Monthly Archives: March 2021

Letter Regarding Increased On-Campus Activities

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Dear Trojan Community,

We are pleased to share that, as expected, Los Angeles County this week released new guidelines that allow us to increase campus activity. Beginning immediately, we are pivoting to offer a number of recreational and academic opportunities for students living near our campuses.

We have been diligently preparing for these activities to resume by making space modifications, developing associated safety protocols in adherence with public health guidance, and ensuring we can accurately complete contact tracing when necessary.

The following activities will open in a staggered sequence over the coming weeks:

  • Cromwell Field and our outdoor tennis practice courts are now open, using a reservation system. Please refer to bit.ly/uscoutdoorvenues for the latest updates on what spaces are available to reserve.
  • School-operated outdoor canopies for small, socially-distanced groups are available to support instruction; music and dance practice rooms, studios and maker spaces are also opening for limited use. Please look for additional information from your school or college.
  • USC Libraries: On March 15, Leavey Library will begin opening for independent study and Doheny Library will open only for conducting research using the library’s archival and special collections. Both libraries will operate at reduced capacity and reservations will be required to access the buildings. Further openings will be phased over the spring and summer, including libraries on the University Park and Health Sciences campuses. Information about how to make a reservation will be published next week. Please contact library.communications@usc.edu with questions.

To access these newly reopened campus resources, students, faculty and staff are required to make advance reservations, in addition to completing their daily Trojan Check and all associated requirements including completing COVID training through Trojan Learn, receiving an influenza vaccine, completing a daily wellness assessment, and complying with COVID testing requirements.

We expect everyone using these facilities to adhere to the posted behavior guidelines. All areas will undergo thorough cleanings throughout the day. You can learn more about the university’s COVID-19 health and safety policies here.

We are grateful that public health conditions continue to improve in Los Angeles County. To ensure that this positive trajectory continues, and that the expanded facilities we are reopening remain available, we urge all of you to remain vigilant, and continue to wear facial coverings, and maintain physical distance. It is because of your diligence in following public health recommendations that we are able to take the important steps we are announcing today.

Because the CDC and California health authorities continue to recommend that you not travel at this time, we ask that only students who are currently living in the communities adjacent to our campuses utilize these facilities.

Current public health guidance remains that if you can work from home, you should continue to do so. We are expecting restrictions will ease as the rates of transmission continue to drop. We hope to expand campus activities even further in the coming weeks and look forward to welcoming everyone back to campus in Fall 2021. Please refer to the links included above for the latest updates.

Stay safe, be well and Fight On!
Charles F. Zukoski
Provost
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
David W. Wright
Senior Vice President for Administration
Winston B. Crisp
Vice President for Student Affairs

BOOK LAUNCH EVENT: A Search for Common Ground

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Join USC Rossier’s Pedro Noguera and the American Enterprise Institute’s Frederick Hess in conversation with The College Board’s Stefanie Sanford as they discuss where 21st-century schooling needs to go and how to foster the kind of public discourse that will get us there.

 

At a time of bitter national polarization, we need to push past empty posturing in favor of a healthy, constructive competition of ideas. Frederick M. Hess and Pedro A. Noguera, who tend to fall on opposing sides of the ideological aisle, candidly explore their differences on some of the toughest issues in K–12 education in their new book, A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K–12 Education (Teachers College Press, 2021).

QUESTION & ANSWER

Submit questions to Tracey.Schirra@aei.org or on Twitter with #ASearchForCommonGround

USC Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Week 2021

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On behalf of Darline Robles, Associate Dean, Office of Equity and Inclusion

 

Hello everyone,

 

USC’s Fifth Annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awareness Week (DEI Week) is coming up and scheduled from March 8-12, 2021. The theme this year is Diversity United: Race, Social Justice, and the Future of American Equality. DEI Week discussions this year will explore how race discrimination, in a variety of forms, profoundly shapes our experiences as members of the USC community, our understanding of America as a nation, and our obligations as citizens of the world. I encourage you to check out and sign up for events listed on the schedule that can be found on the DEI Website here. Please be advised that the website is constantly being updated and a finalized schedule will be sent out when available.

Fight On!!!

KCLC Drop in Hours and Workshops for March 2021

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Hello Trojans!
Are you looking for assistance on how to best adjust to an online/hybrid learning environment, combat ‘Zoom fatigue’, improve time management skills, and alleviate stress, please come to our workshops and Drop-in hours hosted by the USC Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity. No reservation or appointment is required for our workshops and drop-ins.

KCLC will be hosting daily Drop-in Hours, Skill Building Workshops, and Feelin Connected Fridays workshops.

The Skill Building workshops will have a weekly theme of either time management, reading strategies, stress management or test-taking. The Feelin Connected Friday workshops have a different theme each week. The workshops will be interactive with great tips and resources. They are open to undergraduates and graduate students.

Drop-in hours are available for undergraduate or graduate students to meet with an academic coach without needing to make a reservation. These sessions may be held in a group setting, dependent upon staffing availability and demand.

For more information, see the attached flyers with dates, times, and Zoom links. Please note all session times are PT.

With our first 2 Wellness Days this month (3/12 and 3/23), we created a Wellness Day Page with activities and a list of the KCLC Resources that may be helpful while taking a break from classes: https://kortschakcenter.usc.edu/wellness-days/

If you are an undergraduate student that is interested in learning more about weekly academic coaching, email us at kortschakcenter@usc.edu for additional information.

KCLC will have more events throughout the semester and you can check out the most up to date workshop and drop-in schedule on their website https://kortschakcenter.usc.edu/events/

If you have any questions, please email us at kortschakcenter@usc.edu

Next Virtual Talk: DeMarcus Jenkins, Tuesday, March 9th, 2021 12pm-1pm

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DeMarcus Jenkins will give a talk as part of the 2020-2021 Rossier Scholars of Color Lecture Series on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, from

12 pm-1 pm.

 

Please RSVP here:

https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8IbZ4EknJGWPogJ

 

A Zoom link will be sent one day before the event.

 

Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to attend this event may contact Deborah Karpman at dkarpman@rossier.usc.edu.  It is requested that individuals requiring accommodations or auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters and alternative format materials notify us at least 7 days prior to the event.  Every reasonable effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations in an effective and timely manner.