The Jimmy Gauntt Memorial Awards recognize outstanding seniors majoring in English, creative writing and narrative studies.
The awards honor Jimmy Gauntt, a poet, musician and playwright, who graduated from USC Dornsife in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in English. His life was tragically cut short in 2008.
Established in 2009 by Gauntt’s mentor David Román, professor of English and American studies and ethnicity, the Jimmy Awards recognize six outstanding seniors in the English department who have demonstrated a commitment to the arts.
About Jimmy Gauntt
As an undergraduate at USC Dornsife, Jimmy Gauntt was known for his poetic voice and intellectual curiosity. He initially enrolled as a Spanish major, but his life path shifted in David Román’s American literature class, where he wrote a paper on two prominent Broadway playwrights that Román described as “one of the best papers I’d ever read.”
Soon after, Jimmy switched his major to English, fully immersing himself in the literary world that would define his college experience.
The Jimmy Gauntt Memorial Award Endowment
The Jimmy Awards received a transformational boost in 2024 with a $100,000 gift from Jimmy’s parents, Hilary and Casey Gauntt, who, together with Jimmy’s sister Brittany Kirby, are USC alumni. Their contribution establishes the Jimmy Gauntt Memorial Award Endowment, funding the awards in perpetuity and ensuring that outstanding graduating seniors with a passion for the arts continue to be honored for generations to come.
Right: The Gauntt family at Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand in 2005. From right, Jimmy, Hilary, Brittany and Casey Gauntt. (Photo: Courtesy of the Gauntt family.)
