The Annenberg Foundation has donated $10 million to establish the Wallis Annenberg Endowed Scholarship Fund to support students at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. The grant will be divided evenly between the schools.
The Wallis Annenberg Endowed Scholarship Fund will cover a substantial portion of the tuition costs for recipients, awarding up to $35,000 per year to recipients at the Keck School of Medicine and $25,000 per year to recipients at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. By its third year of existence, the fund will help support the educational costs for as many as 17 Annenberg Scholars.
“The ability to provide scholarship support is a vital component of USC’s quest to attract the most talented students,” said USC President-elect and Provost C. L. Max Nikias. “This generous gift will not only provide a strong incentive for those students to come to USC, but will also help ensure both schools’ legacy of educating and training world leaders in their respective fields.”
Wallis Annenberg, chairman of the board of the Annenberg Foundation and the longest serving trustee on USC’s Board of Trustees, views scholarship funding as an essential investment in human capital. “Scholarships ease the burden of students who might not have the money to attend college or graduate school,” she said. “They are crucial to leveling the playing field and offering access to higher education to a broader range of people, regardless of any one person or family’s financial circumstances.”
The establishment of this fund comes at a pivotal time for the Annenberg School and for the Keck School. As the media landscape continues to be transformed by nontraditional media sources such as blogs and social networking Web sites, the Annenberg School is positioned to help chart the course of communication and journalism for the 21st century.
“We are so grateful to Wallis Annenberg for this generous gift, which will make a tremendous difference to many undergraduate students of the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism,” said Annenberg School Dean Ernest J. Wilson III. “Wallis’ outstanding vision and philanthropy continue to ensure that in a time of extraordinary need and rising costs in higher education, more students will be able to pursue their dreams and become the communication leaders and innovators of the future.”
The Keck School is also facing transformative challenges, according to Dean Carmen A. Puliafito. “We are on the forefront of medical education, with a recently designed curriculum that is integrated and hands-on,” he said. “We have accomplished faculty, and we offer real-world experience in patient care from the very start of each student’s medical school career. With the generosity of the Annenberg Foundation, we will ensure that generations of Keck students receive the financial assistance they need to continue their academic pursuits. We are deeply grateful for that support.”
About the Annenberg Foundation
Established in 1989 by Walter H. Annenberg, the Annenberg Foundation provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally. Its major program areas are education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community life; health and human services; and animal services and the environment. In addition, the Foundation operates a number of initiatives which expand and complement these program areas. The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As the principal means of achieving this goal, the Foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.
