“Our mission is urgent, our energy boundless, our vision sweeping, and our Trojan Spirit indefatigable. The 21st century calls us to action, to lead now and long into the future.”
Answering the Call
The 2018 Strategic Plan
The University of Southern California’s ascent as one of the world’s premier research universities is unparalleled. Accelerating our rise will require a more expansive view of the role of higher education within and beyond the academy. To be the great 21st century research university, we must lead through values – reaffirming our commitment to our core academic principles, to our code of ethics, and to each other, while adding new voices and exploring new, equitable ways of acting in the world.
We must lead through people – nurturing a cadre of faculty, students, and staff who embrace not just the entrepreneurial spirit, but the inclusive spirit and the convergent spirit as well. We must lead through impact – seizing opportunities and solving the intractable problems of our city and the world, supporting the underserved who wish to improve their lives and the lives of others, and reinventing medicine and caregiving to improve health and wellness for all. And we must lead through transformation – asking how we might reimagine higher education, elevate the value of a university degree, expand access and opportunity for those of immense talent who will make us the most prosperous society in the world, and reimagine the college experience to prepare graduates to face world challenges with optimism and purpose. The 21st century calls us to action. The University of Southern California will answer that call.
The Four Pillars
Values
For USC to be a leading voice in the 21st century, we must be known not just for what we do but how we do it.
People
Our faculty, staff, and students across the university embrace USC’s entrepreneurial, inclusive, and convergent spirit.
Impact
To become the most impactful 21st century university, USC will be both a great global institution and a great local friend and neighbor.
Transformation
Audacity has been a defining characteristic of USC. As we reinvent the future, we will simultaneously reinvent ourselves.
USC & Los Angeles
Throughout their histories, USC and Los Angeles found ways to turn moments of crisis and contradiction into new pathways to human happiness: to turn paradox into progress. More...