Facility Planning, Design and Operations

Dornsife Building Occupancy:

• 36 building locations on the University Park Campus
  • 20 Multi-tenant
  • 16 Dornsife only
• 6 Off-Campus building locations
• 15 building locations on Catalina Island
• ~880K assigned square footage

We help ensure Dornsife facilities are adequately set up to support the academic and research programs of today and tomorrow. We design, develop, and manage the academic, research, and administrative spaces within the Dornsife space portfolio.

Responsibilities include:

• Engage in long and short term planning to determine space allocations that will optimize physical space in line with our constituents’ needs.
• Identify and implement suitable relocations, renovations, and capital fundraising projects based on this planning.
• Represent the interests of the college and recently hired Principal Investigators (PI), to ensure the PI’s experimental laboratory renovation meets the performance and operational standards for their research within set budget parameters.
• Coordinate with USC Facilities Planning and Management and relevant consultants, contractors, and vendors to execute capital projects for the college.

Our department helps coordinate the annual update of business continuity plans of 70+ departments, centers, and institutes. Support services include:

• Continuous monitoring and support for BCP readiness
• Facilitate document uploads and standardization for BCP updates
• Collaborative emergency preparedness training
• Leveraging tabletop exercise insights for BCP testing support
• Business Continuity Plan Hub
• Facilities Emergency Response Procedures (Water Leaks, Floods, etc.)

Our office collaborates with the following university agencies to assist our academic and research constituents in the specialized domain that these agencies oversee:

• USC Department of Public Safety (DPS)
• USC Fire Safety and Emergency Planning (FSEP)
• USC Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)
• USC Office of Institutional Accessibility and ADA Compliance

We help Dornsife units mitigate safety and security concerns identified by these agencies from their assessments and inspections. Addressing findings through corrective actions with specific attention to experimental research labs and general workplaces to align with safety and compliance standards.

We provide comprehensive support to Dornsife units in managing property damage loss claims. Our services include ensuring those units are compiling and submitting the required evidence and documentation to USC Risk Management in order to streamline the claims process. Additionally, we collaborate with Dornsife Business Offices to facilitate the immediate purchase of replacement items to maintain operational continuity.

Students from the School of Cinematic Arts can request Dornsife building locations to be used for their filming projects. Please consider the following when seeking to reserve space:

• Contact archserv@dornsife.usc.edu to reserve common areas like lobbies, corridors, stairwells, and restrooms.
• To reserve classrooms, please email classroom.scheduling@usc.edu directly at least 3–5 business days before the date of the film shoot.
• For exterior building locations, visit USC Facilities Planning and Management (FPM).