Fall/September 2004 A Setting for Synergy Undergraduate education at USC College encourages students to pursue an education that is rich in experience, both inside and outside of the class- room. The curriculum is structured to provide a coherent, integrated intro- duction to the breadth of knowledge that a “well-educated person” needs. With nearly 80 majors and 50 minors in the College to choose from, the environment helps students discover their passions and talents. The College’s Faculty Recruitment Initiative has improved the student-to- faculty ratio and diversified the faculty, exposing students to cutting-edge researchers and multidisciplinary scholars. Faculty are personable, approachable teachers who help stu- dents understand the terms ‘rigor’ and ‘critical thinking.’ In the 1990s, USC faculty and lead- ers worked for three years on a plan to completely revamp the undergraduate curriculum as part of a blueprint to Beyond Book Smart: International Relations Major Rivka Katz (VP of Hillel’s SC Tzedek and alternative spring break coordinator); Bac/MD move the university into a position of Program Participant Chad Agy; and Psychology Major Patricia Gonzalez (Readers Plus tutor and notetaker for disability services and programs) leadership. The result was a more coherent and integrated curriculum in the College for every USC undergrad- Undergrads Embrace Variety and Richness uate. Whether they are majoring in business, journalism or biology, all USC undergraduates take a core set of courses taught by full-time, tenure- had Agy matriculated into the freshman class of 2008 at USC College admittance into the Bac/MD program track faculty. this fall. He was the captain of his high school soccer team, concertmas- made all the difference. The curriculum consists of classes ter of the orchestra and editor of his high school newspaper. He got a The number of applications to the in General Education, Writing and 1430 on his SAT and took 11 AP classes. In his spare time, he enjoys College rose in 2004, the admit rate Diversity—and ensures every USC fishing, hiking and biking with his friends in his hometown undergraduate the opportunity to of Park City, Utah. Unlike most of his peers, Agy knows what he acquire the intellectual skills of critical C Undergraduate education, the theme of this issue, wants to do with his life. analysis, empirical verification and He wants to become a doctor. is rich in experience both inside and outside of the written and oral communication they Agy applied to USC and to the Baccalaureate/MD Program at classroom. In a special insert, Dean Joseph Aoun need to tackle any major they choose USC College last fall as a high school senior. He won acceptance to unveils the principles that guide undergraduate during their College career. both, meaning that following his senior year of college, there will be “College graduates are going to an open spot reserved for him in the first-year class at the Keck education at USC College. All students, he says, have multiple careers, some of them School of Medicine of USC. should be prepared to lead a rich, full, life. not yet describable. The purpose of The Bac/MD program is for students who know they are interest- the College education is not just to ed in a medical career, but want a rounded undergraduate education prepare students for their first job, but outside of stringent pre-med requirements. was reduced and the College exceed- to prepare them to maximize the pos- “Initially, I was attracted to USC because of its reputation as one of the best ed its enrollment goal—clear sibilities and opportunities for the rest schools on the West Coast,” Agy explains, and “its pleasant climate and diversi- indications that the College is attract- of their lives,” says Joseph Aoun, dean ty.” In the end, USC was his college choice over Yale, Dartmouth, UCLA, ing and matriculating more talented of USC College. “We don’t want our UCSB, UCSD and CU-Boulder. He claims that a Trustee Scholarship and his students than ever before. continued on page 4 Undergraduate Education: Beyond the Old Paradigm VOLUME 5 NUMBER 3 Training Smart Well-Prepared The Modern Healing by Recruiting Writers for Life Lecture Synthesis Success PAGE 5 PAGE 6 PAGE 12 PAGE 15 PAGES 16 & 17 PHOTOS BY PHIL CHANNING A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN In a special magazine insert, I elab- orate on some of the principles guiding our undergraduate education A New Reality at USC College. Our goal is for men and women to have a challenging, first-rate educational experience here, one that prepares them to thrive in imes have changed. expertise. It is no longer sufficient to whatever path they choose. Today’s college students will know how to do something; rather, it When our students graduate, with likely