Congratulations to our 2026 PKP initiates!
This Wednesday, at ceremony in USC’s Bing Theatre, 160 students were initiated into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (PKP). The organization's USC chapter, housed at the USC Libraries, is the university's oldest fully interdisciplinary honor society.
James Bullock, dean of @USCDornsife and an astrophysicist specializing in galaxy formation and dark matter, delivered the keynote address. Drawing on his own path from a childhood glimpse of the moon through a backyard telescope to his work with the James Webb Space Telescope, Bullock encouraged students to embrace the spirit of PKP’s motto—Philosophía Krateítõ Phõtôn, or "Let the love of learning rule humanity"—as a lifelong practice.
“The love of learning is what makes you willing to stay in that unfamiliar place long enough to enjoy what’s there,” Bullock said. He advised initiates, as they advance to the next stage of their careers, to “keep being curious.”
Dean Bullock and two other USC faculty members were initiated: Leana Golubchik, the Stephen and Etta Varra Professor of Computer Science and director of @uscwise at @USCViterbi ; and Shaun Harper, University Professor and Provost Professor at @USCRossier , @USCMarshall , and @USCPrice , and founder and chief research scientist of @uscraceequity .
Chapter president Karin Huebner of @USCPolymath emceed the ceremony, during which each new initiate received a PKP lapel pin.
Photo credit: Sarah M. Golonka – @smgfunk
We recently partnered with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center (@ihmec ) and the @USCShoahFoundation to launch Voices of Survival, an immersive online platform that allows visitors to have real-time conversations with genocide survivors.
The innovative, richly historical interactive experience deepens empathy and encourages personal connections to the survivors’ experiences. This technology-based approach ensures that their firsthand accounts will remain accessible for future generations.
Voices of Survival includes interactive video testimonies from survivors along with multimedia stories, maps, and timelines that trace their personal stories and allow online visitors to learn from their experiences. The platform includes testimonies from Holocaust survivors Marion Deichmann, Aaron Elster, Fritzie Fritzshall, and Rodi Glass and 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda survivor Kizito D. Kalima.
The immersive platform uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing technologies that allow you to ask questions and have conversations with the five survivors on a wide range of topics related to their life histories. Their responses are taken directly from video interviews, so the interactive technologies preserve the fidelity of their words and ensure the historical and biographical accuracy of the Voices of Survival experience.
The project builds on the longstanding partnership between the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center (IHMEC) and expertise at the USC Shoah Foundation and the USC Libraries. Voices of Survival advances ou commitment to advancing digital storytelling and historical preservation through emerging technologies. The project includes interviews created for the Interactive Interviews platform developed by the USC Digital Repository and the Dimensions in Testimony platform developed by the USC Shoah Foundation.
The project was made possible by the expertise and dedication of Catherine Gao, Mike Jones, Neha Rao, and Craig Stubing of the USC Libraries and USC Digital Repository and Svetlana Ushakova of the USC Shoah Foundation.
Behind-the-scenes production photos by Craig Stubing.
Want personalized help with your final papers? Next Tuesday, April 28, our librarians are teaming up with the Writing Program and Writing Center (@writeontrojans ) at @USCDornsife for the return of Paperpalooza.
Paperpalooza is just one example of the many ways the USC Libraries support student success through instruction and research assistance throughout the academic year. This past fall semester alone, our librarians taught 147 online and in-person information literacy sessions reaching 3,709 students.
To learn more about Paperpalooza, see the link in our bio.
Congratulations to the 2026 Wilson Dental Library Dr. Clifton & Lois Dummett Research Award winners! 🎉
Authors: Farzaneh Delpisheh Mobashery, Hannie Tran, and Saige Culler from the Community Oral Health Online Master’s Program
Poster #65: Missed Dental Appointments Among Unhoused Adults: Examining Retrospective Trends
Faculty Advisors: Mehdi Mohammadi, DDS, MPH, MS, and Rebecca Ortiz Bodensteiner, RDHAP, MAT
Their research highlights structural barriers that contribute to missed appointments in community dental clinics. Proposed solutions include free transportation vouchers and improved reminder systems, with next steps focused on gathering patient and clinician feedback to develop practical, sustainable strategies.
The Dr. Dummett Research Award recognizes students and residents whose work addresses social determinants of health and health disparities, while demonstrating excellence in research and the use of high-quality information sources.
This year’s winners stood out for their clear connection to social determinants of health, rigorous methodology, and high-quality and relevant information sources and citations.
🔗Link in bio to learn more about the award, Dr. Dummett’s legacy, and the winning poster.
