Sharing a Transforming Moment

USC President C. L. Max Nikias held up two engraved, long golden chains — an honor presented to only one other person in USC’s 131-year-history.

Slipping the heavy, shiny chains over the heads of Dana and David Dornsife, he told the philanthropists and humanitarians:

“It is now my profound privilege to bestow upon both of you the University Medallion.”

The Trojan Marching Band entered Bovard Auditorium stage playing “Reign of Troy.” The lights dimmed and a backdrop resembling a marble wall was virtually etched to read: USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

“This is what you call serious bling,” Dana Dornsife said, holding up her medallion, which is identical to the one worn by the university’s president. The ceremony honored the Dornsifes for their $200 million unrestricted gift to USC College — the largest naming gift in the history of higher education for a college of letters, arts and sciences.

“ ‘How could you make it unrestricted?’ ” David Dornsife said many people have asked him.

“It’s real simple,” said Dornsife, a 1965 USC alumnus in business and chairman of the Herrick Corporation, a steel fabrication contractor. “We think we understand the people who are going to administer the gift. We have a lot of faith in them. And if it’s a good friend of mine, I say, ‘They don’t tell me how to put a steel building up. And I don’t tell them how to run a university.’ ”

Also unveiled was a bronze plaque displayed at the entrance to Bovard, engraved with portraits of Dana and David Dornsife and naming them recipients of the University Medallion, dated March 23, 2011. Directly across is an engraved plaque with the image of the only other person given the honor, Walter H. Annenberg.

Dana and David Dornsife address the audience after receiving the University Medallion. Photo by Phil Channing.

“[Dana and David Dornsife’s] plaque is located there because of the central role the College plays in the academic and cultural life of this university,” Nikias said of the Bovard entryway in the center of campus.

The event included a processional march of College faculty members. A procession of senior administrators, USC deans, the College Board of Councilors and USC trustees also took their seats.

The first speaker was Howard Gillman, dean of the newly named USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, comprised of 10,000 students, 700 faculty members and 600 staff. Gillman oversees the College’s 33 academic departments in humanities, social sciences and sciences, and 31 research centers and institutes.

“At every renowned institution of higher education the foundational work of inquiry and discovery takes place within this community, within the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, and sciences,” said Gillman, who acted as host. “To enter this world is to encounter the best that has ever been thought, or created, or discovered.”

With the USC Afro Latin American Jazz Ensemble playing in the background, USC Board of Trustees Chairman Edward P. Roski Jr. stepped forward. He said the audience was sharing a transforming moment in the university’s history.

“Dana and David are people who understand that education is the key to human progress,” Roski said. “They understand that although education does deliver personal rewards and growth, at the end of the day education is not about me. It is about we. What matters is how you and I use our knowledge for the greater good, for our communities, our fellow humans and the world.”

Faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends celebrate the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Photo by Jie Gu.

Speaking before the crowd, School of Philosophy Director Scott Soames, one of 23 USC faculty members who hold the Distinguished Professor title, said that the Dornsifes’ past gifts to neuroscience were visionary.

“And their present gift to the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences reflects a level of understanding few can match,” he said. “It is the College that is the heart of the university, combining the ancient disciplines of philosophy and mathematics with the great engines of modernity — the physical, biological and social sciences —while embracing the study of language, literature, art, history, religion and culture — in short, all that makes us human.” 

Sociology doctoral candidate Radheeka Jayasundera said she spoke on behalf of students when she thanked the Dornsifes.

“Because of your generosity, students like me from developing countries who have very few resources are able to come to the U.S. to get a higher education at a great university like USC,” said Jayasundera of Sri Lanka. “And live to our fullest potential.”

With University Professor Kevin Starr’s baritone voice moderating, a video was shown telling the story of the Dornsifes, beginning with Harold Dornsife, David’s father, arriving at USC from Indiana with 18 cents in his pocket in 1934. Harold Dornsife met his future wife Ester, also a USC student. The couple later became among USC’s most generous benefactors and were lead donors for the Hedco Neurosciences Building. Harold ’38 died in 1999 and Ester ’41 died in 2000.

“Dave, I know that your parents, who are both Trojans, are looking down on us from above,” Nikias said during the event. “And I have no doubt that, right now, they are smiling.”

David Dornsife is a USC trustee, vice president of the Hedco Foundation and chairman of the USC Brain and Creativity Institute board. Dana Dornsife is a board member of the same institute and the USC-Huntington Institutes. She is also president and founder of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation.

Among the Dornsifes’ philanthropic endeavors are water-drilling in Africa, research associated with Alzheimer’s Disease, the Yosemite Conservancy, and support for those with end-stage cancer seeking medical breakthroughs through FDA clinical trials.

After Nikias presented the Dornsifes with a handcrafted, calligraphical citation acknowledging the breadth of their contributions, Dana Dornsife wanted to recognize USC’s faculty and administrators.

“They are extraordinary,” she said, “But really what we’ve been touched by most is the outstanding students. And students are what this is all about. They make us extraordinarily proud. We love USC. We love the Trojan Family. Fight on!”

After the ceremony, the Trojan Marching Band led guests to a tented picnic at Alumni Park.

“Someone has believed in the College enough to give us a name,” said Lily Mathison, a psychology senior, as she handed out T-shirts marking the historic event. “Viterbi has one. Marshall has one. Just saying the College makes you kind of feel left out. We’re not left out anymore.”