News Archive
Alumni
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USC School of Social Work Board of Councilor member Richard (Dick) Thor died on Dec. 18, 2011 at his home in Redondo Beach, Calif., after a battle with cancer. He was 80.
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A delegation from the University of Southern California will visit academic, government and business leaders in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil this week to learn about national trends in higher education policy, build ties with top universities, corporations and policymakers, and reconnect with USC alumni across the country.
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Marilyn Flynn will stay on as dean of the USC School of Social Work for another five-year term, announced Elizabeth Garrett, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.
Originally appointed in 1997, this latest term was offered by USC President C. L. Max Nikias after a fourth-year review of Flynn's leadership at the school. This included a survey sent to full- and part-time faculty, staff and students, as well as the Board of Councilors and community members.
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For 15 years during the 1960s and 70s, Frances Wu helped delinquent children work through personal problems. But she later discovered another group in need.
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"I have been accused unjustly," 8-year-old Laura Newman said firmly.
The year was 1951, and Laura was at Beverly Vista Elementary School, where students participated in an exercise that allowed them to put notes in a "citizenship box" if they felt somebody did something wrong. Once a week, the notes were read aloud and if anyone felt they were wrongly blamed, the student would stand up and exclaim, "I have been accused unjustly."
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As a child, Mariko Yamada, MSW '74, remembers standing up for underrepresented students who would get picked on at her public elementary school. Now, 50 years later, she is still fighting for vulnerable populations as the newly elected assemblywoman representing California's 8th Assembly District.
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When her daughter was diagnosed with cancer eight years ago, Paula Berke wasn't sure what to do or where to turn for support. She was living in California, and her daughter was in Tennessee. So Berke packed her bags and went to Nashville, not knowing what she would find once she got there.
Little did she know that her daughter would find the help they both needed and the inspiration for Berke's own way to help those touched by cancer.
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Eric Hernandez MSW '03 came to Los Angeles at age 11 from war-torn El Salvador, where he had been caring for his younger brother. The siblings joined their parents in a small apartment in the Pico Union area.
"Moving here from El Salvador was frustrating, depressing and painful," he recalls. "We had to adjust to a new place, new language, new people. We struggled, but my parents emphasized the importance of education."
