USC launches first new school in 10 years – Annenberg Media

USC Today announced Thursday the launch of the USC School for Advanced Computing, part of a $1 billion development.

The Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Human-Centered Computation Hall, opening this summer on the University Park Campus, will be home to the new school. The program is a unit of USC Viterbi, and will focus on advanced computing as well as quantum computing and AI ethics. It will be led by USC Viterbi Executive Vice Dean Gaurav Sukhatme.

“Gaurav is a visionary with exceptional talent whose work is on the cutting edge of the explosive growth in technology and computing,” President Carol Folt said. “He is the ideal choice to lead this new, innovative school.”

The $1 billion “Frontiers of Computing” initiative was launched in May by President Folt, and is being funded by a $260 million gift from the Thomas Lord Foundation in California. The initiative aims to educate students of all majors on the ethical uses of computing.

“I want every student who comes through our programs, whether they are in science, business, the humanities or the arts, to have a solid grounding in technology and the ethics of the work that they do,” Folt said. “We will integrate digital literacy across disciplines to create responsible leaders for the workforce of the future.”

The school’s multidisciplinary approach will include hundreds of professors across departments. The new Advanced Computing department will come with a grand total of 90 new faculty members expected to be added to the department by 2030.

“At USC, because of our extensive expertise in advanced computing, every student, regardless of what they are studying — humanities, law, business, education, film, to name a few — will be well-positioned for success,” Provost Andrew Guzman told USC News.