Newsletter #15

Author

My15 atUSC
May 09, 2025

Hi Everyone,

Commencement is almost here! It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since the whole “Inner Perimeter” and main ceremony cancellation. It’s also hard to believe that the shocking nature of that decision would pale in comparison to the decisions that would come over the following 365 days. To steal a quote from someone who attended a Presidential Search Listening Session, it was the beginning of a series of “unforced errors”.

Like many, I’m still struggling to see why the university can’t seem to find funding to fully reinstate TAB, while it simultaneously drops bucketloads of money on the security perimeter that has persisted for an entire year. At this point, I hope we at least bought the fences. But how many years of our TAB could have been covered instead? I’d guess at least 4 or 5. Perhaps they could build just one less new building, and we’d all be covered for life. But I digress…

So thanks for being here. We are now 314 strong. Here’s what’s inside.

Table of Contents

Data, Open Surveys, and Docs

  • Re-Engagement Survey (Closed) - Thank you for re-engaging! We’ve closed this survey out. It was not only great to get over 40 responses, but the responses were heartfelt and thorough. My sincere thanks for this! Your reward is this data. My next step is to sort through and start posting on Instagram again, so get your 👍ready!

  • Culture Values - Alignment Survey (Closing Soon) - We’re only at 19 responses! 😢 This survey is multiple choice, and shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. Click here to answer some questions pulled from the previous Culture Survey. I’m curious to see how your responses compare to the responses from last Spring. I won’t be mad if you skip the open text questions. You deserve a break after the Re-Engagement survey.

  • Leads (New Form) - I sent out an introductory email to folks who previously responded to surveys, along with some of you that I’ve spoken with. I’m looking to identify a some “leads” to help strategize and make this more structured and sustainable. If you’re interested in contributing, please use this form to let me know. Or just email me. I promise we won’t have any “mandatory meetings” or “all hands on deck” calls.

  • Feelings v2.0 (Open Doc) - I’ll keep this one open for a while. Fee free to drop your thoughts in there.

Presidential Search Surveys

Hopefully you’ve received links for the Presidential Search Survey. First off, I think perhaps someone should tell them that there are more than just two campuses at USC. As a guy who loves data, lumping all respondents into either “UPC” or “HSC” is going to be slightly limiting. Just saying. But I’m sure the consultants are worth it.

In all seriousness, I’ve been encouraged by the attempt to engage with the community to get feedback. As I mentioned a few weeks back, our Staff Assembly Executive Committee meeting was attended by Trustee and Presidential Search Committee Co-Chair, Carmen Nava. She listened attentively and compassionately. I also attended an in-person listening session with Co-Chair Nava and two other Trustees. It was lightly attended (maybe 30 of the 60 RSVPs showed up). Attendees included both faculty and staff, and comments were respectful but direct. Whether this is simply performative or not, time will tell. However, it was at least encouraging that they were listening, and that the process will not be rushed. I’ll give them a pass (for now) for only holding in-person sessions, and across only two days.

I share all of this because it’s a really important time to provide feedback, especially for our cause. If you want TAB reinstated, tell them! They need to hear that this is still important to us. In addition to the survey, you can also email your feedback. There is an email address listed on the “Provide Input” tab on the search site. The third party search firm has said “they’ve never had this much of a response before”, which is a good thing. Let’s give them more of a good thing. They asked us for it.

Discord

Here’s a link to our Discord server (good for the next 7 days). We’re not doing much over there just yet, but I’d like to get as many folks added before the emojis and reactions start flying. If you look back on Newsletter #14, I shared how I think we can use it.

Other Resources

Another article, this one from Annenberg Media, states “it is clear months later that USC has been actively deepening its operating deficit despite being aware of the structural issues that would be caused.” I’m grateful that this is being thoroughly (if not yet widely) covered, and that the individuals quoted came forward and are speaking out.

That’s a good place to leave it for now. But if you’ve read this far, here’s an Easter Egg. I wrote a poem inspired by your responses, and I signed it with all of our names. 😉 It’s a working draft, but I’ll likely record it this weekend and post it on YouTube. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’d also appreciate anyone with an English degree who can help me with formatting and punctuation. Right now, it’s just a mess of commas because that’s how I wrote it. I’d eventually like to publish a more “poemy” looking poem.

As always, reach out with ideas, questions, or if you just want to chat.

Take care, and Fight On!

Phil