleen Pugach, the new holder of the Robert A. Naslund Chair in Curriculum Theory at the USC Rossier School of Education, has spent her career advocating for the reform of teacher education, namely, its inclusion of special education issues within the wider context of diversity. “If we want students with

NYPD Expert Breaks Down Al Qaeda's Plots

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:20:45 -0800

Perceptions of Al Qaeda as a highly organized, rigidly centralized group that spanned the globe and exercised a precise strategy to defeat the West have proven to be untrue, Mitchell Silber said on Jan. 17 at the first of an ongoing lecture forum offered by the USC National Center for

USC Price Lecture Examines Cooperation

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:42:11 -0800

Can people cooperate with those who are different from them - in belief, appearance or situation? Richard Sennett, professor of sociology and history at New York University, answered this question with a resounding “yes” at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy Distinguished Research Lecture Series on Jan. 18.

Ostrow School Celebrates Give Kids a Smile Day

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:13:53 -0800

The Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC took part in the national Give Kids a Smile Day service event on Feb. 3 by providing free dental screenings and oral health education to local elementary school children. This year - the 10th year of participation for the Ostrow School - dental