Dear University Club Members,
We hope you have settled into the spring semester! When we corresponded with you in November we provided an update on the Club, asked you to participate in a member survey and to contribute to the Employee Holiday Fund. This correspondence is an update on those items and also additional insight on a few new efforts the Board has undertaken in Spring 2021.
Thanks to your contributions, we were able to collect $8,700 for the annual Employee Holiday Fund! Eighty-seven members participated and we were able to distribute $200 to 42 staff. We received notes from a number of the staff who expressed their appreciation for our support during this challenging time.
Thank you to the 204 members who participated in our 2020–2021 member survey. Some key takeaways included how you view the Club today in a remote modality, priorities when we return to campus, and your thoughts on membership and dues. The Board will continue to review the survey results and have already begun to use your feedback in planning for Spring 2021 and beyond. Please login to your University Club account to review the report with an overview of your responses.
Based on your survey input to update Board operations, and ensure the Club continues to build community and inclusivity, the Board has undertaken two important efforts:
1. By-Law Review
We convened a By-Law Review Committee, and with input from the full Board, we are focusing on a few key areas. These include: Club priorities, Board governance, and membership options.
2. Club Membership
Led by our Membership Committee, the Board is reviewing membership options and tiers. This process includes conversing with other University Clubs and considering options that provide a broader range of opportunities for membership that reflect preferences across our community.
As part of our current efforts, the Board has continued to focus on engaging our community with an array of virtual events and programming. These events included a conversation with Professor Jody Armour and Professor LaVonna B. Lewis on Race, Language, Unequal Justice and the Law, and Virologist Dr. Olivier Pernet about virus transmission and pandemics. Our events were attended by over 300 members of our USC community. We are continuing to develop similar and relevant Spring 2021 programming and are happy to announce we have scheduled our Staff Recognition – 2020 Honorees event on Tuesday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m. We hope you can join us for an opportunity to honor our colleagues!
We have also been in conversation with our colleagues in USC Hospitality on the financial health of the Club and planning for a phased reopening. At this time the University is still in Reopening Phase 2 and the Club will continue to be physically closed through the remainder of the Spring 2021 semester. We can expect that when USC/LA County moves to Reopening Phase 3, and dependent on associated health & safety restrictions and expected guest counts, the Club will physically reopen. This phased opening could start with lunch service and then subsequent phases may include breakfast, dinner, and on-premises events.
To help the Club prepare for a phased reopening, we have decided to restart membership dues in July 2021. In lieu of reinstating the standard $25 per month membership fee, we will implement a temporary $15 per month membership fee. Our University Club was in the minority of clubs across the country which suspended dues this past year. Restarting dues will help provide resources for the Club to continue to maintain the Amy King Dundon-Berchtold facility, support core administrative operations and physically prepare for a phased reopening.
The decision to implement a temporary $15 per month membership dues will also align with the Board’s schedule to finalize our By-Laws and membership options. We expect to implement revised By-Laws and communicate new membership tiers in the Fall. We hope this will provide you the time to review and select the option that best meets how you want to use membership opportunities and enjoy the benefits of the Club.
We thank you for your partnership and continued support of the Club, and we hope to see you at our online events, and with guarded optimism, see you on campus in the near future!
The Amy King Dundon–Berchtold University Club of USC Board of Councilors.
Fight On!
James Vasquez, Board Chair 2020-21
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Patricia Anthony
Keck School of Medicine
Kirk Brennan
Office of Undergraduate Admission
Deborah Call, Membership Chair
Gould School of Law
John Callaghan, Ex-Officio to the Emeriti Center
Ty Callahan, Chair-Elect 2021-22
Marshall School of Business
David Cash
Rossier School for Education
Darnell Cole
Rossier School for Education
Kimberly Finney
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Libby Kim, Secretary
Thornton School of Music
LaVonna B. Lewis, Past Chair 2019-20
Sol Price School of Public Policy
Martha Lyon-Levine, Programming Chair
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Brian Mico, Ex-Officio to the Staff Assembly
Enrollment Services: Financial Aid
Indra Mukhopadhyay, Treasurer
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Daniel Pecchenino, Ex-Officio to the Faculty Senate
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Lori Ray-Fisher
School of Dramatic Arts
Miki Turner
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Claudia R. Wiedeman, Faculty and Staff Appreciation Chair
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences