3/11 – Appointment of Senior Vice President for Health Affairs

March 11, 2021 Dear Trojan Community, It’s my pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Steven Shapiro to the newly created position of Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, effective May 15. In this new role, he will directly oversee Keck Medicine of USC and Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) with oversight of associated biomedical research programs.…

2/5/21 – COVID-19 Early Spring Update

February 5, 2021 USC Students, Faculty and University Staff: Recently, new case rates for COVID-19 and hospitalizations have continued to trend downward, after hitting a post-holidays peak. As we write this, the availability of ICU (intensive care unit) beds has increased to 13% capacity. The number of positive cases among students and employees also is decreasing, after peaking during the…

1/5: COVID-19 Vaccine Availability for the Campus Communities

Sarah Van Orman, USC’s Chief Health Officer for USC Student Health, shares updates regarding COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

12/18: First COVID-19 Vaccines Administered to Frontline USC Hospital Personnel

Keck Medical Center of USC and USC Verdugo Hills Hospital have received their first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

12/14: Spring 2021 COVID-19 Screening Strategy Update

Sarah Van Orman, USC’s Chief Health Officer for USC Student Health, announces the university’s expanded COVID-19 testing capacity for Spring 2021.

12/3: COVID-19 Vaccine Update

Rod Hanners, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Keck Medicine of USC, will chair a COVID-19 vaccine working group that is principally engaged in developing an evidence-based strategy for the vaccination of USC staff, faculty, students, and patients.

7/27: COVID-19 Screening, Symptom, and Exposure Reporting Process for Onsite Employees

Employees and supervisors should review the details about USC’s screening, symptom and exposure reporting process for employees who are working onsite.

7/8: University Message Regarding International Students

We are deeply troubled by the updated guidance that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released Monday requiring international students to take at least one in-person class to maintain their visa status. Given the broad range of courses being offered, both in person and online, we are optimistic we will be able to support our international students to study in person safely if they wish, but it may take a few days.

6/29: Fall 2020 Semester on USC Campuses: Health, Safety and Well-being

Our decisions for the fall semester require that we remain nimble, especially as COVID-19 cases in Southern California continue to rise. Reducing on-campus density in buildings, outdoors and during activities will be needed to ensure your safety and to comply with L.A. County Department of Health guidelines.

6/26: Update on COVID-19 Training and Daily Wellness Checks

Felicia Washington, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, and Charles Zukoski, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, share an important update with faculty and staff on COVID-19 training and daily wellness checks.