The USC School of Social Work honored actor Gary Sinise for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the U.S. military, scholar Fred H. Wulczyn for his commitment to the profession of social work and Stephen Peck MSW '97 for his dedication to veterans' causes at the school's scholarship gala, "A Celebration of the Heart," on April 2 at Town & Gown.

Sinise received the Crystal Heart, the school's highest honor for community service, in recognition of his philanthropy and for being an ardent supporter of U.S. troops.

While he is perhaps best known for his starring roles on the CBS series CSI: New York and in the films Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 and Ransom, the Academy Award-nominated actor also has made his mark as a member of the Lt. Dan Band, which he created to perform domestically and abroad on USO tours and for other veteran causes.

Sinise also co-founded the charitable organization Operation International Children, which assists in donating school supplies to children around the world. He also serves as spokesman for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. In 2008, Sinise received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor awarded for exemplary deeds performed in service of the nation. He is one of only 100 people to receive the honor.

"It is our defenders who deserve the credit and thanks," Sinise said. "If by accepting this honor, I can draw more attention to how they serve and sacrifice for us all, it is my humble privilege to do so."

USC president C. L. Max Nikias touted the School of Social Work's interdisciplinary research efforts, especially its military social work program, the first of its kind at any major U.S. research university.

"We believe that we should honor those who have honored our country," Nikias said. "We think that the best way to serve members of our military is to serve them, and we do that by training social workers to help veterans and their families readjust to civilian life."

School of Social Work dean Marilyn L. Flynn announced the establishment of the Gary Sinise Scholarship, which was created for students pursuing study in the school's military social work program.

"I'm grateful to the USC School of Social Work for recognizing that they can play a part in giving back to our veterans by providing this much-needed financial assistance to those in service," Sinise said. "The battle often continues once they come home, and who better to reach out to a returning veteran than someone who has walked in their shoes?"

Flynn presented the inaugural scholarship to MSW student Isaac Ford Jr., a former U.S. Marine and himself a wounded warrior, who was chosen for his dedication to the intersection of social work and veterans' causes.

"Isaac Ford Jr. is undoubtedly one of the School of Social Work's most experienced and dedicated veterans," Flynn said. "He has devoted his time as a student to serving his fellow veterans and plans to continue after graduation to assist veterans in making the best possible transition from the military to civilian life."

Nikias also presented Wulczyn, director of the Center for State Foster Care and Adoption Data at the University of Chicago, the Flynn Prize for Research, an internationally competitive prize that recognizes a scholar whose interdisciplinary research has achieved high social impact and a demonstrable change in the lives of vulnerable populations. It comes with a gold medallion and a $20,000 honorarium.

"This award is meaningful because it is given to a person whose interdisciplinary studies have profoundly shaped social policy or social programs," Nikias said. "It is fitting that Dr. Wulczyn is receiving this award from a school dedicated to interdisciplinary research."

Wulczyn's work has focused on defining social problems, developing social policy and assessing the impact of public investments, all with the goal of improving the lives of vulnerable children using an interdisciplinary perspective. He is a pioneer in the analysis of electronic records to better understand the experiences of children and families in the U.S. child welfare system.

He is the architect of Chapin Hall's Multistate Foster Care Data Archive, which leverages state investment in information technology, expands the ability of states to analyze key child welfare outcomes, compare outcomes across jurisdictions, project future service patterns, and test the impact of policy and service innovations.

Wulczyn is a leader in developing alternative approaches to financing child welfare programs. His major social experiment, the HomeRebuilders project, led to the nation's first proposal to change federal law limiting the ability of states to design innovative child welfare programs, which in turn led to the development of the Title IV-E waiver program used by states to undertake system reform in child welfare programs.

Peck, who received the W. June Simmons Distinguished Alumni Award, is president and chief executive officer of U.S.VETS, the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting veterans making the transition to civilian life.

Peck, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Vietnam War and is the son of Hollywood icon Gregory Peck, has been working on behalf of homeless and other troubled veterans for nearly 20 years.

He was the founding director of the Villages at Cabrillo, the largest program at U.S.VETS, which includes 26 acres of former naval housing in Long Beach. By housing more than 500 veterans and providing services such as substance abuse treatment and employment assistance, it is the largest social services program for homeless veterans in the country.

He founded the Far From Home Foundation to advocate for homeless veterans issues and produced two films about veterans, "Heart of the Warrior" and "Far From Home."

Proceeds from the evening helped establish the Gary Sinise Scholarship for students pursuing studies in the school's military social work program.