2012 HONORARY DEGREES
Honorary Degree
Julie Mork
Doctor of Humane Letters Julie McAndrews Mork is the managing director of the Energy Corporation of America Foundation. She remains an impassioned champion of education and a dedicated advocate of youth and visually impaired children. As philanthropic leaders, she and her husband John transformed the educational landscape at USC with their superbly generous gift to support student scholarships. This $110 million gift created the Mork Family Scholars Program, and remains the single largest gift in the university’s history to support student scholarships. Along with her husband, Julie founded Eastern American Energy Corporation, the predecessor to Energy Corporation of America, in 1972. She is a member of the National Board of Directors of College Summit, an organization dedicated to increasing the college enrollment rate of low-income students in America. She also serves on the advisory board of Alliance for Choice in Education. She is exceptionally passionate in her support of the Anchor Center for Blind Children, where she serves as a member of the advisory board and is a past president of the board of directors. Julie received her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1972, and is an honorary alumna of USC. She also holds a certificate in real estate paralegal training. She has been a director of Energy Corporation of America since 1976, and has also served as secretary/ treasurer of Eastern American Energy Corporation. The Morks’ milestone gift of $110 million to USC built on a long history of stellar philanthropy. The university announced their gift in 2011, and the inaugural class of USC Mork Family Scholars has already arrived on the university’s campuses. These prestigious scholarships are awarded annually to high school seniors of outstanding intellectual talent and capability, and recognize students who have demonstrated the highest qualities of scholarship and citizenship. Each year, the scholarship recipients include students from the USC Family of Schools, and Mork Family Scholars at the junior- and senior-class level have the opportunity to serve as mentors to their freshman and sophomore counterparts. For her singular leadership as a philanthropist, as well as her longstanding dedication to education, youth and visually impaired children, the University of Southern California is proud to honor Julie Mork with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa.
USC 129TH ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT
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