Welcome Back Fall 2022

Dear Academy Community,

I am delighted to welcome our students, faculty, and staff to another exciting academic year. I would like to extend a special welcome to Cohort 9, the Academy’s largest cohort yet. As with every Academy cohort, this group is exceptionally talented and represents a broad range of backgrounds, skills, knowledge, and perspectives. 

 As the fall semester approaches, I would like to share new developments that are underway. Faculty and staff have been working diligently to make significant upgrades to enhance student learning experiences for this fall and in years to come. These changes are inspired by the many conversations we have had with Academy students and come after careful consideration with leadership, faculty, and staff. 

Scaling Our Impact and Size

First, I am pleased to share that the Academy has been approved for substantial growth by the USC administration which demonstrates great faith in the Academy’s mission, capabilities and potential for impact; as well as recognition of the increasing market demand for the Academy’s degrees. This opportunity to scale will allow the Academy to expand access to our remarkable educational model for larger cohorts of students with diversified knowledge and skills.

As part of the Academy’s growth plan, faculty and leadership have deeply reflected on the Academy’s learning framework and curriculum and how we can best prepare our students to work and thrive at the forefront of an ever-changing global economy.  To this end, the Academy will be retooling our undergraduate curriculum to provide greater flexibility and opportunities for students to pursue varied customized learning pathways and allow us to scale our impact and build student cohorts with a wide range of skills and interests which will lead to more diverse collaborations and related innovations.

Over the next 12 months, faculty will continue to refine the curriculum and will work with key USC internal stakeholders and mechanisms for final approval. We plan for these curricular enhancements to be available to incoming freshmen beginning in Fall 2023. All current student degree requirements pathways are still governed by the current catalogue.  Once a new catalogue description for the Academy degree is published, current students can meet with their academic advisors if they would like to discuss changing to the new degree requirements at that time. 

Pending final university curricular approval, the Academy core will be reduced and streamlined to allow greater accommodation for students to pursue concentrations that are at the intersection of technology, business, and design and aligned with personal strengths and broader career opportunities. The Academy plans to offer the following concentrations in these growing sectors of the 21st century economy starting in Fall 2023: 

 A key component of the enhanced learning experience will be the Academy’s Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) approach and inclusive learning framework to cultivate an educational environment that respects diversity, encourages equitable participation, and reduces barriers to learning, wherever possible.

The Academy is also exploring joint degrees with USC’s top-ranked schools which include Viterbi School of Engineering, Marshall School of Business, Keck School of Medicine, and Annenberg School for Communication to provide students with greater opportunities to combine the Academy’s integrative framework with USC’s disciplinary specializations.

 IYA Career and Professional Services

This June, the Academy welcomed Jon Koegler, associate director of Career Services and Industry Relations. A seasoned career services professional, Koegler will provide dedicated career services including 1:1 career coaching, professional development workshops, networking events, company information and recruiting sessions to support Academy talent in pursuing their career aspirations. Koegler will be reaching out to all students in the near future with details about the Academy Career Services offerings for the fall semester. 

IYH Facilities Upgrades

The Academy is committed to investing in facilities improvements that will benefit and enhance the student experience. I am pleased to highlight the new upgrades which address student feedback and insights shared throughout the past year. 

  • Student Lounge: Many Academy students expressed the need for a dedicated communal space for Academy students to gather, study, and rest between classes. In support of this student need, the facilities team has converted IYH 112 into a student lounge furnished with comfortable furniture, computers, TVs, refrigerator and microwave. This space will replace the dedicated cohort structure to encourage cross-cohort mingling and community.
  • Updated Locker Storage: To accommodate student growth, increase accessibility and minimize classroom disruptions, all lockers are now consolidated in IYH 107. Students will receive information at the start of the fall semester about the updated locker request/assignment process. 
  • Increased Classroom Capacity: With the consolidation of lockers, classroom capacity has increased. IYH 110 now has four additional TV displays with lecture capture/streaming capabilities; seat cushions and backrests have been added to existing stools in IYH 111 to provide comfortable seating during extended class sessions. 
  • Extended Hours: The Academy is developing a plan to extend hours of access to IYH. Students will be notified once details have been finalized.
  • Podcast Booth: We are excited to announce the newly opened podcast booth is available for students’ sound-based, creative activities. Reservations for the space can be made with the Mixed Reality Studio staff.

Office Hours and Meetings

Communication is a distinguishing feature of the Academy’s culture. Open, respectful discussion among students, faculty, staff and leadership is highly valued and necessary for continuous improvement toward positive change and the Academy’s success. I would like to encourage students to reach out to me, senior leadership and the academic advisors to share your insights, thoughts, and concerns so that we can learn from each other and together build a community and learning experience that reflects all perspectives.

To facilitate this essential dialogue, I will continue to hold my regular office hours on alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 12 noon. Please sign-up using this link. Additionally, Academy leadership will hold twice a semester town hall meetings, in person for undergraduates and virtually for graduate students, to engage in meaningful conversation about issues or concerns that are top of mind for students. The Academy’s first town hall meeting will be scheduled in the next few weeks to give students an opportunity to discuss the updates outlined in this memo. 

I am grateful to our students, faculty, and staff for your continued partnership in building an educational experience and community like none other. I look forward to seeing you all on campus and to the many exciting events, activities, and learning opportunities planned for this year.

Sincerely,

Thanassis Rikakis
Dean

Subscribe to our Newsletter