#ostrowresearchday #wilsondentallibrary #usclibraries
Today we announced the winners of our annual Research Award competition at a reception in Doheny Library. The award honors exceptional research that uses any of the resources available to students via the libraries—including books, journals, electronic databases, primary sources, reference consultations, and interlibrary loans.
The winners in the graduate category were Mohin Chanpura (first prize), Christy Anyiam (second prize), and Medha Sharma (third prize). The winners in the undergraduate category were Val Whitten (first prize), Susie Liu (second prize), and Maya Volaitis (third prize).
The jurors chose the winners among a total of 26 undergraduate and graduate submissions completed during the previous calendar year. As part of their entry, students are asked to submit reflective essays on the research process and their journeys as critical interpreters of primary sources, databases, and other resources.
Science and Engineering Librarian Jane Lah, who chaired the committee organizing the award, praised the work of the student submitters, “Your research not only enriches our academic community but also reminds us of the power of inquiry and the importance of libraries as spaces for discovery and innovation.”
The USC Libraries Research Awards are generously supported by AM Digital and Johnson Rare Books & Archives. In addition, last year’s first-place undergraduate winner, Hudson Bishop Fey, donated his prize money back to the award so that additional winners could be recognized this year.
To learn more about the USC Libraries Research Awards, visit the link in our bio.
Day of SCupport returns April 29, bringing the Trojan Family together for 24 hours of impact. You can learn how to support the USC Libraries through the link in our bio.
On April 8, César López (Chair and Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies Department, San Diego Mesa College and USC Alumnus) and Mary Ann Pacheco (Council Member of the City of Whittier and USC Alumna) led a lively discussion on Chicano/a activism and the establishment of the El Centro Chicano at USC in the 1970s at USC, in response to items on display at a new exhibit in Doheny Memorial Library.
Our next LA2026 discussion takes place at Doheny Memorial Library on April 22. Register to attend on the LA2026 website (link in bio).
Join Mary Ann Pacheco (Council Member of the City of Whittier and USC Alumna), César López (Chair and Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies Department, San Diego Mesa College and USC Alumnus), and Laura Dominguez (NEH Postdoctoral Scholar & Research Associate, EMSI LA2026, and USC Alumna) for a LA2026 conversation on April 8.
The discussion will focus on Chicano/a activism and the establishment of El Centro Chicano at USC in the 1970s, in response to items on display in a new exhibit in Doheny Memorial Library. One of the items on display is a reproduction of a mural painted in 1976 by GOEZ Studios on the outside wall of El Centro Chicano to mark the US Bicentennial, with a distinctly Chicano focus. There is also a video of the Festival de Flor Y Canto hosted at USC in 1973 to celebrate Chicano/a poets and literary voices.
Register on our LA2026 website to attend (link in bio).
A USC librarian brought philosophy—and what he calls punk-rock librarianship—to the USC Dornsife Prison Education Project.
Kevin Klipfel recently taught a seven-week course exploring how values shape the choices people make, and how wisdom can help people live with greater purpose and integrity.
For Klipfel, getting involved in prison education was not incidental to his identity as a librarian. “Democratizing information is the core historical value of librarianship,” he says. “Education as a fundamental human right is core to our very identity.”
Read the full story at the link in our bio.
@uscdornsife@uscpep
🎨 Art Teachers—this is your sign to level up your lessons 👀
What if your students could learn Korean culture through K-pop + hands-on art… and actually love it?
Join us at USC for a workshop where animation meets tradition 🇰🇷
We’ll break down art symbolism in K-pop-inspired animation (🐦 magpie + 🐯 tiger), then turn it into a minhwa painting + keychain project you can take straight back to your classroom.
🖌️ You’ll leave with:
• A multicultural art lesson students will connect with
• A ready-to-use, step-by-step project
• Creative ways to teach symbolism (without overcomplicating it)
• Your own artwork + keychain to take home
Plus: Korean snacks + FREE art kit
📍 USC (Taper Hall 210)
🗓️ March 28, 2026 | 9:30–11:30 AM
💡 No art experience needed
👉 Save this & register now: https://shorturl.at/Wi8qE
Spots are limited—perfect for LA-area K–12 teachers who want more engaging, culturally relevant lessons.
#ArtTeachers #TeacherPD #KoreanCulture #KpopInTheClassroom #MulticulturalEducation NCTA LosAngelesTeachers ArtsIntegration EastAsiaInTheClassroom
The Master of Management in Library and Information Science (MMLIS) program at USC recently established the USC American Library Association Student Chapter (ALASC). The chapter serves as a bridge between the @americanlibraryassociation and students in the MMLIS program. ALASC connects students with professional development opportunities while fostering a sense of community, collaboration and leadership at USC.📚 Meet some of the ALASC Leadership Board members and learn more at the link in bio.
