Family Ties NEWS FROM THE USC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
76th Annual USC Alumni Awards This year’s honorees say in their own words what receiving the awards means to them.
recognized. After all, USC is among the most international of top-tier American universities. The choice of Asa V. Call recipient this year is just another small step in that direction, and I am glad to play a big role in that small step! Mark A. Stevens ’81, MS ’84
Ronnie C. Chan MBA ’76, a USC trustee and chairman of Hang Lung Group Limited in Hong Kong, accepts the Asa V. Call Achievement Award from USC President Steven B. Sample.
(USC Viterbi School of Engineering) Alumni Merit Award
All alumni should be very proud of the tremendous progress the university has made along a variety of dimensions in recent years. Here in Northern California, I can tell you that USC is on a very short list of schools that are considered “the” place to go for a topquality college education. I feel very fortunate that I have been able to contribute time and resources to serve the university and to further its mission. Lt. Gen. Frances C. Wilson EdD ’80, USMC (USC Rossier School of Education) Alumni Merit Award
Ronnie C. Chan MBA ’76 (USC Marshall School of Business) Asa V. Call Achievement Award
Partly because of my Chinese origin and Christian background, I always believe not to expect tangible rewards for good works performed. Besides striving to achieve success in one’s chosen career, do, if you so choose, what is beneficial to those around you or your alma mater and leave it at that. As such, the award came as a total surprise. When I first entered USC over 40 years ago, I never
dreamed of it – nor now – that is, until the notification letter arrived. Needless to say, it is a great honor. I am clearly pleased that perhaps for the first time, an alumnus living outside of the United States should be so
[ ALUMS IN PRINT]
Author! Author!
USC scribes are a busy bunch. Take USC trustee Robert H. Smith, head of Robert H. Smith Investment and Consulting and author of the business books Boardroom Confidential and Dead Bank Walking: One Gutsy Bank’s Struggle for Survival and the Merger that Changed Banking Forever. Smith’s books are two of several titles featured on the new USC Alumni Authors Web page, which the USC Alumni Association launched in May. Updated regularly, this Web site spotlights the work of Trojan Family writers and poets past and present, such as Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Art Buchwald, Catch 22 novelist Joseph Heller and humorist/radio commentator Sandra Tsing Loh. Titles are organized into three sections: fiction, nonfiction and poetry. l
To read about or submit descriptions of alumni books, visit http://alumni.usc.edu/authors
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U S C T R O J A N FA M I LY M A G A Z I N E autumn 2009
CHAN AND SAMPLE PHOTO BY STEVE COHN
THE 76TH ANNUAL USC Alumni Awards celebration took place in May at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Eight accomplished and dedicated members of the Trojan Family were honored before a crowd of more than 600. The USC Alumni Association asked each of the eight the following question: What does being honored with a USC Alumni Award mean to you? Here’s what they said:
There are many distinguished USC graduates and to be counted among them is a true honor. I am extremely proud of my Trojan roots and believe the outstanding education I received at this special institution was key to my current assignment as president of the National Defense University and to my success in the United States Marine Corps.