have several very different is essential to know how to learn to a taste for research, overseas study, careers over their lifetime. They do something new. and community service on their Twill live longer than previous genera- In this issue of USC College palette, they should be uniquely pre- tions, in a society that changes rapidly. Magazine, we feature undergraduate pared to handle the challenges of a What students end up doing for a pro- education. On these pages you’ll changing society—prepared to live a Dean Aoun fession may not even exist today. meet students who consider variety rich, full life. Just 25 years ago, computers and depth to be a key ingredient in began transforming our lives in their undergraduate experience. What you’ll find, is that College radically unforeseen ways. Today, Many of our students are combining students are preparing for much more discoveries are being made in majors in widely disparate fields, like than their first job—they are preparing numerous emerging fields. With each neuroscience and philosophy, or clas- for a lifetime of learning. Our faculty new breakthrough, comes a new sics and religion, while picking up an challenge students to think analytical- career path—some not yet imagined. unrelated minor along the way, per- ly, write carefully, express themselves Joseph Aoun Clearly today’s society is based on haps global communication, critical in different media and develop their Dean of USC College knowledge, as opposed to narrow approaches to leadership or Italian. own views about the world. Anna H. Bing Professor WRIGLEY INSTITUTE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER flow statement. We never really Bob McKnight intended for it to take off. I was hav- ing the time of my life,” McKnight Surfing & Science says. Ten years later, they brought in $18 million in sales, went public and he genius of USC alumnus Bob McKnight studied for his classes dur- continued to grow until 1991. McKnight lies in his ability to ing the week. But when the weekend “That was a really tough time. The combine his personal passions came, he often disappeared from cam- Gulf War started, and then there were with his public life as a business pus, driving the coast of California shark attacks on both coasts. Syringes Tman and, increasingly, as a leader of and Mexico to visit friends and surf. were washing up on the beaches, and philanthropic efforts that promote Perhaps the most important time in there were a lot of warnings about ocean conservation and environmental his undergraduate experience came skin cancer, spending time out in the education in southern California. when he signed up for Semester at sun. The surf lifestyle market was on McKnight’s ability to mix work and Sea, a floating college campus that cir- the way down, and our company play has served him well. Starting cled the Pacific, with stops in Hawaii, dropped from about 90 million to less from a passion for surf and an under- Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, than 60 million in annual sales.” standing of the nascent global surf Thailand, Australia, New Zealand “In a way, it’s one of my greatest Partnership supports a number of culture, McKnight has overseen the and, most important for McKnight’s satisfactions, to have come out of that activities and programs, designed to transformation of a two-person venture future, in Bali, Indonesia. tailspin. We emerged as a growing use children’s love of the ocean to in making surf shorts into a global “The trip opened up my whole company. We turned the thing around, enhance and improve science and company that generates over $1 billion life. I fell in love with the tropics, and diversified—starting the women’s environmental education within K-12 in annual sales. with surfing. I went back to Bali as brand Roxy—and went into retail and classes. QuikScience builds on the McKnight, who graduated from soon as I could, and that’s where I snowboarding among other ventures,” work of the federally funded USC in 1976, hopes to bring a similar met my wife, Annette, and Jeff McKnight says. USC/UCLA Center for Ocean philosophy to science education, with Hakman,” a professional surfer who But it was clearer than ever that, as Sciences Education Excellence an aim of building a sense of environ- later became his business partner, he puts it, “if we don’t have a safe, (COSEE)-West, one of only seven mental stewardship in young people, McKnight says. clean, healthy ocean, we won’t have a centers nationwide. his most loyal customers. Soon after graduating, McKnight business anymore.” “Now that Quiksilver has reached “The ocean is invaluable,” says partnered with Hakman to buy the It was partly his concerns about the a certain size, we feel that we have a McKnight, chief executive officer of U.S.