It’s commencement week! We’re celebrating another successful academic year and wishing our graduates much success as they prepare for what comes next.

In this month’s newsletter: 

Before they cross the commencement stage, meet four USC Dornsife students whose undergraduate experiences took them from labs and campus communities to the Galapagos and futures in medicine.

From AI safety and computational linguistics to conservation work and service to others, their stories reflect the breadth of the USC Dornsife experience and the Trojan spirit.

High school yearbooks are meant to capture memories. But research by Professor Emeritus Michael Messner of sociology suggests they tell only part of the story.

Why it matters: Yearbooks shape how students understand their past — and what they think is “normal” in school life.

What’s new: Analyzing a century’s worth of yearbooks, Messner found they focus on fun and belonging while obscuring pain.

Zoom in: What’s missing sends a message.

What to do? Yearbooks could present a more honest, inclusive picture of student life, says Messner.

Go Deeper: The goal isn’t to make yearbooks negative — it’s to make them more truthful and representative of the full high school experience.

A $200 million gift from Mark Stevens '81, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at USC Dornsife, and his wife, Mary, will supercharge artificial intelligence research across the university.

In recognition of their generosity, the USC School of Advanced Computing has been renamed the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.

In honor of Mother’s Day, several USC Dornsife scholars shared how their mothers inspired their academic careers, from teaching them how to write code to modeling collaborative behavior.

One alumnus is on a mission to change how Americans think about tofu. George Stiffman ’19 wants it seen as a flavorful centerpiece — not a bland substitute.

What’s new: Stiffman, who recently was named to the inaugural USC Dornsife 10 to Watch list, is promoting tofu as a versatile, crave-worthy ingredient.

Why it matters: Tofu could play a bigger role in healthier, more sustainable diets if people rethink how to use it..

In his words: “Tofu has three times lower carbon emissions than chicken and 25 times lower emissions than beef,” Stiffman says.

Zoom in: His interest in plant-based eating started in high school.

Opportunity: After graduation, Stiffman began building a career as tofu’s most devoted hype man.

Stiffman launched Soycery in 2024, a pop-up selling tofu skewers that has since pivoted to helping institutional dining halls offer more tofu varieties.

The bottom line: Tofu might be an unusual career focus, but with traditional career paths rapidly changing, the unexpected could be the best way forward

Founded by legendary political consultant Robert Shrum, the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future inspires the next generation of leaders to find common ground in a polarized world.

Find easy-to-use Dornsife-branded templates for class and event flyers as well as PowerPoint decks with several layout and color options in MyDornsife. Navigate to Dornsife Applications > USC Dornsife Graphic Identity Downloads > USC Dornsife Files to download the files and instructions.

If you’re traveling for a course, research study or other project this summer, we’d like to know. Just complete this short form or email communication@dornsife.usc.edu with your name, where you’re going, and the course name or a very brief description of the study or project.

Professor Saori Katada explores the shifting global dynamics and domestic forces shaping Japan’s evolving grand strategy across key historical turning points.

Professor Natalia Molina and BYU’s D.J. Gonzales discuss the history of Mexican American grassroots activism and civil rights struggles in California.

“In many cases, it was ordinary Americans who wanted to stand up against fascism and volunteered to risk their lives by going undercover.”

Steve Ross of history discusses the spy network that took on post-WWII Nazi groups on NPR’s Fresh Air

“Trump has refused to participate, leaving the Quad leaderless and degrading its geostrategic value.”

Derek Grossman of political science and international relations on the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue summit in Foreign Policy

“If people lose [cognitive] diversity or get into intellectual laziness, of course, that is going to affect our society greatly.” 

Morteza Dehgani of psychology on the homogenizing potential of AI in Futurism

Scholars of Impact. Dean James Bullock, College Dean of Undergraduate Education Emily Hodgson Anderson and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Richard Fliegel hosted 10 exemplary students for a luncheon celebrating their extraordinary achievement: being named 2026 USC Dornsife Scholar Award recipients.

The USC Dornsife Scholars Program — supported by philanthropists Dana and David Dornsife — recognizes graduating seniors who pair rigorous academic work with a commitment to addressing pressing global challenges..