Dear USC Price Community:
You may have seen President Folt’s announcement of a transformative gift that will expand the reach and influence of the Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Price Board of Councilors member and USC Trustee Leonard Schaeffer and his wife, Pamela Schaeffer, are donating $59 million to establish theUSC Leonard D. Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service, which will launch on July 1.
The Schaeffer Institute will house two existing programs, the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service. It will also accomplish three major goals:
The Schaeffer Institute will benefit the Price community in several important ways. It will serve as a policy laboratory to develop and test ideas generated by Price School faculty, staff, and students. It will provide a forum to reach federal policymakers in D.C. And —perhaps most importantly — it will build our capacity to offer government service opportunities to our students. Just as Keck Hospital of USC complements the Keck School of Medicine by providing real-world training, the Schaeffer Institute will complement the Price School.
President Folt has asked me to serve as the Schaeffer Institute director, which will necessitate a change in my roles. In July, I will rejoin the faculty of the Price and Mann Schools, while serving part-time in the Office of the Provost as an advisor on special projects — including USC’s efforts in D.C. The provost will appoint an interim dean to start upon my transition and will initiate a national search for my successor.
In the meantime, I want to thank you for the opportunity and privilege to serve as dean the last four years. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate in a new capacity in the coming years.
Sincerely,
Dana
Dana Goldman, Ph.D.
Dean and C. Erwin and Ione L. Piper Chair USC Sol Price School of Public Policy