Dear University Club Member,
With the 2020-2021 academic year behind us and the summer session in progress, we have a few updates for you on our Club reopening plans, the reinstatement of Club membership dues, and the results of our 2021 -2022 Board of Councilors election.
When we last wrote to you on February 24 we provided an update on Board activities including our By-Law Review process and Club Membership tier development. Our Board committees have continued to make tremendous progress on updating our By-Laws and enhancing our Membership tiers. As a member, you can review the committee reports via the Member Login portal.
We have been actively engaged in working with our colleagues in USC Hospitality to develop a Club Restart Plan and we are pleased to announce that activities are underway to reopen the Club in early September. When the Club reopens we can expect to start with lunch, catering, and event services. To help support the Club reopening plan, on July 1st we are restarting membership dues at $15 per month and upon the physical reopening in September, we will resume pre-pandemic membership dues of $25 per month. Your dues will contribute to our ability to rehire our staff and the expenses related to maintaining the facility.
As I close out my tenure as University Club Chair, I am grateful for the continued support of our members and the University community. This past year as the Board continued to focus on engaging the community through our online programming, we held Midday Recharge events featuring many of our colleagues including Dana Jones (Family Genealogy), Indra Mukhopadhyay (Creativity and Active Engagement of the Arts), Nichelle Huizar (Being Green at Home) and Miki Turner (How to Take a Better Photo). We also held an Intergenerational Conversation with USC Black Women Leaders, a discussion of the Vision for USC’s DEI future with Christopher Manning and Miki Turner, a Tamale Making Class and our inaugural Staff Recognition program, which honored 18 deserving staff colleagues for their work in DEI. These programs had robust attendance from our members and community and we will continue to maintain a mix of virtual and in-person events in the fall.
I want to thank the 2020-2021 Board for their continual efforts and dedication in keeping the Club a vibrant and active community participant. Many thanks to the Board members who have fulfilled their terms, including Kirk Brennan, John Callaghan, Libby Kim, LaVonna B. Lewis, Martha Lyon-Levine, Brian Mico and Miki Turner, and the remaining members who will continue Board service in 2021-2022.
Patricia Anthony Keck School of Medicine 2021-2022 Board Member
Kirk Brennan Enrollment Services Completed Term
Debbie Call Gould School of Law 2021-2022 Board Member
David Cash Rossier School of Education 2021-2022 Board Member
John Callaghan Emeriti Center Representative Completed Term
Ty Callahan Marshall School of Business 2021-2022 Board Member
Darnell Cole Rossier School of Education 2021-2022 Board Member
Kim Finney Keck School of Medicine 2021-2022 Board
Libby Kim Thornton School of Music Completed Term
LaVonna B. Lewis Sol Price School of Public Policy Completed Term
Martha Lyon-Levine Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Completed Term
Brian Mico Staff Assembly Representative Completed Term
Indra Mukhopadhyay Dornsife College 2021-2022 Board Member
Daniel Pecchenino Academic Senate Representative 2021-2022 Board Member
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Lori Ray-Fisher School of Dramatic Arts 2021-2022 Board Member
Miki Turner Annenberg School for Communication Completed Term
Claudia R. Wiedeman Shoah Foundation 2021-2022 Board Member
I would also like to welcome and congratulate our new Board members who will start their tenure in July 2021.
Rosamaria Alamo Dworak-Peck School of Social Work 2021-2022 Board Member
Erika Chesley Staff Assembly Representative 2021-2022 Board Member
Deb Lawler Annenberg School for Communication 2021-2022 Board Member
Oliver Mayer School of Dramatic Arts 2021-2022 Board Member
Elizabeth Nesbitt Viterbi School of Engineering 2021-2022 Board Member
Donna Simmons Emeriti Center Representative 2021-2022 Board Member
Lori Shreve Blake Student Affairs 2021-2022 Board Member
A special thanks to our Committee Chairs: Debbie Call, Martha Lyon-Levine, Libby Kim, Indra Mukhopadhyay, and Claudia Wiedeman. Additionally, I want to recognize LaVonna B. Lewis, who just completed 6 years on the Board and served as Board Chair from 2019-2020. In 2021-2022 Ty Callahan will serve as Board Chair – thanks to Ty for his willingness to serve in this capacity.
Finally, we greatly appreciate the support of our colleagues in USC Hospitality and the Office of the Provost. Dirk de Jong, Kristen Todd, and Mark Todd have consistently provided insight and guidance for the Board, and their leadership and transparency has been invaluable.
I am honored and grateful to have served as Board Chair and look forward to the physical reopening of the Club. On behalf of the Board of Councilors, thank you in advance for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you on campus and dining at the Club!
James Vasquez
Chair 2020-2021
Amy King Dundon-Berchtold
University Club of USC