Photo by Phillip Channing

USC alumnus and trustee David Dornsife, and his wife Dana, donated $200 million towards a naming endowment for the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, according to an email sent Wednesday morning by President C.L. Max Nikias.

The gift is the largest in the university’s history and the largest ever naming gift to a post-secondary institution of letters, arts and sciences.

"Dana and David Dornsife are an extraordinary couple.  But it is their extraordinary generosity that has ensured that they will forever stand proudly as an inspiration to current and future generations of USC students and faculty,” Nikias said in the email.

David Dornsife, 67, is the Chairman and CEO of the steel fabrication company, Herrick Corp., according to a Los Angeles Times article.

The Dornsifes’ donation surpasses George Lucas’s previous gift of $175 million in 2006 to the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The endowment comes with no restrictions. The university plans to use the money for hiring faculty and fellowships. A Dornsife Scholars Program recognizing graduating seniors will also be established by the university.

“The College of Letters, Arts and Sciences plays a vital role in the life of USC, and we wanted our support to be unrestricted in order to give the university lasting flexibility,” David Dornsife told USC News. “We firmly believe that the College will lead the way in solving the major problems facing society and the world today.”

In a separate email from Nikias, to the estimated 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students of the College, said this gift shows an “extraordinary demonstration of confidence in you, as a student who has chosen to immerse yourself in the various disciplines of letters, arts and sciences. It reflects an abiding appreciation of the fact that our world of inquiry and discovery is central to the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit and to the advancement of our community and our world.”

A formal naming celebration will be held at Bovard Auditorium on Mar. 23.

“From that moment on,” said Nikias. “USC’s College will forever be known as the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.”

David Dornsife graduated from USC in 1965. Dana Dornsife attended Drexel University and is the founder and president of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, according to an article on USC News.

Read ATVN’s previous story about the donation:
USC to announce largest donation ever