A message from

Varun Soni, Ph.D.

Vice Provost, Office of Campus Wellness and Crisis Intervention

Dean, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life

USC is an inspiring place to teach and learn, but amid the constant whirlwind of activity and information, it can be challenging to feel fully present in our lives and in our work. As a way of proactively creating a culture of well-being on campus, we launched Mindful USC six years ago as a secular, university-wide initiative focused on positive health outcomes and learning experiences for our university community, especially in terms of stress reduction, workplace happiness, emotional intelligence, and artistic expression. Indeed, research studies have shown that mindfulness practices help us to be aware of ourselves in ways that increase attentiveness in the classroom, deepen the quality of teaching and learning, encourage creativity and innovation, and improve our ability to collaborate effectively.

Accordingly, Mindful USC offers free mindfulness courses for students, faculty, and staff, and since its inception, more than 6,000 members of our university community have taken a mindfulness course on campus. The overwhelming majority of participants report significant improvements in terms of addressing stress and anxiety, and in developing more meaningful interpersonal relationships.

This semester, we are pleased to offer two sessions of the popular courses Mindfulness Lab, Mindful Creativity, Mindful Writing, Mindful Parenting, and Mindful Self-Compassion. We are also pleased to offer two additional well-being courses: Click! (cultivating healthy friendships and relationships) and Sleep (developing healthy sleeping habits and perspectives). The first session starts on January 27^th and the second session begins on March 23^rd.

If you are interested in taking any of these free courses on campus, please visit the Mindful USC website as enrollment is open now. If you would like to take a course at the Health Science Campus, please enroll on the Health Science Campus registration page. And we encourage everyone to download our free Mindful USC app, which offers guided meditations and other mindfulness resources.

For more information about Mindful USC, please contact mindful@usc.edu.

Join the final two USC Town Halls to hear the university-wide results (non-school/unit-specific) of the USC Cultural Values Poll.  Nearly 20,000 Trojans shared their voice last October about our current and desired values. Come hear what we had to say, and how we move forward with change.

Monday, February 3^rd, 4 – 6 p.m.

UPC Town & Gown

This session will be livestreamed and recorded.

Click here  (http://bit.ly/uscculturejourney) to begin the livestream at 4:00 p.m. PT.

Thursday, February 6^th, 7 – 9 a.m.

HSC Aresty Conference Center (NRT)

And, join us for deeper-diver conversations, with 25 colleagues, to explore the USC-wide values, behaviors, and systems and processes and get your input. 53 in-person and 8 virtual sessions now available.

Register at Trojanlearn.usc.edu

Don’t miss the opportunity to share your voice. Start the change. Shape USC’s culture.

The Pullias Center is happy to host their annual community hike this year on Saturday, March 7th at 10:00am. 

They selected a trail in Griffith Park that is centrally located and should be beautiful this time of year: a <3.7-mile loop trail that will take attendees up to Glendale Peak and Mount Hollywood. There are picnic tables and benches near the summit of Mount Hollywood, if you are inclined to pause for a while and enjoy a meal with a view! Families, friends, and pets are always welcome, and more details are here: https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/glendale-peak-mount-hollywood-loop-griffith-park/

Where to meet: The Riverside Trailhead along Vermont Canyon Road, in view of the Greek Theater parking. Please arrive by 9:45am for a 10:00am departure from the trailhead. Please bring plenty of water, and wear sneakers or hiking boots.

Questions, contact Julie Posselt (posselt@usc.edu). No RSVP or sign-up required.